Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Little White House Interview (Part I)
Located 70 miles south of Atlanta, Hot Springs Town is a quintessential Southern town. There is a famous hot spring here www.biquge.info Pen & Fun & Court, which maintains a temperature of 88 degrees Fahrenheit all year round and carries many minerals that are beneficial to human health.
In 1924, when Roosevelt discovered that the hot springs were useful in treating his polio, he bought land and built a house there. In 1927, Roosevelt established the Georgia Hot Springs Foundation and built a hot spring sanatorium open to the public in the hot spring town.
After being elected president, Roosevelt went on vacation to the hot spring town every year, and Washington called the six-room house he lived in "Little White House." John had traveled to Hot Springs in his previous life, and the house had been converted into the Roosevelt Museum, which housed many of Roosevelt's personal belongings and documents during his lifetime.
Adele used to think it was a bit strange to soak in hot springs in the summer, but she still went to the hot spring town with John. When she arrived, she found that the environment inside this sanatorium was very good, surrounded by dense woods, fresh air, pleasant scenery, and it was really a good place to escape the heat.
In the evening, White House Secret Service staff came to pick up the John family and take them to Roosevelt's residence. Tucked away in a dense forest facing a valley, this "little white house" is secluded by a path leading to the outside.
From the point of view of living comfort, the "Little White House" is an ideal place for vacation. But this large area of dense woods also makes the security of the Secret Service more difficult. Security personnel had to build several half-moon booths in the woods to monitor the security of the surrounding area.
Greeting John's family at the door of the "Little White House" was Eliot, the third eldest of the Roosevelt family. Roosevelt's wife, Sarah, was also attending a charity event in Washington, D.C., this time with Roosevelt, the eldest daughter Anna and the third Eliot, who accompanied Roosevelt to recuperate.
Elliot and his brother Franklin were both members of John's flying club, but John didn't have much of a relationship with Elliot before. Eliot was 6 years younger than John and was a simple-minded and impulsive guy. Although his flying skills were a little better than Franklin's, he was far less likable in the club than his brother.
Everyone in the circle knows that this guy is an outlier in the Roosevelt family. Since the age of 19. After graduating from Groton Preparatory School, he did not go on to college, but entered the broadcasting industry and now works for a New York radio station.
Over the years, the simple-minded and open-mouthed Elliot has stabbed his father on the radio show. In the eyes of outsiders, he is the typical "stupid boy of a great family". John sometimes wondered how the Roosevelt family could have come up with such a "freak" as a monkey because they were all better than monkeys.
"Good evening, Elliot!" John greeted him warmly.
"Good evening, John. I haven't seen you in a while. Elliot shook John's hand and saluted Adele again.
"yes, the last time we saw each other was at Franklin's wedding last year. How is that kid doing, he should have graduated. As John walked inside, he chatted with Elliot about family matters.
Last year, Franklin, who was still studying at Harvard, chased down Ethel, the "little princess" of the Dupont family, which was a sensational news in John's circle. Everyone knows that the DuPont family did not deal with President Roosevelt, and the two sides had a lot of grievances. This marriage, which was seriously opposed by both parents, was quite a bit of "Romeo and Juliet".
"He had graduated from Harvard, but he couldn't find a job and went to Virginia Law School to continue his studies." For his rebellious brother, Elliot also loved and hated.
Even if the economy is sluggish now, the president's son will not be unable to find a job after graduation. It seems that Roosevelt's anger with his youngest son has not subsided. Although John has a good relationship with little Franklin, this is a family affair, and it is better for him not to interfere as an outsider.
Let's take it as a lesson to that kid, marriage is not something that can be decided just by having a hot head. Historically, Franklin Jr. was removed from the "Blue Book" (American Social Register) because he was married too many times.
When the Johns arrived, Roosevelt was still in the office on business, and Eliot showed them around. The "Little White House" has only six rooms on the first floor, so there is really nothing to see, but the view from the large terrace facing the valley is very good.
Over dinner, John met President Roosevelt. Perhaps because the healing of the hot springs was really good, Roosevelt seemed to be in good spirits. As soon as they met, he affectionately hugged little Ella to his lap, and kindly introduced his dog - Farah to everyone.
American presidents have a tradition of keeping pets, isn't there a saying: "If you want to have friends in Washington, get a dog." And compared to the bizarre White House pets of hippos, crocodiles, brown bears and badgers, Roosevelt's Scottish Terrier was relatively normal.
In his previous life, John had seen such a little story on the Internet: in 1944, Roosevelt accidentally lost Farah on the Aleutian Islands in Alaska during a foreign visit. In order to retrieve the dog, he even ordered a destroyer to be sent to rescue Farah. And when the Republican Party attacked the matter, Roosevelt made a rare fuss, publicly telling the media: "I don't care about Republican attacks, my wife doesn't care, and my son doesn't care." But my dog, Farah, it cares!"
It's okay to attack my wife and children, but it's not okay to attack my dog! Farrah's place in Roosevelt's mind can be imagined. It is no wonder that many of Roosevelt's portraits and sculptures in later generations have Farrah's figure.
During the dinner, Roosevelt did not talk about other political-related topics, except for his gratitude for John's "work" during his time in Europe. The most talked about hurricanes and Hughes's round-the-world flights.
Of course, Roosevelt came all the way to John, not just to invite him to dinner and introduce him to his pet dog. After dinner, he asked John to come to his office the next morning.
The next morning, John arrived at Roosevelt's office. There, John met several leading figures in Roosevelt's cabinet: Secretary of State Hull, Secretary of the Treasury Morgenthau, Secretary of Labor Francis, and Roosevelt's personal adviser Hopkins, who was almost equivalent to the White House chief of staff.
If it were only these Democratic bigwigs, John would not be so surprised. There were also Stimson, Knox, Donovan and other Republican "main battle" bigwigs. What's going on? The "main battle faction" of the Democratic and Republican parties has merged?
Now, apart from Miss Lehand, who sits in the corner of the office, John is the only political rookie in the room. In fact, this sentence is not accurate, Miss Lehand has been Roosevelt's personal secretary for more than ten years (John's previous reports on his visits to Europe were sent directly to Lehand), and he should be much more mature than John politically.
Standing in front of these bigwigs from both parties, John suddenly had the feeling of attending a recruitment interview in his previous life. He had a hunch that this must have something to do with his previous report on the Nazis in Germany.
John's instincts were accurate this time, and he was going to face an interview that could completely change the fate of the rest of his life.