In newly released love letters, LBJ's sweet side comes to life

AUSTIN, Texas - Lyndon B. Johnson was so smitten when he met Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor in 1934 that he took her on a first date the very next day -- and asked for her hand in marriage.

Taylor adored her suitor but was worried about rushing into marriage, according to dozens of love letters between the two set to be released for the first time by the LBJ Presidential Library on Thursday, Valentine's Day.

In the pages of about 90 letters that the newly renovated library plans to post on its website, Johnson seems lonely and impatient, persistently urging Taylor to make up her mind. She says she wants to wait until they know each other better, though she also writes that she is afraid of losing him.

"All I can say, in absolute honesty, is -- I love you, I don't know how everlastingly I love you, -- so I can't answer you yet," Taylor wrote him shortly after they met that September.

Johnson, then 26 and working in Washington, D.C., as a secretary to Congressman Richard Kleberg, met Taylor, 21, through a friend while visiting Texas and asked her for a date the next morning. They had breakfast at the Driskill Hotel in Austin and spent the day sightseeing. That same day, he popped the question, asking her to become his wife.

After he returned to Washington, they spent two and a half months exchanging a flurry of letters and phone calls before going to San Antonio on November 17 to, as she later put it, "commit matrimony."

In the letters, Johnson implores her to write to him frequently.

"Give me lots of letters next week," he wrote to her. "I'm going to need them. Mix some ‘I love you' in the lines and not between them."

Johnson's letters begin "My dear" or "Dear Bird." She addresses him as "My Dearest Lyndon" and signs "Devotedly, Bird." They sent each other photos. He sent her books.

"I wish you were here this minute because I feel silly and gay and I want to ruffle up your hair and kiss you and say silly things!" wrote Taylor, who had recently graduated from the University of Texas and was living with her father in Karnack, in East Texas.

A few of the letters had been released before, but this is the first time that all of the letters are being made public.

People probably won't be shocked to see a sweet side of Lady Bird Johnson, but reading tender sentiments from her husband, the hard-charging politician, is a different matter, said granddaughter Catherine Robb.

Johnson, who served in the US House and Senate and as vice president, ascended to the presidency in 1963 as the nation grieved over the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Johnson closed out his administration in 1969 under the cloud of Vietnam. He died in 1973.

He was known for giving the "Johnson Treatment" -- he'd lean in close, push people's buttons and get under their skin.

"I don't think people think of him as being terribly vulnerable," Robb, an Austin lawyer, told Reuters. In the letters, "you see a much more personal side of him, much more unguarded."

For example, he writes to his future wife that he carries a little orange comb in his billfold.

"It is the only thing I have from my little girl at Karnack and when I get lonesome and blue or happy and ambitious I always get pleasure when I look at the little comb and think … just think," Johnson wrote.

Robb, who had weekly dinners with her grandmother for years before she died in 2007, recalled one meal at the Driskill Hotel - the site of her grandparents' first date.

"I asked her what she thought about this brash, impatient young man who proposed almost immediately and who she put off for a whopping two and a half months," Robb said. "She thought it was reasonable to wait an appropriate period of time, but she realized that she didn't want to be without him - he was something so special and this was an extraordinary adventure she was going to enjoy if she said yes."

Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson honeymooned in Mexico and were married for 39 years. They had two daughters, Luci Baines Johnson and Lynda Johnson Robb.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Love Is A Decision

MANILA, Philippines — Gone are the days of love letters and harana. ‘Tis the age of e-cards and social networking sites, of videos of love confessions and marriage proposals on YouTube. And being in a relationship today is as easy as changing one’s Facebook status from “Single” to “In a relationship” or “It’s complicated.”

In this day and age, when the young spend most of their time online, they are exposed to more potential relationships, be it friendship or full-blown romantic relationships.

“The pervasiveness of the internet would expose young people to more potential relationships. I would say the interaction is quicker, you can befriend someone even outside of your country or an online boyfriend or girlfriend,” explains Ronald Molmisa, a Christan youth minister, academic teacher and author.

Times may have changed but is the concept of the younger generation of relationships and true love has been lost in the digital world?

What Is True Love?

Molmisa has been a pastor of a Christian youth ministry for 15 years now. He has interacted with hundreds of teenagers, counselling them on their relationship problems. He is also an author of the book “Lovestruck: Love Mo Siya, Sure Ka Ba?” a book geared to tell teenagers the value of love and relationships.

