Al Gore III - Finally Paying the Piper

 When Al Gore, Jr.’s son, Al Gore III, is mentioned in the news, it’s usually for negative reasons. He was first mentioned in the national news back in 1989 when he was hit by a car while he and his father were attending a Baltimore Orioles baseball game. According to reports, he had broken free from his father and got hit while running.

The next time that he appeared in the news was in 1996 when he was 13 years old. He had been suspended from St. Albans school for using a substance that he should not have. Some reports indicated that it was marijuana and some say it was alcohol. In any event, it was serious enough, since it happened on school grounds, that he was suspended. And that’s where the Piper entered the picture. Although that story appeared in a local magazine, it was basically squelched in all major news media and most Americans never knew that it happened. But the Piper knew and he promptly started running a tab.

I recall reading that Mr. Gore did not take kindly to his son being disciplined by his alma mater, St. Albans and removed his son from the school and enrolled him in Sidwell Friends school—the same school that Chelsea Clinton had attended and graduated from.

It is never a good idea for a parent to shield his/her child from discipline and correction because doing so builds up a debt with the infamous, “Piper”. One either has to pay the Piper now or pay him later. Although the Piper does extend credit, he plans to eventually be paid.

The proverb which states, “If you spare the rod you spoil the child” still holds true. There are very few children who go through an entire childhood never needing correction. When Al Gore III was suspended from St. Albans, his father should have allowed that suspension to stand. Instead, he sent an awful message by pulling him out. The message he sent was that his son was above correction and that he had the right to break the rules without consequence. He even reportedly called the Washington Post and asked them not to break the story. They didn’t break it…but the debt with the Piper continued to build.  Link

Fast forward to the year, 2000. While in North Carolina, the younger Al was caught driving recklessly at almost 100 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone and was ticketed. The news story appeared in the press one day and was never heard of again. But the Piper knew and added the incident to his tab.

Apparently the younger Gore gets around quite a bit because in 2002 he resurfaced in the news media yet again—this time in Virginia. He was arrested by the Military police for drunk driving. Now go back to the suspension when he was 13 years old. Was it alcohol, marijuana or a mixture of the two that got him suspended back then? You see, shielding him from all forms of discipline and correction obviously did not help in confronting his issues and problems.

December 19, 2003 was when the Piper started to make more aggressive demands for payment. The younger Al had been driving around Bethesda, Maryland without his headlights turned on and was pulled over. Sure enough, the police found Marijuana in his car. His daddy could not simply make a few telephone calls to pull him out of that mess. In a plea deal, he was required to complete a substance abuse program, which he completed in 2004.  Wikipedia

The Piper was not satisfied, though. He was still owed a balance and wanted full payment, with interest.

In the early hours of July 4, 2007, Gore was arrested in Laguna Hills in Orange County, California for speeding over 100 m.p.h. in a Toyota  while in possession of found marijuana along with Xanax, Valium, Vicodin and Soma. Police reported that Gore had no prescriptions for the pharmaceuticals. Link

Reports reveal that Adderal, used for Attention Deficit Disorder, was also found.

When questioned recently about his son’s behavior, Mr. Gore indicated that it’s a “private” family matter. I beg to differ. When a man drives 100 miles an hour on a public highway under the influence of drugs, that’s a public matter!

The high and reckless speeds that the younger Gore consistently drives at are enough to kill somebody and it’s a miracle that he has not plowed over anyone yet. Add the alcohol and drugs to the mix and it’s a double-miracle that he hasn’t wiped someone—or himself, out. He graduated from Harvard (his father’s alma mater) but his job is that of assistant publisher of a relatively new magazine called, Good. Wonder how he’s paying the bills?

In any event, that Piper is a scary character, wouldn’t you agree? Only history will reveal whether or not more payments are due.