A Splash of Color

07/14/2007

Paul Munnis


I was thinking back to the time when Lady Bird Johnson was First Lady of America. At the time I was living in upstate New York and had two junk yards that I passed on almost a daily basis. They were eyesores and attempts made by the town to use ordinances to clean them up were failures because of grand-father provisions.

Lady Bird launched a national campaign to clean up eye sores across America. Soon there were millions of flowers and shrubs in bloom as communities competed to make their community the most appealing to visitors. At stake was a lot of money in tourist dollars as people from New York City, for example, choosing places to weekend in up-state chose those places that looked the best. Soon people got the idea – appearance counts.

Then came requirements to hide the appearance of junk yards and soon the two eyesores were behind a green twelve foot high fence and trees, flowers and shrubs were planted along the fence line. The eye-sores were gone. Even State prisons wer planting flowers and shrubs along their angry looking walls.

Lady Bird packed a punch and it was good – it cleared a few heads where brains were getting foggy.

I can also remember crossing over from Niagra Falls, Canada, to Niagra Falls, NY, and noting the lack of flowers and color on the American side. The contrast was stark. That got fixed too and was yet another example of her influence.

Within five years of her efforts America was looking pretty darn good. It has stayed pretty good too as the women of America and those responsible for property maintenance have assured plenty of flowers, shrubs, and a splash of color where-ever it is needed.

For me and many others it lifts the spirit.

Somehow, in the midst of a nation squabbling over the Vietnam War, Lady Bird found a way to make a difference.

She ended up being one of my favorite First Lady’s as a result. Her influence was a positive one that left America a better place to live, work, and play.