Fred Thompson: His hometown remembers...

Fred Thompson, as seen by his home town, none of whom picked the boy then to have grown to be a presidential candidate, but apparently all of whom can see it in the man now..

In sleepy Lawrenceburg, few claim to have predicted the fame and stature that lay ahead of him. They remember Freddie as the class clown — he was likeable and smart, though not studious.

They also say he matured quickly and deeply after becoming a young husband and father. They describe him as a genuine and decent man with a knack for being in the right place at the right time.

“He had a way of making you like what he was saying even if you didn’t agree with him at first,” said childhood friend Jan Clifton, gesturing toward a lamppost on the square. “He had a way, if I didn’t think I could climb that pole, of convincing me I could do it.”

[The Rest of the Story]

As for the presidency, Lawrenceburg folks think this is Fred’s right time.

“He comes across as so sincere,” said Tommy Beurlein, one of Thompson’s high school classmates. “He’s not trying to answer some way to be popular at the minute.”

Read more of this hometown profile of Fred Thompson at Tennessean.com on Sunday and in The Tennessean on Sunday.

Coming Monday: Thompson's political life.

Coming Tuesday: Thompson's days as an actor.

Courtesy of Brad Schrade at The Tennessean

He is who he is. This looks like a series worth reading every day this coming week. I'll be excerpting it here.