My friend Mike sent me these pictures
of wildflowers he saw
growing along the highways
of Houston, TX.
He also forwarded a fascinating story
about Lady Bird Johnson,
who used her status
in the 1960s as First Lady
to make beauty a national priority.
During a lonely childhood in Texas,
she grew to love wildflowers
and turned to them for solace.
She once said,
“Nature was my friend and my teacher.
It was a joy to me, and it’s never failed me.”
Once her husband, Lyndon B. Johnson,
became President of the United States,
she persuaded him to pass the
Highway Beautification Act
to ensure America’s roadways
would be clean and picturesque.
Wildflowers were planted
alongside roads in every state.
In Texas alone, over a million miles
of roadsides are still sprinkled with wildflowers.
What a lovely legacy.
