Return to Stewardship! ***This month Stuart [had] a guest columnist - VP Al Gore*** "My Incredible Journey" The Life and Times of Albert Arnold Gore, Jr.I'm Al Gore, and I'd like to tell you about myself. I know a lot about hardship, because I came into this world as a poor black child in a tiny town in the backwoods of Tennessee. I was born in a log cabin that I built with my own hands. I taught myself to read by candlelight and helped support my 16 brothers and sisters by working summers as a deck hand on a Mississippi River steamboat. My mother taught me the value of education, so every day, I would walk 5 miles to a one-room schoolhouse. I was a mischievous, fun loving scamp, though I never dreamed that one day, my youthful escapades would serve as the inspiration for "Huckleberry Finn." After getting my high school diploma, I took a job in a hot, dirty textilemill. I was so appalled at the treatment of the workers there that I organized a union. Later, that experience inspired a movie - which is why, to this day, my close friends at the AFL-CIO call me "Norma Rae." When word got out what an 18-year old factory worker had done, Harvard called and offered me a scholarship. I captained Harvard's football team to four consecutive national championships, and won the Heisman Trophy. But there was a war going on, and I felt I had to serve my country. So I enlisted in the U. S. Army and went to Vietnam. I was deeply opposed to the war, but I did my duty as a soldier and came back home with the Navy Cross and the Croix de Guerre. When I got back, I took a long journey across this great land of ours. I've crossed the deserts bare, man, I've breathed the mountain air, man, I've traveled, I've done my share, man, I've been everywhere. And the people I met at truckstops and campgrounds and homeless shelters on that journey all said the same thing: "Al, we need you in Washington." I knew they were right, but first I had to take care of some other business -- building the World Trade Center, founding the United Nations, doing the clinical research that found the cure for cancer, and writing Shakespeare's plays. Finally, I deferred to the demands of the people of Tennessee and allowed them to elect me to the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. And then one winter day nearly nine years ago, for no personal reason at all, I answered the call of the people once again and took the oath of office as Vice President of the United States. Since then, I've been part of themost successful administration in American history. Many times Bill Clinton has been pondering some grave decision and has asked me what to do. And when I would give him my thoughts, he would invariable say, "Of course. That's brilliant. Why didn't I think of that?" During the darkest days of the impeachment battle, the president told me he only wished he had listened when I told him to stay away from that dark-haired intern. So after I decided to run for president, I sat down with him and asked if he had any suggestions about how to conduct my campaign. And Bill Clinton gave me a few simple words of advice -- words I'll never forget. He looked me in the eye and he said, "Al, just tell the truth, it's always worked for me." Dr. Suess
Goes to Flori-Duh... Can we count them with our nose? I will not let this vote count
stand. Can we change these numbers here? I will not let this VOTE count
stand! I'm really ticked, I'm in a snit! I'll count the ballots one by one. But I will not let this vote count
stand! I won't leave office, I'm stayin'
here! We do not want this vote to stand! How shall we count this ballot box? I do not want this vote to stand! I've counted till my fingers bleed! I will not let this vote count
stand! What's that? What are you trying to
say? I WILL NOT LET THIS VOTE COUNT
STAND! |