Two short anecdotes, one political, one personal:

This is the second Salon story which uses the Clayton Williams' rape joke as explanation for how she won, and that helped. But what really sank his campaign was his refusal to shake her hand at a joint appearance. Even the good old boys of Texas couldn't reward that breach of etiquette back then. Luckily the Era of Rove has freed us of such outdated notions.

I had the pleasure of receiving mail from the governor's office during her tenure, unexpectedly. I had just acquitted my Texas education on Jeopardy, and her office sent me a letter of congratulations. ALmost certainly an autopen signature, but it was on the stationery. I went back later for the tournament; by then, she had been replaced by Dubya. For whatever reason, I did not receive mail from that governor's office. I guess his crowd weren't big fans of the show.

Goodbye, Ann. You were a hell of a lady, and more of a gentleman than most of the jokers who sat in that chair.

I wept when W took Texas out of the hands of Ann's competent governorship, and I wept Wednesday night when I heard she passed away. What a tremendous human being, and a great inspiration to me.

And now we have four more years of Good Hair Perry to look forward to, continuing the downward slide that W began so his white rich cronies can get richer.

May the spirit of Ann Richards rise again so that many of us who call Texas home can once again be proud to say we're from here without having to end that statement with "and no, I didn't vote for him. Either time."

Ann Richards had a heart as big as Texas. I remember her for her generous spirit as well as her feistiness and brilliance. She is the very inspiration of many women I know, several of whom were drawn into activism by her indomitable spirit and courage. It is altogether fitting that she would leave behind a school for leadership dedicated to women. She was an iconoclast who showed many young girls and women that it was ok to be beautiful, sassy, and smarter than most of the boys.

What I remember most about Ann Richards was her accessibility. I would often run into her at the original Whole Foods on Tenth Street in Austin when she was State Treasurer, before she was the celebrity she is now. We chatted about who knows what (I don't remember),- what I do remember is the way she looked into my eyes when she spoke to me. Over twenty years later, in 2004, my girlfriend and I ran into her in DC at the march for women's reproductive rights. She was the bright star of the Texas delegation, and even at the height of her celebrity she was as open and as accessible as could be, throwing her arms around the shoulders of her many anonymous friends and admirers, posing for pictures, and spreading that Austin love.

God, Annie, this is a cruel blow to those of us who came of age wanting to make a difference, losing the candle of your brilliance at this dark hour. We cherish your memory and hold you up as The Lone Star of this benighted age.

I was a freshman at the University of Texas when Ann Richards won her election and I voted for her with great pride. I remember a particularly conservative, uptight plaid-shirt kid in my English class that fall and we had bickered about the election for some time. On the morning after the election, it was with great glee and some malice that I left a copy of the university paper depicting the election win on his desk before he came to class.

My decade for politics was the 90's. I look around now and read the news and wonder how in the hell we got so far from what was real and good. Ann Richards was a pillar of good sense and true grace and I will miss her presence terribly.

As a 9th generation feminist Texan, and teacher, Ann was always a role model for me. She would shake your hand and look you in the eye at campaign rallies, and her grace and humor were evident in all that she did. I too cried at her defeat to shrub and at her passing, but it is time to celebrate her life now. Her spirit lives on, and I will honor her with my continued fight for young women to please care, and get involved in the political process. Hurray for Ann's new school for women's leadership! Hurray for her being in a place of no pain and no traffic! Hurray for the feisty and the untainted in Austin, which today means go vote for Kinky!