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00:00:01
Unidentified Speaker, -
TV PRESENTS AFTER WORDS AN HOUR-LONG PROGRAM WHERE WE INVITE GUEST HOST TO INTERVIEW AUTHORS. THIS WEEK, CLIFTON TRUMAN DANIEL PROVIDES PERSONAL COMMENTARY...
00:00:43
Unidentified Speaker, -
FUN TO BE HERE WITH YOU. WE HAVE SPENT A LOT OF TIME TALKING THE PAST ABOUT YOUR GRANDFATHER AND MY GREAT GRANDFATHER'S RELATIONSHIP AND YOU'VE JUST...
00:01:10
Unidentified Speaker, -
A VERY PRIVATE PERSON AND MY GRANDFATHER WAS AN OPEN BOOK. YOU ESTIMATE QUESTION YOU GOT AN ANSWER. HE SAVED EVERYTHING. HE SAVE SCRAPS OF PAPERS AND...
00:02:06
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Host: TOSSED ANOTHER STACK SECOND OF FIRE. >> Guest: IF SHE WROTE
00:02:10
Unidentified Speaker, -
AS OFTEN AS HE DID WHICH IS LIKELY, SHE BURNED MORE THAN 1200 LETTERS, MORE THAN 11 OR 1200 LETTERS AND THE ONES SHE MISSED, SHE MISSED AND WHAT RAID...
00:02:34
Unidentified Speaker, -
184 THAT SHE HAD HONOR ON AND WHEN DID YOU COME TO FIND THEM? >> Guest: MY
00:02:39
Unidentified Speaker, -
MOTHER ASKED IN THE EARLY 1980s, A YEAR OR SO BEFORE MY GRANDMOTHER DIED, MY MOTHER ASKED FOR AN INVENTORY OF EVERYTHING IN THE HOUSE AND ARCHIVISTS...
00:02:56
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TWOS AND THREES AND TALKED THEM INTO A BOX AND TOOK THEM TO THE TRUMAN LIBRARY. >>
00:02:59
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Host: AND IN THE LETTERS CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE TIMEFRAME FROM THE LETTERS? WHAT PART OF THEIR LIVES TO THE LETTERWRITING STAND? >> Guest: IT'S ODD...
00:03:10
Unidentified Speaker, -
IT ACTUALLY DOES SPAN -- THE -- THERE IS ONE FROM 1919, THE END OF WORLD WAR I. FROM 192-32-1943 WHICH WAS ESSENTIALLY GRANDPAS 10 YEARS AS A COUNTY...
00:03:46
Unidentified Speaker, -
THINGS I'VE NOTICED IS IT'S TRUE, SHE PROBABLY DID BURN ABOUT 1100 LETTERS BECAUSE THEN THE TIMES THAT YOU HAVE THE LETTERS THAT SHE SHE IS HAS WRITTEN...
00:04:17
Unidentified Speaker, -
I ALWAYS KNEW THEY WERE CLOSE BUT I DID NOT REALIZE HOW CLOSE. WHEN THEY WERE PART AND THERE IS NO WAY TO KNOW THAT THE LETTERS OF MY GRANDMOTHER THAT...
00:05:16
Unidentified Speaker, -
THINGS THAT I LOVE ABOUT THESE LETTERS IS FIRST, FOR ANYBODY WHO HAS NOT TOLD YOU ABOUT THE LOST ART OF LETTERWRITING AND HOW THIS WAS THE PRIMARY WAY...
00:05:50
Unidentified Speaker, -
THAT WAS ACTUALLY THE FIRST ONE I READ. I WAS USED TO NO-NONSENSE, AND VERY SWEET LADY ALESSI CROSSER, LSU CLIMBED UP THE WALLS OR PUT MARBLES DOWN...
