A year of once-in-a-lifetime events

If you were to tell me back in July that not only would I have one article about the John F. Kennedy rose, but two, I’d tell you that you were crazy. Further, if you told me that one of the articles would touch on politics and would have a positive spin as well, I would think that you should be committed to an asylum. Well, here we are at the end of August of 2020 – one of the most outrageous and diverse years in the past century. This year, the world has experienced many odd and once-in-a-lifetime events.

Among these events have been wild fires, coin shortages, a royal wedding, impeachment proceedings, volcano eruptions, a stock market crash (and rise to new heights), multi citywide months-long race riots, earthquakes, major polarization of the American people, a shutdown of the world economy, and a global pandemic that has infected 6.8 million and killed some 850 thousand people worldwide. And, it’s only August with four more months and a presidential election to go. Yikes!

The rose – the great equalizer (and unifier)

My good friend from the Connecticut Rose Society once told me that the rose is the great equalizer. He was mainly referring to rose shows and showing roses, and how the rose equalizes the competition. It didn’t matter how rich someone is, the rose puts everyone on the same level. I agree with his assessment, and in addition to the rose being the great equalizer, I also consider the rose to be the great unifier as well.

Roses and politics

News reports from last week revolved around the Republican National Convention and the various places and speakers throughout the week that the Convention featured. Two weeks ago was the Democrats’ turn with their convention. I would like to state for the record that before either of these conventions started, I decided that I was not going to listen to any part of either convention. My mind had been decided long ago on which candidate I was going to vote for, and nothing that Vice President Biden or President Donald Trump could possibly say could change my mind (or any of the other speakers). I didn’t have the time, nor the energy to watch the proceedings. And, if I wanted to find out what was in the speeches, I would look for a recap in the news.

This changed early last week as news started circulating through the rose-growing world about the restoration of the rose garden at The White House, and that First Lady Melania Trump was going to give her speech to the Republican National Convention there. Apparently, Melania was the driving force behind the garden’s restoration, and the return to having roses in the garden. The design will also be returning the garden to the original 1962 footprint designed by Rachel Lambert “Bunny” Mellon during the Kennedy Administration. Improvements would be made in drainage, audiovisual and broadcasting needs, as well as improved access for people with disabilities.

Attention!

Okay, now, you’ve got my attention. Roses back in The White House Rose Garden – I’m all in. My first question as a rosarian naturally was – what roses did they plant? My hope was that the designers were going to exploit the latest advances in rose breeding, sustainable roses, and sustainable rose gardening, but this was not to be the case.

The Committee for the Preservation of The White House Gardens had instead chose to use only white and very pastel colors in the redesign. The only information I was able to find on the varieties included in the restoration were John F. Kennedy, Pope John Paul II, and Peace. Okay, not necessarily my choice of roses, but surely if the John F. Kennedy rose was there, a presidential-themed rose garden must be as well that included Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Laura Bush, Rosalyn Carter, Mister Lincoln, President Eisenhower, etc. as well? Right? Unfortunately, no. The planners had other ideas, as they wanted a white rose-themed garden with boxwoods surrounding the roses.

The great unifier

Now, I have a lot of friends in the rose-growing world. There are some conservative ones as well as liberal ones. There are also many Democrats as well as many Republicans. Of course there are moderates and independents as well.

As the discussions on the restored rose garden developed, I could see these very diverse people coming together on Facebook with sane discussions about the restored White House Rose Garden. Of course their opinions were diverse. Mainly these discussions centered around the roses planted during the restoration and their appropriateness from a disease standpoint, for a garden such as this. Politics were pushed aside, rosarians united in the importance of the garden to America and its people, how it was good to have roses back in the garden, and how the roses have been taken out of the garden through the years. They were civil to each other and disagreed with respect. Something that has been missing for quite some time in America.

In general, most of the people liked the idea that roses were back in the garden. They were happy the roses were part of the gardens’ main focus. I agree that the committee could have chosen more roses that had better disease-resistance. It could have also featured some of America’s top hybridizers. I also think that the National Park Service (the part of our government that takes care of The White House grounds) will take the necessary steps to have the roses look their best at all times, and they will take the necessary precautions to strive off unwanted fungal diseases and insects. In short, they will make it work.

Impressions about the rose garden

When it came time for Meliana to give her speech, I was ready. I sat down with my adult beverage of choice that night and watched as she gave her speech. I wanted to get a glimpse of what the garden looked like through the camera lens. Meliana delivered her speech in the garden with seven American flags behind her. She spoke about her early life in Slovenia under Communist rule as well as her many aspirations. She spoke about how she became an American citizen, and living her American dream.

Then, she spoke about the impact of women throughout history. She spoke about those suffering in this world during these trying times and the many people helping those who are suffering. She spoke of the children of the world and their importance in it. Continuing, she stressed their physical and mental well-being and how it needs to be better. She spoke of the inequalities in the world and how it is up to us to work together to fix it. She spoke of the many good things that her husband has done, and why it is important to reelect him. 

My Thoughts

I didn’t consider the speech that she gave as one that is typically given at these national conventions. It was a good speech – presented well, and I read that the words she spoke were her own, and not written for her. I hope that the speech gave the organizers what they wanted.

Incidentally, I got what I wanted from the speech. I saw the garden and got a small glimpse of what was inside. There were clearly roses visible. There were a lot more of them in the garden than I thought that there would be. The white John F. Kennedy and Pope John Paul roses definitely popped in the nighttime reduced lighting conditions, and were quite plentiful. I noticed a spattering of colorful roses when Meliana and Donald departed the garden after her speech. I assume that these were the Peace roses in various stages of their color change. Overall, it was an enjoyable welcome to the rose garden that I can, hopefully, one day experience in person. Maybe you can, too?

Epilogue

I wanted a different pen to use for this story other than the usual/usual that I have been using. For this story, I chose my blue Ormiroid pen that I bought on ebay many years ago. It was a new old stock item from the 1960’s, which was part of a set for doing calligraphy. I tried many times to use the pen as intended. Even with the many tips that were included in the kit, I could never get enough ink to use it effectively. I wanted to give it another try, and put in my Esterbrook tip from my black Osmiroid for writing this story. It worked extremely well. Now back to our year of one-in-a-lifetime outrageous events and diversity.