| Show b Ya er Eleanor Roosevelt AN ENTERTAINING EVENING I We had an nn Interesting evening as wo we watched some short documentary I ry films and then two gentlemen Mr Charles L. L Todd and Mr Son- Son kin who have been making record record- recordings recordings recordings ings of Interesting folk songs and dance music in the migratory camps campson I on the West coast const for the Library of Congress played some of their records One a song by a boy of 14 was wasa wasI I a gem though he was covered with confusion and ran away when he heard it played Many of the rec rec- records records like the song written by a woman about her trip from Texas to the West were rending heart-rending in II spite spile of the fact that one could not notI I help laughing at certain little twists of language and expression These recordings arc are going to be historically interesting but the in in- inspiring inspiring inspiring thing to me is that people can live through such hardships and still have music in their souls and the ability to express themselves I hopefully Mr Todd told me that when they have a dance or are happy over the prospect of work or orsome orsome orsome some small event in their daily lives these people apparently seem to be able to enjoy themselves with complete forgetfulness of the past and the future They have learned what wha t so many of us do not learn- learn that the present is the only thing we really possess i CHINESE PHILOSOPHY That night I read a little volume arranged for publication by Stan- Stan Stanwood Stanwood Stanwood wood Cobb It is called The Wis Wis- Wisdom Wisdom Wisdom dom of Wu Ming Fu and is a col col- collection collection col- col collection lection of his translated poems and sayings The Chinese philosophy over ove- the llie centuries has come to to the same conclusion as our migrants and they would agree with Mr Fu that it should be our concern to tomake tomake tomake make each present moment per per- perfect WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS' TRUTHS The next day was most beautiful and four of us went by car to Sugar SugarLoaf SugarLoaf Loaf mountain and basked in the sun with a beautiful view spread out below us After lunch in the shade of some trees with the rocks as our seats we read aloud the preface to a short anthology called We Hold These Truths compiled by ay Stuart Gerry Brown of GrInnell Iowa This address impressed me for I know mow two pretty good representatives tives ives of what American citizenship means who are now in Washing Washing- Washington ton and who have had close association association association tion with this same place in the past This anthology is a collection of documents written by our great men over the period of our whole history Documents which all of ofus ofus ofus us frequently want and should turn to to clarify our own beliefs One afternoon I received Dr Juan Carlos Blanco the ambassador of Uruguay and Madame Blanco and Mr Fernand Dennis the minister of Haiti and Madame Dennis They were my first diplomatic visitors for forthe forthe forthe the fall and they certainly were charming ones Secretary and Mrs dined with us that night and the next day Mrs was catching up on some of the civilian defense work on which we are arc go go- going going going ing to work together in the coming months I find a wealth we of volun volun- volunteers volunteers volunteers who are arc anxious to do some some- something something something thing useful but I shall not be satis satisfied sa fied fled until I begin to see sec people ac ac- actually actually ac- ac actually at work in communities all allover allover over the country That is where the real civilian defense must have its roots By proxy that day I learned a good deal about my new job be be- because because because cause Mrs Henry Jr met the staff in the morning and sat in on Director LaGuardia's meeting In the afternoon she met with another group which discussed the complexities of the jurisdiction of work All existing organizations will finally be drawn Into a pattern where everybody will do his best with the least possible friction Anybody with experience knows what this can mean in the way of I difficulty during the period of or ore A hundred times a day dayI I shall wish what I have so often wished in the past that human be be- beings beings beings ings could be reconstructed over over- night If we would think only of the objectives to be achieved and never of the instruments to be used us d. d least of all ourselves how much more we could accomplish Great Grent teachers through the ages have tried to teach us that this is the only efficient way of work work- working working working ing and perhaps in the end the only way through which any civili civili- civilization civilization civilization can cnn be saved However we wedo wedo wedo do not always believe these teach ers DIGGING FOR FOIt MRS MILLER I read through a little book called Digging Dig ing for or Mrs Miller by John It is an nn account of the experiences of an air raid warden in England It is certainly different from anything I have ever read by him before He is dealing with facts whereas in the past he has dealt almost always with theories It is isa Isa Isa a valuable little book and will en enable able people to visualize daily life lilt tor or the ordinary man and woman where total defense is required |
