Rosana Francescato

Good point! We need to make our streets safer for pedestrians of all ages — yet another factor making it hard for kids to be free-range.

Where Have All the Free-Range Children Gone? Gone to parental arrests, every one.

Most kids used to get to school and back on their own, whether on foot, bikes, or school or city buses. But as of 2022, only 11% of American children walked or rode their bikes to and from school.

What happened?

See this week's Flower Child:

flowerchild.substack.com/p/where-have...

I Was a Free-Range Child All children were back then.

“Did parents in the ‘80s really allow their kids to roam freely, or is that just a portrayal seen in movies?”

Have I got news for you. Yes, they did. I was a “free-range child,” when they were just called "children."

More in this week's Flower Child:
flowerchild.substack.com/p/i-was-a-fr...

House passes bills to weaken DOE’s appliance efficiency program, repeal home rebates Consumer advocates lamented the votes. “Efficiency rules are incredibly popular because they save families money on their utility bills,” said Dylan Jaff at Consumer Reports.

This seems like a really good idea. 🤪

www.utilitydive.com/news/house-b...

Have I Got a Deal for You! Act now, before it's gone!

This one will go fast — you may already be too late.

But if not, this beauty in Palo Alto, California could be yours — for just $3,200,000. A bargain at a mere $2,195 per square foot!

For more, see this week's Flower Child:
flowerchild.substack.com/p/have-i-got...

Facing the Dark Underbelly You can't fight what you can't see.

What do the stories of the Epstein files and Gisèle Pelicot tell us about our society? And what can we do to keep these stories from repeating?

For my thoughts, see this week's Flower Child:
flowerchild.substack.com/p/facing-the...

True. He’s just tired of switching platforms all the time …

I asked Cory Doctorow about it a while back, and he figures Bluesky will eventually become enshittified even though good people are running it who don't want to enshittify it.

Hello, My Name Is Rosana And I'm a Mexican Train addict.

It started innocently enough. Like so many others, in early 2022 I was introduced to Wordle and started playing it every day.

But it turns out Wordle is a gateway drug.

For more, check out this week's Flower Child:
flowerchild.substack.com/p/hello-my-n...

WTF, SeeClickFix? Online platforms are not the solution to homelessness.

In our neighborhood, to report a pothole we use an app available in many cities across the nation, SeeClickFix.

When SeeClickFix works, it’s great.

But I found there's a dark side to it.

For more, see this week's Flower Child: flowerchild.substack.com/p/wtf-seecli...

I get information there I haven’t been getting elsewhere, and there are some people there I’ve become attached to who are only there. I know, that must sound lame. I’m trying to come over here more and need to build a better list of people I’m following here.

Defund ICE (UPDATED 1/28) - SENATE VOTE THURSDAY ⭑ 5 Calls Updates January 28, 2026: House Republicans have combined their standalone DHS funding bill with five other government funding bills. The Senate must …

And call NOW to urge your representatives to defund ICE! Very easy and quick using instructions at this link: 5calls.org/issue/dhs-bu...

Wait, I Agree with the NRA? WTF is going on?

You know times are crazy when I agree with the NRA.

Read this week's Flower Child to learn why: flowerchild.substack.com/p/wait-i-agr...

Let's Get Casual Down with formality!

While I felt weird this week writing about anything other than fascists taking over our country, I’m told writing is an act of resistance. And fascism tends to be rigid, ceremonial, and highly structured — what you could call formal.

flowerchild.substack.com/p/lets-get-c...

Feeling Alive Even now. Especially now.

We all want to be happy, don’t we? Of course we do.
Yet pursuing happiness can be counterproductive. Maybe instead of pursuing happiness, we should pursue the feeling of being alive.

More in this week's Flower Child: flowerchild.substack.com/p/feeling-al...

Definitely talk to the Clean Coalition — but I haven't been with them for a few years now! Well, four years. ;-) Also could be interesting to talk to people working on EcoBlock in the East Bay.

