Me and Molly Ivins

Of the scores of conferences I sat through in more than three decades as a newspaper editor, only one remains stuck in my head all these years later.

It was memorable because Molly Ivins, the featured speaker, provided a rare glimpse of what  life might be like for the treasured few whose talent, inclinations and quirks inevitably forge careers that reward them simply for being who they are.

There she was. Bold. Profound. Funny. Outlandish. Irreverant. Funny. Profane. Brash. Funny.

She gets to do what she loves and what she's so good at, I remember thinking. She gets to make a living thinking out loud, and she doesn't have to pull any punches or flatter people she detests. What's better than that?

My only other similar glimpse of nirvana came in the post-game coverage after John Elway's Denver Bronchos won their second superbowl. I'm a native of Denver. The Bronchos have been my team since they came into the league.And there he was, maybe the greatest quarterback to ever play the game, basking in adoration from a stadium full of grateful fans on their feet chanting his name. What's better than that? 

I never got to play quarterback in the NFL. But a few years after seeing Molly Ivins at the conference, I got a taste of her lifestyle with a newspaper column of my own.

It wasn't informed by years of reporting Texas and national issues like Molly's was. It lacked her humor. And as editor of the paper I did have to pull my punches.

Even so, my column was inspired by libertarian impulses, like Molly's was. It was anti-authoritarian, in that it frequently jabbed the Bush Administration and other folks in power as did Molly's. Its libertarian take, like Molly's, was widely perceived as being "too liberal for Texas."

It was flattering from time to time to be teamed with Molly Ivins in the minds of readers who lambasted or praised the two of us as kindred spirits.

Fact is, she never knew I was alive. Never even spoke with her. But I sure do miss her. And it's hard to shake the feeling that life is somehow less interesting, less fun without her.

Give 'em hell in heaven, Molly!