← Harold's Old Time Radio
Loading summary
Transcript1 lines
- [00:00]
A
Now, the rest of the story. Let's say you're 13 years old, born and reared in another country, looking for a fast $10. Well, you might get a job at a local market making deliveries. You might do chores for neighbors. But would it ever occur to you to write a letter simply requesting 10 Yankee dollars from the President of the United States? Well, it did occur to one 13 year old boy. In fact, the audacity of that letter was so striking that that letter is retained to this day in our national archives. The year was 1940. The rest is the rest of the story. In that autumn of 1940, he was a boy of 13 receiving a strict private parochial school education. Now, certainly, every 13 year old wants attention. This one wanted prestige. Daily he pondered his anonymity and a way to get rid of it. A way to become a big shot with his classmates. And then it came to him. In school he had learned a great deal about the United States of America, the wealthiest, most powerful, most generous nation in the world. What if he could somehow con the President of the United states out of $10? The idea became an obsession. He would have to write a letter of some kind, carefully worded, of course. A letter requesting the money while dangling a vague promise of something in return. The youngster had studied just enough English to get his subtle point across in writing. He addressed the letter to President Franklin Roosevelt, asking outright for $10 because, quote, I have not seen a $10 bill GREEN American, and I would like to have one of them. Then he went on to hint almost in postscript, that his country was rich in iron ore and he knew where the president might get his hands on some. The next day, that letter was in the mail. Proudly, its young author announced to his friends that President Roosevelt was going to send him some money. His friends laughed. Surely they did not expect an answer from the president, much less a handout. The scoffing of the youngsters sort of shook him awake. What if President Roosevelt just tossed the letter in the wastebasket? He had boasted prematurely. Now he might have to pay for it in ridicule. But the little fellow did receive an answer. He did receive a reply from the President. The response had been written by an embassy counselor on behalf of the President of the States. Quote, the President has directed the embassy to acknowledge with an expression of appreciation Your letter of November 6, 1940, written on the occasion of his re election. End quote. No, no, $10. But a nice try. And you know something? When that boy brought that letter of recognition to school, the Roman Catholic sisters were sufficiently impressed that they put it on the school bulletin board for a whole week. They did not know that the little lad had tried to hit FDR for a fast 10 bucks. Neither could they have guessed that the United States State Department would save that youngster's letter only to review it with amazement 38 years later for the 13 year old boy who was so determined to be important, the 13 year old boy who so wanted to be somebody in the eyes of his peers. That 13 year old boy, by this time, yes, I guess it's safe to say, had become important Fidel Castro. Now you know the rest of the story.