Letter from Al Gore
Hello,
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."
Back then, black folks in the south were second-class
citizens. One day, a traveling minister came through
town, and I asked him if anyone was ever going to do
something to guarantee civil rights for all Americans.
Well, I guess I made an impression. You see, the
minister's name was Martin Luther King, Jr.
My father was a United States Senator. He once perched
me on his knee and said, "Son, if you work hard and
listen to your mama, someday you can live in a hotel
in Washington, D.C., and go to an exclusive prep
school."
But life of privilege was not for me. After getting
my high school diploma, I took a job in a hot, dirty
textile mill. I was so appalled at the treatment of
the workers there that I organized a union. Later,
that experience inspired a movie. 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 the hockey team to four consecutive
national championships, but I also played football and
was good enough to win the Heisman Trophy.
During my college years, I lived in a housing project
and moonlighted playing lead guitar for a little rock
band. You may have heard of it ? he Rolling Stones.
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
Medal of Honor 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 truck stops 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 Audubon Society, doing the
clinical research that proved smoking caused cancer,
and coming up with the recipe for Mrs. Field's chocolate
chip cookies.
Finally, I deferred to the demands of the people of
Tennessee and allowed them to elect me to the House of
Representatives and the Senate, where I established
the US Strategic Oil Reserve. And then one winter
day nearly nine years ago, for no particular reason,
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 the most successful
administration in American history. And, in my spare
time, I invented the Internet. 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."
Al
