Laura pops up in all aspects of my life, it seems. Even in other books.
Right now — that is, when I’m not reading The Long Winter, which I’ll post about in the next day or so — I’m in the middle of a biography of former First Lady Laura Bush. She’s on record as being a fan of the Little House books. She visited Rocky Ridge in one of her last trips as First Lady. In 2002 she invited board members of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society, William Anderson*, John Miller* (Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder author), and noted Little House photographer Les Kelly to a “Women of the West” symposium on literature at the White House. (Melissa Gilbert was also present, as were Linda Peavey and Ursula Smith, who presented at the 2005 “Experience of the Frontier Woman” conference in De Smet.)
As I was reading about how Mrs. Bush designed her house in Crawford, Texas, I couldn’t help but linger over this passage:
Heymann told me a particularly revealing story about how the mysterious mind of Laura Bush works: “In the powder room, there is no mirror above the sink. There is a window instead. You probably wouldn’t think about that right away. You might wash your hands three, four times before you wondered why there is a window instead of a mirror. And then you might figure out that there is a window because a hundred feet away, there is a spectactular hundred-year-old tree, framed by the window. And that’s why the window is there. That was her decision.”
Guess Mama Bess wasn’t the only Laura who thought of windows as her “pictures.”
* Both of these guys will be at LauraPalooza. Don’t miss it!
Thank you for sharing that excerpt Sandra. I understand why Mrs. Bush chose a window rather than a mirror. When we designed our home I asked for large windows on our south side. Although this slightly reduces the energy efficiency of the house and its ability to withstand strong winds (it is an ICF house) I wanted the view to the south and I wanted natural light. Currently our house looks out over an open field where we can observe geese, a variety of animals and the coming weather. Someday that field will fill up with houses but not until the owner passes away. I am wishing her a looooong life.
I do not put curtains or blinds up unless I absolutely have to. My mother finds this strange. As the Dutch say, windows are the eyes of the house and so I don’t cover its eyes. I also hate cleaning blinds and so I don’t subject myself to that. I am sure that the day will come when I have to add curtains in my bedroom and living room but until then, I am going to enjoy the view.
Dr. Laura