My dear friend Brother Tim, the Bama fan, has been know to write poems leading up to Alabama football games.  His poems are catchy, humorous, and really quite entertaining.  One would never believe a poetic sensibility could actually come from a box crayons.  The Crimson one is down to a nub.

Earlier in the week, I ask the poet laureate of the Bear Bryant state if he had a poem to share. He answered that he had yet to be inspired to do so.  I grinned a crooked grin and thought, the stars are lining up.  The Rebels are going to do something they have never done.  They are going to beat up on AL two years in a row.  His trunk is going to be so sore he’ll be soaking it in Epsom salts at halftime.  Hotty Toddy, I say.  Hotty Toddy!

Brother Tim gave me a line of whooey I have since forgotten as he was rationalizing his Roll Tide ways.  Something about not looking to the past and looking forward or sideways or some load of crap like that.  Brother Tim knows I love him.  This week it is more like he is Cousin Tim and he just grabbed the last five chicken legs off the table.

This is a wonderful game.  So are biscuits.

On to the picks my friends, and I need to hurry, the first one of these kicks off in less than two hours this Thursday evening.

Clemson will beat Louisville…A Tiger or a bird?  You figure it out.

North Carolina will beat Illinois….The Illini are struggling on and off the field.  The Tar Heels are on the rise.

Louisiana Tech will beat Kansas State….this is an upset.  Skip Holtz and his Bulldogs believe in themselves and I believe in them too.

LSU will beat Auburn…the TV schedule makers farted this week.  This game is being played at LSU at 3:30 ET.  This game should be played at 9:15 ET instead of the Bama-Ole Miss game in Tuscaloosa which is kicking off late.  Here’s the thing…there is not a better sight late on a college football night than the Tiger Eye in the middle of Death Valley.  That will be missed.  That and it will be a long day waiting on the BIG GAME.

Notre Dame will beat Georgia Tech…shades of Rudy won’t matter.  It will be close.  ND will prevail.

Virginia Tech will beat Purdue….give it to the Hokies they can schedule a cupcake without scheduling a cupcake.

Indiana will beat Western Kentucky…I did not believe this until this week.  For whatever reason, I have a modicum of faith in the Hoosiers.  Strange…but true.  If they win this one, they will win 7 or 8.

Georgia will beat South Carolina…Look out for UGA…this dog is for real.  Cocky?  He might as well be those chicken legs Tim swiped from the table.

Kentucky will beat Florida…the double whammy for UK.  Beat the old ball coach one week then beat his old school the next.  Will it help recruiting?  Probably not.

Texas beats Cal….perhaps no other team in America needs a win more than the Longhorns.  Their AD gets the heave-ho and there is a great deal of speculation swirling around their head coach.  Don’t talk about how much you love him…win some games!

Iowa beats Pitt...I am back on the corn-wagon one more time.  Why?  They beat Iowa State and a great deal of pride came with it.  Make Hayden Fry proud.  Do the Hokey Pokey in the locker room after the win like Coach Fry and his boys used to.

Marshall beats Norfolk State…after the bonehead move of the year so far.  The Herd beat Purdue one week and then lost to the Ohio Bobcats the next.  Bad habits are back for a team that has had its trouble winning away from The Joan in recent years.

USC beats Stanford…Tommy Trojan gets it in gear again.  The Cardinal will be on the end of Tommy’s sword.

UCLA beats BYU…forget about the miracle finishes by the boys from Provo.  It was fun…and entertaining while it lasted.

Ole Miss beats Alabama…and I will spend ample time on a post next week letting Brother…uh, Cousin Tim know how foolish I have been at his expense with this post.  Yea…right.  Go Rebels!

What do I know anyway?  Not much apparently.  So far I have picked 20 winners and 10 losers.  This is not good.  This week I am counting on improvement.  So is the Herd, and UCLA, and Indiana, and….

Speak the Rights!

