Boonsboro Middle School honor roll
Boonsboro Middle School Sixth marking period
While political activist Al Gore and actor Tommy Lee Jones are both well-known American celebrities the two men who have made their names and careers in very different fields have the notable oddity of having been paired together as college roommates while the two were at Harvard University together.
After graduating from a Dallas prep school known as St. Mark's School of Texas Tommy Lee Jones went on to attend Harvard where he played on the football team as an offensive lineman. Many fans of the acting career of the movie star do not realize that in his youth he was a formidable football player that went on to attain the accolade of All-Ivy League offensive lineman before graduating cum laude (Latin for "with honor") with a degree in English from Harvard in 1969.
Long before the Texas native would go on to star in such blockbuster movies as The Fugitive (as Marshal Samuel Gerard), Batman (as Two-Face), and Men in Black (as Agent K) Tommy Lee Jones was placed in a dorm known as Mower B-12 as a freshmen in college. As a matter of sheer coincidence future Vice President of the United States and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore was housed right across the hall from Jones. The two young men from differing backgrounds struck up a friendship that would go on to last a lifetime. As upperclassmen at Harvard the two close friends chose to live together as roommates.
When Al Gore and Tommy Lee Jones first met in the fall of 1965 no one could have predicted that 35 years later at the 2000 Democratic National Convention (held in Los Angeles) Tommy Lee Jones would give the speech that officially nominated and introduced his former college roommate, Al Gore, as the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. As many people will remember that November election included all of the complications of a Florida recount along with Al Gore winning the popular vote but losing his bid to defeat George W. Bush in the closest presidential election in American history.
Al Gore, who more recently has become best known for his public fight against global warming, grew up in a much different situation than his friend Tommy Lee Jones. Whereas Jones came from a family of modest means with a father who was an oil field worker and a school teacher mother Al Gore was raised by an affluent family as his father was a United States Senator for the state of Tennessee. While Jones relied on need based financial aid for both his private high school and collegiate schooling he still had a lot in common with his more financially privileged friend Al Gore and despite gaps in socioeconomic standings the two became life-long friends and huge successes in their respective careers.
Sam, the author of this article, understands that with Jones now living on a ranch near San Antonio, TX and Gore splitting time between homes in Arlington, VA and Nashville, TN the two don't see each other as much as they did during college. Despite the miles between them the friends still get together occasionally to shoot a round of golf with each man having a Harvard golf bag to remind them of the friends they made in college. People who haven't attained Gore or Jones like celebrity status still enjoy college themed golf accessories. Even if a Harvard University golf bag doesn't sync with an individual's particular alma mater there is certainly some form of school apparel they can show off while playing golf.
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