The World Is So Full of a Number of Things A woman without a niche

Everything in our culture tells us we should specialize. Avoid being a generalist, a dilettante, a jack of all trades and master of none. But the world is so full of a number of things!

More in this week's Flower Child: flowerchild.substack.com/p/a-number-o...

What's in a Font? That which we call Calibri by any other name would not smell as sweet.

2025 gave us a lot to talk about. Rather than recap all the important stuff as the year draws to a close, today I’d like to turn your attention to something you might not consider so important: fonts.

But they're more important than you might think! flowerchild.substack.com/p/whats-in-a...

The Hidden Lives of Goddesses Yet another way women have been suppressed in our historical record.

Hera has always been depicted as the jealous wife of Zeus.

It wasn’t till I arrived on the Greek island of Samos, birthplace of Hera according to local tradition, that I heard a different story.

More in this week's Flower Child: flowerchild.substack.com/p/the-hidden...

My Father, My Self A few layers of an onion

When we write about our parents, we’re writing about ourselves. The more I think about my father, who died a year ago, the more I excavate about myself.

More in this week's Flower Child:
flowerchild.substack.com/p/my-father-...

Holiday Time Always welcome, always anticipated, always fleeting.

These days, I don’t work 40-hour weeks — although I’m not retired! Yet the recent four-day Thanksgiving weekend was still such a welcome break.

Will it still feel this way when I'm retired? I don't know.

More in my latest Flower Child post: flowerchild.substack.com/p/holiday-time

Modern Home Economics They ain't what they used to be.

Last week, I wrote about how much harder life feels in the U.S. than when I was growing up in the 1960s and ‘70s. The same week, Michael W. Green wrote a viral article challenging the poverty line. My take in this week's Flower Child: flowerchild.substack.com/p/modern-hom...

Ease and Unease The illusion of convenience

Life is easy and convenient in the U.S. compared to many other countries. Yet people are living with much greater unease.

As the ease keeps getting easier, the unease keeps getting uneasier.

More in this week's Flower Child: flowerchild.substack.com/p/ease-and-u...

“If you are a person of influence in this country, maybe it’s time to pick a fucking side.”

Thank you @chrismurphyct.bsky.social

This cannot stand.
IMPEACH this psycho NOW!

When I Was Nine It was a very good year.

Fifty-five years ago (!), when I was nine, fourth grade was getting off to an amazing start.

My eyes were being opened and my brain was shaken up. It was the first time I remember having an awakening in my life.

More in this week's Flower Child: flowerchild.substack.com/p/when-i-was...

Six-Seven Is not a Word But does that really matter?

Nothing can make you feel old faster than not understanding kids today. Take six-seven. Or 6-7. Or 67 — but always pronounced six-seven, never sixty-seven.
No one knows what it means — even the kids
But does that matter? flowerchild.substack.com/p/six-seven-...

Policy Is Everything That's true for clean energy — and everything else.

On this Election Day, policy is on my mind.

It may not be the sexiest subject, but it deeply affects our lives at every level.

That's true, of course, for #cleanenergy, the area I work in.

More in this week's Flower Child:

flowerchild.substack.com/p/policy-is-...

Love it!! Especially the reaction of the moms and the neighborhood.

You Don't Know What You've Got Till It's Gone Whether it's a parking lot, a period of life, or a person.

Death transforms the way we see people, bringing a new poignancy to everything about them.

How can we learn to appreciate what we have with the same intensity that we value what’s lost?

More in this week's Flower Child:
flowerchild.substack.com/p/you-dont-k...

Taking Photos And discarding photos.

Because I’m traveling, I’ve been taking a ton of photos, which has got me thinking about — you guessed it, photos!

Storing all those photos in the cloud uses up a lot of energy.

More in this week's Flower Child:
flowerchild.substack.com/p/taking-pho...