I have just returned from a week in San Antonio, Texas. My husband was attending a conference and I took it as an opportunity to sneak away for a few days and see a bit of the country I had never been to before. After our trip to the Alamo and the local sights, my husband and I drove to Austin to visit the Presidential Library of President Lyndon Johnson. Both of us being students of history and politics, we spent an enjoyable 4 hours at the museum. Lyndon Johnson was really the first president I can recall with any real memory.
I, like most of you my age or older, knew exactly where we were when Kennedy was shot. I was in grammar school when Johnson assumed office that fateful November day and I was a junior in High School when he died in 1973. For me, I remember the Johnson years as years of riots and civil rights violence and the true beginning of the Vietnam War. But, last week, when I had an opportunity to look back at Johnson?s life as a Congressman, Senator and then President of the United States, I was reminded of a very different man. Certainly he was relentless and at times a ?good old boy?, but he was passionate about education and taking care of the underprivileged. He easily could have been named the ?education President? with nearly 60 bills signed into law during his time in office. He established the Head Start program for children in poverty, OSHA (governing worker safety on the job), Medicare and Medicaid and others. He was committed to equality and civil rights and to waging ?war on poverty? by bringing electricity, running water, healthcare and schools to rural areas all across America.
My husband and I also traveled to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and LBJ Ranch, where Lady Bird Johnson, at age 89, still lives. What a vibrant and full life she still leads. To this day, I suspect she still considers herself ?in service? to the American people, serving on various projects and having done wonderful things with conservation, ecology, wildflowers and natural habitats. I am told that she often comes out and talks with the tourists from the tour buses who drive by her home; still, a gracious hostess.
Now you all know that Johnson was a Democrat and I happen to be a Republican, but political admiration and respect should know no political boundaries. I have always strongly believed that all of us need to support the man (and hopefully some day the woman) who resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I truly believe that when every president takes that oath of office, they all share a common goal...each sets out to do what is right for the American people. Now, we may not always agree with a particular course of action a President takes, but I do believe that each man tries to do his best. With the Fourth of July approaching, I wanted to briefly share my impressions of this man and his wife and remind you, as these experiences has reminded me, that there is more to a presidency than what comes across your television set or you read in 10 column inches of type in the newspaper.
Please know that you are welcome to contact me regarding any question or issue you may have regarding Foster City by e-mail: dwilder@fostercity.org or by calling me directly at 650-551-5580.
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