Al and Tipper

Hey Everybody,

You may have heard by now of the news of Al and Tipper Gore's legal separation. No matter which side of the political fence you're on, when a 40-year marriage breaks up, it is devastating, heartbreaking news.

Before Al Gore's stint as VP, he was a Tennessee senator. Can you believe I interviewed Al Gore back in 1988, when I was a college student at MTSU? It was my very first interview. I really had no idea what I was doing. I was the editor of Collage, MTSU's fine arts magazine, and since it was an election year, I wanted to give students the opportunity to write some political essays. I interviewed Gore--he's always been one of Tennessee's favorite sons, and he had just run in the Democratic primary. (The nod for Democratic presidential candidate went to Michael Dukakis that year, and the rest, of course, is in the history books.) I really don't remember much of that interview, except that at the end of it, he told me that he thought I had pretty much covered everything with my questions. LOL! Unfortunately, although I tape recorded the phone interview with him, I later recorded over that interview because I needed the tape for something else. Oh my. Hindsight.

I don't know what happened between Al and Tipper, and I don't need to know, but I do think that when something like this happens, it would benefit us all to remember that our marriages need to be given top priority in our lives. It is all too easy to take one another for granted, or to let the kids (or work) assume that front and center position unnecessarily. My prayers are with the Gores and their family.

Marriage has and always will be harder than it looks.