Fred Thompson. Teaching the Pig to Dance: A Memoir
of Growing Up and Second Chances. New York:
Crown Forum, 2010
as reviewed by Ted Odenwald
Many fans of TV’s “Law and Order” will recognize Fred Thompson as the senior lawyer with southern roots; followers of politics may recognize him as the former US senator from Tennessee; still others may remember him as the legal counsel to the committee investigating the Watergate scandal. One might expect this memoir to be a recollection of highlights of his interesting and varied career. Rather, this work is his recounting of his formative years as a small town rascal with a wonderful penchant for mischief and humor. While often sounding as if any and all of his accomplishments occurred in spite of his ineptness and buffoonery, Thompson is secure in his knowledge that his rural foundation was a solid one: “…the people I knew and the experiences I had in that little town formed the prism through which I viewed the world.” Laughing and self-deprecating, he praises “the girl I married as a teenager…her family, teachers, coaches, and …[ his parents] for encourag[ing] and tolerat[ing] this young ne’er-do-well kid with no apparent prospects.” When he speaks of his professional and political accomplishments, he always remembers his roots from his formative years.
An irreverent adolescent practical joker with a sharp wit, Thompson had little use for school, finding countless opportunities to create chaos, as in the time that he set off firecrackers on the legs of his teacher’s chair (with her sitting in it). The memoir’s title refers to a joke illustrating his indifference to education: “Teaching Latin to someone like me was like trying to teach a pig to dance. It’s a waste of the teacher’s time and it irritates the pig.” His parents did not have great expectations for him regarding schooling or a profession. “But they gave me much more. Dad set the standard for what a man ought to be-strong and protective of those who depended on him. Trustworthy and striving every day to be a better man. It became a standard by which I measured things, whether I lived up to them or not.” When, as a teenager, Fred impregnated his girlfriend, Sarah, rather than wallowing in shame, they married, and set educational objectives for themselves. They struggled financially, but worked their ways through a couple of semesters at Florence State College in Alabama, eventually graduating from Memphis State University. Thompson, though still impoverished, struggled through Vanderbilt Law School. Interestingly, wealth was never a prime motivation for Fred and Sarah, as they chose to return to their hometown, Lawrenceburg, TN, where he entered a law practice with Sarah’s uncle, A.D. Thompson had observed years earlier that even this small town/county seat could generate interesting cases such as the Teamsters Union’s attempts to unionize the Murray Bicycle Plant and the Lindsay Furniture Factory, which was owned by Sarah’s family.
Thompson attributes much of his success to luck: “They say that God protects drunks and children, and I would add young morons to that list.” A chance encounter at the Lawrenceburg courthouse in 1964 with Howard Baker, a young Tennessee lawyer, led to a life-long friendship and amazing career opportunities for Thompson. He entered politics as a county campaign manager for Baker in one of the latter’s runs for Congress. In 1973, Senator Baker had Thompson appointed counsel to the Watergate committee, where he was instrumental in revealing the existence of the Nixon tapes. This public success led to his being sought out to take the case of Marie Ragghianti, who claimed that she had been wrongfully fired by Tennessee’s Governor, Ray Blanton. Thompson’s pursuit of justice for Ragghianti led to the uncovering of a scandal in which state politicians were selling paroles to high-profile convicts. The case eventually led to Blanton’s incarceration and Thompson’s emergence as a viable conservative candidate for office. Additionally, his notoriety led to his being consulted by author, Peter Maas and director Dino DeLaurentiis concerning the rights to a book and movie about Marie’s story. Thompson inadvertently began his acting career as a result of these meetings.
Thompson’s climb to legal, political, and dramatic success seems to be almost miraculous, given his supposed aversion to education, and his relatively modest origin. Yet, beneath the self-deprecating portrayal of his youth, there is an earth-solid foundation of a man who knows and appreciates where he has come from and values the life lessons taught and lived by his family and friends.
Ted Odenwald and his wife, Shirley have lived in Oakland for 40 years. He taught HS English at Glen Rock High School for all of those years plus one more. Now he is enjoying time spent with his family, singing in the North Jersey Chorus and quenching his wanderlust. Ted is also the Worship Leader at the Ramapo Valley Baptist Church in Oakland.