Critical Age, page 2
Rep. Cleo Fields, D-La., 33:
Cleo, born the seventh of ten children in Baton Rouge, La., was elected to the Louisiana State Senate at the age of 24, the youngest senator in the state's history, and the youngest in the nation at the time. When he began serving his first term in the U.S. House of Representatives at the age of 30, he was the youngest member of the 103d Congress.
"When I was growing up we had holes in the bottom of our shoes. We took baths in the foot tub. My mom couldn't afford 25 cents for me to go on a field trip. But we went to the library instead.
"When I was elected to the state Senate, I was a little kid. I put on the best suit I had and my little polyester tie and I went to the state Senate and took my seat. And this senator walked up to me and said, 'Excuse me, son. Can you get me a cup of coffee?' I said, 'I'm not a page. I'm a lawyer. But when you see a page, you tell him to get two cups of coffee.
"I demand respect. Is disrespect not speaking to me? That's fine. Is disrespect not liking me? That's fine. When I get to the floor of the House, I have a voting card. As long as the people give me the power to walk in there and vote, that's all the respect I need."