Danny Johnson

Last year I wrote a post around this time that you won’t find here anymore.  I have a device here at speaktherights.com that enables me to make “private” a post that once was not so private.

It was a post about a night I spent watching a high school football game between two teams I have a history with.  That night I was on the sideline of the team in red and black.  They were the hosts and they were gracious hosts to me.  They were the home team.  They sure seemed like home to me.

Things change.  It is a new day.

I never dreamed I would be wearing Cougar Blue as the red and black of Brownstown Central comes calling this Friday night.  I will be rooting hard for the boys in blue and white.  I really will.  As little as it will make sense to me when the ball is kicked off, it will make enough sense.  These days I am surrounded by high school football players that wear the same colored uniform as the one I wore some thirty years ago.

Last year I was on the Brownstown sideline and I was a world away from anything that has to do with North Harrison.  When I saw a North person I looked away.  I walked away.  I looked for someone else to talk to.  I did not want to associate myself with anything North Harrison.  I had my reasons…just like I have my reasons for things changing to the point I will actually vehemently root for North Harrison on Friday night as they play Brownstown.

Every now and then I look back at my “private” post about that game that was played last year.  I am proud of it.  I don’t regret it.  It is one of the best pieces of writing I have ever put together.  If you didn’t read it then…I doubt you ever will.  I will hang on to it, though.

I am a North Harrison Cougar again.  I am still getting used to it.  I am having a good time of it, mind you.  It is a transition I am glad to make.  I am having a blast connecting with folks I need to be able to communicate with…instead of walk away from.  It is better for me.  It is better for my family.  Most importantly, I believe it is better for the students at North Harrison High School where I show up every day and give my all.

Go Cougars!

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson

My dear wife, Carrie, and I took a little trip this past weekend.  We went to St. Louis together.  St. Louis is only about a four hour drive from our house.  Actually, less than that.  We live 109 miles from the Illinois border, by way of the route we take.  Anyway, it really is not that far.  Considering we have driven from Maine to Florida along the East coast, you’d think a trip to St. Louis would have been in order by now.

I suppose we have Justin Hayward to thank.  Justin played a concert in a small concert venue that in its day was called the Carnegie Hall of the west.  The Sheldon Concert Hall in the theater district of St. Louis was built in 1912.  The place has been untouched compared to many of the places we have been.  There are 476 seats in the orchestra section and 236 seats in the balcony.  Each of these seats was occupied as no one in the room was very far from a stage that presented Justin Hayward, Mike Dawes with guitar support, and Julie Ragans singing harmony and playing keyboards.  Justin played many guitars and sang songs like Nights in White Satin, Tuesday Afternoon, Question, and fourteen other solo and Moody Blues songs that were nothing short of a treat to witness in such grand fashion.

Having seen Justin sing with The Moody Blues on the Big Barn circuit that includes Freedom Hall, Deer Creek, Riverbend, Roberts Stadium, Red Rocks,  and Rupp Arena to mention a few, it was a surreal experience to hear these songs acoustic and close up.

Justin told some good stories about the songs he had written and was sharing with us.

Justin, Mike, and Julie.  I spoke to Julie after the show and she thanked me for the post I did on the album she completed recently with her husband, Curtis Brengle.  They are the DUO.  On this night, she was part of a wonderful trio.

Justin Hayward sings his heart out.  He leaves nothing behind anymore.

More updates on a great visit to St. Louis later in the week.

You have a great week…and don’t forget to…

Speak the rights.

Danny Johnson

Had I picked with my head instead of my heart, I would have been 13-1 last week.  Instead I finished with 10 winners and four losers.  I did pick Western to beat Vandy in Nashville.  It was a defensive struggle to the tune of 14 to 12.

So who looked good last week?  Alabama looked great.  Ohio State looked awesome in the second half.  Notre Dame looked tough also and that is tough on me to admit..

As far as the picks go, this week I vow to do better!

