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"FERTSIK" (40) YEARS OF MARRIAGE
How "umgliklekh" (unfortunate)
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe
Syosset, New York
Yes, "barimt" (famous) couples divorce all
the time. As Ellen McCarthy wrote, but "no
more than 1% of all divorces occur after 40
years of marriage."
Al and Tipper have made the headlines for
many years:
. "BIG DAY: AL GORE FRIENDS US ON FACEBOOK" (JULY 23,
2008)
Among the highlights: Gore says: "In
public restrooms, I dry my hands
naturally by using only time." "I eat one
locally-sourced meal a week." I do not
shop except for essentials." "I own some
second-hand/re-use clothing." "I hang
dry my laundry."
. "SCIENCE: AL GORE IS A GREENHOUSE GASBAG"
by John Marchese
. "AL GORE IS THE PROFESSOR IRWIN
COREY OF ENVIRONMENTALISM"
By Rev. Louis P. Sheldon
. "SEPARATE EXITS FOR BELTWAY
ROMANCE"
Washington Post
What do we know about Al and Tipper Gore?
. "aparat" (camera)
Throughout their marriage, Tipper Gore
was almost never without a camera
photographing her family and official
events in this country and overseas.
. "blitz post"/"elektronish post" (e-mail)
The news is out: Just weeks after cele-
brating their 40th anniversary, Al and
Tipper e-mailed their friends that they're
splitting. Their "blitzpost" said, "This is
a very mutual and mutually supportive
decision that we have made together
following a process of long and careful
consideration."
. "bord" (beard)
The New York Post said about Al Gore's
beard: It's "scrawny and grey - patched."
The Boston Herald wrote, "It might cover
up some of the added chin heft of his
remored post-election weight gain." The
only "kompliment" (compliment) came
from USA Today, which suggested that
the beard "helps Gore appear more
relaxed and less wooden."
. "bukh" (book)
Tipper, 'the Surgeon General of Rock and
Roll,' published a book in response to
lyrics and popular rock and roll music at
the time.
. "documentary"
Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient
Truth" was the third most successful
documentary ever released at the box
office.
. "garderob" (wardrobe apparel)
An adviser convinced Al Gore to shift his
wardrobe to earth-toned clothing.
. "getray" (faithful)
Claire Shipman of NBC speculated that
Gore's kiss sent a message ("yedie"). It
signaled that Gore (unlike some
presidents we know) is a faithful husband
("man").
. "glaykh" (equal)
"When my sister and I were growing up,"
Mr. Gore told a small audience made up
mostly of women, "there was never any
doubt in our minds that men and women
were equal, if not more so."
(Source: NY Times, 8/12/00)
. "guf" (body) gestures
According to Richard Green (5/2/06),
"The Transformation of Al Gore"), Gore's
non-verbals were horrible.
His voice always punctuated the wrong
syllable.
His voice always went up or down on the
wrong word.
His tone was always that of someone
giving a "performance" rather than the
FDR, JFK, Reagan or Clinton-esque"
conversation."
His body gestures were either too much
or too little and usually out of "sync."
. "heym" (home)
The Gores own homes in Arlington, VA,
Nashville, Montecito, CA, and a condo at
the St. Regis condo/hotel in San
Francisco.
. hypocrisy
According to the Nashville press, the
Gores shelled out about $30,000 in energy
bills last year. That's about 12 times
more than the average home. The Gores
use more energy in a single month in that
one mansion than most of us use in a
year. Their home, a 10,000 square foot
mansion in the Belle Meade neighbor-
hood in Nashville, is sometimes called
"carbon neutral."
And Al, who preaches conservation,
consumes tens of thousands of gallons of
jet fuel ("brenvarg") on the way to speak-
ing engagements. (Source: HOF blog)
. "internets" (internet)
Al Gore claimed to have invented the
internet. Gore actually said, "During my
service in the United States Congress, I
took the initiative in creating the
internet."
. "kaledz"/"kaledzh" (college);
"universitet" (university)
Al Gore attended Harvard University from
1965 to 1969, the only college he applied
to. Tipper went to Boston University and
majored in "psikhologye" (Psychology).
. "khasene" (married)
The Gores were married on May 19, 1970,
at the Washington Cathedral.
. "kinderlekh" (children)
The Gores have 4 children and 3 grand-
children.
. "kindhayt" experience (childhood)
Tipper's parents were divorced. She said
(1993) that her childhood experience
"created an early awareness" of the plight
of others: "Growing up with divorce is
not easy but it has given me plenty of
empathy for people who might be going
through less-than-perfect lives."
. "komish" (funny)
Someone said, "Al Gore is a funny guy.