00:06:37
Unidentified Speaker, -
YOU TALK ACTUALLY ABOUT HOW YOU KNEW YOUR GRANDMOTHER IS THIS STERN WOMAN BECAUSE SHE WAS YOUR GRANDMOTHER AND YOU WERE SIX YEARS OLD OR SO WE FIRST...
00:07:02
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SHE WAS -- IT REALLY IS A WONDERFUL THING FOR A FAMILY MEMBER, FOR A GRANDCHILD TO MEET, TO GO BACK IN TIME AND GET A CHANCE TO MEET YOUR GRANDMOTHER...
00:08:53
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EVEN WHEN THE REPORTS CAME BACK FULLY CLEAN, YET A CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH SHE SAID I BET THEY DID NOT LOCATE YOUR TONSILS. >> Guest: DID
00:09:02
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NOT BELIEVE IT. WOULD HAVE A SAY ABOUT YOUR HEART? >> Host: ONE OF THE
00:09:06
Unidentified Speaker, -
THINGS I LOVED ABOUT YOUR BOOK IS HOW IT REALLY PAINTS THIS PICTURE OF WHAT A PILL OR BESS WAS FOR HARRY THROUGHOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP AND I WONDER,...
00:09:27
Unidentified Speaker, -
IS INTERESTING, HE OFTEN SAID AND HE SAID IT IN A LETTER THERE I THINK IN THE LATE 20s OR EARLY 30s, EARLY 30s. HE HAD COME BACK FROM NATIONAL GUARD...
00:11:06
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A FRICTION. >> Guest:
00:11:08
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ANY SERIOUS FRICTION. THEY GOT INTO IT OVER HAIRCUT IN 1925. >> Host: THE GOLDEN CURLS. JESS. >> Guest: GRANDPA
00:11:18
Unidentified Speaker, -
SAW MY GRANDMOTHER WHEN HE WAS SIX AND SHE WAS FIVE IN SUNDAY SCHOOL AND HE REMEMBERED FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE A LITTLE GIRL WITH THE GOLDEN CURLS...
00:11:41
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Host: BECAUSE THEY GOT MARRIED QUITE LATE. >> Guest: THEY WERE
00:11:46
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BOTH IN THEIR MID-30s WHEN THEY GOT MARRIED. BUT THE CORE CHIP, DATE, HE WAS BORN IN 1884 AND SHE WAS BORN IN 1885. THEIR COURTSHIP DID NOT START UNTIL...
00:12:09
Unidentified Speaker, -
LETTERS ADMONISHED HER FOR WANTING TO CUT HER HAIR. >> Guest: RIGHT AND ITS
00:12:16
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1925. ALL THE WOMEN ARE GETTING THEIR HAIRCUT SHORT AND SHE COMPLAINED. THE APPARENTLY STARTED THIS ARGUMENT AT HOME. THEY MUST HAVE BECAUSE THE LETTER...
00:12:49
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NO WORD ABOUT WHETHER SHE CUT HER HAIR? >> Guest:
00:12:53
Unidentified Speaker, -
NO. MAYBE IT CROSSED IN THE MAIL BUT HE WAS LIKE I'M GOING TO KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT. AND SHE WOULDN'T LET HIM GET AWAY WITH IT. THE NEXT LETTER FROM...
00:13:49
Unidentified Speaker, -
IS THE 1930s PERIOD THERE WERE FEWER LETTERS THAN THAT IS ALSO THE DECADE WHERE YOUR MOTHER WAS BORN. THIS IS ALSO AS YOU NOTICE IN THE LETTER, FIRST...
00:14:21
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THEY WERE THE TRIO. THEY WERE A TIGHT FAMILY GROUP. I THINK THAT'S JUST THE WAY THEY WERE BUT ALSO MY GRANDMOTHER HAD TWO MISCARRIAGES WHILE MY MOTHER...
00:15:55
Unidentified Speaker, -
OF THE THINGS I THINK THE AMERICAN PUBLIC, THEY HAVE THIS IMAGE OF THE 1944 CONVENTION AND WAS HAIRY AND MARGARET SMILING INTO THE CAMERA SAND WAITING....