Penn State will beat Buffalo…the loss to Temple last week will ignite the Penn State team.  Buffalo is in for a long day.

Louisville will beat Houston…Badly.

Michigan will beat Oregon State…the return of Harbaugh to the Big House will be too much for the Beavers from Corvallis.

Southern Miss will beat Austin Peay…you could say Southern is going to beat the Peay out of them.

Ole Miss will beat Fresno State…the Rebels have even more to prove after beat Pea RIdge to death last week.  Can they do it against a team from California?

Georgia will beat Vanderbilt…the fams of old silver britches will be wondering if they have found the ghost of Hershel Walker after so many long runs against the Vandy D.

Notre Dame will beat Virginia…I am sure the Golden Domers will draw a crowd to Charlottesville, at least for a half.

Alabama beats Middle Tenn…Why do I bother?  The Tide will get theirs next week…that is why!

Tennessee will beat Oklahoma…The SEC, including Big Orange, has ten teams in the top twenty-five this week.  First time that has ever happened for any conference.  Phil.Fulmer a.k.a The Great Pumpkin will even smile at this one.

East Carolina will beat Florida…this is my upset of the week.  Coach Ruffin (yes, I know that is his first name) is due a big one.

South Carolina will beat Kentucky…Two years in a row against the Old Ball Coach?  I’ll eat my laptop first.

FIU beats Indiana…the Hoosiers have gone on twenty years now of looking like they have T-squares and protractors in the defensive huddle.  It is worse now than it has ever been.  The greatest expectation out of Bloomington is the hope that no one gets seriously hurt.  They are bad…that’s terrible bad…not Thorogood bad.  The protractors and the calculators won’t stop the speed FIU will bring to Indiana.  The Hoosiers get beat and Wilson watch will begin.  The problem there…who will be next?

Michigan State beats Oregon…Mariotta is g-a-w-n gone.  Sparty is consistent.  Look for a tricky play from the home green huddle in the 2nd quarter.

LSU will beat Miss. State...more cowbell won’t help State as LSU opens the season after having last week’s game cancelled due to weather in the Red Stick.

UCLA will beat UNLV...Mora is shelling the corn.

Marshall will beat Ohio…Go Herd!

Justin Hayward will tear up St. Louis…the show is sold out!

Speaking the rights.

Danny Johnson

My dear wife, Carrie, and I were fortunate to be in Huntington, WV over the long Labor Day weekend.  We took in a Marshall Thundering Herd football game.  The Joan C. Edwards Stadium a.k.a  “The Joan” was packed.  Only the third sellout in school history.  That sounds a bit hard to fathom, given the history of the football program.  Anyway, the official attendance was 38,791 or something like that.  Five years ago, Carrie and I were there when they hosted the West Virginia Mountaineers.  Talk about crazy.  In a stadium that holds 38,000 and some change, the nearly 42,000 that packed the place that night was a claustrophobic nightmare.

The good thing is The Herd won the game this weekend.  The best thing is they beat the Purdue Boilermakers.  It was the first time a Big Ten team had ever come calling to Huntington.  I doubt one makes it back.  In the past, Marshall had played five road games against Big Ten teams and lost them all.  One of those was a visit to West Lafayette in 2012 to play PU.  Carrie and I were there that day.  The Herd lost 51 to 41.  Sunday the Herd won 41 to 31.

We had a marvelous time.

Changing the subject…I gave a tip to a waiter in a Barboursville, WV eatery and it was an unreasonable tip.  What I should have done with the receipt after I settled up was write on it.

Tip #1…this is the money I am leaving you.  I hope you are a Marshall student.  You will need another job some day.

Tip # 2…learn your cheeses.  When I ask if you can put a piece of cheddar on my hamburger, don’t look at me like you think all cheese comes from a wrapper.

Tip# 3…when a lady says a baked potato with sour cream on the side, do not…I mean do not…I mean don’t ever bring her a heaping mound of fries less than two hours before kickoff cos it is too late by then to bring on a foil wrapped spud.

