I have been accused of having a museum opposed to an “office” on the East side of our house.

I have always contended that I have been surrounded by great people my entire life.  I am not sure why.  I know I have been blessed.  No question there.  Some of the folks I have happened on would be in the “most unlikely to…” category.  I do know this: opportunity knows no season. It is everywhere.  I have been taught and led by some great people.  The stuff in my office at home is a reflection of this, I think.  Around me are reminders of where I have been.  In that same collection is a glimpse of where I am going.  When the dust of the here and now clears, we are left with a clear path of reflection…if we choose to look back at it.  Sometimes it is better that we don’t look back.  But on those occasions when we do, and we look for answers to the future in the process, we can usually find the answer…if not a hint.  Warning though…it is not always immediate in the field of vision.  It may take years to figure out the wherefore and the why.  A few of those mysteries will remain just that.  They are supposed to.  You want to tell me there are no mysteries in life?  You woke up this morning, didn’t you? Mystery…opportunity…chance…thanksgiving….sometimes heartache…they can all be found in the day.

Above my desk you will find the images above.

Merry Christmas!  Today is Christmas Eve and we celebrate the birth of Jesus.  I wish I could have been there the day He was born.  Can you imagine what was in the air that day?  It is our job to hang onto it.   In these strange times we are living in…we better.  I am thankful for this picture.  It was on display when I went on what is called an “Emmaus Walk”.

This photo above is a favorite.  It was taken the day I got married to my dear wife, Carrie.  That is me with my close friend Corner King Lincoln.  The photo was taken in February 1996.  My  friend died in August 1997.  Little did we know what this picture would look like now…what it means now.  Twenty years this August.  We packed a great deal of living in the few years we got to hang out together.  I still miss him.

I also miss Tim Krekel.  We made music together.  I listened to him a great deal.  In his music, in his words as a friend, and as a musical mentor.  I never walk into a recording session without thinking about him and remembering that …”We have to do what is right by the song…”  Tim always did.  I hope I do too.  He died in June 2009.

I would not consider myself a musician of any kind without at lest one Fender amp to go with my three guitars.

My affection for Ole Miss and Eli Manning are on display.  My Aunt Barbara and I saw Eli in Oxford his senior year.  He threw for over 390 yards in a win against South Carolina.  It was the most yards he passed for in a game Ole Miss won.  A New Orleans native, Eli is, if you look close you can see a glass on the right from Pat O’Brien’s  in the quarter.  When Eli quits playing for the Giants I will be looking for another player and team to follow.  That, my friends, may not happen.

A couple of important milestones next to each other.  A plaque my Dad got after winning 50 high school games.  It was given by the Indiana Football Coaches Association.  Next to that is an award much more important to me.  The scoreboard at The Louisville Bats’ Slugger Field declaring our son, Jarrett, was back from a deployment in the Afghanistan.  That is a winning scoreboard.  There are some parents that never had the chance to see such a beautiful sight.

The cup from the Rose Bowl Dad and I saw a little more than a month ago.

My 1979 Brownstown Little League Championship Trophy.  Back when one earned the trophy they were handed.  As far as I know, none of the kids playing that year that did not get a trophy had to go to therapy.  It was a simpler time.  Next to the winners’ trophy is photo of The Mississippi Melody Makers.  That is my great-grandmother, my Granny’s mom, in the photo.  When it was taken is a mystery.

A photo of my 1979 team draped by a visor given to my in 2011.  I was bestowed a member of the Brownstown Central Football Alumni.  Though I did not play during the time the others being honored did…and though I was on a team that beat Brownstown 59-0 a few years after those being honored played…I was told by the powers that be, when I questioned my qualifications, that I belonged there as much as anyone else did.  “You are one of us.”… I was told.  I did spend a great deal of time there when my Dad was the head coach in the 70s.  Dad too was announced and honored that night at the James T. Blevins Stadium.  I was the youngest there to have his name called.  Behind it all, you can see one of my Punt Pass and Kick Trophies from the late 1970s I won on the same field.

The church Carrie and I were married on a  warm February 10th day in 1996.   That day made me look much smarter than I will ever deserve credit for.  But I don’t mind.

The football in honor of Granny.  The kicking shoe that was all too true.  A blue helmet.  Go Cougars! An Asheville Tourist cap.  A NY Giants tin from a dear friend.  And a Wheaties Box that Granny gave me.

M

From Left to RIght:  The Moody Blues in 1986.  The Outfield’s Play Deep CD from 1986.  My original Moodies’ Days of Future Passed cassette I bought in 1983.  I graduated from high school in 1986.  That was the Spring of the Moodies’ last Top Ten hit, Your Wildest Dreams.  The Outfield was all over the radio with the song Your Love.  It sounded to me like an older tune I would have heard in the football locker room growing up in Brownstown.

I have been fortunate enough to visit both Fenway Park and Wrigley Field.

This poster commemorated the Moody Blues 25th Anniversary of Days of Future Passed.  It was a big deal that was celebrated with a concert at the Red Rocks venue outside Denver.  Accompanied by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra in early September, the concert was recorded on both audio and video tape and became a PBS fundraising staple.   This was in 1992.  It seemed like such a long time from 1967 to 1992.  Do the math.  This year will be the 50th Anniversary of Days of Future Passed.  I have no idea how.

