The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, Digital Edition > My Day
AUGUST 29, 1936
[This column has emendations. View original version]
NEW YORK—We had an uneventful drive home yesterday afternoon. It was very beautiful through the Highlands and we reached Hyde Park in time for supper with my two grandchildren. They look upon the opportunity to eat with their elders primarily as a period when their elders shall entertain them! We were no sooner seated than they demanded "a funny story Grandmere".
Mrs. Scheider and I thought very hard and then related every incident of the past few days that could possibly be made to have a humorous twist. Finally my granddaughter said to Mrs. Scheider: "What you tell isn't always funny, Tommy, but you tell it in such a funny way, it makes us laugh." I realized as a "Raconteuse" I was neatly put in my place!
Have you ever noticed how slowly children can eat? We spent one hour and a half over a very simple supper. We all had a good time and the children have the right idea—laughter is certainly good for the digestion!
After supper we drove over to the cottage and were simply snowed under by envelopes of mail. At eleven o'clock Mrs. Scheider mustered enough courage to say: "I thought you were going to bed early." After which gentle hint I said good night and left her.
Miss Dickerman had arrived too in the late afternoon so although no one joined me in my early morning swim, three of us had our coffee on the porch together today.
We worked hard all morning trying to get through as much of the accumulated mail as we could. At twelve-thirty I went over to get my grandchildren and their governess to bring them over to the cottage for lunch, for they look upon a change of environment as a real spree.
Miss Fanny Hurst joined us, having driven over from her retreat in the Catskill Mountains. Even the children fell under the spell of her personality and listened with great interest to all she had to tell us.
What wouldn't I give to have her gift of writing, for if ever any one had material for stories spread before them, I certainly have had it in the past few years!
We are now in New York leaving in a few minutes for Washington.
E.R.
Names and Terms Mentioned or Referenced
Persons
- Dickerman, Marion, 1890-1983 [ index ]
American suffragist, educator
[ ERPP bio | LC | VIAF | Wikidata | SNAC ] - Hurst, Fannie, 1889-1968 [ index ]
American writer
[ LC | ISNI | VIAF | Wikidata | SNAC | FAST | ANB ] - 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 29, 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, 28 August 1936, AERP, FDRL