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Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
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I think that for a period of time - and not a very long period either - Harry Hopkins was almost admitted to a total friendship with Franklin Roosevelt; but never really, because Harry used to talk to me. I don't know what the qualification was, but they would get just so close and no closer. I don't know whether nobody could get any closer, but Harry couldn't at that moment. I don't know whether Harry wanted to. More than once Harry said to me, “There are some things about this fellow Roosevelt I don't catch on to. What do you think?” There was one time, and I can't remember what it was, when we were together for an hour or more, waiting for something to happen. We couldn't leave where we were, but while we were there we couldn't make any progress with what we were. So many of my deep thoughts took place at funerals, but I don't think this was a funeral.

At any rate, Harry said to me, “I wish I understood. Here I am living in the House. I see him every day. I see him a good many hours out of every day about any number of matters of importance and about a lot of matters that are of no consequence at all, just ordinary fooling, folly, passing the time of day and the small talk of people who are living in the same house. There's something that that man's got - and perhaps you can tell





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