Former Texas Governor Ann Richards has died at her home of cancer. She was with her family.
According to this article, she was asked once what she might have done differently had she known she was going to be a one-term governor. She grinned and replied, “Oh, I would probably have raised more hell.”
She is often remembered for the speech in which she described former President George H.W. Bush as having been “born with a silver foot in his mouth.”
Oh, Ann. We are so going to miss just knowing you are among us.
When I was a high school senior, my government teacher, an awoved yellow dog Democrat, invited us to the Hyatt on Town Lake for a celebration (if his friend, a former teacher in Austin, as he reminded us, won the nomination). We headed down there, and after abusing what was left of the buffet line, we ran into our teacher. He was drunk off his ass - seeing his students, he yelled, “MY KIDS! MY KIDS ARE HERE!” Then he said, “I want you all to meet the next governor of Texas… Governor Richards.” He ran and found who I think was the campaign press officer. About ten minutes later Ann Richards and a bank of lights is right in front of us… and though she had a lot of wrinkles she looked like she had more energy than the crew of three high school seniors.
She asked what we wanted to do when we graduated… I forgot what Antoinette said, as well as Tony. When it was my turn I told the future governor that I wanted to be a teacher. This, apparently was the response that triggered the hug-and-kiss impulse from Ann Richards. (Don’t worry, it was on the cheek!) Someone told me the picture would probably be in the paper the next day… it wasn’t.
She campaigned hard and the jackass Clayton Williams self-destructed… and she became governor. I got to spend a little time with her when she visited the class I TA-ed in the Capitol. She was grace and wit all the way.
The first person I ever cast a vote for, and my first political crush… gone. I’ll miss you, Ann. Godspeed.