Rosana Francescato
@theeflowerchild.bsky.social
I write about #cleanenergy by day, everything else on evenings & weekends. Semicolon lover; will fight for the Oxford comma. A real Flower Child, my name for the generation some call Jones. More at flowerchild.substack.com.
NO CRYPTO OR RANDOM DMs.
NO CRYPTO OR RANDOM DMs.
Pinned
The Real Generation X: The Flower Children
My hidden generation
flowerchild.substack.com
Why a Flower Child? No, I am not a Boomer. Mine is the hidden generation between Boomers and X — the generation that absorbed the zeitgeist of the '60s at an early age, during a powerful time of social change when enlightenment and hope were in the air. Well, I can dream, can't I?
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...
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...
Hello, My Name Is Rosana
And I'm a Mexican Train addict.
flowerchild.substack.com
February 10, 2026 at 7:13 PM
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...
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...
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...
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...
WTF, SeeClickFix?
Online platforms are not the solution to homelessness.
flowerchild.substack.com
February 3, 2026 at 5:15 PM
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...
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...
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...
Read this week's Flower Child to learn why: flowerchild.substack.com/p/wait-i-agr...
Wait, I Agree with the NRA?
WTF is going on?
flowerchild.substack.com
January 29, 2026 at 2:24 AM
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...
Read this week's Flower Child to learn why: flowerchild.substack.com/p/wait-i-agr...
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...
flowerchild.substack.com/p/lets-get-c...
Let's Get Casual
Down with formality!
flowerchild.substack.com
January 20, 2026 at 6:45 PM
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...
flowerchild.substack.com/p/lets-get-c...
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...
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...
Feeling Alive
Even now. Especially now.
flowerchild.substack.com
January 13, 2026 at 4:57 PM
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...
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...
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...
More in this week's Flower Child: flowerchild.substack.com/p/a-number-o...
The World Is So Full of a Number of Things
A woman without a niche
flowerchild.substack.com
January 7, 2026 at 12:17 AM
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...
More in this week's Flower Child: flowerchild.substack.com/p/a-number-o...
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...
But they're more important than you might think! flowerchild.substack.com/p/whats-in-a...
What's in a Font?
That which we call Calibri by any other name would not smell as sweet.
flowerchild.substack.com
December 30, 2025 at 6:50 PM
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...
But they're more important than you might think! flowerchild.substack.com/p/whats-in-a...
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...
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...
The Hidden Lives of Goddesses
Yet another way women have been suppressed in our historical record.
flowerchild.substack.com
December 23, 2025 at 4:58 PM
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...
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...
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-...
More in this week's Flower Child:
flowerchild.substack.com/p/my-father-...
My Father, My Self
A few layers of an onion
flowerchild.substack.com
December 16, 2025 at 5:29 PM
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-...
More in this week's Flower Child:
flowerchild.substack.com/p/my-father-...
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
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
Holiday Time
Always welcome, always anticipated, always fleeting.
flowerchild.substack.com
December 9, 2025 at 6:50 PM
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
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
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...
Modern Home Economics
They ain't what they used to be.
flowerchild.substack.com
December 2, 2025 at 5:17 PM
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...
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...
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...
Ease and Unease
The illusion of convenience
flowerchild.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:01 PM
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...
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...
Reposted by Rosana Francescato
“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!
Thank you @chrismurphyct.bsky.social
This cannot stand.
IMPEACH this psycho NOW!
November 20, 2025 at 5:39 PM
“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!
Thank you @chrismurphyct.bsky.social
This cannot stand.
IMPEACH this psycho NOW!
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...
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...
When I Was Nine
It was a very good year.
flowerchild.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 8:12 PM
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...
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...
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-...
No one knows what it means — even the kids
But does that matter? flowerchild.substack.com/p/six-seven-...
Six-Seven Is not a Word
But does that really matter?
flowerchild.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:56 PM
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-...
No one knows what it means — even the kids
But does that matter? flowerchild.substack.com/p/six-seven-...
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-...
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-...
Policy Is Everything
That's true for clean energy — and everything else.
flowerchild.substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 5:12 PM
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-...
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-...
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...
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...
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.
flowerchild.substack.com
November 1, 2025 at 3:10 PM
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...
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...
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...
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...
Taking Photos
And discarding photos.
flowerchild.substack.com
October 23, 2025 at 4:06 PM
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...
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...
Rafael & I have been needing light entertainment. So we’ve been watching the old TV show Lovejoy, just what the TV doctor ordered. With so much to escape from these days, anything heavier feels like too much to take.
More in this week's Flower Child:
flowerchild.substack.com/p/a-longing-...
More in this week's Flower Child:
flowerchild.substack.com/p/a-longing-...
A Longing for More Carefree Times
At least, times that felt that way.
flowerchild.substack.com
October 15, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Rafael & I have been needing light entertainment. So we’ve been watching the old TV show Lovejoy, just what the TV doctor ordered. With so much to escape from these days, anything heavier feels like too much to take.
