Iyow - in your own words

A tip of the hat to former Texas Governor and knife-edged wit Ann Richards, who passed on Wednesday night due to esophageal cancer.

She was an inspiration and role model to women everywhere, especially those who grew up during the ‘80s, the first female to be elected to the Texas governor’s mansion in 50 years in 1990. Moreover, she was one of the few women then on the national political stage. I remember as a teenager watching her on TV do the keynote address for the 1988 Democratic National Convention, wondering who was this silver-haired, teacherly woman with the perfect comic timing and glint in her eye.

It’s a sign you’ve lived a good life when those you’ve served and even your professional opponents remember you with respect and wamth. She was famous for the line, at the same keynote speech, of then-Vice President Bush (I): “Poor George, he can’t help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.”