Mind Food: Gov. Ann Richards

By Carol Young

I had the foresight last August to purchase tickets for what sesemed to be a very fascinating lecture series sponsored by the Arizona Republic. Developed in response to requests by women for a lecture series geared toward woman, and titled "Unique Lives", it featured presentations by Ann Richards, Maya Angelou, Lily Tomlin and Jane Goodall.

On Monday, January 12, lecture #1 was held. All I can say is the talk by Ann Richards, ex-governor of Texas, ardent feminist, former teacher, single, mother and all-around fabulously energetic woman at the still-young (my, how our perspectives change) age of 65, oh wow, what a treat I gave myself. Ann Richards strolled onto the stage and immediately took command. In a 90-minute talk, frequently interrupted by much laughter and loud applause, she gave her opinions, told stories and let us share her personal experiences on a wide variety of topics:

On becoming governor of Texas: As she unpacked and attempted to make a smooth transition into office, deal with current issues, and appoint a staff, the state of Texas was visited by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip. Ann approached the task with much trepidation because she was sure that if anything were to go wrong with security, she would hear comments along the lines of "well of course, it’s because a woman was in charge".

On the Royal Family: The final event of Queen Elizabeth’s tour was a reception for the mayors of all the towns she had visited. As Ann stood in the receiving line, she was struck by the fact that all the mayors were female. Prince Phillip noticed also because he leaned over to the Queen and said "I say, this seems to be a highly matriarchal society". To which the Queen replied, "Yes, and it’s quite nice, isn’t it?"

On her strongest advice to women: "Never never depend on anyone else for your support". This was a sure road to poverty in a woman’s senior years, in her opinion, and she could not state it emphatically enough.

On backlash against women: "They blame poor women for the state of the nation because they stay at home with kids instead of going to work, and then they turn around and blame middle class women for the state of the nation because they go to work instead of staying at home with their kids."

On her health: Ann freely admitted that she has had a problem with alcohol abuse but has been sober for 17 years. She learned several years ago that she had the beginning stages of osteoporosis. Determined not to give up without a fight, she changed her diet, started working out with weights, and as a result has gone from a size 14 to a size 6, has denser bone mass that her baseline test and feels better at 65 than she has ever felt in her life.

I could go on and on and on about this dynamic lady. She was inspirational, entertaining, wise, funny and touching all at once. Next up: Feb. 4, Maya Angelou.

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