You know the movie, Six Degrees of Separation... the movie which posed the idea that everyone on earth is only six degrees, or people separated from anyone else in the world. Well, I've always found the idea thought provoking. And now I have a small claim to fame to add that idea, in my own life.
As of the other day, I am now a mere two degrees separated from Al Gore. And then would be only three degrees from Bill Clinton. And then could go on to a mere three or four for a long list of very famous and influential people in the world.
. . . . .
Let me begin this by explaining two very important parts of this scenario first. My good friend, Maura was lucky enough to be in a situation the other day where she was working at a fund-raiser here in Atlanta, for Vice President Gore. And, I've had a crush on Mr. Gore for a Very. Long. Time.
. . . . .
Way way back, in 1991-92, when Clinton began his bid for the White House, I was paying attention. Probably more attention than most other kids in the 'just old enough to vote' age bracket. You see, I was going to school at the University of Maryland, in College Park, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C.
I absolutely love it there. A good part of the reason why I wanted to go the University of Maryland in the first place was namely because of it's proximity to our nations' capital. I adore D.C. It became my second big-crush love affair with a big city since I'd been to New York. And honestly, I do still miss living there. There is something very cool and very moving about getting a big cup of coffee and a copy of the Sunday Washington Post, and lying in the grass on the Mall, reading on a warm Sunday afternoon.
I paid a lot of attention to what was going on politically. I even went to a speech giving on campus by Paul Tsongas, another Democratic presidential wanna-be. But, when Clinton got the nomination, and he picked Al Gore as his running-mate, I paid a lot of attention. I find him totally sexy and captivating.
Yes. I'm admittedly weird. And I know this probably puts me way over the top, but... I am very drawn to Mr. Gore. For reasons even I don't completely understand.
I liked him so much, that in the fourth semester of my freshman year, (yes, it was really the fourth semester, just don't ask...) I went so far as to post a big picture of him on the outside of my dorm room door. I still have the picture. I used to post a lot of other things on my door when I was twenty... I still have my Beavis and Butthead picture, proclaiming 'Sted as Beavis and me as Butthead, and the other bumpersticker looking thing that said, 'Have a nice day, fuckhead!'. But, I digress...
Wallace thinks I'm a big freak, and makes faces every time I mention it. But, he was watching a lot of the Republican debates, etc. And I'm not exactly sure why he kept tuning in, but... every time he saw Allen Keyes, he mentioned his voice resemblance to Kermit the Frog. And George Dubya, just scares the shit out of me... I cringe at the thought of his ass in the White House.
And, we did manage to see one debate between Bill Bradley and Al Gore, at the Apollo Theater, no less. And we saw one other thing with Gore on C-Span, when he was talking at the Microsoft campus. So, we have tried to get a good feel for our choices... although to me, there is no choice to be made. And I do get a lot of fulfillment from making fun of Republicans. They do provide such wonderful ammunition to fire right back at themselves...
So, the truth and bottom line is: I think Al Gore is way cool.
Maura sometimes works at the Ritz-Carlton downtown, and she told us ahead of time that she had been asked to work at this fund-raiser. And, when I called her last night, she told me all the details. She even waited around after to shake his hand. Oh, I would have swooned... I'm so jealous.
So, now that I've written this, I feel a bit more silly to say that I know someone, who met Al Gore. I think he's cool, regardless. And I hope like hell that he'll beat George Dubya for the Presidency.
Oh, did I ever tell you that I got to meet Inner Circle, when I worked at the Exxon station... You know, Inner Circle, the reggae-ish band that sings the 'Bad Boys' theme song to Cops... Yeah, I just seem to know famous people all over.
Yeah right.