Popular Culture Review 29.2
warranted . Franklin Roosevelt was in command , both on the sea and in the White House .”
It is significant that FDR “ carried his sailor instincts ” into that White House . He was “ a consummate sailor politician ” � possibly the consummate sailor politician . Frances Perkins sensed this . She said FDR “ rarely got himself sewed tight to a program from which there was no turning back .” As Cross observes , “ this is much the same way a good sailor uses keen skills to prevent getting trapped by wind and weather .” As Perkins said , “ he worked with his instincts . He relied upon his intuitive judgment .” Admiral Emory Land goes so far as to credit “ Roosevelt ’ s deep understanding of the sea with U . S . success in World War II . Franklin Delano Roosevelt knew more about the ships and the men who sailed them ... than any man who ever held high office .”
A year before he died , FDR confided to his trusted Grace Tully that if anything ever happened to him while on the water , he wanted to be buried at sea . “ You know ,” he said to her , “ it has always seemed like home to me ” ( Cross 2003 195-200 ).
EPILOGUE
Thus , we have two of the most remarkable men , relatives , who became two of the most remarkable presidents . “ Remarkable ” hardly does them justice , but will have to do . Each was conditioned by extraordinary physical activities . Theodore courted all sorts of physical challenges and mastered them , including one of the more demanding of the Asian martial arts . Franklin was struck down , then fought back up without the use of his legs , and continued his mastery of all things seafaring . Their activities broadened and strengthened their bodies , their minds , and their insights and instincts . Their presidencies , similarly , reflected�and brilliantly ben-
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