[Vision2020] Molly Ivins Tribute

[Sue Hovey]

Thanks, Tom, for the Tribute, but I'll grieve anyway.  Ann Richards and 
Molly Ivins in less than a year--that is just too much for a liberal former 
Texan to handle easily. I won't wish for some sort of right wing quid pro 
quo, but damnit anyway...

Sue
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Hansen" <thansen at moscow.com>
To: "Vision 2020" <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2007 4:19 AM
Subject: [Vision2020] Molly Ivins Tribute


> >From "Creators: A Syndicate of Talent" at www.Creators.com -
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Molly Ivins Tribute
>
> MOLLY IVINS BEGAN WRITING HER SYNDICATED COLUMN FOR CREATORS SYNDICATE IN
> 1992. ANTHONY ZURCHER IS A CREATORS SYNDICATE EDITOR BASED IN AUSTIN, 
> TEXAS,
> AND HE HAS BEEN MOLLY'S EDITOR AND FRIEND FOR MANY YEARS. THANK YOU FOR 
> YOUR
> ATTENTION. -- CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.
>
> MOLLY IVINS TRIBUTE
> BY ANTHONY ZURCHER
>
> Goodbye, Molly I.
>
> Molly Ivins is gone, and her words will never grace these pages again --  
> for
> this, we will mourn. But Molly wasn't the type of woman who would want us 
> to
> grieve. More likely, she'd say something like, "Hang in there, keep 
> fightin'
> for freedom, raise more hell, and don't forget to laugh, too."
>
> If there was one thing Molly wanted us to understand, it's that the world 
> of
> politics is absurd. Since we can't cry, we might as well laugh. And in 
> case
> we ever forgot, Molly would remind us, several times a week, in her own
> unique style.
>
> Shortly after becoming editor of Molly Ivins' syndicated column, I learned
> one of my most important jobs was to tell her newspaper clients that, yes,
> Molly meant to write it that way. We called her linguistic peculiarities
> "Molly-isms." Administration officials were "Bushies," government was in
> fact spelled "guvment," business was "bidness." And if someone was "madder
> than a peach orchard boar," well, he was quite mad indeed.
>
> Of course, having grown up in Texas, all of this made sense to me. But to
> newspaper editors in Seattle, Chicago, Detroit and beyond -- Yankee land, 
> as
> Molly would say -- her folksy language could be a mystery. "That's just
> Molly being Molly," I would explain and leave it at that.
>
> But there was more to Molly Ivins than insightful political commentary
> packaged in an aw-shucks Southern charm. In the coming days, much will be
> made of Molly's contributions to the liberal cause, how important she was 
> as
> an authentic female voice on opinion pages across the country, her
> passionate and eloquent defense of the poorest and the weakest among us
> against the corruption of the most powerful, and the joy she took in
> celebrating the uniqueness of American culture -- and all of this is true.
> But more than that, Molly Ivins was a woman who loved and cared deeply for
> the world around her. And her warm and generous spirit was apparent in all
> her words and deeds.
>
> Molly's work was truly her passion.
> She would regularly turn down lucrative speaking engagements to give
> rally-the-troops speeches at liberalism's loneliest outposts. And when she
> did rub elbows with the highfalutin' well-to-do, the encounter would
> invariably end up as comedic grist in future columns.
>
> For a woman who made a profession of offering her opinion to others, Molly
> was remarkably humble. She was known for hosting unforgettable parties at
> her Austin home, which would feature rollicking political discussions, and
> impromptu poetry recitals and satirical songs. At one such event, I 
> noticed
> her dining table was littered with various awards and distinguished 
> speaker
> plaques, put to use as trivets for steaming plates of tamales, chili and
> fajita meat. When I called this to her attention, Molly matter-of-factly
> replied, "Well, what else am I going to do with 'em?"
>
> Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Molly's life is the love she
> engendered from her legions of fans. If Molly missed a column for any
> reason, her newspapers would hear about it the next day. As word of 
> Molly's
> illness spread, the letters, cards, e-mails and gifts poured in.
>
> Even as Molly fought her last battle with cancer, she continued to make
> public appearances. When she was too weak to write, she dictated her final
> two columns. Although her body was failing, she still had so much to say.
> Last fall, before an audience at the University of Texas, her voice began 
> as
> barely a whisper. But as she went on, she drew strength from the
> standing-room-only crowd until, at the end of the hour, she was forcefully
> imploring the students to get involved and make a difference. As Molly 
> once
> wrote, "Politics is not a picture on a wall or a television sitcom that 
> you
> can decide you don't much care for."
>
> For me, Molly's greatest words of wisdom came with three children's books
> she gave my son when he was born. In her inimitable way, she captured the
> spirit of each in one-sentence inscriptions. In "Alice in Wonderland," she
> offered, "Here's to six impossible things before breakfast." For "The Wind
> in the Willows," it was, "May you have Toad's zest for life." And in "The
> Little Prince," she wrote, "May your heart always see clearly."
>
> Like the Little Prince, Molly Ivins has left us for a journey of her own.
> But while she was here, her heart never failed to see clear and true --  
> and
> for that, we can all be grateful.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Seeya round town, Moscow.
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
> "One kind that makes us chuckle about our foibles and our shared 
> humanity --
> like what Garrison Keillor does. The other kind holds people up to public
> contempt and ridicule -- that's what I do. Satire is traditionally the
> weapon of the powerless against the powerful. I only aim at the powerful.
> When satire is aimed at the powerless, it is not only cruel -- it's 
> vulgar."
>
> - Molly Ivins
>
>
>
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