We miss you, Molly!(Letter to the editor)

• Author: Mitchell, Cameron

Just wanted to send my' deepest regards to all at The Progressive at the passing of Molly Ivins. Her great writing, quick wit, and political humor will be sorely missed. Much love to her family, friends, and fans around the world.

Cameron Mitchell

via e-mail

I'm going to have to change the way I read The Progressive. I always started with Molly. My deepest sympathy goes out to her family and personal friends. There are thousands of us who will miss her passion, her horse sense, and her laughter. The only way to honor her is to cultivate our own passion, horse sense, and laughter and carry on that fight as long as we can.

Katharine W. Rylaarsdam

Baltimore, Maryland

There are two magazines that I read from back to front because the most entertaining columns are on the back pages. Sports Illustrated has Rick Reilly, whose witty essays give me a good chuckle each week, and The Progressive had Molly Ivins, who wrote what I thought, but could not express so creatively.

In a recent column, she summoned her readers to take to the streets with "pots and pans" and demonstrate loudly against the war in Iraq. This struck a chord with me, as I have been doing just that (minus the cookware) during my weekly vigils. Even though we never met, I have come to think of her as a friend. She was my monthly "kick in the pants" when complacency set in. Now my friend is gone and it hurts. There is no other way to say it.

When future issues of The Progressive arrive at my house, they will be read from front to back knowing that a connection has been broken. While there may be someone in the wings who will replace Molly, he or she will be just that--a replacement. The original has left, and I feel that a small part of me has gone with her.

Thanks, Molly, for your insights and "tell it like it is" reporting.

Bob Blumenthal

Kinnelon, New Jersey

The moment Molly Ivins...