Popular Austin blues pianist Marcia Ball rattled the church windows with "Great Balls of Fire" as hundreds of friends and fans of Molly Ivins leapt to their feet and clapped out the rhythm Sunday in a farewell memorial service for the internationally known columnist.
It was a service that richocheted between quiet remembrance and roars of applause in the domed sanctuary of the First United Methodist Church in Austin, an easy stroll from the larger dome of the Texas Capitol, where Ivins first found a happy hunting ground for her political barbs as co-editor of the Texas Observer.
Many present had known Molly for decades. Lou Dubose, who co-authored two books with her, peered down at the throng from the lectern and told them, "If Molly were here where I am, she’d look out at all of you and say, ‘My God you people have aged.’"
Gospel music and Texas swing accompanied the service, including the Kitty Wells hit "It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels." Ball said Molly used to love to belt out the chorus, but added "I know we’ve lost a great voice...just not a great singing voice."
Siblings Andy and Sara described what Andy called an "Ozzie and Harriet" upbringing in upperclass Houston in the 50’s and a sister who both inspired and entertained them. Struggling to keep up with his big sister on one of their many walks, Andy said he asked Molly how she could walk so fast. "Keep your eyes on the horizon," she told him, "it will make you go faster." Caught in a squall in a small sailboat, Sara said she and Molly tried to follow their father’s advice to lower the sail and put out the anchor. "’Throw out the anchor,’ I told her," Sara said, "and she did, only she hadn’t tied it to anything."
Molly’s niece told the assembly Molly had done a grand job of being an aunt - had taken her on trips, pointed her towards the books she ought to read and, "excuse me for saying this in church, but she was my introduction to the word ‘shit.’"
Pastor Kathleen Jones appeared to take the unorthodox elements of the service in stride, telling the congregation that when Molly had learned she was a pastor she quoted Karl Barth to her and urged her to "preach with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other."
Rev. Jones said Ivins had little use for the Old Testament, but insisted Molly was a prophet in the Old Testament mold, speaking truth to power, urging freedom for the oppressed and living humbly, except that "If they’d had Molly’s sense of humor they might have had a better following."
A few other thoughts about Molly spoken at the service by her friends:
"Molly’s purpose was to tell people who saw what she saw, and were as outraged as she was, that they were not alone."
"Molly was a great comfort to me when we were fighting (the Bush war plans) . I knew that when I was in the trenches, she would be out there on the front lines."
"Molly suffered fools gently. She knew how to make her point when she was angry, but she never resorted to meanness and never learned how to hate."
"She asked me if I would run the Grand Canyon with her in September if she was still alive. When she showed up in Flagstaff she had just had a chemo treatment the day before and she was just teetering. We had to help her into the boat. But each day she got stronger and stronger and before the trip was over, she was demanding we put on a talent show. As they say in Texas, she was a great person ‘to run the river with.’ Sadly, her run is over."
There were plenty of tears in the crowd, and lots of laughter and applause as well. But I saw what probably will be the only sustained and riotous standing ovation I will ever see in church when her friend Linda Lewis quoted Molly's own words to the gathering:
"The next time I tell you someone from Texas should not be president, please pay attention."