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February A., 1939.
Mrs. Lola Aoberts (white)
Vanderbilt Hotel,
Asheville, N. C.
Douglas Carter, writer.
NEUROTIC
OrIginal Names
Mrs. Roberts
Ch4nized Names
lirs. Ramsey
NEUROTIC
"I never did like it in the worth, although I lived most
of my live there. I was born in Georgia, where my father
and mother net. She was from Pennsylvania, and was visit-
ing in the city where my father had a wholesale -grocery busi-
ness. He had been married before, and had several children,
but his first wife and some of the children had died. He
served in the Confederate Army, and was made a captain Just
before the war ended he was only 2a. at the time. I
never did know him very well, because I was only a child
when be died. were living here then. He had retired
with what he thought was a comfortable income. Be owned
properties in Georgia, and moved :aere to live with my half
sister, his youngest daughter by his first wife she was
his favorite. But toward t_Le last he had lots of trouble
with his investments, and when he died it first appeared
that his property would not cover his debts."
irs.Aamsey was seated in her hotel room. She is 43
years old, hut looks 55 or so. he is very thi, and her
hair is mostly gray. Her teeth are noticeably bad, and the
seems undernourished, but her eyes are brilht, and she has
a wide forehead. Her clothes are new and fashionable,
rather dark, but not somber. She twisted and moved about in
the chair incessantly.
"Isn't it warm here for February/ I can't ef/em to get
enough air in this room it's so stuffy. It vas sere when
we left New York. I don't remember it being this ware here
in February. Does it Let awfully hot here in summer now/
I remember the summers an being cool. I wonder if we'll be
able to find a oomfortable plum to live. I want to stay
here if I can find something to suit me. And all this fog
and smoke isn't that something new/ I don't remember such
fog here.
"Oh, I'm so tired!" (Zmphasis on the "se.) fihe and her
daughters had arrived the day before, from her former home
in one of the lar;er cities of northern New York. "I didn't
sleep a wink on the train, and the first night it seemed
that we stopped at every little station. At the hotel in
Ilashington I rested a few hours, but then 1.-e had to spend
another niIht on the train, and I was worn out when we got
here. :Aster had en,3aged rooms for us at the 'rine Top Inn,
and they were terrible. 1 couldn't have stayed there. The
furniture and the iii :s ere old and worn, and we were not on
the front of the building I couldn't eat the food, tither.
The rates were very reasonable American plan but we had
to come uptown to get some sandwiches. And they put lettuee
and mayonnaise on mine, and I had to send them back. My ear
hadn't come, either, and we had to hire one yesterday after.
noon. I couldn't Just sit around the hotel all day. Ws
shipped the ear two days before we left, and it should have
been here by the time we arrived. I believe the man did
say, though, that it would take about five days.
"ft went to all of the uptown hotels yesterday afternoon,
and looked at their available rooms, and finally deeided on
this one. I was too tired to move our th'ngs last night,
though we moved the first thing this morninI. Test it
is more expensive here. nw are paying $5 a day here
Muropean plan and we have Just this one room. At the place
Allter picked out for us the rate was :85 a month. We had
two rooms there, with a bath between, but I didn't like the
looks of the tub, and couldn't even take a bath. ''411 mill
only be here, though, until we can find a furnished apart-
ment or small house; unless I decide I don't want to stay
here. I would like to be near Sister, though. I don't have
any other folks, now."
There are two daughters: Helen, 22, is slender and
beautiful; Alice, 5. Is dark and bashful. Neither has mush
to say. There is a lar_le bed for the mother and Aliso ("She
will not sleep alone"), and a sin3lo bed for Helen. The
room is not small, but there are two trunks and several hand—
bags which rather crowd thin. They travel with a small
radio, a metionuvicture camera, and a lar3o Thermos bottle,
and ,aiett has a hue doll with her constantly.
After her father died, Ure. Ramsey and her mother went
to ?ennsylvania to live. Her mother had inherited for life
a small ineome from some of her own people, and her husband's
leorlia property had finally yielded a trust fund from *doh
she received about $50 a month. A shrewd executor had
made some good trades and sales;
other properties, and sold them;
estate, and wound up with a fund
had borrowed money, bought
paid all the debts of the
of about $1C,CCO, whieh
was seemingly well invested, and drawing 6t interest* They
lived in boardin3houses in Pennsylvania, moving often from
place to place, after a few years they settled in New Jersey.
