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

[This column has emendations. View original version]

      

WASHINGTON, Friday—When I walked into my sitting room in the White House at 1:30 today, a huge vase of daffodils greeted me and I felt my spirit, which had been somewhat low, rise like a rocket. My low spirits were the result of a very high wind which delayed us in our flight down to Washington and gave us pretty rough weather which finally forced us to land at Bolling Field. This meant that the cars at the regular airport had to drive over. The wind almost blew us off the ground when we stepped out of the plane, so we all went back into it and waited.

I nervously wondered if Miss Thompson would feed my guests, who were already sitting in the White House. On arrival I found them still sitting unfed! I hustled Miss Thompson down and poor Mrs. Helm greeted me with the news that she was suffering from sinus. Then I looked in on my husband, who said that he had told the press yesterday that he had swamp fever, but today he decided it was jungle fever. However, he looked really better and Mr. Frank Walker, who was with him, looked cheerful too, so that raised my spirits one point and the yellow daffodils did the rest.

I enjoyed yesterday's lunch with the foreign correspondents very much. Both of my neighbors of the British and French press were charming, and more than kind. I like questions so much better than standing up and lecturing people who can't answer back.

Before I attended the luncheon I had a rather pathetic experience. The poor little couple who run Aunt Martha's Box Lunch Service, felt I had harmed their business and asked to be allowed to tell me their side of the controversy with the lunch box boys. Mrs. Corbetoff was voluble, Mr. Corbetoff was silent, but it was quite evident that they needed a mediator with plenty of time to verify the statements made by all sides, to look over their business and give them sound advice and a little courage. He must see too, that the boys get a fair break, so they will have enough interest really to build up the business. I left them feeling sorry for everyone concerned and read with relief in this morning's papers that the head of the mediation board has heard this little struggle and successfully concluded it.

After lunch I talked for a few minutes with Dr. Rudolph Kagey and am deeply interested in his plans for a new type of educational exhibition at the New York World's Fair this spring. Then I went home to meet some friends and, last but not least, to spend an hour with my own boys.

E.R.

(COPYRIGHT, 1940, BY UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE, INC.)


Names and Terms Mentioned or Referenced

Geographic
  • Washington (D.C., United States) [ index ]


About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, March 23, 1940

Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962
[ ERPP bio | LC | VIAF | WorldCat | DPLA | Wikidata | SNAC ]

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)
    [ VIAF | ORCID ]
  • Regenhardt, Christy (Associate Editor)
    [ ISNI ]
  • Black, Allida M. (Editor)
    [ VIAF | ISNI ]
  • Binker, Mary Jo (Associate Editor)
    [ VIAF | ORCID ]
  • Alhambra, Christopher C. (Electronic Text Editor)
    [ VIAF | ORCID ]

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.

XML master last modified on June 9, 2017.

HTML version generated and published on May 3, 2022.

Transcription created from a photocopy of a UFS wire copy of a My Day column instance archived at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library.
TMs, AERP, FDRL