-9999

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me the time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank you so much for allowing me to join you in honoring our mutual friend and confidant, Tracie Pough.

Robert Frost, the great writer, once wrote: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I---- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

I don't argue with Robert Frost, but I beg to differ a little bit with that notion because I am of the opinion, and from my own experiences, no matter what road one chooses to travel, it is the people with whom you intersect that make the difference.

When I first met Tracie Pough, I don't remember where it was or exactly when it was, but it was more than 20 years. It was not long after I came to Congress. Of course, I am a bit older than both Debbie and Tracie.

We for some reason just kind of hit it off. Our spirits kind of congealed. I don't know exactly how to explain it. We started doing political stuff together, traveling.

She just reminded me of a trip we shared to Louisiana, a part of Louisiana I didn't know existed. I didn't know about all these places. It was this little place we went to work on behalf of a candidate, and we won. Of course, the candidate later switched parties. Then, I think we lost.

The fact still remains I got to know her on that trip. I often wonder what it is about Tracie that makes my chief of staff sometimes have to consult with her before he answers my question.

Be that as it may, I do believe it is because of her background. Early in our relationship, for some reason I went to Jacksonville, Florida. I met her parents, and we began to compare notes. Then it occurred to me. Jacksonville, Florida, is in Geechee country. I was married for 58 years to a Gullah woman.

People tend to separate those two. There isn't a separation. If you are in North Carolina and South Carolina, it is Gullah. If you are in Georgia and Florida, it is Geechee. I think my getting to know the Gullah-Geechee culture is really the background as to why our spirits tend to agree.

If I had met her before the first 2 or 3 years of my marriage, we might not have gotten along because I didn't particularly get along with the Gullah culture. I learned I had to make some adjustments. Those adjustments worked. It was the same thing with Tracie.

I really feel a part of her, getting to know her family, getting to work with her, getting to really consult with her sometimes behind Debbie's back but oftentimes for the benefit of both of us.

I really was a bit surprised when I was told several days ago, maybe several weeks that she was going to retire and leave the Hill. I can say this. Truly. I love this young lady. She has been a part, an extension really of my staff, a part of my life. I have enjoyed every minute of our relationship, and I feel that she is in many instances as close to me as those three daughters that I have.

Tracie, you are going to be missed on this Hill. I want you to know that you won't be far from us because I know how to use this device in my pocket, and I expect you to answer my calls when I call you. I want you to enjoy whatever it is you are doing after you leave this Hill.

I also want you to know that if you ever think that I can be of any assistance in helping you do what you do better, just call. I know how to answer this device, as well. I also know I owe it not just to you but to your lovely family to respond in a positive way.

I often rely upon great writers to make the point. I am now thinking of the great writer, Shakespeare, when he wrote his I think it was his Sonnet 116. Shakespeare wrote: Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments; love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove. O no, it is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wand'ring bark Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle's compass come. Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom: If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

That is the love that I have for you. I thank you so much for being a part of my life. I join Debbie in wishing you great success, and let me know when I need to answer this device.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Thank you so much, Mr. Whip, for helping me honor my friend, my sister, Tracie Pough.

Mr. Speaker, I recognize the gentlewoman from the great State of Florida (Ms. Castor), my colleague and friend.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source