Tip # 4…make sure the shirt you are wearing doesn’t have a fabric soften sheet hanging out above your elbow.  I appreciate your desire for comfort and I am glad you wash your clothes.

Bottom line…I felt sorry for the young man.  I told him thank you.  I smiled at him.  I left him a monetary tip that I am quite certain he enjoyed and thought he earned with his hard work.  After all, we know the boy doesn’t have a memory.

That same night my dear Carrie and I were watching “We Are Marshall” (after watching the real Marshall) in our hotel room.  There was a knock on the door.  The pizza guy was there delivering the goods…and I mean goods.  He looked at me and was very apologetic that it took so long for him to get there.  I looked at him and said, “You made it didn’t you!”  He smiled.  I handed him some cash.  He looked at the amount and offered my change in a hurry. I told him to keep it and have a good night.  What I didn’t tell him was that he picked up my confidence in the twenty-something crowd just a little bit.  I gave him his tip because he was gracious and courteous and just plain nice and I didn’t have to feel sorry for him.

Look, I am blessed that I can pass on a good tip.  Carrie and I don’t eat out that much.  For us it is just as important that someone carried it out of the kitchen and to the table and offers to fill my tea glass without me having to open the ice box and get it out myself.  That is worth something.  That and I just don’t mind helping someone out with a little extra coin.

I know this is not stuff one should talk about, and know that I am not bragging, I’m just explaining.

It was two Octobers ago.  Carrie, our son Jarrett, and I were enjoying fall break in North Carolina.  I called the pizza place for an order.  I paid with a credit card and included my tip up front.  When the young lady brought my pie, she looked beat.  I dug a little deeper and handed her some cash, took the pizza, and headed up the stairs of the house we were renting.  I was upstairs for a few minutes and heard a knock on  that same downstairs door.  “Sir”, she said, “You already paid for your tip and your pizza.”  I looked at her and told she was right.  She started to hand me back the cash.  I looked at her and told her that was the second half of her tip.  She nearly cried.  She started telling me about how she needed the money…and…I just told her thank you and to have a nice evening.  She told me she was going to do.  I’m just glad I was able to be there.

Speaking the tipping rights.

Danny Johnson

This past week I was mashing around the blue million useless channels on my DIRECTV service and came across a movie that makes me a bit wistful at the very least.

The movie Back to the Future was set between 1955 and 1985.  Michael J. Fox was the lead actor and his character was called Marty McFly.  He went back in time thanks to a car of a machine made by the scatterbrained professor named Emmett Brown.  When Marty made it back to 1985 after his flirtation with the past, Doc Brown took the time machine and told Marty he was heading for the future himself.  Marty asks Doc how far into the future he is going?  Doc tells him 30 years.  Marty asks Doc to look him up in the future and that he’ll be 47 years old.  I was 17 in 1985.  I am 47 in 2015.

I have my doubts that even the creativity of Hollywood could have come up with some of the social and political story lines that are playing out in 2015. I think it was in the episode that was called “Disorder in the Court” that Curly Howard of The Three Stooges was about to take the stand in a courtroom.  To the judge he said: “Truth is stranger than fiction…Judgy-Wudgy.”

That Curly was always ahead of the game.

Speaking the rights.

Danny Johnson

Editorial Note:  Thanks to all that let me know they enjoyed the photo of me and my Dad at the NH-Corydon high school football game last week.  As the photo suggests, we had a grand time.

College Football 2015

Wow.  I have so looked forward to this weekend.  The first full weekend of NCAA College Football.  I would be remiss if I did not give a nice nod to Montana and North Dakota State for giving is a great taste of what is to come.  The upset the Montana Grizzlies put on the Bison of NDSU was a classic.

This week’s picks:

South Carolina will beat North Carolina...  Steve Spurrier will lead a much improved Gamecock group.  I was too kind to them last year.  I thought they were on the way to a championship.  In reality, they stunk it up.  A victory over next door neighbor UNC will help get things started.

