A Friend of Unfair Park asked if I wouldn't mind mentioning Bill Minutaglio's appearance at Legacy Books in Plano this Saturday, when the ex-DMN'er heads up north to sign copies of Molly Ivins: A Rebel Life, which he co-wrote with W. Michael Smith. Sure; happy to. Which reminds me: The book's in stores tomorrow, but till then there's this excerpt courtesy The Texas Observer; not to mention this fond farewell from her former colleague at the Dallas Times Herald, one Jim Schutze, penned upon news of her death on January 31, 2007. The publisher, PublicAffairs, also offers this gratis sneak peak concerning Ivins's move to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram following the demise of the Herald. An excerpt from the excerpt:
She wrote her first column for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in February 1992 and faxed it to the paper at around 5 p.m. After the fax went through, she called the newsroom.
"Hon, this is Molly Ivins. I'm making sure my column is there. And hon? Can you talk to Ken Bunting? I'm not sure he wants me to say dildo."
She had written about archaic Texas laws involving "lifestyle accessories" and whether or not you should be charged with a crime for owning a certain number of dildos. Bunting, the managing editor, brought the column to editor Mike Blackman. Blackman told people that he felt his newspaper career flashing before his eyes.
"This is crazy, this can't run this way," he said.
