Nana Biography

I adored my stepfather up till the age of 12 or 13. he was just what I needed. I thought he was great. Well, all of a sudden there was a conflict between us. There were two reasons. one was that he was so proud of his little boy who was spoiled rotten and who was the favorite son -  at least I felt this way, so I was jealous of that, and in the meantime he used to tease me. 

I was teased constantly. My mother wouldn't hear it. he was able to get me crying.  He would be speaking in a low voice that my mother couldn't hear, saying "nanny goat you are really stupid", and other really tough things. I'd tell my mother and she'd say "Nancy you ought to learn how to take teasing. I had five brothers and I had to learn how to take it."  She was right but I couldn't. somehow I never did learn how to take his teasing.  It really got to me. He had a way of making me dissolve. So that was unpleasant for me. 

When they approached me about going away to a boarding school in Virginia, I thought, “great “. I mean, I didn’t want to be around the house, particularly. My mother Picked out a school which included horseback riding. It was a small school of 80 students, five year high school and preparatory for Smith. She was smart to do that. It was a good school and the academics were very high. Boarding school suited me to a T. I just loved it. I fitted in with everything, and there were athletics.

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