Like many, I have been watching Ken Burns' documentary about the Roosevelt's on PBS. So far it has included many interesting facts about Teddy Roosevelt of which I was unaware ... for instance, his actual derring-do (which I had understood to be manufactured) ... his many interactions with Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt ... and his early cowboy life in the western United States. The preponderance of the story has so far has concentrated on Teddy, but I am looking forward to more on FDR and Eleanor ... whose lives somewhat intersected mine.
In particular I have two recollections of this pair ... one, somewhat shabby and the other, somewhat poignant. First the shabby one ... even as a young child I can still hear the animosity that many in this country felt toward the Roosevelt's ... as exhibited by this joke I recall hearing (even with the inflections mimicking FDR's patrician way of speaking.) It goes thusly:
FDR -- We have a new weapon that will destroy all armies ... We have a new weapon that will destroy all navies ... We have a new weapon that will destroy all nations ... Eleanor, show them your teeth. (Sorry, not very kind ... but for the sake of an historic perspective, I repeat it.)
The other story involves me, at the age of six and a small playmate, Eliot. We were playing below our house in an alleyway when my father came home from work and called out to greet us. Eliot shouted up to my father that Roosevelt had died. To my lasting surprise, my father started crying. I say surprise because I thought my father, a Republican, didn't care much for FDR. But apparently the stress of the war and his understanding of how FDR had carried us (almost) through it, brought out this stronger emotion. My father himself died a few months later.
I look forward to the remaining episodes of this well-researched and carefully-produced documentary.
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