In his experience in talking to the youth, Molmisa discovered that the young people’s concept of love and relationships has drastically changed due to peer pressure or the influence of media.

“Their concept on traditional relationship has changed but it depends who influences them. Based on studies, one of the things that preserve one’s values is the family, faith or religion, and then school,” he says.

The influence of the family, he adds, is very important because without it, young people tend to look for something or someone to fill the void. Being in a dysfunctional family can push a child to get his/her concept of love and relationships from somebody else.

“Today, many young people look for love in the wrong places. That’s sad. We really need to strengthen the influence of the family, the church and the school. The parents don’t even watch what their kids do on the internet. It’s dangerous in a sense that your child is exposed to something he/ she is not ready for. It again boils down to the family,” Molmisa shares.

More often than not, their concept of true love is shallow and roughly based on emotions. Molmisa says that the youth should remember that love is not based on emotions but on a decision.

He says that physical attraction is being confused with love when it is in fact just infatuation. They need to remember that love is not based on the shallow perception of physical attraction but rather a decision to love him/her despite of.

“The problem is kids today base it on looks. When they get older, it changes, more on security, etc. They should not confuse love with infatuation. Infatuation is shallow in a sense that it is driven by emotions. Most of the time you become self-centered, it’s all about how you feel, how the relationship makes you happy ,” Molmisa says.

Of Casual Relationships And Hollywood

The advent of TV shows and movies that tackle casual relationships reinforces the notion that it is okay not to treat relationship seriously.

“We are influenced by the Westernized notions on dating and relationships. We are influenced by Hollywood culture. Given the media that we have right now, the television and movies are still bigger of an influence than internet. These shows reinforce notions of virtual and casual relationships,” Molmisa explains.

Moreover, kids who commit themselves in relationships are getting younger and younger. Again, television plays a big role. The concept of “tweens,” an age bracket from 10 years old to early teenage years, never existed before.

“Today as early as elementary, the kids already enter relationships. It may be more childish and maybe just a game for them but this is the effect of the media to them. ‘Tweens’ TV shows tackles romance between young kids. It does somehow reflect what is happening now but these shows just reinforce it and they give an idea to more kids,” he shares.

What’s more disturbing is that the kids today are more exposed to the world of sex, no thanks to the internet. Pornography is so widespread it can also be seen even in social networking sites where most of the kids spend their time on.

Relationships Are Not Games

Molmisa discovered that kids today are treating relationships like games. One example is the “pasa-pasahan” culture of boys in public schools. A boy from a group of friends would take the opportunity to create a relationship with an ex-girlfriend of a friend.

“Every youth group has a different culture. You will be surprised at the attitudes of kids in public schools. I discovered the culture of ‘pasa pasahan’ among a group of male friends. The boys would create relationships with the ex-girlfriend of a friend until all of the boys in the group had a relationship with that girl. Relationships are important to them because it boosts their self esteem. There’s peer pressure to have a girlfriend or boyfriend. Acceptance in the group is so important to them,” he shares.

A relationship is not a game, Molmisa emphasizes and the youth should treat every relationship seriously.

“From a perspective of a youth minister, there are tried and tested biblical principles that we should obey for us to not to get hurt when committing in a relationship. For me, relationships are meant to be permanent. The people who get into relationships today can easily get out of it because of the new culture,” he says.

He says that it is okay to have an online relationship as long as they also have an offline connection. To sustain a serious relationship, one needs to have a physical interaction and not just virtual.

Stay Single, For Now

More importantly, Molmisa says that relationships can wait. Young people should enjoy being single and worry about relationships in the future. He advises the youth to remember four things — God, parents, good friends, and dreams.

“First, find your happiness in God. People may fail you, people may love you but time will come when you will be frustrated because we all have our weaknesses. But if your eyes are fixed on the one you love, no matter what, you will be satisfied. That’s the greatest love affair you can have, with God,” he says.

Kids should obey they parents because they know what’s best for them. Choosing the right set of friends will also help how one deal with relationships.

“You should focus on achieving you dreams. When you have a girlfriend or boyfriend, you allot time for them. Oftentimes they get pregnant because of these relationships. You should delay any relationships first. Focus on your studies and set yourself to achieve your goals and dreams,” Molmisa ends.


source: mb.com.ph