[AGL] Ann Richards, R.I.P.

[Gerry]

The last time I saw her was in early 1996. I was spending a few months in
Austin and the 1st Friday parties were then held at the apartment of a
couple whose names I don't recall. The complex was near 12th and Baylor. Ann
lived in the same complex and I ran into her, quite by accident, in the
elevator. She smiled but was shy and somewhat embarrassed. I asked her if
she was coming to the party. "No," she said, "Can't do that anymore." "Well,
good to see you again," I said, and that was that.

Molly was the big draw at these parties and late at night after most had
left a few of us would sit on the balcony which overlooked the state capitol
and reminisce. I had been out of town during Ann's reign and had no idea of
how the social order had realigned. Dave Richards and I were still friends
and he was in Santa Fe where he had lived "in exile" while she was governor.
I was surprised that no one wanted to talk about Ann at the late night
sessions. So I remained in the dark and remain so to this day as to what her
life was life after Dave. Never knew Governor Richards. One night someone
suggested that we call her and ask her to join us, but no one would.

I first met them when Eddie Wilson and I went to their house in Westlake
Hills one afternoon. It was a beautiful house and they were beautiful
people, so smart and well informed and outgoing and stylish. Dave came home
from work, undressed, put on his swim suit and dove into the pool where he
swam laps for a half hour or so. Then he joined us and we drank, they had
martinis, lots of them. Boy, they could put them away.

And later at the Raw Deal (before it was "Fletcher's bar") we drank more and
got to know one another better. I was surprised to learn that they were from
Waco and that we knew a lot of the same people, and that (like me) they had
fled to Dallas for a few years before discovering Austin and settling. (They
were 4 years older than me and had finished high school before I got there.)
We had lots of good times. They were my tutors, especially Dave who sat at
my side during negotiations with the Austin Symphony (my first union gig),
got me into the labor circle, and generally gave me good advice which I
heeded as the gospel truth. You could say that I idolized them.

Sometimes I wondered about the public drunkenness of those days. We all got
thoroughly stoned for all to see. Shrike and the Richards could really put
away the martinis which put them into another league as drinkers. I was a
beer drinker. Somehow we all managed to get home safely night after night, a
minor miracle...no scandals.

I had left Austin to work for the union in the Southeast at the time they
divorced. When I heard about it I was more than shocked, I was floored. I
think it was Eddie who told me. My buddies Lopez and Rosebud were as
clueless as me. Dave got together with Sandy and they continued to be part
of the circle. Ann was never around after the divorce. She had become the
State Treasurer, dried out and ran with another group of people. I missed
her and her contributions to our gang and her incredible humor and in your
face honesty. Needless to say I loved her a lot.

The radical Texans of our age were focused on the race issues. That (a
determination to end segregation in Texas) is what brought us together. That
is what separated us from the throng. We were fed up with the old south and
determined to change it, even if it meant bucking the system and being
called lots of bad names, even if it meant an occasional night in jail. When
Viet Nam came along our ranks were swelled with the peace people and we
lined up with them too but at heart it was still the race fight that kept us
together. No single individual of any color did more to end racism in Texas
than Ann Richards. She was the heavyweight champ.
G




----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Eisenstadt" <michaele at ando.pair.com>
To: <austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>
Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2006 5:27 AM
Subject: [AGL] Ann Richards, R.I.P.


> It is sad to learn that Ann Richards has died. Many of us knew her and
> partied with her, at Fletcher's bar, at the Whittens' First Friday parties
> and elsewhere.
>
> She died of esophageal cancer the same that killed Sandy Lockett.
>
> She was 73.
>
>
>