[AGL] Mollie Ivins church & Sholz Garten

[Michael Eisenstadt]

things i learnt at Mollie Ivins church commemoration:

Mollie was a child of privilege, River Oaks, Houston Yacht
Club, prep school and Smith College. 

at some point after getting sick she got religion. she used
to call Him Fred. but at some point she dropped Fred and
started naming Him by His real name. 

was a drunk (beer drunk). stopped a mere 18 months ago.
one of the lady speakers who apparently was hot on this
subject explained this. not clear about this. will check with
friend Jan Demetri who attended her Final Friday parties.

Final Friday not mentioned by any speaker. so far as i 
understand it, this was Mollie's book club, with books
assigned for the next gathering, named presumably in honor 
of Sam & Virginia's First Friday parties. i guess that it was 
at Sam & Virginia's where i met Mollie and she (gasp!) 
learned my first name. so when we ran into one another 
she actually knew my name. contrast this with Ann Richards. 
in later years at chance encounters Ann would give me the huggy
huggy but she didnt know my name, me not being important 
enough. this seems terribly significant to me, not in regard to 
myself (ah could care less!) but in regard to Ann: one cold cold 
lady.

Dave Richards and second wife Sandy Heiser were
sitting in the row in front of us flanking their 2 handsome
children. we interfaced briefly with Sandy whom we
knew way back when she taught exercise at gyms.
She used to go either with Ed Bennett or Ramsay
cant remember which. Dave nodded at us i think 
but hard to be sure. sort of in between a nod and looking
the other way. is there a word for this? my roommate
claims that he was drunk at the Sholz Garten (this is
based on his bloodshot eyes -- he wasnt drunk at
the church or maybe he was). i vaguely remember
him disappearing through the door to the left of the
front of the church during the proceedings and then
reappearing and sitting down.

church full of very tall older Texans -- i mean tall: 
women 6 feet plus, men 6'6" plus. These must have 
been family and collaterals.

as we hurried to the church after parking the car
we saw 3 or 4 stretch limousines parked in front.
was this a funeral service i wondered. apparently
not. later i saw the same limousines in front of 
the Sholz Garten. the limousines, like the Too Tall 
types in the church was the background indicating
itself.

Mollie's crack about Bush quoted by Linda Lewis 
a handsome confident-looking black woman in her 50's
brought the house down. all the pent up feeling 
about losing Mollie combined with everyone's 
realization of who Bush turned out to expressed
itself in a collective scream.


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