May she rest in Peace.
She was a very special First Lady, she did a lot of good in a quiet way.

I always liked her and felt as a first lady she was exceptional. I hadn't heard that she died. Thanks for telling us.

I just heard, she was a great first lady.

I liked her, too, Andie. And thanks for the reminder about Head Start...I didn't remember that she was such an influence there. I think leaving a legacy of wildflowers along the highways will be what she's most remembered for...almost all states probably have some limited program. josh

I just came back from the library in town, and one of the librarians came upstairs and he told us the news. This is sad, but I didn't know she was still alive. I guess there wasn't much gossip about that lovely lady, and the media left her to live her last days out in peace.

Yes, wildflowers will be her legacy, or the one she is best remembered for.

I've read all three volumes of Robert Caro's on-going series on LBJ & Lady Bird had a lot to deal with with him. But she was the epitome of the Steel Magnolia, and when she wanted something, had what my dad used to call a whim of iron.

The flags in Texas will be flying at half-staff for her.

I never fail to gratefully think of Ladybird Johnson whenever I come across rolling swaths of wildflowers along an endless interstate highway, monotony broken by a beautiful splash of color, almost arrogant in the surprisingly sudden clutch at ones heartstrings. The flowers flash by, the mind wonders how they got there and then the heart says, "Thank you, Mrs. Johnson."
And of course, one of my dearest friends, Nancy, used to teach in a Headstart program before she came to the nursery school where I taught. She was very impressed by how much Headstart had helped so many almost forgotten children.
I'm glad she left and moved to our little town with her kiddies and husband, who had been transferred with G.E.
We recognized each others' hearts immediately and within 10 minutes, we vowed we had been sisters before this life, during this life, and for life ever onward-----wherever in time we meet again, we'll always know each other.....
You know, we lost track of each other for some years after Nancys' divorce---I heard she'd moved to Phoenix, then a mutual friend said she'd run into her in a shop in Friday Harbour, of all places, and was working in a nursing home in the Alzheimer's wing.
I called the only nursing home an Alzheimer's unit listed and was told she no longer worked there, but a few nurses there might know where she went. The story goes on and like smoke, there was always a remembrance of her but nothing firm. Before it was over with, I wound up standing on the dock in Friday Harbour a year or so later, and as I dropped a quarter in the pay phone, I whispered to God to please have the right nurse answer this time.
The nurse who answered really was the one I needed and after telling me Nancy just been back for a visit and had left two days ago, she just so matter-of-factly passed on her phone number! It was all so perfect; the search, the calls, and finally, actually standing on that dock----I know if I hadn't made that trip, the right nurse never would've answered my call. (Nancy had moved to Wilcox, AZ)
So, Mrs. Johnson, thank you for giving my friend a job, doing what she loved so much. She has always been an Earth Mother and you gave her a chance to help many children who, like me, will never forget her.
OK; time to fall asleep now...G'night.
Sweet dreams, my buds.

I'm sad for us at the loss of Ladybird. The roadside wild flowers in Texas she was responsible for was the most beautiful of any state i've been in. I always loved springtime in E. Texas
I'm glad Texas will fly flags at half mast.
vickie

Kathyjane, your writing of your friend gave me goosebumps. I'm so glad you found her again.

Andie, LBJ was indeed a "piece of work", good and bad in about equal proportions politically I guess...but I couldn't have lived with the man. I always think of him as the archtypical Texan...am I wrong? Big heart. big ego, bit of a bully...fascinating to read about. I was always intrigued with his relationship with Bill Moyers...two such opposites. I enjoy Doris Kearns Goodwin's tales about him, and one of these days hope to find time to read more about him. If you've read 3 volumes by Caro,guess that's a recommendation, huh? josh

Despite my opinions of him as a student in the 1960's, I've come to really admire LBJ. To me he was a tragic figure in the classic sense. All the good things he did - the civil rights legislation, the social legislation, etc. were over-shadowed by his handling of the disastrous war in Vietnam.

Caro's books really give you a flavor of the man - warts & all. And yes, he was the archetypal Texan - very much bigger than life.

I always smile at the stories of his calling reporters at 2,3 and 4 in the morning and ordering them to the White House so he could talk to them. He often times was in his pajamas and robe.

Two good Lady Bird stories:

When she couldn't persuade a farmer on a mower to spare a stand of wildflowers, she leased that part of the pasture for the remainder of wildflower season.

__________
__________

Every evening, she would greet her husband with, "Lyndon, what have you done for women today?"

Sylvia, I love that: "Lyndon, what have you done for women today?"...never heard that before.,,just great! She was a feisty one who I guess matched LBJ fairly well.

Andie, I'll certainly enjoy Caro's books if "warts and all"...I think from what I've read of Caro he's considered well-balanced and not partisan. josh

Actually, Caro started the books with the intention of doing a hatchet job on LBJ, but asd he got deeper & deeper into the man's life, he began to like him. If you make it through all three books, this becomes very evident. In reading the first book, Pathways to Power he really comes across as a nasty SOB, nut by the time you make it to Master of the Senate you can tell that Caro is rooting for him

I used to think of LBJ as the J.R. Ewing of Washington.

What can you say about a loving wife and mother that
caused people to look at their surrounding landscape and
want to make it better? A woman who loved the rain because
it made the flowers grow.
With a word or a look or the simple gesture of placing
her hand on the arm of the most powerful man in this
country she could stop a rant and calm him down.

In her quiet, elegant, soft spoken way she made a difference in this country.

Her funeral was covered on all of the Austin television stations this afternoon. Here is a link to one of the stations that includes a pdf of the funeral program and links to the replay of the funeral. Her Granddaughters and Daughters eulogies were wonderful.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lady Bird Johnson Funeral Coverage

What a wonderful celebration of the life of a special
First Lady of our country.