Western Kentucky will beat Vandy….Coach Brohm will continue to do a fine job in leading WKU.  They will challenge Marshall for prominence in the C-USA East.  The Herd will win out.

Michigan will beat Utah…Jim Harbaugh goes out to Utah with his alma mater Michigan and gets beat?  No way.  The smart money is on Utah.  Money has no memory.  A Michigan Man is back in town and the whole of college football will take notice.

TCU will beat Minnesota…I will give Minnesota credit for scheduling a toughie like TCU to open the season in Minneapolis.  The way of the world is to open up with a few strong games…some we will pick later.ll

Duke will beat Tulane…It won’t be a cakewalk.  Tulane has its own field now and does not have to play to a cavernous Superdome that is 20 percent full.  The job Coach Cut has done at Duke gives even a Hoosier football some hope.

Ole Miss will beat Tennessee-Martin like a drum.  Not much to say here.  Looking forward to the new quarterback situation.  Bo Wallace had too much scrutiny and it was not good for him or Ole Miss.  What can I say?  Hotty Toddy!

Nebraska will beat BYU…The game is in Lincoln.  That is why I am picking Nebraska.  They have a new coach in town and he will have the Huskers ready for Brigham’s boys.

Louisville will beat Auburn…I think Auburn is better.  In his first stint at U of L, Bobby Petrino was 41-9.  He won some big games.  He scored some upsets.  I am not saying I am a fan.  But I do know this…the game is not at Auburn.  The Cardinal players will think playing in Atlanta is a bigger deal than the boys from Auburn.  They will play like it and Auburn will lose a fumble or throw an interception to make a difference.

Indiana will beat Southern Illinois….The Hoosiers try to get to 6 wins by hosting the Salukis from Carbondale.  The poor Hoosiers start things off on a bad note just by scheduling a Pea Ridge like team to open the season.  I remember when the Hoosiers played Rice, Missouri, and Toledo before conference play.  Those were better times.   In 1981 the USC Trojans came calling to Bloomington, if you can believe that.  In 1977, LSU played the Hoosiers on IU soil.  That was another life ago.

Mississippi State beats Southern Miss….I will give State credit.  They are going to M.M. Roberts Stadium, a.k.a “The Rock” to play the home-standing Golden Eagles.  It is good for the Mississippi economy and the right thing to do now and again.  Though I hope State loses every game and they get put on probation, I give them credit for going down to Hattiesburg for the game.  The folks in Oxford would never stand for that.

Texas beats Notre Dame…Charlie Strong did not have a picnic of it his first year at Louisville.  It is his program now.  Notre Dame is getting their obligatory Irish-love by media that has never set foot in South Bend…or the last time they were there was when Lou Holtz was coaching.  Rudy doesn’t live in South Bend anymore.

Alabama beats Swissconsin….Let it be known I hope Bucky the Badger loses a foot in a trap.  I always will.  Though I am not in love with the Crimson Tide, I do think they will be strong.  In fact, I expect them to be the 2nd strongest team in the SEC West.  They will have too much speed for the Badgers.

UCLA beats Virginia…The Bruins are my pick to win the PAC 12.  They better beat UVA!

Marshall will beat Purdue….My dear wife, Carrie, and I will be in Huntington cheering on The Herd.

It sure is fun to be doing this again.

Speaking the College Football Predicting Rights…

Danny Johnson

Larry Johnson, my Dad, still loves football.  This fundamental truth was on display in full voice on Friday night as we were hanging on the fence close to turn three of the running track and football field at Corydon Central High School.  When Dad was pleased with a play’s outcome,  you could hear his satisfaction.  When Dad not pleased with a play’s outcome, you could hear his disapproval.  When he wanted to impart his version of what the players needed to do on the play they just breaked from the huddle to perform, you could hear his advice.  All of it was from the heart and he meant every syllable. Our team, North Harrison, won 43 to 39.  It was great game.

