[AGL] Ann, the day after...

[Frances Morey]

Yes, dear Fontaine,
  The fans were terrific, the program spare and uncluttered. I loved seeing the Smith's, too. Milloy used to say that "a party isn't a party unless Bill Smith shows up." We must have been in the same quadrant of the drum. It was nice thinking that we were enjoying the same space in which she and Barbara Jordan did the Lady Longhorns games. I loved the granddaughters assertion that it was only later in life that she learned that men also play basketball.
  I sat right behind Karen Sonleitner and Judy Maggio, neither of whom I am particularily a fan. I worked for Karen's triumphant opponent, Sarah Eckhardt, and think Judy's newsvoice is as artificially dipthonged as it is patronizing. I liked seeing the Carl brothers and Doug Zabel, too, all of whom I last saw at Ed Wendler's memorial. It seems as though funeral events have replaced art openings, campaigns and church service as places to socialize the older I get.
  Unfortunately, Ann doesn't have a litany of things done while in office, except for appointing women in greater numbers to key positions in government. Remember Lena Guerrero, oops. Ann's image went a long way to giving the female gender hope however during her term nothing that could help them became legislation. Having no programs to brag about put her in a weak position when the shrub-good ol' boy-wealthy-wit-family-ties-cheerleader ran. It is my opinion that we have Bob Bullock and Ann Richards to blame for the disasterous Bush presidency by both commission and omission.
  Gerry's memories were the best heard recently though, and gave the flavor of the Ann I knew from campaigns back to Farenthold, the Raw Deal and countless camping trips. But it's her hilarious dramatization of the Watergate tapes around her pool in Westlake Hills that remains my favorite Ann sighting.
  Best,
  Frances

Fontaine Maverick <fmaverick at austin.rr.com> wrote:
          Among the many stories that Liz Smith told, I liked the one where Ann presented George Clooney with a Tom Delay pinata. Ron Kirk was a good MC - part standup comedian, part preacher, but charming and dignified. 
   
  I saw Bill, David and Guillaume Smith. And spotted many dignitaries; Barrientos, Kay Baby, Lloyd Doggett.
   
  Hey, Frances, did you get one of the souvenir fans? I loved the return to the old-timey funeral home tradition of handing out a little fan. But this one had a picture of Ann on one side, and these words on the other:
    At the end of the state Treasurer's race in 1982, the only remaining campaign materials were masks of Ann's face made previously for her birthday party , so she passed out these masks at her last campaign rallies.
   
    "When we left La Joya's Senior Center and pulled onto the dusty road, I looked out the back window and saw a little tiny woman who couldn't have been more than four and a half feet tall who was probably in her eighties. She was in a cotton print dress that hung straight to her ankles, standing there waiting for a ride...
   
  And she was wearing my face.
   
  For me, the image of that woman is like a beacon in a storm.
   
  Because that small woman is what the business of public service is all about. 
   
  I imagine seeing what she sees. She probably doesn't see much connection between the government and what goes on in her liife, but you and I do.
   
  There are real people with real lives who are counting on us.
   
  And we will not - we cannot - disappoint them."
   
                                          Ann W. Richards
                                          1933-2006
    ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Frances Morey 
  To: survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s 
  Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2006 12:44 AM
  Subject: Re: [AGL] Ann Richards memorial
  

  The memorial was a full house but no one was turned away. There were some seats available in the highest balcony. I saw many people I recognized from my early days as a politico, some of whom now find walking daunting, and were delivered by SUV. Several remarked that they needed to sit near the exit even though better seats were available down some stairs. My friend Elizabeth Harris and I were there at 11:00 a.m. and had no trouble finding a parking place or good seats and we only had to walk a block. 
  The largest crowd reaction came with the showing of a picture of Ann with President Bill Clinton who was not there in person. Liz Smith had personal anecdotes from times she spent with Ann both in Texas and New York. Her humorous remarks were the highlight for me. Senator Clinton also shared some of the sage advice Ann had given her that went beyond the oft quoted quips that were repetitiously replayed in this week's media. The granddaughter was the most knowledgeable of Ann the person, and despite the hard acts she had to follow her reminiscences were the most poignant.
  I wore my favorite Ann t-shirt with black jeans and jacket. It is a four-frame four-color Andy Warhol style portrait dated 1990 photographed by Amy Bonar. There were more men in suits than I have ever seen assembled in one place. That was a nice gesture of all due respect. It had neither the air of a political rally nor a prayerified church service, just a dignified memorial to an American icon.
  Best,
  Frances
  

Fontaine Maverick <fmaverick at austin.rr.com> wrote:
  By the way, for those of you who are interested, you can watch todays whole 
service - Ron Kirk, Liz Smith, Hilary et al, on the KVUE website. Her 15 
year old granddaughter was amazing. I got real emotional during the slide 
show, which had Willie Nelson singing "Don't Fence Me In".

http://www.kvue.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/videoPlayer.php?vidId=57414&live=yes 


    
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