More in this week's Flower Child:
flowerchild.substack.com/p/a-longing-...
More in this week's Flower Child:
flowerchild.substack.com/p/a-longing-...
This week, I took my body from San Francisco to Paris. That got me thinking about bodies once more, so I thought I’d repost this piece from a while back.
I keep coming back to the feelings I expressed here.
I keep coming back to the feelings I expressed here.
Thinking About Bodies Again
Can't live with them, definitely can't live without them!
flowerchild.substack.com
October 7, 2025 at 3:25 PM
This week, I took my body from San Francisco to Paris. That got me thinking about bodies once more, so I thought I’d repost this piece from a while back.
I keep coming back to the feelings I expressed here.
I keep coming back to the feelings I expressed here.
Three years ago on September 27, I started writing Flower Child, which examines life’s persistent questions from the perspective of the hidden generation between the Boomers and Gen X: flowerchild.substack.com/p/happy-birt....
Will you join 487 others & subscribe? All my posts are free.
Will you join 487 others & subscribe? All my posts are free.
Happy Birthday to Flower Child!
My Substack turns three.
flowerchild.substack.com
September 30, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Three years ago on September 27, I started writing Flower Child, which examines life’s persistent questions from the perspective of the hidden generation between the Boomers and Gen X: flowerchild.substack.com/p/happy-birt....
Will you join 487 others & subscribe? All my posts are free.
Will you join 487 others & subscribe? All my posts are free.
When I was young, the age of 64 meant nothing to me — other than some vague idea about extreme old age from a Beatles song.
What can I expect as I continue aging? Who knows, who knows. But so far, so good. I hope we can shift our culture’s view of aging.
What can I expect as I continue aging? Who knows, who knows. But so far, so good. I hope we can shift our culture’s view of aging.
When I'm Sixty-Four
Wait, it's when?
flowerchild.substack.com
September 23, 2025 at 4:31 PM
When I was young, the age of 64 meant nothing to me — other than some vague idea about extreme old age from a Beatles song.
What can I expect as I continue aging? Who knows, who knows. But so far, so good. I hope we can shift our culture’s view of aging.
What can I expect as I continue aging? Who knows, who knows. But so far, so good. I hope we can shift our culture’s view of aging.
Learning to ask for what we want and need is a process. I’m still learning!
How can we learn to ask?
Spoiler: It’s the same way you get to Carnegie Hall.
More in this week’s Flower Child: flowerchild.substack.com/p/ask-is-a-v...
How can we learn to ask?
Spoiler: It’s the same way you get to Carnegie Hall.
More in this week’s Flower Child: flowerchild.substack.com/p/ask-is-a-v...
Ask Is a Verb
It's active; it's vulnerable; it's a thing we do. But some of us have to learn to do it.
flowerchild.substack.com
September 16, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Learning to ask for what we want and need is a process. I’m still learning!
How can we learn to ask?
Spoiler: It’s the same way you get to Carnegie Hall.
More in this week’s Flower Child: flowerchild.substack.com/p/ask-is-a-v...
How can we learn to ask?
Spoiler: It’s the same way you get to Carnegie Hall.
More in this week’s Flower Child: flowerchild.substack.com/p/ask-is-a-v...
It was 40 years ago today. It wasn't raining in the city by The Bay — because I moved there in September. San Francisco was really something in the 1980s — a place for misfits, affordable, exciting. It’s still wonderful, but it’s not the same. More here: flowerchild.substack.com/p/it-was-40-...
It Was 40 Years Ago Today
It wasn't raining in the city by The Bay. Because I moved there in September.
flowerchild.substack.com
September 9, 2025 at 4:40 PM
It was 40 years ago today. It wasn't raining in the city by The Bay — because I moved there in September. San Francisco was really something in the 1980s — a place for misfits, affordable, exciting. It’s still wonderful, but it’s not the same. More here: flowerchild.substack.com/p/it-was-40-...
Semicolon use is down; em dash use is up — but we're told not to use it so people won't think our writing was done by AI.
YOU'LL HAVE TO PRY THE SEMICOLON AND EM DASH OUT OF MY COLD, DEAD HANDS!
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
flowerchild.substack.com/p/the-semico...
YOU'LL HAVE TO PRY THE SEMICOLON AND EM DASH OUT OF MY COLD, DEAD HANDS!
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
flowerchild.substack.com/p/the-semico...
You Can't Take the Semicolon and the Em Dash Away from Me!
They're not dead yet!
flowerchild.substack.com
September 2, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Semicolon use is down; em dash use is up — but we're told not to use it so people won't think our writing was done by AI.
YOU'LL HAVE TO PRY THE SEMICOLON AND EM DASH OUT OF MY COLD, DEAD HANDS!
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
flowerchild.substack.com/p/the-semico...
YOU'LL HAVE TO PRY THE SEMICOLON AND EM DASH OUT OF MY COLD, DEAD HANDS!
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
flowerchild.substack.com/p/the-semico...