Home is where I want to be
Pick me up and turn me round
I feel numb, born with a weak heart
I guess I must be having funThe less we say about it the better
Make it up as we go along
Feet on the ground, head in the sky
It's okay, I know nothing's wrong..— “This Must Be the Place,” Talking Heads, Speaking in Tongues
Olson enjoyed his last days in Paris, going to clubs, lunching with friends, strolling along the Seine. He finally received his travel orders and left the city on June 4, 1945. He wrote in his diary, “the sorrow at leaving beautiful Paris—eagerness to get home.” By June 10, he was reunited with his wife and two children in Bear River, Utah.
There is not a letter, a diary entry or any indication whatsoever that he was traumatized by the war. Those suffering from “battle fatigue” and survivor’s guilt kept quiet about it. But oh—to be home! This was the antidote to whatever emotional turmoil he might have been quietly enduring. For three weeks, he remained with his family, visiting with Zembra’s relatives on the farm and with his own parents and brothers in Salt Lake City. By early July, he was back in Manhattan, “ready” to begin his post-war career at Time Inc. He declined to return to Time magazine—this had been expected by his colleagues—so his boss and friend, Henry Luce, took extra steps to secure the right spot for him at the company.
On July 12, he wrote in his diary, “In the days it isn't so bad, but in the mornings and evenings I miss Z awfully, frightfully, terribly. She'll never know. She never has guessed how much I love her and worship her—and perhaps it's just as well.”
After many meetings, it was finally decided on July 13 that Olson would move from Time over to Fortune magazine: “My terms: while I go to Fortune as a senior editor, I will actually be a writer. I will write two or three stories, to discover how Fortune works. Then we will make new plans. My objective, actually, is 6 months of comparative peace and quiet—hours 9:30 to 5p., Sats & Suns off, while I cultivate my soul, contemplate my navel, and decide what I can do with myself really. HRL [Henry Luce] frankly admits that he wants me on Fortune in order to start a lot of trouble—meaning in order to put some oomph in the moribund magazine.”
This Substack column will continue after the book is released. Be advised that I plan to erect a very AFFORDABLE paywall in September, so please tell your friends and any WWII buffs to hurry up and subscribe NOW, while this column is still free. I hope you will stick with me!
—June 8, 2024
I’m rewatching season 1 of House of Cards on Netflix. The backstabbing, conniving and take-downs are certainly entertaining, but somehow, in light of all the political “shenanigans” going on in our country right now, the episodes suddenly strike me as quaint.
In the series, Kevin Spacey plays the main character of Frank, the majority whip in Congress. Frank is a cagey manipulator of power-hungry politicians. Somehow he manages to outfox them all. While watching the episodes, I found myself wondering how Frank would fare in the current political climate.
The series made me think about the colorful array of characters that Sid Olson must have encountered, particularly in the years leading up to WWII.
Because of the connections he forged while at Washington Post and Time Inc., Olson knew senators and representatives, judges, White House administrators, and State Department officials. He interviewed Wendell Willkie, Alf Landon, and Alben Barkley. He knew generals, industrialists and celebrities. He had a close friend in the FBI. He covered four national conventions in a row: in 1936 for the Washington Post, then in 1940, 1944 and 1948 for Time Inc. He covered Senate hearings, House debates, and judicial proceedings.
I tended, until now, to think of Olson as a New Yorker, because that’s where the majority of his career played out—but actually, for a long time, he was a Washington insider, and a deft navigator of American politics. Many in power relied upon Olson to write about their causes and their efforts…so they could build their house of cards.
It’s sounding like you are at the end of the book. It’s been fun to read about your grandpa. He was a great guy. I loved that he contemplated his navel. I wondered if that was a saying of the time. My dad used to say that too, only he said bellybutton.😄
I have enjoyed reading all of your submissions about your Grandfather. Wow!!
I’m looking forward to reading the book when it comes out. What a labor of love!