I showed you a picture of him on a wall of my new office in a previous post.

This was actually a gift to him upon his retirement.  A lovely lady by the name of Jane gave this to him.  Her nephew is the one in the picture to the left with my Dad.  It now hangs above my computer screen in my office at the same high school where my Dad was coaching while these photos were taken.

As we were standing there watching the game Friday night, I was thinking about all the ball games my Dad had taken me to over the years.  There is no way even I remember all of them…and I don’t forget much.   As I was there with Dad Friday night, I thought about two games in particular.

Look…for better or worse, I think about decades and what was happening twenty years ago and thirty years ago and even ten years ago.  Well, 40 years ago on August 23, 1975, my Dad took me to see the Cincinnati Bengals play the Green Bay Packers in an “exhibition game”…that was the nominal term for the “pre-season”  back then.  This was forty years ago and the NFL regular season was 14 games instead of 16.  They played six pre-season games instead of the four they play now.

This night was to be the first time I got to see my football hero at the time, Ken Anderson, play in person.  He did not disappoint.  He completed 15 of 21 passes for three touchdowns before yielding to back-up John Reaves.  The autographs I procured from these two as a youngster:  

The Bengals won 27 to 10.  The Green Bay Packers had a new coach that year.  His name was Bart Starr.  Though I did not get to see him play in person, I still remember him jogging out of the tunnel onto the field.  His stride was just like the footage I had seen when he had a green #15 jersey on.  That was a thrill.

The Packers had a quarterback that was starting to see the twilight of a very long football playing career.  His name was John Hadl.  What set John Hadl apart from all others playing the position in those days was that he wore the number 21.  All other quarterbacks wore 10-19 for the most part.  The single number jersey was not prevalent in the NFL back then.  The Cincinnati Bengals did not allow a single numbered jersey until Boomer Esiason came to the Queen City from the University of Maryland by way of Long Island in the mid-80s.  I wish he would have stayed in New York.

Later that same 1975 football season, on September 27th, Dad took me to Bloomington to watch the Indiana Hoosiers play the visiting Utah Utes. This game fascinated me also.  I had heard of the state of Utah.  I had seen it on maps.  Seeing those white jersey and red numbers and helmets with a U circled gave my 7 year-old mind tangible proof that a place called Utah really did exist.

The game was a highlight in a season filled with lowlights.  The Hoosiers finished 2-8-1 that year.  The 31-7 victory would be the last of the season.  A season that saw a long October and a longer November.

In the years since, Dad and I have seen bowl games and pro games and many many high school games.  We went to Notre Dame to see a game a couple years ago.  He had the time of his life.  I had fun too.  I thought I was going to freeze to death.

There is but one destination to see a game left.  I hope one day Dad and I can walk into the Rose Bowl side by side to see a UCLA game.  That is the last place I dream about.  Maybe I should leave it at that.

In the meantime, we’ll go to another game on Friday night and…enjoy…and continue to…

Speak the Rights.  (You can count on him yelling the rights at the game…)

Danny Johnson

Have been extra busy here of late.  So many things going on and I have not taken the proper time to offer any explanation of such.

Today Carrie, my dear wife, and I were taking care of a medical appointments.

One of those was at Floyd Memorial Hospital.

One was at Wicks Pizza.

In earnest, I am very thirsty as I type these words.  This thanks to the mounds of cheese and proper toppings…veggies…that decorated our pie.  I wish I would have taken a picture of this pizza.  There are a few slices left in the fridge.  They might not be there long.

I look forward to the weekend when I can put on a proper post.

Tomorrow night I will be rooting on the North Harrison Cougars as they take on the county rival Corydon Panthers in high school football.

This time last year I did not think that last sentence would be possible.

I am glad things turned out otherwise.  I didn’t know as much as I thought I did.

Speak the rights.

