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Whoopi Goldberg
Actress and Activist
Whoopi Goldberg: I was a teapot. I was a small teapot, short and stout, here was my handle, this was my spout. And I was like seven. It was the greatest. I was just bowing, and bowing. They had to come get me off the stage. I just kept bowing. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you." You know. All the other pots are gone. Born ham, that's basically me. It's the truth. My mom told me. I'd forgotten it. She also tells the story of my birth. I'm almost half kidding when I say, I came out and waved. My mother says that I came out head, arm, other arm, thumb in mouth, immediately. They were astounded, because generally that's not what you do. I was born clear, you know. They just kept calling people. I was just hanging out, thumb in my mouth. Some people are just born that way.
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Alberto Gonzales
Former Attorney General of the United States
Certainly, when I was in college, I was influenced by a Constitutional Law professor named Doc Colbertson at Rice University, and he taught Constitutional Law. We referred to him affectionately as Doc C. And that's when I really developed an interest in the law and thought that this would be something that I would enjoy doing. I enjoyed the constitutional law issues and the discussions about what, in fact, what does our Constitution mean and what rights are we to derive from the words in the Constitution. So he had an effect on me. And in fact, occasionally I still get correspondence from him. I sometimes see him quoted in stories about me. And so I think he takes special pride in what I've been able to achieve.
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Alberto Gonzales
Former Attorney General of the United States
Alberto Gonzales: I know I wanted to go back home to Houston, so I joined a large firm in Houston. It was a firm that I had clerked at, Vincent and Elkins. It was a very fine firm, and I knew that I would get the best training possible as a lawyer. And so I began working at Vincent and Elkins as a business lawyer. I never had any ambitions to get involved in politics or government service, didn't think about that. But early on, I did get involved in community service in Houston. I realized that someone of my experience, where I was at -- at Vincent and Elkins, a very powerful player in the business and legal community in Houston and in Texas -- that I could have a significant impact, and that people were interested in having me involved in various causes, particularly in the Hispanic community. And so I got involved very early on, joining various groups and serving on various boards. My law firm was very supportive. I think they realized the importance of civic involvement for their lawyers, and so I was able to be involved in lots of groups, and the Houston Bar Association, Big Brothers and Sisters, Catholic Charities, Leadership Houston. There were a lot of groups that I wanted to be involved with, because I realized that that was important, and I felt that, some obligation to try to give back to our community, particularly the Hispanic community, where I saw too many of our kids dropping out of school, and I wanted to be involved in issues and with people that were focused on addressing that problem.
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Alberto Gonzales
Former Attorney General of the United States
I could leave today, government service today, and just thank God and be appreciative and grateful for everything that's happened in my life. It's been a terrific ride, as far as I'm concerned. I've got a wonderful family, a wonderful wife who loves me, wonderful kids, and so it's -- I really do not have any complaints. I wish I'd get more sleep in the job that I do, but to be able to, you know, to walk into the Oval Office and brief the most powerful person in the world on a Supreme Court vacancy, or to be in the Situation Room when the President orders our young men and women into battle, or to walk into the residence and give the president a piece of paper that you drafted for him to sign -- a piece of paper you know is going to be analyzed and reviewed by historians for years to come -- that's some pretty good stuff, and so I've got no complaints.
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