Summer is now in full bloom

My kids took typing back in the day. Today it is assumed everyone can type or peck on a cellphone or laptop. And texting makes that quick and easy.

If you haven’t visited San Mateo’s Central Park, you are missing an awesome display of roses in every hue in full bloom. But hurry. Some of the petals are beginning to fall. My favorite are the yellow species.

Make sure you also visit the Arboretum Garden Sale. A group of dedicated volunteers tend to the roses and also the gardens in the Arboretum. Roses are not for sale but many plants and cacti are.

I am also in love with poppies. They are everywhere except in my garden. A friend advised getting seeds. I have spread them everywhere but still no flowers. While my garden is wanting, I enjoy walking the neighborhood and admiring others. So many varieties. Some crowded with blooms and some sparse with stones and maybe a cactus or two. The lawns are back because of the rain. Even mine which is mainly crabgrass and other weeds but still mostly green for a change. My dog used to love running on the grass in our front yard. Something about grass which make dogs want to move fast. JoJo is now on a farm in New Jersey and has acres of grass to enjoy.

My main weather complaint is the wind. Why is it so windy in the afternoon? It’s global warming I was told by a reliable source. Everything is getting warmer including the air. Warm air moves.

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It is so sad to read about Dianne Feinstein. I am a fan. So I hope she recovers in time to enjoy her last days in the Senate. She has earned her place as one of that institution’s giants, and I wish she were treated with more respect.

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The New York Times reports in an op-ed piece that Mississippi is offering lessons for the rest of America on education. The state has demonstrated that it’s possible to successfully teach kids how to read, despite high poverty rates. Mississippi uses phonics to teach reading, the same method used by several of our elementary schools, and it also using a system called the “science of reading” combined with a heavier reliance on measurement and accountability. Mississippi’s students — who routinely used to rank at the bottom of national rankings —are now scoring well in national tests.

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There is also a front page story about the Hanford Works in Richland, Washington. The headline gave me chills. “A poisonous Cold War remnant that still escapes solution.” The Hanford Works produced plutonium. I worked for General Electric in its public relations department after college. The company sent me to Richland in 1953 to do a series of articles on the plant. I was given a grand tour of the inside but I can’t remember being given any protective covering.

Sue Lempert is the former mayor

of San Mateo. Her column runs Mondays. She can be reached

at sue@smdailyjournal.com.