Molly Ivins, the syndicated liberal columnist who heralded from the same state as our current President, died about ten days ago after a lengthy battle with breast cancer. She was my age, sixty-two.
It was a surprise, not only because of the age similarity but also because the photo that usually accompanied her column in the local newspaper revealed a smiling woman with curly hair who seemed to be in the prime of her life. There was no hint that cancer stalked her.
Here in conservative southwestern Michigan, Ivins’ column ran maybe once or twice a week. Whenever I read the local paper — and I don’t always get to it — I enjoyed her view on things, probably because it was compatible with my own. She abhorred the war in Iraq and disdained the politicians who supported it. She coined the nickname “Shrub” for President Bush, although she attached it to him when he was the Governor of Texas and not when he became President. Nevertheless, she continued to use it until she died.
I asked Earl if he knew who Molly Ivins was. Not that I expected him too, since he is cut from a different political cloth than I am. I wasn’t disappointed in his answer, but when I explained at his request, “She was a liberal columnist who was my age and who died of breast cancer last Wednesday,” Earl’s wince suggested sympathy.
I should have stopped there. But, no, I told him about the nickname “Shrub.” In the doing, I probably erased any support he had. But then Molly wouldn’t have cared. As I settle in to read today’s paper, how I wish her smiling picture would greet me.
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