Online Chat
Granville One Room Schoolhouse
June 4, 1998

[PatLeahy]  Hi how are things in Vermont?

[oneroom]  Great!!! Please let us know who's asking each question.

[PatLeahy]  It is good to be with you all again - I was in Arizona yesterday for Senator Goldwater's funeral but wanted to be back for our chat.

[PatLeahy]  Any questions I could answer for you.

[oneroom]  Our first question is from Erica. She says that we read on your web page that you have three kids, but wonders if you have any grandchildren.

[PatLeahy]  My wife and I now have our first grandchild. He is three months old and is named Roan Seamus Leahy. Naturally I think he's great!

[oneroom]  Congratulations! Sid wonders what your family likes to do together.

[PatLeahy]  Erica I liked all the pictures you students sent me. Sid i will show the family some of the pictures. We like to get together to hike and swim at our home in Vermont and to ski there in the winter time.

[oneroom]  Jason asks: Do you like to chat with schools on the internet and why?

[PatLeahy]  Jason I enjoy these chats more than almost anything I do here. I am a lifelong Vermonter and I get homesick when I am down here. This brings me closer - and we didn't have anything like this when I was your age a LONG time ago.

[oneroom]  We're glad you can do it too.Harlie wonders why you think Lake Champlain is a Great Lake.

[PatLeahy]  Harlie Lake Champlain is one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. It is not one of the 5 Great Lakes but it was formed in the same way. I just want to make sure we have the money to protect it and keep it from gettting polluted.

[oneroom]  Ben asks wher the pollution from Lake Champlain comes from.

[PatLeahy]  Please excuse any of my typing mistakes - I like to think I am abetter Senator than a typist.

[PatLeahy]  Sam T we don't know how to get rid of the zebra mussels but we know they came from ships that came over from Europe and than fell off while they came down the St Lawrence. That is how they got into Lake Champlain and the Great Lakes.

[oneroom]  Danial asks, "How can kids help Lake Champlain?"

[PatLeahy]  Danial the best thing is to enjoy the Lake. Also as you get older work with the state and with the environmental groups like the Science Center in Burlington that are working to protect the lake.

[oneroom]  Louis wonders if you have a boat and if you like to go fishing. Lots of our class does and tomorrow Granville's having a fishing derby.

[PatLeahy]  Louis I wish I could be with you in Granville - it sounds like a lot of fun. I don't have a boat but many of my friends do and they let me go fishing with them.

[oneroom]  Taylor and Jack wonder if you believe in Champ and if you do, have you ever seen him.

[PatLeahy]  Taylor and Jack I have never seen Champ but the lake is so deep I would not be surprised if something is out there. If there is a Champ I'd love to see him and I know you would too.

[oneroom]  We're glad you think there's a possibility Champ exists. Most of these kids do. Chris asks, "What does a senator do?"

[PatLeahy]  Chris a Senator does a lot of things. Of course we vote in the Senate on issues ranging from education to whether the US should be involved in wars anywhere in the world. We read hundreds of pages of material every day, have meetings with many interesting people including Vermonters who visit and sometimes the President

[oneroom]  Jasmine wonders if you think a woman will ever get to be President.

[PatLeahy]  Jasmine I hope a woman will be President and soon. Many major countries have had women lead them and it is high time for the US to. In the meantime I hope we have more in the Senate and the House as well as in governor's offices throughtout the country.

[oneroom]  Emily asks if you'd like to be President.

[PatLeahy]  Emily I am very happy to be Vermont's U S Senator. I have many friends who could do a great job as President and I will help them get elected.

[oneroom]  Sammi wonders what you'd like to be if you weren't a Senator.

[PatLeahy]  Sammi when I am no longer a Senator I will go back home and practice law as I did before coming to the Senate. I will also spend time writing and working on my photography.

[oneroom]  Last year we talked a lot about landmines. Sam M wonders how things are going with that issue.

[PatLeahy]  Sam M I am working very hard around the world to ban landmines. My law says we cannot export them from the United States and President Clinton has now agreed that in a few years we will sign the landmine treaty. I also raise funds to take landmines out of the ground and disarm them before they injure people.

[oneroom]  Good idea! Thanks for you hard work. Do you have any questions for us?

[PatLeahy]  Sure - what would you want to do if you become a Senator some day?

[PatLeahy]  Maybe I should also ask what is the best part of living in a beautiful place like Granville?

[oneroom]  Dusty would want to make laws that only people 28 or older could get cigarettes. Lyndsay would fight against landmines. Emily would fight crime. Sammi would join the crimefighting efforts. Chris would eat cookies and sit on the chair playing with the computer and none of us would vote for him. Benny would donate money to bug research. Jack would outlaw cigarettes. Erica would help raise money for the homeless. Harlie would make everyone where their seatbelts.

[PatLeahy]  That is a VERY impressive list and I will show it to some of the other Senators so they can see what great children we have in Vermont. I am extremely proud of all of you.

[oneroom]  All of the children hope you keep up the good work. Have a great summer. And thanks for being part of our school day!