As the closing credits of “Oppenheimer” rolled after Harris and I took in a rare Tuesday night movie back in July, I casually mentioned that I thought Benny Safdie did an interesting job portraying Edward Teller.
Oh, and that I met Edward Teller in 1988 during my freshman year in college.
The incidental revelation stopped Harris in his tracks.
“You met Edward Teller?”
“Yeah, I’ve got a photo of it somewhere.”
“Dude, you really do know everybody.”
That’s definitely an exaggeration, and, yes, Harris sometimes calls me “dude.”
I hadn’t thought of Edward Teller in more than 30 years, but after watching “Oppenheimer,” I was struck by the ethical thorniness of hanging out with the inventor of the hydrogen bomb, which was many times more deadly than the plain old atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima or Nagasaki.
I remember he had a very thick Hungarian accent, walked with a cane, and provided a good opportunity to get a free dinner, which was a consistent motivator to attend events while I was in college. I was in the first ever cohort of students in the honors program at what was then Troy State University, and we were invited to have dinner and hear a talk by the renowned scientist. At the time, it was no big deal.
I didn’t think much about my exchange with Harris about the Teller revelation until a few days later when he sent me an Instagram reel he thought was hilarious. I won’t do it justice, so just watch it yourself.
I don’t know how anyone who has ever had the misfortune of being trapped in a car with me for a long road trip – and Harris has many times – would not have heard about all of my run-ins with celebrities and famous people. As an enterprising, young reporter at The Macon Telegraph, I was at the white hot center of the cultural universe reporting on some of the hardest-hitting and impactful stories of the 1990s. You’re going to meet some famous people in that environment.
I have tried to cut down on the amount of name dropping I do in social conversations these days because Carla has informed me it’s annoying. She also pointed out when we were dating that I started waaay too many anecdotes with “I did this story once on…”
I’ve chalked it up to having knowledge about a wide range of topics that runs “a mile wide and an inch deep.”
But Harris’ reaction to my Edward Teller story made me wonder if there were any more celebrity encounters in my treasure trove I have failed to mention. I’ve written New South Essays about a lot of them:
- Oprah Winfrey
- Nelson Mandela
- Bob Dole
- James Carville
- Bill Clinton
- Jimmy Carter
- Strom Thurmond
- George Wallace (yes, that George Wallace… no relation)
- Chris LeDoux (if you know, you know)
- Tim Russert
- Bob Schieffer
- Soledad O’Brien
- Tanya Tucker
- Dusty Slay
- A whole of bunch of middling political types with various levels of fame
My list really isn’t that long, but to impressionable and historically aware younger audiences, it can seem like a lot.
With the exception of Chris LeDoux, I don’t collect autographs, and I’m not a big selfie guy with people I’m not related to. This is convenient because I can exaggerate my encounters to make better stories.
My penchant for old man storytelling was documented by my oldest son in a speech he did for a class during the COVID-shortened spring semester of his freshman year at Kennesaw State. I helped him video record it in our basement. It was titled “The Forrest Gump of Journalism,” a moniker my friend Brian Greer once gave me after he had the misfortune of hearing one too many of my grandpa stories.
It’s not long before I will not be able to impress my children with anything I do. I’ll take this Edward Teller moment as a win, like an aging professional golfer who randomly wins the Master’s even though he was just invited to play because he won it 30 years earlier.
And the rest of you out there, be forewarned. If you hear me ask, “Have I ever told you about the time I met..” you should just answer “Yes” and move on quickly. I am being told a lot lately that I repeat myself.
New South Essays 