Al Gore at the Movies
            

            Johnette,

            As you may remember from your Washington Post days, there is nothing
quite like a snowstorm in D.C. Just the word "snow," the very mention of it,
sends the city into a delightful panic. (Delightful, and a bit confounding to
we Northerners who can't believe what a sleepy Southern city this still
is.)

            I was just watching one of the local TV stations:

            "STORM 2000! [Catchy name.] STAY TUNED. FULL AND COMPLETE TEAM COVERAGE!
[Full and complete!]"

            Reporter in the Giant Food store: "There's been a
run on milk and eggs and bread!" (What, is everyone making French toast?)

            These TV types live for this. And the weather people are positively gleeful.
And it becomes a great spectator sport. I'm going to turn it into my next
column.

            Now, if I were chatting with Al Gore outside that movie theater on
Connecticut Avenue at this moment, we'd be stuck in a massive snowdrift.

            On that subject ...

            Listen sister. Let's get this straight. I wasn't working as a "Republican
mole ... plotting his demise." (LOL ... had to do that at least once in this
"Breakfast Club" thing.) Here's the story: I interviewed him when I was still
at the Post prior to the Atlanta Olympics (he was the Clinton
administration's Olympic Pooh-Bah), and six months later, there he was,
watching The English Patient at the same theater I was on a rainy
December night.

            So, as he and Tipper walked out, my friend and I were right behind them, and
I took the opportunity to say hello and reintroduce myself--as a journalist, I
might add--and we chatted about the movie for a few minutes. Both of us gave it
two thumbs up, by the way. We briefly discussed the "Nazi angle"; neither Bush
nor McCain has called to ask for details of our conversation.

            On this Republican thing: Of course I'm "out" as a Republican. How else
could I perform the valuable service of being everyone's only GOP pal?

            Hope you're not traveling today. You know there's snow out there. So says my
TV.

            As for me, I'm going to make some French toast. Like most Washingtonians, I
have all the ingredients.

            Chris