Posted 7/11/2007 05:54:00 PM by Douglas

Texas lost a real class act today. Rest in Peace, Claudia.

Lady Bird Johnson, the former first lady who championed conservation and worked tenaciously for the political career of her husband, former President Lyndon B. Johnson, died Wednesday, a family spokeswoman said. She was 94.

As first lady, she was perhaps best known as the determined environmentalist who wanted roadside billboards and junkyards replaced with trees and wildflowers. She raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to beautify Washington. The $320 million Highway Beautification Bill, passed in 1965, was known as "The Lady Bird Bill," and she made speeches and lobbied Congress to win its passage.

"Every American owes her a debt of gratitude because it was her devotion to the environment that brought us the Beautification Act of 1965 and the scenic roadside development and environmental clean-up efforts that followed ... ," former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Clinton said in a statement. The Clintons also praised her for supporting her husband's "fights for civil rights and against poverty."

I guess the first time I every heard the name "Lady Bird" was when mom would drive by a junk yard anywhere in Texas that was lined with a row of trees and she'd say, in her best Lady-Bird drawl, "plant a tree, a shruub, or a buush: Help keep Ah-murika beautiful!" I also think my brother waited on her table when he worked in a fancy West-Austin restaurant.

As a victim of my recent arborcide, I can appreciate her legacy, and know that she will be missed.

Sad to think that most people will remember "Lady Bird" as a cartoon dog.