Why Molly Ivins' death is so sad

Molly Ivins died yesterday after her third battle with breast cancer. She was 62.

There have, of course, been a number of columnists and writers able to clear the smoke of PR, reduce complex policy to its essence, and look to the future with clarity. But few did it with such relentless humor and hope -- the things that make you want to do more than just go back to bed.

A teensy snippet from a 2003 commencement at the Columbia School of Journalism:

... The right wing nuts - with whom I have always lived in Texas - and if you are, by the way, feeling depressed about the state of the nation, the world and the possibilities of doing honest journalism in this country - I am here to cheer you up.

What you do, every morning when you wake up, thinking things are hard - is you say to yourself, thank God, I don't have to do this in Texas. And, for those of you who wind up in Texas, call me, I'll buy you some beer.

...

You may get fired, you may get in trouble. But, have fun, anyway, 'cause, as Willy Nelson sings, if we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane. So, as you all go forth unafraid, to raise hell and rock the boat, you just keep working at getting some laughter and some fun into the whole deal. Thank you.

Read the Texas Observer's eulogy HERE.