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Nina Gibson Roosevelt on:
Franklin's social interests

Nina Gibson Roosevelt

A: Franklin Roosevelt, from what I understand, always loved to be around people who liked to laugh, who liked to have fun. He loved having fun in many, many different ways. He enjoyed his cocktail hour. He loved good gossip. He enjoyed poker games. He enjoyed all kinds of things that my grandmother really didn't enjoy. My grandmother had come from an alcoholic family, and she didn't enjoy cocktails. She would, as the hostess, drink a little bit of sherry, but that was all. She served wine with meals, but she didn't really approve of a lot of alcohol. And she was a more serious kind of person. It was harder for her in even small groups to let her hair down, so to speak, and to laugh. Gossip wasn't something she enjoyed. And I think, when she was with a small number of people that she was very comfortable with, then I think she did have a playful side. And she did have a playful side when I knew her. We went on picnics and had lots of times that were fun. But they weren't raucous rough-housing kind of fun, the way Franklin enjoyed. And Franklin liked to be the center of attention. And my grandmother truly didn't.

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