It costs a lot to maintain grass; it especially costs a lot to maintain the lawn that abuts the White House Rose Garden. As part of his effort to save money in the Federal budget, Donald Trump has proposed ripping up the lawn and replacing it with a hard surface, possibly limestone to resemble the patio at Mar-a-Lago, possibly with some system to have hardwood floors put down for dancing.
Just think of the money it will save! And if he removes the roses, first installed in 1913 by First Lady Ellen Wilson, the garden has undergone renovations from time to time by Jacqueline Kennedy and most recently by Melania Trump in 2020. That costs money.
The project would only cost $100 million and save enormous costs of cutting the lawn in perpetuity. And if the roses are gone, then there are no pesky bees to bother people who will be sitting or dancing on the new patio. What genus!
Prayer for the Day
Caring for us not because of our merits,
We ask that you shelter us within your heart, O God;
Encouraging us to reach out to the world around,
Help us to remember that we are caretakers, not owners.
Fill our minds with your light and our hearts with grace,
Our deeds with the power of your Spirit.
In the name of the One who reflects your Spirit,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
The whole Trump approach to leadership is to blow up existing national elites of any kind, whether that elite is defined by taste, or money, or aesthetics. .. . for not simply elected officials, but they mean in terms of national aesthetics or national traditions or norms.
Timothy Natfali, history professor Columbia University
I think that’s one of the greatest accomplishments of any first lady, to put those safeguards in place.
Katherine Jellison, on Jacqueline Kennedy and the White House Historical Assn
By great deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation;
You are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.
The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy,
The meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain,
They shout and sing together for joy.
Psalm 65: 5, 12-13