Oh, that little Luci Baines. All of the reading material I found about her wedding included some reference to her personality. From that same Three Ring Wedding TIME article:
She displays Johnson traits in abundance: she is strong-willed and sensitive, voluble and introspective, fiercely loyal to her family yet irrepressibly independent. Lady Bird describes her younger daughter as both a "sprite" and a "philosopher." Lyndon Johnson once said: "I have known this little ruler all her life. She entered the world with a commanding voice and has been taking over ever since." Luci ... calls herself a "theatrical person"
Of course the one quote, as pointed out by Faith, is that golden line "I only want as personal a wedding as possible in the circumstances in which I find myself." I am so enamored of that line that I immediately put it into service. In fact, I have stopped trying to insert dark-sided into conversations with unknowing individuals and have replaced it with this one. I used it this morning in a local Christmas Tree Shop. (If you're not familiar with this chain, it's a big store filled entirely with low-priced unnecessary housewares and holiday decorations - some of it great, some of it junky. And you know how I heart the junky stuff.)
Anyhoo, there I was minutely inspecting some flower pots in the shape of a giant cup and saucer and heard some impatient throat-clearing behind me. I turned to see a very unfriendly person just about ready to ram me out of the way with her shopping cart. So I looked her in the eye and summoned up the spirit of Luci Baines Johnson and said "I only want as nice a cup-and-saucer flower pot as possible in the circumstances in which I find myself."
I admit it doesn't make any sense and it didn't do anything at all to improve her mood, but it made me happy inside and turned something sour into a very bright moment for me. Also, in the face of an insane remark, the crabby shopper turned around and went the other way.
That may not have been the perfect circumstance in which to debut this golden nugget, but I'm sure that with a little thoughtfulness, I could use this reference on many many occasions.
- At the gas station: I only want as full a gas tank as possible in the circumstances in which I find myself. (with only 10 dollars in my purse).
- At the supermarket:I only want as flavorful a cantaloupe as possible in the circumstances in which I find myself. (during winter in the northeast).
- Facing Mr. Sami's piles of old mail and his collection of letter-opening chopsticks:I only want as tidy a kitchen table as possible in the circumstances in which I find myself. (married to you).
I could go on and on. Thanks, Luci!
You and I should never go out in public together. We'd wind up in a knife fight or something. I'm already too at risk for getting stabbed on the street with my mouth.
Posted by: Faith | January 19, 2008 at 12:38 PM