00:16:25
Unidentified Speaker, -
IT. AND THAT PARTICULAR, THOSE SERIES OF PHOTOS, MY MOTHER AND MY GRANDFATHER ARE WAVING AND SMILING AT EVERYBODY IN MY GRANDMOTHER IS OVER THERE LIKE...
00:18:59
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ALSO HAD NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS. >> Guest: SHIITES
00:19:03
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HAD A NEWSPAPER CLIPPING, A STORY ABOUT HIM OR ANYTHING HE WAS MISSING BY BEING AWAY. NATIONAL GUARD CAMP IN THE 20s AND ON THE SENATE INVESTIGATIVE...
00:19:15
Unidentified Speaker, -
ALL AT -- ATTITUDE ABOUT POLITICS CHANGE FROM THE TIME HE WAS IN MISSOURI AND THEN WENT TO THE SENATE AND WAS INVOLVED IN WASHINGTON? >> Guest: NO, YOU
00:19:23
Unidentified Speaker, -
CAN SEE IN THE LETTER SHE BECOMES MORE ASTUTE. SHE UNDERSTANDS POLITICS ON THE NATIONAL SCENE, THE NATIONAL STAGE. SHE IS VERY GOOD AT IT. AGAIN SHE...
00:19:58
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SOMETIMES CRITICIZED PUBLICLY FOR BEING INDEPENDENT AND NOT THING IN WASHINGTON WITH HER HUSBAND. THIS WAS EARLY IN HER LIFE WHICH MAY HAVE FORMED...
00:20:14
Unidentified Speaker, -
IT GOES BACK TO THE PHOTO OF THE 44 CONVENTION. SHE WAS GLOWERING AND SHE DIDN'T LIKE THE WHOLE THING. WHEN SHE WAS 18 YEARS OLD, HER FATHER, DAVID...
00:23:09
Unidentified Speaker, -
YOU THINK THAT ALSO PROBABLY CONTRIBUTED TO HER RESERVATIONS WAX THERE WAS ONE THING YOU WROTE. YOU SAID HER FAVORITE INTERVIEW WAS A WRITTEN Q&A. >>...
00:23:21
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INTO, WHEN SHE GOT INTO OFFICE, WHEN GRANDPA GOT INTO OFFICE THIS IS ROOSEVELT HAD WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCES. MY GRANDMOTHER CANCELED THOSE AND THEN...
00:23:54
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WE ARE GOING TO BREAK AND WE WILL BE BACK IN JUST A MOMENT. >> AFTER WORDS IS AVAILABLE
00:24:07
Unidentified Speaker, -
VIA PODCAST THROUGH iTUNES AND XML. VISIT BookTV.ORG AND CLICK PODCAST ON THE UPPER LEFT SIDE OF THE PAGE. SELECT WHICH PODCAST YOU WOULD LIKE TO...
00:24:22
Unidentified Speaker, -
WITH CLIFTON TRUMAN DANIEL, TALKING ABOUT HIS BOOK, "DEAR HARRY, LOVE BESS" BESS TRUMAN'S LETTERS TO HARRY TRUMAN 1919-1943, AND YOU ARE JUST ABOUT...
00:24:43
Unidentified Speaker, -
Guest: TALKING ABOUT THE VARIOUS REFERENCES TO NIGHTGOWNS THAT'S ANOTHER THING ABOUT GETTING TO KNOW YOUR GRANDPARENTS WHEN SHE WAS YOUNGER. THEY DON'T...
