28 February 1957

To McDermott

After reading your article “McDermott on Shaw”, is it possible that Shaw, with his peculiar Shavian wit meant something? Could it be that if Androcles and the Lion were translated by an expert calligrapher it would reveal some last message of Shaw’s to the world?

Included a copy of a discussion of “gladiators” from the Jr. Encyclopedia Britannica.

26 February 1957 [Notes from a Collinwood HS P.T.A. meeting?]

Schneider [sp? – Oscar J. Schneider was CHS school principal]:  Schools are for education & nothing else.

Get back at him!

Parents get report cards.

1) Clean & fittingly groomed kind of clothes – teenagers – blue jeans – party clothes are out.

2) School offers best opportunity for learning & team work. Socializing agency. Work & play with each other starts from the home. Making opportunities: to play his daughter back yard [?].

3) Good manners – more than form – simply kindness & consideration of others.

Excuse me is little good manners when you’ve knocked a person down. Better not to knock him down in the first place.

#

4) Restraint – self restraint must be balanced by self discipline.

We need policeman because people have learned nothing of self restraint.

5) Respect for authority – should be taught by parents. Primary rules of behavior.

Policeman shoved [?] at ball games. Schneider [?] feels a sad commentary.

#

6) Saturday Movies: coed lines at [?] Mental, emotional stability.

The child hardest to love is the one who needs it the most.
Policeman calls to tell about the Buick – Father asks, “Is my car damaged?”

7) Parental harmony – Nothing is so damaging as quarreling, fighting, fussing, nagging.

#

Children have come to school and attempted suicide because of nagging homes & bickering.

#

She said she was not a D.P. or a displaced person – She was legal!
Budapest – is beautiful. Between Danube – Buda – Pest.
Many universities – music and drinks.

She sings a song.

#

Three blind mice. & [John J.] Pokorny spoke. Coordinator of Civil Defense, Cuyahoga County.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1945 – 12 years ago.
Russia 1950 had weapon. Civil Defense Law [obscure word] on state gov.

We are tired of wars – disasters – but must be realistic # prepared. Mayors and governors. U.S. Gov. – partner rather than a coach in Civil Defense. 20 M tons of TNT. 7 or 8 miles destroyed. Fallout. Radioactive fallout. Radar screens. VS shelters.

Concept of C.D. must change. Shelter and funds. Cities – 33. 60M people. 100 per person. Radio active fault [sic] – be where the bomb isn’t.

Radar – reinforce outer perimeter. C.D. Minimum levels and property. How much research is being done on effects of Radioactive fallout? How effective are other perimeter or radar screens?

24 February 1957

I do what is given to my own wisdom to do, no more.

That’s all anyone can do: release within one’s self the power to do good, as wisely as possible.

23 February 1957

(Dated 22 February 1957 in the notebook but almost certainly written the next day)

Ask Bill – and he named it – “The Story of the Prodigal Son”. I was thinking of [her friend] Blanche [Schwartz] and [her nephew] Stan. She has told me Stan has stayed with her – that he should inherit most of her money because of her closeness to him. This would be advisable only if she underpaid him. But she has given him stock, etc. If she has underpaid him and kept him from work he enjoyed doing – say civil engineering – he did join the See Bees [sic – the U.S. Navy Seabees is meant]. Then he should get the bulk of her money. But – if she pays him well and he really is not frustrated in his ambitions – she should treat her other 2 nephews as the father did his prodigal son.

#

Met Miss Murray on McCauley today. She told me her brother and his wife – her sister-in-law, founded the Emmanuel Presbyterian Church. Small world – ain’t it?

I was going to Fishers [Food Market on Lake Shore Drive] with my little old grocery cart. She was walking ahead of me very, very slowly. She was a black figure, black coat, gray hair, on the slender side, obviously quite elderly, wearing a good black coat, a pair of tan nylons, and black rubber overshoes turned up high above her ankles.

I was walking rather quickly and passed her with my little cart. But there was something about her very, very slow walk. After passing her about 20 feet, I turned around to see what was causing her to walk so slowly. Once I showed my interest – she saw me looking at her – I stopped, then began walking toward her.

“Is there anything wrong?” I asked. “Are you looking for an address?”

“No,” she said, then a conversation between us started. I slowed my pace extremely to walk along with her.

The story?

“It’s my heart,” she said, “everybody has a heart these days.”

“Yes,” I laughed, “We all have hearts – just a question of what condition they are in.”

She told me she has coined so many phrases, she doesn’t know which one she’s coined, and which one she’s read. (I made some remark, prior to her comment, saying I didn’t know whether I read somewhere or whether it was one of my own coined phrases.)

She could’ve been 70 or so, who knows. She was a “Miss,” she said she wasn’t much of a housekeeper, but a homemaker. I told her “Housekeepers we can always get – but homemakers come at a very high premium.”

She knew the neighborhood only slightly. She lives a door or two from Elsie’s – but knows no one. Said she moved into the neighborhood in 1946. The house she lived in was either her family home or a home her brother and his wife originally owned. He had made it into a two or three family residence. He believed in making homes for young people. She lived in the house taking care of the tenants, I guess. Her brother was the businessman.

A very intelligent little lady, as keen as a bright shining gold piece.

