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

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WASHINGTON, Sunday—In spite of our long trip across the continent, I could not resist going to the theatre Friday night in New York City. Mrs. Henry Morgenthau, Jr., had been attending a bond meeting at the Brooklyn Museum, which was apparently highly successful. We both enjoyed seeing "Oklahoma," with its tuneful songs, charming setting, good dancing and excellent cast.

I thinks it speaks well for the play that I was not in the least sleepy, in spite of the fact that I had been up 36 hours straight. As you doubtless know, berths in planes are out for the duration, so one sleeps comfortably in a seat that is tilted back according to one's preference.

I find it quite amusing to watch other people trying to make themselves comfortable for the night. One particularly tall boy in uniform right in front of us, reminded me of the dog who tries to curl up around his own tail. He tried hard to find a way of getting his head down on the arm of the seat, but he finally gave it up as impossible for the seat was too narrow.

Yesterday we left New York City by train quite early and did what we thought was a good job of catching up on the mail, but I surmised plenty had been held up for us in Washington. I was right.

In the afternoon, I went to a tea given by the Democratic Women's National Council. There was a discussion, during which some of the government workers and I talked about conditions of government work in the District of Columbia.

In the evening, the President gave his second Congressional party, at which I was allowed to receive the guests, but was then dismissed, since only members of Congress are allowed, neither their wives nor husbands being included.

This may sound like a sad tale and you may picture a lonely figure with nothing to do, sitting upstairs waiting for the party to be over, but I assure you nothing of that kind happened. I went gleefully to my desk with the knowledge that working would give me at least one or two more hours in which to sleep.

In an article which I read in "The Standard," a magazine issued by the American Ethical Union, one little sentence struck me as something we might remember in our everyday contacts: "If all of us would just be steadily and bravely well mannered, our folkways would soon catch up with our creed."

The creed referred to is our democracy as set forth in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. While I never thought of it before, I think, perhaps, good manners, which really mean true kindness of heart, would help a great deal in living in a democratic way.

E.R.

(COPYRIGHT, 1943, BY UNITEDFEATURE SYNDICATE, INC.)


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About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, April 12, 1943

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

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Digital edition published 2008, 2017 by
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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 UFS wire copy of a My Day column instance archived at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library.
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