00:25:00
Unidentified Speaker, -
THERE'S A WHOLE NIGHTGOWNS SECTION IN THE LETTER. MAYBE YOU CAN TELL US ABOUT THAT. >> Guest:
00:25:06
Unidentified Speaker, -
THEY KEEP CROPPING UP. >> Host: I REMEMBER I
00:25:08
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DID READ SOMETHING ABOUT A RACIALLY NICK SHEA -- RACY NEGLIGEE. >> Guest: IT
00:25:16
Unidentified Speaker, -
WAS JUST A TOSSUP SENTENCE IN ONE OF THE LETTERS, WENT SHOPPING, BOUGHT MARGARET A NEW HAT AND BOUGHT A NEW NIGHTGOWNS FOR ME. ARE A GREAT, NICE TO...
00:29:35
Unidentified Speaker, -
HEALTHY MARRIAGE IN MANY WAYS, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT REALLY DRIVES YOU INTO THE BOOK. IT'S A LOVE STORY. >> Guest: YEAH, THEY HAD
00:29:45
Unidentified Speaker, -
A GREAT ROMANCE. LIKE I SAID EARLIER, SHE IGNORED HIM. SHE WASN'T THAT MEAN. >> Host: EARLY
00:29:53
Unidentified Speaker, -
IN THE COURTSHIP SHE HAD HER -- HE HAD PROPOSED TO HER IN ONE OF THE LETTERS. >>
00:30:01
Unidentified Speaker, -
Guest: AFTER SIX MONTHS OF LETTER WRITING AND VISITING HE SAID WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT WEARING A SOLITAIRE, WEARING A DIAMOND? NOTHING. >> Host: SHE...
00:30:12
Unidentified Speaker, -
Guest: NO RESPONSE. I THINK IT WENT ON FOR A WEEK TO 10 DAYS, NOTHING. HE WROTE TO GET IN BUT AGAIN AND HE SAID I'M SORRY, I JUMPED AGAIN. I DON'T KNOW...
00:31:25
Unidentified Speaker, -
I WANT TO POINT OUT THE COVER THAT IS ON THE BOOK, THE PHOTO HERE IS A SPECIAL PHOTO THAT RESEMBLES THAT COURTSHIP. >>
00:31:36
Unidentified Speaker, -
Guest: THAT'S THE ONE THAT HE TOOK WITH HIM TO WORLD WAR I AND HE KEPT IN HIS POCKET ALL THROUGH THE WAR. SHE HAD AGREED TO MARRY HIM BEFORE THE WAR...
00:32:15
Unidentified Speaker, -
HER GRANDFATHER'S LETTERS PUBLIC IN THE MID-1980s. >> Guest: CORRECT. >> Host: BUT SHE DID
00:32:24
Unidentified Speaker, -
NOT -- YOUR GRANDMOTHERS. WHY? >>
00:32:28
Unidentified Speaker, -
Guest: I THINK AND I REMEMBER ASKING HER IN THE MID- 80s. BOB FARRELL DID THE BOOK. HE USED ABOUT HALF OF MIKE GRANDFATHER'S LETTERS IN THE BOOK AND...
00:33:26
Unidentified Speaker, -
THE FIRST THAT ANYBODY IN THE UNITED STATES UNITED STATES HAD EVER HAD THIS KIND OF ACCESS BUT IT WAS ONLY 15 LETTERS AND YOU HAVE 184 HERE. >> Guest:...
00:33:37
Unidentified Speaker, -
HOW DO YOU THINK YOU GRANDMOTHER WHITFIELD KNOWING THAT YOU, HER GRANDSON WITH THE LONG HAIR HAD PUBLISHER LETTERS? >> Guest: YOU KNOW I
00:33:50
Unidentified Speaker, -
DON'T KNOW. I THINK THAT SHE HAD TO DEAL WITH MY MOTHER. SHE AND MY GRANDFATHER HAD A DEAL WITH MY MOTHER. IN 1973, ABOUT MY GRANDFATHER IN 1984 ABOUT...
