The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, Digital Edition > My Day
AUGUST 27, 1936
[This column has emendations. View original version]
NEW YORK—It is always interesting to me to discover blind spots in my own powers of observation! I was driving through New Haven yesterday afternoon and instead of watching the lights at the crossing, I fixed my attention on a Western Union office across the street which I wanted to reach, and on a street car directly in front of me which I had been following. When the street car moved, I followed right behind and was completely surprised when a much excited policeman yelled at me, bringing me to the realization that the light was red. I pulled up and said I was sorry, that I had been following the street car and had not noticed the light, to which he responded: "You wasn't watchin nuthin!" Which was, comparatively speaking, true and I felt duly humble and pulled up at the side and let Mrs. Scheider get out and go across the street to the telegraph office.
The rest of the way through the city was uneventful, but it always seems to me a rather bewildering place. We reached Westbrook, and Miss Lape and Miss Read took us for a swim in the Sound. The beach near them is sandy and clean. so we enjoyed the first dip we have had this summer in salt water.
In a little while, however, people began to look at us rather curiously, and we realized that it was probably time to go home. As we drove away one lady waved her hand at me and before long I imagine every one up and down the beach would have been finding out how badly I swim!
Back in the peace and quiet of the woods and fields near the house, we sat out until dark and more katydids had their home in the tree over our heads than I have heard together for a long time. The stars came out and the moon came up, with evident signs about it that rain was on the way, so we moved indoors and in a little while the rain was falling gently.
Up this morning at seven and on our way at eight-twenty to New York. I went in to see my daughter at the Democratic headquarters and found three Republican sound trucks lined up in Forty-Third Street with large pictures of the candidates and sun flowers painted on them. I imagine they wanted the Democratic National Committee to see how impressive they were! I was fascinated by them and took my daughter and a friend of hers out to have another look at them, whereupon a young woman standing near me, thrust a pencil and paper in my hand, saying: "My little brother in Texas would just die of joy if he could have your autograph!" I signed not without some trepidation wondering if by chance it might find its way into one of those sound trucks!
E.R.
Names and Terms Mentioned or Referenced
Persons
- Roosevelt, Anna, 1906-1975 [ index ]
American writer and newspaper editor; ER's and FDR's daugher
[ ERPP bio | LC | ISNI | VIAF | Wikidata | SNAC | FAST | US Nat. Archives ] - Thompson, Malvina, 1893-1953 [ index ]
ER's secretary
[ ERPP bio | LC | VIAF | Wikidata | SNAC | FAST | US Nat. Archives ]
Geographic
- [ index ] New York (N.Y., United States)
About this document
My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, August 27, 1936
Digital edition created by The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project The George Washington University 312 Academic Building 2100 Foxhall Road, NW Washington, DC 20007
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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TMsd, 26 August 1936, AERP, FDRL