diff --git a/color.go b/color.go
index bb61984..a815c81 100644
--- a/color.go
+++ b/color.go
@@ -68,12 +68,13 @@ func (tk *guiWidget) updateColor() {
 	if tk.v == nil {
 		return
 	}
-	tk.colorLast.frame = tk.color.frame
-	tk.colorLast.fg = tk.color.fg
-	tk.colorLast.bg = tk.color.bg
-	tk.colorLast.selFg = tk.color.selFg
-	tk.colorLast.selBg = tk.color.selBg
-
+	if tk.color != nil {
+		tk.colorLast.frame = tk.color.frame
+		tk.colorLast.fg = tk.color.fg
+		tk.colorLast.bg = tk.color.bg
+		tk.colorLast.selFg = tk.color.selFg
+		tk.colorLast.selBg = tk.color.selBg
+	}
 	tk.activateColor()
 }
 
diff --git a/plugin.go b/plugin.go
index c8cafd0..de24745 100644
--- a/plugin.go
+++ b/plugin.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	// if you include more than just this import
 	// then your plugin might be doing something un-ideal (just a guess from 2023/02/27)
 
+	"github.com/awesome-gocui/gocui"
 	"go.wit.com/log"
 	"go.wit.com/toolkits/tree"
 	"go.wit.com/widget"
@@ -224,27 +225,57 @@ func (tk *guiWidget) Disable() {
 		log.Log(NOW, "widget is nil")
 		return
 	}
-	tk.enable = false
-	tk.node.State.Enable = false
-	// log.Info("disable widget in gocui", tk.node.WidgetType, tk.node.ProgName())
-	switch tk.node.WidgetType {
-	case widget.Box:
-		// log.Info("todo: blank out the window here", tk.String())
-		r := new(rectType)
-		// startW, startH := tk.Position()
-		r.w0 = 0
-		r.h0 = 0
-		r.w1 = r.w0 + 24
-		r.h1 = r.h0 + 2
-		me.textbox.tk.forceSizes(r)
-		showTextbox("Running...")
-		return
-	case widget.Button:
-		tk.setColorDisable()
-		return
-	default:
-		tk.dumpWidget("fixme: disable")
-	}
+	initTextbox()
+	tk.prepTextbox()
+	r := new(rectType)
+	r.w0 = 2
+	r.h0 = 1
+	r.w1 = r.w0 + 24
+	r.h1 = r.h0 + 2
+	me.textbox.tk.forceSizes(r)
+	me.textbox.tk.Show() // actually makes the gocui view. TODO: redo this
+	log.Info("textbox should be shown")
+	// showTextbox("Running...")
+	me.textbox.tk.dumpWidget("shown?")
+
+	me.textbox.tk.setColorModal()
+	me.textbox.tk.v.Clear()
+	me.textbox.tk.v.WriteString("Running...")
+
+	me.textbox.tk.v.Editable = true
+	me.textbox.tk.v.Wrap = true
+
+	me.baseGui.SetView(me.textbox.tk.cuiName, r.w0, r.h0, r.w1, r.h1, 0)
+	me.baseGui.SetCurrentView(me.textbox.tk.v.Name())
+
+	// bind the enter key to a function so we can close the textbox
+	me.baseGui.SetKeybinding(me.textbox.tk.v.Name(), gocui.KeyEnter, gocui.ModNone, theCloseTheTextbox)
+
+	me.textbox.active = true
+
+	/*
+		tk.enable = false
+		tk.node.State.Enable = false
+		// log.Info("disable widget in gocui", tk.node.WidgetType, tk.node.ProgName())
+		switch tk.node.WidgetType {
+		case widget.Box:
+			// log.Info("todo: blank out the window here", tk.String())
+			r := new(rectType)
+			// startW, startH := tk.Position()
+			r.w0 = 0
+			r.h0 = 0
+			r.w1 = r.w0 + 24
+			r.h1 = r.h0 + 2
+			me.textbox.tk.forceSizes(r)
+			showTextbox("Running...")
+			return
+		case widget.Button:
+			tk.setColorDisable()
+			return
+		default:
+			tk.dumpWidget("fixme: disable")
+		}
+	*/
 }
 
 func (tk *guiWidget) Enable() {
@@ -252,20 +283,28 @@ func (tk *guiWidget) Enable() {
 		log.Log(NOW, "widget is nil")
 		return
 	}
-	tk.enable = true
-	tk.node.State.Enable = true
-	// log.Info("enable widget in gocui", tk.node.WidgetType, tk.node.ProgName())
-	switch tk.node.WidgetType {
-	case widget.Box:
-		// log.Info("todo: un blank the window here")
-		me.textbox.tk.Hide()
-		me.textbox.active = false
-		// log.Info("escaped from textbox")
-		return
-	case widget.Button:
-		tk.restoreEnableColor()
-		return
-	default:
-		tk.dumpWidget("fixme: enable")
-	}
+	initTextbox()
+	tk.prepTextbox()
+
+	me.textbox.tk.Hide()
+	/*
+		initTextbox()
+
+		tk.enable = true
+		tk.node.State.Enable = true
+		// log.Info("enable widget in gocui", tk.node.WidgetType, tk.node.ProgName())
+		switch tk.node.WidgetType {
+		case widget.Box:
+			// log.Info("todo: un blank the window here")
+			me.textbox.tk.Hide()
+			me.textbox.active = false
+			// log.Info("escaped from textbox")
+			return
+		case widget.Button:
+			tk.restoreEnableColor()
+			return
+		default:
+			tk.dumpWidget("fixme: enable")
+		}
+	*/
 }
diff --git a/textbox.go b/textbox.go
index bc5c902..ffc2812 100644
--- a/textbox.go
+++ b/textbox.go
@@ -29,14 +29,18 @@ func (tk *guiWidget) forceSizes(r *rectType) {
 	tk.force.h1 = r.h1
 }
 
-func (callertk *guiWidget) prepTextbox() {
+func initTextbox() {
 	if me.textbox.tk == nil {
 		// should only happen once
 		me.textbox.tk = makeNewFlagWidget(me.textbox.wId)
 		// me.textbox.tk.dumpWidget("init() textbox")
 	}
+}
+
+func (callertk *guiWidget) prepTextbox() {
+	initTextbox()
 	if me.textbox.tk == nil {
-		log.Log(GOCUI, "showTextbox() Is Broken")
+		log.Log(GOCUI, "prepTextbox() Is Broken")
 		return
 	}
 
@@ -51,14 +55,14 @@ func (callertk *guiWidget) prepTextbox() {
 
 	me.textbox.callerTK = callertk
 
-	showTextbox(callertk.String())
+	// showTextbox(callertk.String())
 }
 
-func showTextbox(callertk string) {
+func showTextbox(callers string) {
 	// tk := me.textbox.tk
 	// me.textbox.tk.dumpWidget("after sizes")
 
-	me.textbox.tk.Show() // actually makes the gocui view. TODO: redo this
+	//	me.textbox.tk.Show() // actually makes the gocui view. TODO: redo this
 
 	if me.textbox.tk.v == nil {
 		log.Info("wtf went wrong")
@@ -67,7 +71,7 @@ func showTextbox(callertk string) {
 
 	me.textbox.tk.setColorModal()
 	me.textbox.tk.v.Clear()
-	cur := strings.TrimSpace(callertk)
+	cur := strings.TrimSpace(callers)
 	// log.Info("setting textbox string to:", cur)
 	me.textbox.tk.v.WriteString(cur)