00:34:48
Unidentified Speaker, -
IS YOUR -- ARE THERE SOME OTHER PEOPLE THAT WERE IN THE LETTERS? >> Guest: ROOSEVELT, -- >>
00:35:01
Unidentified Speaker, -
Host: ROOSEVELT FOR EXAMPLE. >> Guest: THE MAIN THING
00:35:03
Unidentified Speaker, -
THAT SHE WAS ANGRY, BOTH OF THEM ANGRY AT THE PRESIDENT FOR, GRANDPA, HE WAS ONE SENATE SEAT IN 1934 AND GETTING TO RUN AGAIN IN 1940 AND IT TURNED...
00:36:32
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TALKS ABOUT TOM PRENDERGAST WHO WAS THE DEMOCRATIC BOSS. WHAT WAS BEST' VIEW OF PRENDERGAST? >>
00:36:42
Unidentified Speaker, -
Guest: LIKE MY GRANDPA, SHE DOESN'T SAY MUCH ABOUT HIM EXCEPT SHE PAYS IN THAT RESPECT BACK WHEN GRANDPA WAS BEING ASKED TO DO CERTAIN THINGS SHE GOES...
00:38:07
Unidentified Speaker, -
THE LETTERS REPORTED THAT BACK TO HIM. >>
00:38:13
Unidentified Speaker, -
RIGHT. WHEN HE IS A NATIONAL GUARD CAMP HE SAID THIS IS WHAT I'M DOING IT NATIONAL GUARD CAMP AND SHE SAID THIS IS WHAT IS GOING ON AT HOME. I KNOW...
00:38:24
Unidentified Speaker, -
LETTERS ADD TO THE HISTORICAL RECORD IN TERMS OF DETERMINING PRESIDENCY AND UNDERSTANDING? >> Guest: I JUST WANT TO
00:38:35
Unidentified Speaker, -
SAY HUMANITY, YOU DON'T OFTEN GET TO HEAR IT PRESIDENT AND FIRST LADY SPEAK TO EACH OTHER LIKE THIS. IF THE NORMAL RHYTHM OF THEIR LIVES, TO UNDERSTAND....
00:39:23
Unidentified Speaker, -
TO THINK THERE IS ANYTHING TO THE CREDIT TO THEM THAT HARRY TRUMAN WAS MORE IN LOVE WITH BESS THAN BESS WAS WITH HARRY TRUMAN? >> Guest: KNOW,
00:39:33
Unidentified Speaker, -
AGAIN SHE WAS A PRIVATE LADY. GRANDPA WILL TELL YOU IF YOU ASK HIM, DO YOU LOVE BESS TRUMAN? YES, I LOVE HER AND IF YOU ASKED MY GRANDMOTHER SHE WOULD...
00:40:30
Unidentified Speaker, -
ARE LITTLE BITS AND ALL OF THEM. >> Host: SHE REALLY
00:40:32
Unidentified Speaker, -
HAS A SENSE OF HUMOR. >> Guest: YES SHE
00:40:36
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DOES. HE IS OFF INVESTIGATING WASTE AND FRAUD IN THE MILITARY, THE ROBBERY OF THE UNITED STATES RAILROAD. HE IS OFF INVESTIGATING THESE HUGE ISSUES...
00:41:13
Unidentified Speaker, -
I LIKE GOING AGAINST THIS THEME THAT SHE WAS NOT POLITICAL AT ALL. IN 1942 SHE WRITES TO HIM ABOUT A RADIO SPEECH IS GIVEN THE NIGHT BEFORE AND SHE...
00:41:44
Unidentified Speaker, -
THEM. >> Guest: RIGHT. SHE DOES CONTRADICT HERSELF. >> Host: IT ALSO GOES TO
00:41:52
Unidentified Speaker, -
SHOW SHE WAS INVOLVED IN HIS POLITICAL CAREER THROUGHOUT EVEN THOUGH IN THE AMERICAN PUBLIC HAD THIS NOTION THAT SHE WAS OFTEN INDEPENDENT AND WASN'T...
