<p>Last night I was trying to email some pix from my home account and the emails didn’t go thru. H confefssed that he had received a warning that my account was about to be deactivated but he double deleted it. </p>
<p>I’m thinking that must have been what happened with the Gores…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If they are divorced, it’s neither “fair” nor “not-fair.” However, Gore doesn’t strike me as the kind of undignified guy who would go after a much-younger women.</p>
<p>Funny story after my parents divorced: My dad got fixed up on a date by a friend and my dad made it clear he was only interested in women who were generally around his age (at the time, he was about 60). Maybe down to 50 at the youngest. He was interested in someone like himself, empty-nester, no interest in someone else’s children, and absolutely no interest in family #2, heaven forbid. Anyway, he went on this date and the woman turned out to be only a few years older than me (I would have been in my late thirties at the time). Being a gentleman, he was nice and courteous on the date but he said he felt totally creeped out afterwards, and told his friend that was NOT to happen again!</p>
<p>^^^ yes, missypie, divorce is always better than murder. :D</p>
<p>Also on the NYTimes site - an interesting opinion piece about divorce amongst long-married couples: [Op-Ed</a> Contributor - The 40-Year Itch - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/04/opinion/04bair.html]Op-Ed”>Opinion | The 40-Year Itch - The New York Times) It cites an AARP study that found that later-life divorces are more often initiated by women.</p>
<p>And a calculator that lets you assess your own risk of divorce, based on census data: [divorce360.com</a> | Marriage Calculator](<a href=“http://www.divorce360.com/content/divorcecalculator.aspx]divorce360.com”>http://www.divorce360.com/content/divorcecalculator.aspx)</p>
<p>(1 percent here! :))</p>
<p>… Although I just entered dh’s info into the calculator and learned that his risk is twice as high as mine (2 percent). And, although the calculator asked if I have children once I specified my gender, it did not ask the same question when I entered my husband’s. The risk factor is calculated for the next 5 years, btw, not forever.</p>
<p>I had a set of grandparents who bickered continuously throughout their 60-year marriage. In my memory, they were never in the same room each Sunday when we were dropped off there to play. Everyone assumed when he died (at 80) she’d do all the things she said he kept her from doing. She did a few of them, and 6 months after his funeral, she laid her head down and died of “natural causes.” Truly, nobody understands what fuels or undoes a couple. </p>
<p>By contrast–this year, when a close cousin aged 50 split up with his wife of 25 years, following a decade of tension, acrimony, counseling attempts, no affairs on either side, and raising two beautiful kids into h.s. and college ages, I expressed sadness for their loss of their original dream, but also support saying, “you both have time for another big chapter in your lives.” WIth life expectancy where it is, I don’t see why a tense, unhappy couple must deteriorate or live on eggshells, as did my grandparents until age 80.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I just don’t get the mentality that staying together in that situation is inherently superior to an amicable separation / divorce, or why that’s “better for the institution of marriage.” It doesn’t have to be abuse / infidelity / addiction for a situation to eat away at someone’s soul.</p>
<p>On a much lighter note, there is this.</p>
<p>[Annabelle</a> Gurwitch: Al Gore’s J-Date Profile](<a href=“Al Gore's J-Date Profile | HuffPost Entertainment”>Al Gore's J-Date Profile | HuffPost Entertainment)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I know this is the Parent Cafe and all, but I couldn’t resist coming in to quote a little Jack Gilbert:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>With all the gripes over whether the Gores should or should not separate, it’s a delight to read about John Wooden’s romance with his wife.</p>
<p>She passed on 15 years ago, and from all accounts, it was one of the sweetest and long lasting marriages that we can all aspire to. Normally stoic sportcasters have lost composure talking about this romance, and how important Nell was to John’s life. She was the only woman he “ever went with”, and wrote her letters during their long life together…and after. </p>
<p>In recent days, he had refused food and wanted to go home to Nell. </p>
<p>[Coach’s</a> lasting lesson is one of simple devotion - Los Angeles Times](<a href=“http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/04/sports/la-sp-0605-wooden-plaschke-20100605]Coach’s”>Coach for life)</p>
<p>[John</a> Wooden dies at 99; UCLA basketball coach won 10 national titles - latimes.com](<a href=“http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-john-woodenlong-20100605,0,409375.story]John”>John Wooden dies at 99; UCLA basketball coach won 10 national titles)</p>
<p>I am not even a UCLA fan (sorry Bruins!), and John Wooden is quite a hero to me - both for what he did for his athletes and the kind of man he was during his life.</p>
<p>yes haavain, exactly…
thanks for that quote, too.</p>
<p>Go to page 2 of the column…Wooden walked the talk.
[url=<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/04/AR2010060405169.html]washingtonpost.com[/url”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/04/AR2010060405169.html]washingtonpost.com[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Samurai–Thanks for the inspirational note on the Woodens. … The same could be said of John and Abigail Adams. She died in 1818, eight years before John. Abigail was the love of his life, and he said at the time that he wished he could just stretch out on the bed beside her and pass on, as well. Whenever I read or see anything about the Adams’, it hurts to know he outlived her by so long–though he spent much of that time re-connecting with his old friend, Jefferson.</p>
<p>Gore may be wooden, but he’s no Wooden. What woman doesn’t want to be Nell or how many men are like Wooden?</p>
<p>
Lake, that’s a gem.</p>
<p>The Gores’ split actually occurred 6 years ago, when Al left Tipper for good, and put a life-size cardboard cutout of himself in their bedroom. Apparently it took Tipper 6 years to figure out it wasn’t actually him.</p>
<p>Schmaltz…are you saying he is in love with other than himself? With whom?
How do you know?</p>
<p>Schmaltz- Post Of The Day! That is how many of us in Nashville view him. We blame everything on him, too. It’s sort of local humor- restaurant runs out of the item you order? It’s Al Gore’s fault. Have a bad run? Gore’s fault. Concert rained out? You get it…</p>
<p>MomofWildChild–That’s exactly how I am with GWB! Even though he’s been out of office for more than a year, I still blame him for everything–from bad weather to bad food. It’s cathartic … in some weird way.</p>
<p>Well if you have to determine who is at fault for the breakage of this marriage, who you will be pointing fingers to? Obviously will not be Tipper, sure you will pointing to Al Gore. Definitely!</p>
<p>Same with Elizabeth and John Edwards: all fingers pointing to Edwards.</p>
<p>Greenery–I can’t imagine pointing the finger at either Al or Tipper. Hard to see Al traipsing around with some tart! Of course, who the heck knows?</p>