And, for his $175,000 speaking fee, he tells
this story: After leaving the White House
and heading back to Tennessee sans
motorcade--"in a rented Ford Taurus,"
he sniffs--he and Tipper stop to get a bite
at Shoney's, "which, as you may know, is a
low-cost ("bilik") family restaurant." "The
people in the restaurant" made a huge
fuss...over Tipper." Then, a man spies
Gore and stage-whispers, "Didn't he used
to be the Vice President? He's fallen so
low." Peals of delight ("tayneg") from the
audience. Gore smiles back. It's a nice
moment."
. kush" (kiss)
Who can forget the 3-second kiss that Al
Gore shared with Tipper onstage at the
Democratic National Convention after his
nomination for the presidency. Gore said,
"That kiss certainly was not calculated.
Just ask my daughter, Karenna, and she'll
tell you that, that kind of kissing goes on
around the house all the time." The
following headline appeared in The
Nation (Aug. 20, 2000): "When A Kiss
Isn't Just A Kiss."
. "milkhome" (war)
Al Gore was shipped off to war in Vietnam
in 1971.
. "more-shkhoyre" (depression/sadness)
In 1999, Tipper announced that after
years of battling depression ("dershlogn")
she has finally recovered. (The Yiddish
word meaning to recover is "tsurikkrign.")
. "muzik" (music)
In the mid-1980s, Tipper led a campaign
to limit access to rap music and other
recordings with explicit lyrics or content.
. Nobel Prize
Al Gore won a Nobel Prize, an Oscar and
an Emmy for his work on the environ-
ment.
. "nomen" (name)
Mary Elizabeth received the nickname,
Tipper, by her mother, from one of her
favorite childhood lullaby's, "Tippy Tippy
Tin."
. "poyk" (drum)
In 1999, after befriending Frank Zappa's
widow, Gail, Tipper played drums and
sang backup on a recording by daughter,
Diva Zappa.
. "profesor" (professor)
Al Gore was on the faculty of Middle
Tennessee State University as a visiting
professor. He was also a part-time visiting
"profesor" at the Columbia Graduate
School of Journalism in 2001. He taught a
non-credit seminar called "Covering
National Affairs in the Information Age."
. "psikhologye" (psychology)
Christ Matthews ("Scarborough Country")
said that former VP, Al Gore, developed "a
psychological problem" after his defeat in
the 2000 presidential election. Rather
than "stay[ing] in the action" politically
after the election loss, Matthews said
Gore "went off and grew that beard and
got weird" and "act[ed] like a man who'd
been marooned, or cast away, or
banished."
. "redn" (to talk)
Since Gore's nonelection, he has become
a millionaire many times over. He
receives six-figure speaking gigs, and has
become an insider at two of the hottest
companies: Google and Apple.
"Er ken dikh tsen mol koyfn un farkoyfn."
(He's a very wealthy man. He can buy and
sell you ten times over.)
. "roman" (novel/book)
Al Gore once claimed his romance with
Tipper inspired the novel, "Love Story."
. "Secret Service Code Name"
"Al Gore is so boring that his Secret
Service code name is Al Gore."
. "shabes" (Saturday)
Al Gore appeared on Saturday Night LIve.
Now people can't say he's all "doooom
and gloooom."
. "shtayf" (stiff)
Gore once had a "wooden" style. A
Newsweek poll showed that 65% think
Gore's "stiffness" is a problem for his
campaign. "Part of Gore's reputation as
Wooden Man Walking comes from the
geeklike enthusiasm with which he
embraces subjects such as reinventing
government, suburban sprawl and ozone
depletion. Add to that his sometimes
awkward use of language - "controlling
legal authority" - the clipped cadence,
the robotic moves onstage, and you've
got the package.' (Washington Post
article by Kevin Merida, 6/7/1999)
. "tabak" (tobacco)
Al Gore changed his position about
tobacco after losing his "shvester" (sister)
to lung cancer.
. "vaser" (water)
In a speech given on April 22, 2002, Al
Gore claimed that the Bush Adminis-
tration "tried to increase the amount of
arsenic in our water." This was factually
untrue.
. "vitslen zikh" (to joke)
John Stewart said, "If any of you are
wondering about the former vice
president's seeming largess, I will have
you know, he has not gained weight. He
is so passionate about saving this Earth,
he is trying not to exhale...Here's an
inconvenient truth: cake isn't a food
group."
Jay Leno said, "A lot of people said Al
Gore was the best vice president the
country ever had. Not to take anything
away from Al, but look at the competition.
He replaced a guy who couldn't spell
'potato' and was followed by a guy who
shot someone in the face."
. "zun" (son)
In 1989 the Gores' 6-year-old son, Albert,
was hit by a car and nearly died in his
father's arms.
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Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe is the author of
two books:
"Yiddish for Dog & Cat Lovers" and
"Are Yentas, Kibitzers, & Tummlers Weapons of Mass Instruction? Yiddish
Trivia." To order a copy, go to her
website: MarjorieGottliebWolfe.com
NU, what are you waiting for? Order the book!
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