I said, "Marina, you are a married woman and it is proper for you to
have a little longer shorts than the younger girls."
"No, Mama."
And I will stress this--that Marina was never too happy--"No, Mama, no
nice, no, Mama, no this."
That was perfectly all right. I thought she didn't understand our ways.
I didn't feel badly about it.
I am going to get back to the highchair, to give you a picture of my
son.
I bought the highchair and brought it over there, and Lee was not at
home. And Marina didn't know what a highchair was. And she told me in
Russian. I said, "How do they feed babies in Russia?" By this time,
June was 4 or 5 months old, just getting ready to sit up.
"We put baby on lap, Mama, and baby eat on lap."
And so a highchair to me, I think, was new to Marina.
So approximately 2 or 3 days later I go over there and Lee says to me,
"Now, Mother, I want you to understand right here and now--I want you
to stop giving all these gifts to me and my wife. I want to give Marina
whatever is necessary, the best I can do. I want you to keep your money
and take care of yourself, because today or tomorrow you take sick, and
you spend all your money on us, I will have to take care of you." Which
makes very good sense.
But he strongly put me in my place about buying things for his wife
that he himself could not buy.
Mr. RANKIN. What did you say to that?
Mrs. OSWALD. I agreed with him. And I said--the shock of it--I realize
what a mother-in-law I was in interfering. And, of course, that is
part that we mothers-in-law do unconsciously. We try to help out our
children, and in a way we are interfering in their life. They would
rather have their own way of doing things.
And I realize that I had interfered, and the boy wanted to take care of
his wife. So no more was said about it.
I go into many homes, being a nurse, and I see this problem also, where
the mothers and mothers-in-law bring things, and the men strongly
object to it--they would rather do without, and have their wife do
without, and they themselves be the master of the home.
So then I realized I was being a foolish mother-in-law, and that he was
perfectly right.
I should save my money and take care of myself. He had a wife and baby
to take care of. If I didn't have any money, he might have to take care
of me. So I agreed with that.
Mr. RANKIN. Did Marina say anything about that?
Mrs. OSWALD. Well, no, Marina didn't know--unless she understood the
English part. I have no way of knowing, you see.
Mr. RANKIN. All right. Tell us what happened after that, then.
Mrs. OSWALD. Now, let me think just a minute.
This, gentlemen, is very emotional to me, because it is a humanitarian
side that I am trying to bring out. Material things are involved to me
that are of no consequence. And I am trying to point out the fact that
these Russian people seemed to think that the Russian girl should have
material things.
And all through my story, I can prove things that have happened of this
nature.
Yes--I will continue.
I was on the OB case for very wealthy people. I then became a nurse and
by word of mouth I had worked in the finest homes in Fort Worth at this
salary. I have worked for Ammon Carter, Jr., who is the owner of the
Star Telegram. I have worked in his home. I have worked for Dr. Ross
seven weeks in his home. I have worked for Mayor Vandergriff. I took
care of his last baby in his home. And I can go on and on.
So I have been employed in over 200 homes at this salary. So I know
the difference of working in very poor homes, people on welfare, that
I worked in, and then working in the rich homes. So I have experience,
gentlemen, is what I am trying to say.
So I mentioned to Mrs. Rosenthal that Lee and Marina didn't have a baby
bed, and Lee didn't have work clothes. He had had his suits from the
United States yet with him when he went to Russia. But he needed work
clothes since he got this job.