As a kid I spent a few summers on a local college campus attending day camp. College universities obviously don't completely shutdown for the season even though there often seems to be a shortage of kegs, sleazy frat boys and scantily-clad females. So there would often be an important visitor or two around to give a lecture or take a tour.
One day a rumor spread like wildfire: the Tipper was here! The Tipper was here! Clearly she was really important as she was the Vice-President's WIFE. It was only after an entire day of hearing this that I learned that she wasn't in fact THE Tipper, but rather Tipper was her first name. I was foolishly led to believe that our country had a President, a First Lady, a Vice President and a Tipper.
I'm told there was a huge uproar over "The Great Gore Kiss" involving that very same woman in 2000 at the Democratic National Convention. (See http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/al-gore-and-tipper-gore-kiss-at-the-dnc-10797435). I'm somewhat surprised that a political figure of such importance could get away wish such an expression of love on national television. I read an article somewhere in which the reporter labeled it a "Can't wait to see you later in the bedroom, baby" kiss. To me the gesture seems over-the-top, even though it's many years later. But really, to me personally it doesn't matter at all. I hadn't thought about that women since I was running from outdoor swim to the kickball field in one sock and two Tevas.
Flash forward from around that era to 2010. I clearly hadn't thought about this lady in years, but somehow she's once again in the spotlight, even though her husband is no longer in office. Or, shall I say, soon-to-be ex-husband. Now the passion has gone from revolving around her nauseatingly overt/hopelessly romantic (depending on how you look at it) on-stage PDA to how could the epitome of a perfect couple go down the tubes?
Is it sad that this couple broke up even when Hillary and Bill have managed to stay together after he "didn't have sexual relations with that woman"? Yes, for sure. It's also disappointing that their marriage won't boast a fairytale ending, even if they began it on that track by meeting at their prom. We wonder whether that kiss that so many Americans witnessed was falsified or exaggerated. On the flip side, perhaps everything really was that fabulous between the duo and the relationship only crumbled afterwards.
Well ladies and gentleman, it's a sad fact, but a true one: you never really know what's going on in someone's relationship unless you're one of the two members. Or maybe more than two members. I'm thankfully not in your bedroom to know.
A lot of times couples put up the facade that all is fine and dandy-- obviously the husband takes out the trash without asking and he even picks up his socks without his wife having to incessantly nag him. The husband, of course, never gets frustrated because the wife never takes an hour to straighten her hair, another half hour to put on her face and forty-five more minutes selecting an outfit. Everything is glorious, unless you're exposed to the true inner workings of the couple, watching them maintain their home and coordinate their mutual social calendar.
So what am I getting at here? First, I think this situation has made me recognize that it's important to never be jealous of any couple or family because they appear flawless and content. Like there are talented athletes and writers in this world, we all know that there exist exceptionally convincing actors. Just because a couple gives off the impression that they never argue over who let the seat up, it doesn't mean that they have a sizzling sex life or laid-back living situation. For all you know, they could sleep in separate beds because one of them...snores. Right.
It's also important to remember that it's not overly beneficial to any couple for outsiders to scrutinize their relationship. It doesn't help us to consider marriages gone wrong when they don't involve us, mainly because, as I said before, we really don't know what was really going on behind closed doors. So instead of considering this situation from a depressing angle like so much of the media has, I'm not going to consider it at all. I, for one, positively don't know anything about their relationship-- I couldn't even get her name right.
XOXO,
RC