Once or twice they visited their folks in this State, and
at other times kept in touch with them by mail.
he net her husband in hew Jersey, and their courtship
was short and violent. After the marriage it developed that
Mr. !iamsey did not like his motheru.ing-law, and would not
permit her to live with them. vother and daughter had never
been separated, and both became really 11 when the bride—
groam's ecia:on was announced. It nearly broke up the
romance, but she finally went with her husband, and her
mother returned to the south to recuperate. kr. hamsey dealt
in securities, and was doing very well indeed. He had gone
to New Jersey on a business trip, and rwlained long enough
to win his wife. Upon his return to northern ,ew York, be
established her in a handsome home, bought her an automobile,
and bedecked her with expensive clothes. This wee in 1916,
and Helen was born the following year.
Ilrs. Ramsey wrote to her mother daily, end the latter re..
ciprooated, but never set foot in her daughter's home. How-.
over, Mr. rntasey permitted his wife to visit her mother oc-
casionally sometimes in the -outh, sometimes in New Jersey
or Ilennsylvania. Helen adored her wjandmother, and was
adored by her, but they never saw very much of one another,
because the visits were always short. Besides, Mrs. Pamsey
did not like to travel by train it made her nervous and
she was not permitted to take long trips in her automobile:
both her husband and her doctor forbade it. Helen attended
the public schools, and wanted to go to college, or finishing
school, but, "I couldn't bear for her to be away from me,
said Xrs. itamsey. he wanted to :et a job, too, but c=ld
not, for the ammo reason.
Alice was born in 193 about a year nfter ire. am:Hoyle
mother died, and by that time Vr. amsoy's l'usinoss had de-.
alined alarmlnily. He had squeezed through the financial
difficulties of 1929, but the followina years brought no
return of his former affluence. Is had to mort3age his
home* rrsi. :.azsey had a nervous breakdown. Later, she
suspected that her husband had become interested in another
woman. Ohm often accused him of it, and he neither affirmed
nor denied it, merely left the house* .-,lemetimes he would
be one for several days, without letting her know his
whereabouts. in time, he proposed a divorce, offering to
turn over to her certain money and property. Ale refused,
and had another breakdown. He moved away, and sent her a
check soh month for expenses. After a time, she a3reed to
the divorce and property settlement, havin3 made up her mind
to return to the :-,outh, but it was too late: his business
had gone from bad to wore*, the mortgage on the house was
about to be foreclosed, and other creditors were making de—
mands which he could not meet. He shot himself*
.Ame of his life Insurance had been paid up, and one of
the policies, a mall one, she colleeted in cash. Tram the
others she will ;et a monthly income of t150 for life* Amy
bought a new ear, medium—priced, because the largo one she
had been usin-.1, and thought was hers, turned out to be in
her husband's name, and was liquidated along with the rest
of his estate, wtich was insolvent* The investment of her
mother's trust fund turned out badly, in the end, and now
there is no income from that source If any part of the
capital is recovered, it will be divided betweon Lrs. Ramsey
and he -r half sister.
"My or finally came this morning but I thought they
would never get it unloaded. I wont down there about nine,
and the man said it had arrived,, but had not twat: switched
to the unloading platform. He said they would have it out
about noon, he thought* I went back about 11:30, and they
were just placing the freight car at the platform. I watched
them, and it made me so nervous I could hardly stand it.
They Jerked it so. I was just sure my car would be damaged.
And then it looked like they wouldn't be able to f,let the
door open the door to the freight car, I mean. When they
finally got it open, there wus my ear inside, and it was
all right, but it took them the lonlest time to Wt it loose.
They fasten it to the floor, you know, to keep it fran roll-
ing around. I didn't see them when they fastened it I
mean, when it 'Its sh pped. Helen just drove it on the pint's"
form, and one of the men put it in the frei7,ht car, and we
left. I really hadn't thought .luoh about their fastening
it to the floor, and I was worried about it all the time
until I saw it was safe. .>ome of the nails stuck to the
floor of the freight car when they took the blocks loose,
and instead of pullIn.; them out, they just bent them down,
and then they drove the car right over themi I thought it
would ruin my tiros, but the man said it wouldn't hurt then
a bit; that the nails couldn't stick into the tires, since
they had been hammered down flat but I don't know it
looked pretty bad to me."
Twisting her hands nervously, she cont'nued, *We have
looked at lots of places already about 2C, at least and
we found one that Helen likes 4. I didn't like any of them 4.
but I don't know we may take it Haler likes it so. The
rent is 435 a month, furnished, except for linen. Telephone,
gas, electricity, and heat will be extra. There's no toll
in 3 what that'll amount to. nut I don't like the as stove.
We used gas in New Yorl:, but I had a ran;e so mueh nicer
than the one over there. Helen does most of the cookin,4
but I don't know whether I can put up with that stove or
not. :aul I'm afraid it will be too hot there in summer;
the windows seem very small to me, Does it :;et very hot
here in sunmer now? It used to be cool, as I remember it.
"Oh, I'm so tired'!"