Tommy was a little rich kid. He grew up in the south during the Civil War. His family lived in Augusta, Georgia, and was not greatly affected by the war. They were well to do and had somehow escaped the ravages of the war. Tommy had everything you could want but he did have a problem. He was a slow learner, dumb as a box of rocks.
Tommy couldn’t read, and no one could teach him. His parents hired tutors, they even worked with him themselves, but he just couldn’t read. At age 12 he was still being read to by his two sisters. They were reading classics, Scott and Dickens, which he thoroughly enjoyed. At age 13 he could read a bit, painstakingly.
His father, seeking something in which Tommy could excel, hired a tutor to teach him the social graces. He did excel at this and became quite refined. His folks also observed something else. He had a natural leadership ability. When he was with other children he was always the leader.
But his difficulty proved in a way to be a help. Since he had to rely upon a spoken word, he became an accomplished speaker, which would help him in his chosen profession. His difficulty also taught him something else, never give up.
Tommy never did read very well. He had a problem which today would be diagnosed as dyslexia. The inability to discern a printed page. It only made him appear stupid. You might say Tommy did succeed. Graduating from Princeton, then Law School, and a PhD. President of Princeton, governor of New Jersey, and winner of the Nobel Peace prize. The 28th president of the United States, Thomas Woodrow Wilson.
Again, after 12 years of public school, I am surprised how little I know about the presidents. You would think students would be required to learn the presidents. I have no personal knowledge but Glenn Beck says Wilson was one of our worst presidents.
A few of the things he did, he authorized segregation, ousted African Americans from federal office, and opposed woman’s suffrage. He introduced the federal income tax and led us into World War I. He helped establish, “The League of Nations.” It amazes me how many world leaders are bad leaders.
In the Bible Israel and Judah had 40 plus Kings and only a few were good kings. As for presidents, I think the majority were good, but we did have some doozys. Perhaps someday I will study more presidents.
—James Neuhouser