After 15 or 20 minutes of conversation with her about her shopping problems, relatives who looked in on her from time to time, we went our separate ways she hates to impose on friends to carry heavy groceries upstairs – Modic (Market) delivers groceries, but if she ever sees me going up the street she said she’ll let me get a loaf of egg loaf bread for her from Fishers.

22 February 1957

Well, well! George Washington’s birthday, and I just sent Billy off to the library at Arlington Branch Library. This is the first day Billy works all day at the library. I fussed about him a bit until he almost lost patience with me until I told him, “After all this is the first day I have packed his lunch and sent him off to work!”

Mr. Carter called Wednesday afternoon. He wanted to know whether Nancy was still interested in the gardening job with him at Longfellow [School]. She is supposed to come in to see him before 4 P.M. at the Gardening Room at Memorial [School] to fill out her withholding tax form so he can put in her application.

Nancy is delighted. Bill tried to tell her she should be sure and get a good hourly rate. Nancy fired up at this. Secretly, I believe she would work for nothing, just for the job at the Gardens at Longfellow.

#

21 February 1957

How about writing an article on divorce: man either pampers, or abuses his spouse and divorces mount.

#

I wrote a letter to Mr. Bryan of the Cleveland plain dealer today. The essence of it?

“Instead of giving Saud reparations for his “loss” from the closing of the Suez Canal, why doesn’t he (Saud) use some of his gold to build the Aswan dam. He would really do some good then as a Modern Midas. It would give us taxpayers a break, too.

It would be interesting – particularly in connection with the Pan-American games – do some research articles on games and their origins: whatever the Olympic contests are.

New for my own information: Cribbage – a card game – see volume 10 pages 2 to 10. Encyclopedia Senior.

19 February 1957

A nursery school at the “Y” in the mornings for little “Lee Allens” whose parents both want to work because the husband doesn’t make enough money. This business of special classes for the “abnormal” are fine. But how about help for the little “normals” – they are lonesome too.

And the Y[MCA] would be fulfilling its concept of “Serving the Community Needs”.

See my other notes on the subject.

#

How about the Cleveland Orchestra putting on a benefit performance to set off the Community Fund drive. – At no charge! Shades of Kate Smith!! Who once refused to sing because of previous commitments at a community fund benefit. Simply announcing that it is the kickoff for the Community Fund drive – be sure you contribute when you were solicitor calls you!!

Always did object to duplicate school, work, and door to door contributions!

This would mean publicity for the Cleveland Orchestra when it needed funds.

#

Democracy at work!!

Tough on families!!

And frustrating for volunteers – usually housewives are volunteers.

Cleveland Orchestra gives children’s concerts – fine! But parents don’t go – and parents have the money.

17 February 1957

Also – women get “loused up” when they write about a man’s word, when they are living in a woman’s world. There is plenty of elbow room for both species!!! In fact [for] all kinds of species!!!!!

#

On top of that, women seem to spend most of the money in the U.S.A.

#

16 February 1957

There are books about “Johnny Can’t Read”. Somebody should write a book called “Momma Can’t Read”.

Oh – that other idea – Cleveland Foundation stuff – Ralph & Jean Steenmeyer’s story about the man who had a large piece of land in Florida. How he sold it on the “life insurance” plan to buyers. He gets a rental of so much a month for the land (creating him a monthly income from a piece of no good for anything land). When he dies (and he’s an old man) the buyer pays no more – the buyer then possesses the land.

The same thought could be carried through in other ways. For instance: people who have more money in their older years than they need. There are going to be a lot of kids who will need money for college educations. Government support won’t be the answer. Childless couples, or couples whose children are well taken care of, could loan some of their money to youngsters for college educations. Then the kid pays them interest on the money – the debt is cancelled upon the death of the benefactors. Come to think of it – this might be a good idea for supplementing middle income aged people. A way of supplying the oldsters with money. We have mortgages which earn money – why not make a living supplying educations for qualified youngsters. A group like the Ford Foundation of the Cleveland Foundation could handle details, necessary legislation, and keep themselves busy, useful, and happy while doing all this.

????

Come to think of it – that Hawaiian gal on Arthur Godfrey’s program was no dope. She gave Godfrey value for what he was paying her. She saved her money. She wasn’t one of the gals who boohooed all over when he fired her. She was a right sharp little girl. She saved her money. When the ax-chopping lost Miss Hawaii her job – she had a nice orchid business all set up for herself!!! – with the money she saved.

#

Women have to look sharp, to be sharp, in a man’s economic world.

Ho, hum! That was my Zachmannisia for this day.

15 February 1957

Zachmannisia for the day.

Of course, one never knows when one drops a pebble into the water how much ripple the water will make.

#

It seems the boys at KYW went to a P.T.A. square dance at the Northeast Y.M.C.A.

#

2/15/57 Mary Anderson called me today. She bid me correct my notes on the Bar Luncheon if I were going to give it for the P.T.A.

“Comay,” she says, “was speaking as a citizen of Israel.”

She had gotten into a big fight and argument with someone about it.

I explained my note taking was quite sketchy, being as I was talking a little with Mrs. Edelman. And, I believe it was my not-taking and my inattentiveness for a few moments.

When I write up my notes for the luncheon – Comay will speak as a citizen when speaking of Israel – and as a Jew when addressing the Jews to call forth “the great moral and spiritual dynamism of the early prophets.”

Could be I might unconsciously have some kind of prejudice,too?

#

It is spelled “B’nai B’rith.

I wonder what “B’nai B’rith” means in Hebrew.