00:42:03
Unidentified Speaker, -
THEY WERE VERY ENGAGED EACH OTHER'S LIVES AND THE STORY FROM KEY WEST SORT OF GOING DOWN THERE, THE ECONOMY IMMEDIATELY IMPROVE. >> Host: WHAT WAS IN...
00:42:16
Unidentified Speaker, -
WHITE HOUSE WERE GRANDPA WENT FOR VACATION. HE GOT A HEAD COLD IN 1946, COULDN'T SHAKE IT. THE DOCTOR SAID GO SOMEWHERE WARM. WHERE WOULD THAT BE? I...
00:42:31
Unidentified Speaker, -
HAD ROOSEVELT BEEN THERE PREVIOUSLY? >>
00:42:33
Unidentified Speaker, -
Guest: ROOSEVELT HAD BEEN TO KEY WEST. I THINK HE STOPPED BY. GRANDPA MOVED IN LOCK STOCK AND BARREL AND SPEND 170 DAYS OF HIS PRESIDENCY, 11 WORKING...
00:43:35
Unidentified Speaker, -
ONE OF THE BEST ENDORSEMENTS ANYONE COULD HAVE FOR LOOK IS THE ONE THAT MICHAEL BESCHLOSS GAVE YOU. HE SAID MORE AND MORE WE ARE LEARNING ABOUT HOW BESS...
00:44:30
Unidentified Speaker, -
KENYAN AIDED AND STRONG-MINDED ABOUT HIS HEALTH AND POLITICS IN THEIR FRIENDS, WHO SHOULD BE DOING WHAT. SHE WAS THE OPPOSITE TOO. SHE WAS KIND OF AN...
00:44:46
Unidentified Speaker, -
SOMETHING SHE REFERRED TO WHEN YOU ARE ABOUT 15. SHE SAID SHE WAS A BIT, WAS IT FAIR TO SAY SHE WAS DUPLICITOUS? >> Guest: YES SHE WAS, SHE
00:44:54
Unidentified Speaker, -
WAS VERY TO POST IT -- DUPLICITOUS. GRANDPA HATED LONG HAIR ON US. HE COULD NOT STAND AS WITH HAIR. THIS WAS IN 1971 AND HE COULDN'T STAND US WITH HAIR,...
00:46:00
Unidentified Speaker, -
TO SOMEBODY SQUATTING ON THE PROPERTY, WE DON'T KNOW. IF IT'S TIME SOMETHING IS DONE ABOUT THOSE HIPPIES. WHEN I SAW MY GRANDSONS WITH LONG HAIR AND...
00:46:22
Unidentified Speaker, -
GREAT EXAMPLE. SO AND A LAST MORSELS THAT YOU CAN GIVE THE VIEWERS IN TERMS OF A LETTER OR A SURPRISE, SOMETHING THAT THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE KNOWN ABOUT...
00:46:38
Unidentified Speaker, -
SAID IT. IT SHOWS THAT, IT'S A PICTURE OF WHO SHE WAS. I GET THIS A LOT WHEN I GIVE SPEECHES. PEOPLE WILL BRING THAT UP. SHE DID NOT REALLY LOVE HIM....
00:47:24
Unidentified Speaker, -
DO MATH. 1919 TO 1972. SO 53 YEARS. >>
00:47:33
Unidentified Speaker, -
Host: IT'S AN INCREDIBLE CONTRIBUTION. IS A WONDERFUL BOOK. ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO KNOW MORE ABOUT BESS TRUMAN BECAUSE REALLY THERE WASN'T A LOT ABOUT...
00:47:52
Unidentified Speaker, -
WHO MAY OR MAY NOT BE IN TROUBLE WITH HIS GRANDMOTHER. >> Host: WHO MAY HAVE
00:47:56
Unidentified Speaker, -
SOME RECKONING TO DO. THANK YOU VERY MUCH CLIFTON FOR SHARING THE LETTERS FROM YOUR GRANDMOTHER. >> Guest: THANK YOU MARGARET. >>

NOTE: The transcript for this program was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.

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