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There will now be Texas Bluebonnets in Heaven - Lady Bird Johnson dies at 94
A joy of mine each year, is to get friends, family, even by myself, to tour our Texas highways and byways, for those Texas bluebonnets, and the other incredible wildflowers we have. I even pick them from the land around me, from under the mailbox for bouquets for my house.When I came to Texas, first Houston, and then Austin.... there wasn't any beauty here for this Arkansas hillbilly. I followed Lady Bird Johnson.... living in Austin on the day of Nov 22..... we all knew her. I loved her quest of the beautifulcation she worked so hard for. I followed that, and now, there is rarely a month, that something isn't blooming and one has to thank Lady Bird. Driving through Austin today in the rush hour traffic within the first 15 - 45 minutes of the announcement of her death, I noticed, how quickly our flags went to half mass. Deeply involved in a conference that was happening at the LBJ library, I got to wander through the back hallways of the library, getting stuff and guests to conference rooms. And then, there she was.... with a glow of light just beaming from around her. Complete with her Secret Service guys and others, but she stopped, spoke, welcoming me and my conference to the center, still with that glow that just beamed from around her. Often times, in my professional life, I would remember that moment, wanting to be as still, but yet as alive as she was, in that brief moment. Just what was it that produced that glow? And with an extended family, heavy into the politics of Texas, well, Dem or Rep, she was there Lady Bird Johnson has died at age 94. The former first lady leaves a rich legacy as political wife, environmental activist, businesswoman. Her marriage to a larger-than-life Texan thrust a shy, small-town girl named Lady Bird Johnson into the national spotlight. A love affair with the great outdoors kept her there. And though nationally she was best known as the wife of Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president, Mrs. Johnson was very much a figure in her own right. She mixed Southern graciousness with a quiet, cast-iron fortitude that not only won admirers but allowed her to steer a large business enterprise and help forge a national environmental movement. Posted by: Sherry 2007-07-12 |
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