Thursday, May 10, 2007

Good Golly, Miss Molly! I Miss You!!!!!


I've been thinking about doing this post since Molly Ivins lost her long, courageous battle with breast cancer back in January. She was only 62. A wonderful tribute to her by her editor at Creators Syndicate, Anthony Zurcher, can be found here. Her obituary in The Texas Observer enlarges upon her contributions to the our country.

I tripped across Molly Ivins about 20 years ago when I was finishing my B.A. Our family was unique in that we actually had a personal computer in our home because my then husband was network support guru for a large firm here and the PC was one of his perks. I used it to do research for my papers as there were websites for just about anything I needed to know. I also found networks where I could connect with faraway people with whom I shared interests. The groups were basically mailing lists and great fun and I made wonderful friends through them -- some who I met and others who I didn't but many are still friends today. Two of the lists are still in existence and yes, I'm still a member but I digress.

I met Miss Molly when my friend Susan in Fort Worth posted one of Molly's columns on a political mailing list of which I was a member. I laughed so very hard I cried. Yeah, I was an avid reader of humor columnists like Art Buchwald and Dave Barry and enjoyed them immensely but Molly was a woman and she was writing straight politics with a rapier wit and a twinkle in her eye. I was enchanted by that and spent a lot of time looking for things about her and by her. When I learned that she was a tall lady like me my kinship with her grew and I followed her career as she touted her opinions with wit and a sense of outrage tempered with Southern charm. While I didn't always agree with her, I admired her greatly for her irreverent sense of humor, her unflagging support of those whose voices go unheard in our country and her excellent writing. Love her or hate her, she had what my Jewish friends call chutzpah. She was a fighter and despite her illness stayed active to the end still shooting straight from the hip and giving the politicians hell.

I decided that the best way to remember Molly is by sharing some of my favorite quotes from her. I hope if you, gentle bloggers, are fans that they'll bring back memories and if you're not a fan, I hope you can appreciate her and laugh a lot. I think Molly would like that.

* Conservatives have been mad at the Supreme Court since it decided to desegregate the schools in 1954 and seen fit to blame the federal bench for everything that has happened since then that they don’t like.

* In Texas, we do not hold high expectations for the [governor's] office; it's mostly been occupied by crooks, dorks and the comatose.

* Good thing we've still got politics in Texas -- finest form of free entertainment ever invented.

* I dearly love the state of Texas, but I consider that a harmless perversion on my part, and discuss it only with consenting adults.

* Naturally, when it comes to voting, we in Texas are accustomed to discerning that fine hair's-breadth worth of difference that makes one hopeless dipstick slightly less awful than the other. But it does raise the question: Why bother?

* I know vegetarians don't like to hear this, but God made an awful lot of land that's good for nothing but grazing.

* The problem with those who choose received Authority over fact and logic is how they choose which part of Authority to obey. The Bible famously contradicts itself at many points (I have never understood why any Christian would choose the Old Testament over the New), and the Koran can be read as a wonderfully compassionate and humanistic document. Which suggests that the problem of fundamentalism lies not with authority, but with ourselves.

* I have been attacked by Rush Limbaugh on the air, an experience somewhat akin to being gummed by a newt. It doesn't actually hurt, but it leaves you with slimy stuff on your ankle.

* Next time I tell you someone from Texas should not be president of the United States, please pay attention.

* The first rule of holes: when you're in one, stop digging.

* What you need is sustained outrage...there's far too much unthinking respect given to authority.

* The thing about democracy, beloveds, is that it is not neat, orderly, or quiet. It requires a certain relish for confusion.

* There are two kinds of humor. 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.

* I believe that ignorance is the root of all evil. And that no one knows the truth.

* You can't ignore politics, no matter how much you'd like to.

* Any nation that can survive what we have lately in the way of government, is on the high road to permanent glory.

And my personal favorite -- prolly because I identify with it:

* [Molly on M0lly] I should confess that I've always been more of an observer than a participant in Texas Womanhood: the spirit was willing but I was declared ineligible on grounds of size early. You can't be six feet tall and cute, both. I think I was first named captain of the basketball team when I was four and that's what I've been ever since.

That's just a sample. There are lots more across the web!

Rest in peace, Miss Molly. Your legacy will live on through those of us whose lives you touched.

Happy Blogging!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kay

4 comments:

  1. I've often wondered about that OT way of thinking. Doesn't seem like a very loving kind of God to me. That would explain a lot of things in today's world.

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  2. Anonymous8:36 AM

    Thanks for those quotes. The good die young!

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  3. What a great tribute to Molly. She was truly one of a kind...and one bright and funny lady. Thanks Kay.

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  4. It sure would, poopie, & there are those who are taking advantage of that in case you hadn't noticed!

    Rhea & Joy -- Glad you enjoyed this post -- it was, for me a labor of love. I simply had to pay tribute to a lady who, like me, is too tall to be cute! lol

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