Bill Nelson: “this is my farewell speech, and I thought it would do me well to think back to the very first speech I gave on the…”

“this is my farewell speech, and I thought it would do me well to think back to the very first speech I gave on the floor--my maiden speech. My maiden speech was about a couple of months after my first time being sworn in. I had waited back then--this is 18 years ago. It was appropriate for freshmen Senators to wait a while, don't speak up right away. So I waited 2 or 3 months until it felt like it was the appropriate time, and I remember there was nobody out here. It was an empty Chamber. I picked a topic of the day. I think we were trying to balance the budget at the time--something that 18 years later we are still trying to do. Then, in the course of the speech, I mentioned that it was my maiden speech. Nobody was out here except the Presiding Officer. All of a sudden, those doors swung open, and right then and there, in strides Senator Robert Byrd. I was standing at a desk over there on the other side, and Senator Byrd's seat was either here or here. So I finished my speech and he said: Will the Senator from Florida yield? I said: Of course, I will yield. Senator Byrd, for 30 minutes, gave an oration on the history of maiden speeches in the Senate. So you can imagine, nothing I said was memorable, but it was certainly memorable to this Senator that all of a sudden I would be treated to the corporate knowledge from one of the lions of the Senate in looking back on the history of this body. I wanted you to know I am a Florida boy.…”