The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, Digital Edition > My Day
My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt

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HYDE PARK—Last night was a warm night and I wasn't at all sorry to get up early and give my household orders and start out riding by eight o'clock, for the air felt heavy as though a thunder storm hung over us. Now, however, the sky is blue and I am afraid we are not going to get any rain to clear the atmosphere.

The usual number of visitors on business and for conferences are keeping my husband busy, but in spite of work we are having some friends who are just here because we want to see them and not for any other purpose!

Last night I read aloud one of the stories from Martha Gellhorn's book: "The Trouble I've Seen" and I was interested to see the reaction of other people who did not know her personally. One of the men who was listening said: "That's an extremely interesting story, I didn't hear the beginning of it but it is certainly written well." If you should happen to read the book, it is the story of Joe and Pete, the boy who led a strike for better working conditions, and the man who followed him, believing what he said but really understanding little of what the whole situation implied. The development of character and incident is well done and it shows the inevitable disadvantages of those who have few material resources though they may be strong in numbers. In the first tests education, resources and the habit of power are apt to win out.

I have sat at my desk since ten a.m. and one little incident has afforded me much amusement. On Sunday my uncle, Mr. Delano and I accused the President of pronouncing the Province of Quebec in an American way when he was speaking in French. Both of us were sure that it should be spelled and pronounced "Provence." Being a gentleman of careful research Mr. Delano went home and checked and found that he and I were right if we were talking of "Provance" which is an ancient province in the southern part of France, so I have to be sure and set us straight with my husband for fear that he will take our strictures on his pronunciation seriously!

This afternoon I am driving across the county to see a friend who has been ill. If my husband can get a little time off, I hope he will get a chance to look at his plantation of young trees. We may lose some of our big trees but our young trees have grown tremendously this summer.

E.R.


Names and Terms Mentioned or Referenced

Persons
Geographic
  • Hyde Park (Dutchess County, N.Y., United States) [ index ]


About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, August 5, 1936

Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962
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Digital edition created by The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project The George Washington University 312 Academic Building 2100 Foxhall Road, NW Washington, DC 20007

  • Brick, Christopher (Editor)
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  • Regenhardt, Christy (Associate Editor)
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  • Black, Allida M. (Editor)
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  • Binker, Mary Jo (Associate Editor)
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  • Alhambra, Christopher C. (Electronic Text Editor)
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Digital edition published 2008, 2017 by
The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project

Available under licence from the Estate of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt.

Published with permission from the Estate of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt.

MEP edition publlished on June 30, 2008.

TEI-P5 edition published on April 28, 2017.

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Transcription created from a photocopy of a draft version of a My Day column instance archived at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library. My Day column draft dated August 4, 1936, FDR Library, Hyde Park, NY
TMsd, 4 August 1936, AERP, FDRL