contemplative
That's Carole chatting with Franklin D. Roosevelt following his "fireside chat" of Dec. 29, 1940, a radio address where the president spoke about national security and coined the phrase "arsenal of democracy" (http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/73489.html). Less than a year later, the U.S. was thrust into World War II as a result of Pearl Harbor, and the Gables sent a letter to the White House a few days later pledging their support. FDR replied, in a letter sent Dec. 16:
This letter is now being auctioned at eBay, and as you might expect with the confluence of a Franklin Roosevelt signature on a letter sent to a pair of Hollywood icons, it's going for quite a lot -- in fact, the opening bid is a whopping $11,000. Bidding is slated to end at 7:08 p.m. (Eastern) April 17.
There probably aren't very many of us here who can afford to bid on such a valuable historical artifact, but there's no law against online window shopping, so if you'd like to check it out, go to http://www.ebay.com/itm/Franklin-D-Roosevelt-Signed-Letter-WWII-to-Clark-Gable-and-Carol-Lombard-/300692865369?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4602b10159.
One can imagine that both Clark and Carole were thrilled to receive a reply from Roosevelt, but little did they know that several weeks later, this would lead from a triumph...
...to a personal tragedy.
