Abandoning Abandon

Though her mother used to caution her to "never say anything you don't want printed on Page One of the newspaper," Luci Baines Johnson has always had a mind of her own--and more than a touch of her father's garrulity. As a result of her uninhibited utterances and intuitive escapades, Luci made Page One only too often. Now, however, the President's 18-year-old daughter gives evidence of new serenity and purpose, brought about in large measure by her recent conversion to Roman Catholicism. "I used to feel frivolity was good for the soul," she admits. "Now I enjoy using my time more constructively."

Foremost in Luci's thoughts at the moment is her Aug. 6 wedding to Patrick J. Nugent. Eager to dispel the stigma of a teen-age marriage, she coolly reasons that by August, Pat will be 23 and she will have turned 19, concludes therefore that "our ages will average out at over 21." Adds the bride-to-be:

"I have never been happier in my life."

To achieve that happiness, Luci relates in the current issue of Seventeen, she has had to grapple with her share of problems. Through the correction of a visual problem ("My left eye and my right eye worked independently of each other"), she was able to improve her grades at school. She also has overcome a distaste for politics--which, she explains, "took my parents away when I was a child. I was forced to grow up in a difficult situation. It kept us from doing things together."

Lost Friends. With her father in the White House, the situation has improved. "I can say 'Hi' or 'Good morning,' " says Luci. "He's here all day, not visiting constituents in Texas." Even so, having the President for a father creates problems. For one thing, says Luci, he is constantly under strain that "it hurts you to see." Moreover, many of Luci's friends keep away: "They don't want you to think of them as opportunists. What they don't realize is that you need them more than ever."

A freshman at the Georgetown University School of Nursing, Luci is uncertain whether she will work on for a degree after her marriage. "All I know," she says, "is that I'll go where my husband goes." Meanwhile she faces a dither of prenuptial parties and arrangements. The wedding is planned as a "family event" at Washington's National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Last week the White House announced that Luci Johnson's maid of honor will be Older Sister Lynda Bird--who, in denying rumors that she would soon marry Actor George Hamilton, was making Page One herself.

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