The Famous Frog Fiasco

The Famous Frog Fiasco is a caper that mixes the Cowboy Mafia, ex-high school football stars turned bank robbers, bikers, the president and vice-president, news channel personalities, FEMA, a famous documentary filmmaker, a gadfly national religious leader and a beloved movie star frog with the locals in a small West Texas oil field hamlet that is devastated by a catastrophic event occurring during and as a result of the famous frog's visit.

As Mike Mandel, long-time Jayton County District Attorney, surveyed the charred ruins of what had been his law office, he found it hard to breath. The air was heavy with the smell of water-soaked, burned rubble at his feet, the ordor of the still smoldering Jayton County Courthouse across the street and the stench of the many overflowing porta potties which had been placed on the courthouse square to accommodate 30,000 people who had come to Farkel, Texas (pop. 6800) to participate in the weekend's festivities. Mike now realized that a movie star frog, a thousand bikers, alcohol and a gun and knife show were not a good combination to bring together on the same weekend.

Robert Trenchard was born and raised in rural Nebraska. He obtained a law degree from University of Texas Law School in 1972 after obtaining a degree in philosophy from the University of Nebraska in1969. A practicing trial lawyer for three decades in the small West Texas town of Kermit, he was selected as one of the Texas Super Lawyers by Texas Monthly magazine. His law career has been primarily devoted to suing oil companies while representing oilfield workers and their families. Trenchard paid his way through college working as a musician. He started playing professionally at age 16 and often worked six nights a week in jazz, rock and rhythm and blues bands while attending college. All of those bands were integrated, unusual for the 60's and he lived with a black family in Omaha the summer of 1967. He worked with top bands in the Midwest as well as Austin guitar legend Eric Johnson. He continued to work as a musician after getting a law degree until he was in his thirties, by then living in West Texas, not needing the money any more and not wanting to play any more company Christmas parties at the Inn of the Golden West in Odessa or any more high school reunions or Moose Lodge dances. After a hiatus of several years, in 1997 he was persuaded to join a blues band and eventually became the leader by default. Since then, Trenchard has started his own record company, Catfood Records. His bands have have toured coast to coast, toured Australia and recorded four cds, three of which made the top 25 for blues radio airplay including the critically acclaimed No Boundaries album of Johnny Rawls and the Rays released in 2005. Trenchard wrote all the songs for No Boundaries and was the principal songwriter on the other recordings. The Famous Frog Fiasco is his first book and will likely add to his reputation among those who know him as a jack of all trades, master of none.