Danny Johnson

Question.

That is the title of a Moody Blues song that was taken off the 1970 Moody Blues album called “A Question of Balance”.

The song Question was a bit a protest song, I suppose.  I know it has been referenced before as such by the guy that wrote the song.  His name is Justin Hayward.

I have a a bit of a protesting question myself.  It will come at the end of this post.

Know that I would rather be looking out the window trying to find nothingness than sitting here writing this post.  I was motivated by sadness to pick up the speak the rights sign post and write these words.  I had other plans.

My intention was, given that I attended a high school football game last night and am still intrigued enough by the game that it inspired me to bag up my three football and grab my football cleats and my kicking shoe.  My intent was to swing my leg a bit and try to feel good about the fact that I can still kick a ball that passes over the cross bar of the goal post from forty yards, even though I am sad believing I have little hope of hitting one from fifty yards like I routinely did thirty years ago.

After my foray into acting like a kid again, I was going to write a post that was to let everyone know, hence a less than clever title that I am : Still Kicking.

It didn’t turn out that way.  I just sighed heavily as I wrote typed that last sentence.

Moments before I dropped Carrie, my dear wife, off at her building to work, we were listening to a news report on the radio.

We heard that three American civilian contractors were among the dead in a suicide car bombing in Afghanistan.

Carrie and I just looked at each other trying not to believe what we had just heard.  You see, our son, Jarrett, spent time working as one of these civilian contractors after he got out of the military.  He was no longer a soldier.  Given his expertise with helicopters, the fact that he had experienced one deployment to Iraq and two to Afghanistan, and the fact that he is more than competent in being depended upon and trusted, another arm, call it one  arm of a cousin of Uncle Sam,  convinced him to go back and work in Afghanistan as a “civilian contractor”.

Do you remember that lady Tom Cruise had the hots for in Top Gun?  She was a civilian contractor, I would say.  She had  expertise about aviation equipment she could pass along to the soldiers.  Jarrett had that same ability.  He, a civilian, showed the Army guys how to better take care of, and work their Blackhawk helicopters.  He knows them well.

When Jarrett finished his arranged stint as a civilian contractor, he decided he had seen enough of the Middle East.  He did not go back.  Thankfully, we did not have to watch him go back.

During his years of deployment, Carrie and I winced every time we heard the home phone ring.  We would take a breath before we looked at the caller-I.D. feature on our phone.  One time when we were talking to Jarrett while he was over there, we could hear the shelling KA-BOOMs in the background.  I have never been so rattled in all my life.

Jarrett came back to us.  As a soldier… he came back to us.  As a civilian contractor…he came back to us.

Today he tried to call his mother and I think she let the phone ring and ring.  She could not talk to him.  He called me and I talked to him.  What did we talk about?  We talked about his work schedule…we talked about his puppy dog…we talked about his order for what I am putting on the grill tonight….we talked about having a meal together.  He told me he loved me and I told him I love him.  I can do that today.

When our phone conversation was over I was thankful I had this conversation.  I was also just as sad for three sets of parents whose children were trying to help by using the expertise and know how.  Dangerous work?  Yes.  Financially rewarding?  Yes.  Necessary?   You better believe it.

I thought about how I will probably have to look hard to find the names of these three civilian contractors and where their families live.  They will quickly be a news blip afterthought.  That does not make them any less important.

I am left with a couple tough questions.  As I look at how much attention a former Olympic male athlete has gotten for telling the world he wants to be a girl, when I see television ratings soar for shows that depict families that can’t get along to save their lives, when I see political candidates that feed this reality television mentality, when I see professional athletes make millions of bucks for being mediocre players, when I see politicians whom have no idea what education is really about and try to act like they do, when I see…well…you can probably fill in the blank yourself.

Do soldiers ever ask the question?

Am I fighting for this?

I would.  But I would also know there is always hope for a better day.

Speaking the somber rights.

Danny Johnson