The last time the Moodies played at Red Rocks was in 2011.  My dear Carrie and I were there. The symphony was not.   Notice the guy behind him with the camera.

The Brownstown Baptist Church on the left and the Jackson County Courthouse on the right.  The church burned down many years ago.  They rebuilt outside of town on Hwy 135 Southbound.  The courthouse…three blocks up the hill from my childhood home, you could hear the bell strike at the announcing of the hour.  I rode my bike around the curvy sidewalks of the courthouse.  On some days I imagined I was Mario Andretti.  On some days I imagined I was Paul Crockett.  No matter, I was a winner.

God Bless you and your families as we celebrate Christmas.  Thanks be to God!

Now that is speaking the rights!

Danny Johnson

Last night was a great time.  I was with friends.  They are also folks I work with.  We invaded the classic New Albany Country Club last night for our staff Christmas Party.  We had a great time.  I am fortunate to be surrounded by people I enjoy spending time with.  Last night was not a case of “I have to go the company party…”.  No.  I was fortunate enough to attend!  My dear wife, Carrie, and I sat and laughed and made joke about how the last of us in line for the food would have to forego the mashed potatoes.  They ran out.  For sure, someone will show up next year with a sack of potatoes for effect.  It might be me.

So there I was.  I was sitting next to Carrie, a blessing in itself, looking around and thinking of how very wonderful my life of making and having friends has turned  out.

When I was a youngster my Dad was a high school football coach.  I still go back and forth with players that I admired and enjoyed watching and being around 40 years ago…or more.  They are important to me.

In my elementary school years I lived life and played baseball and football with some guys I still talk and text and email with that I last lived close to during the Carter administration.  We are still friends.  We went to Brownstown Elementary School together.  I visited there not long ago…just for fun and because I could.  Not everyone has that luxury…getting a private audience and a tour from the principal.

When we moved to Ramsey, Indiana and enrolled in North Harrison Schools, good fortune shone on me the first day of school.  I was sitting there in Mrs. Lambert’s room by myself.  Students familiar with each other started filing in one by one.  They did not sit with or talk to the new guy.  He sat there and listened and felt ever more lonely and homesick with each second that ticked off an antique of a clock above the door of an older and less modern school facility than he was accustomed to.  Two guys walked in together.  They were pals.  An intuitive and caring young 11 year-old girl told these two to go sit by the new kid.  Am I ever glad she did.  I told them I was from Brownstown.  One made mention that his brother played football and that he heard the new football coach was from Brownstown.  I told him I had knowledge of that.  The winning dominoes started falling from there.  I accrued more good friends from this place.  Some of these folks I still hear from now and again.  It is like the time has been the only thing we have lost track of.  We just go on where we left off.  If I ever did anyone any favors, I think that is something I may offer.  I have a memory like no one else I know.  I hope I keep it that way…for the most part.  I mean, I am not dumb…parts of that will go one day.  But the point is…I think I can help keep us in the moment and it is a moment that has just kept on going.  I think I can do that.  I need help, of course.  That friendship has to have a strong base and a body from which to work…and, well, remember.

Common interests are important too.  That is what helps to sustain new friends that are made along the way.  There is always room for more friendship.  Spending time together and making memories with experiences together is the key to new friends and old friends.  Sooner or later…you have more old friends.  That is a special place to be.

I did not name names here.  I would be mortified if I knew someone was sad because I left them out.  Chances are, I remember them a great deal more than they remember me.

BOWL GAME PREDICTIONS  2016/2017

So I am late in posting my Bowl Predictions.  I will tell you my technical difficulties are a thing of the past…for now anyway.  My old reliable laptop is in fine working order now. Don’t know why?  Don’t really care.  Just glad I am back to my old keys.

Yes, I know the bowl games have already started and I can tell you I am off to a better start this year than I had last year.  I was around .500 last year with my bowl picks.  It is still early.  Things can still go bad for me.  They might.

I am on the honor system here…not the ornery system.  Six bowl games have already been played.  They are included in the picks I made before the bowls started.

New Mexico Bowl:  New Mexico beats UTSA

Las Vegas Bowl:  Houston beats San Diego State

Camellia Bowl:  App. State beats Toledo

New Orleans Bowl:  Southern Miss beats UL-Lafayette

Miami Beach Bowl:  Tulsa beats Central Michigan

Boca Bowl:  Memphis beats Western Kentucky

Poinsettia Bowl:  BYU beats Wyoming

Idaho Bowl:  Colorado State beats Idaho

Bahamas Bowl:  Old Dominion beats Eastern Michigan….EMU in a bowl?  Not a typo.

Armed Forces Bowl:  Navy beats Louisiana Tech…though I am for the Bulldogs

Dollar General Bowl:  Ohio beats Troy…Nebraska still looks silly for firing Frank Solich.

Hawaii Bowl:  Middle Tennessee beats Hawaii

St. Petersburg Bowl:  Miss State beats Miami of Ohio.

Quick Lane Bowl:  Boston College beats Maryland

Independence Bowl:  NC State beast Vandy

Heart of Dallas Bowl:  Army beats North Texas

Military Bowl:  Temple beats Wake Forest…without any cheat sheets.

Holiday Bowl:  Washington State beats Minnesota…Swing your Sword!

Cactus Bowl:  Baylor beats Boise State

Pinstripe Bowl:  Northwestern beats Pitt…and maybe the Big Ten coach will appreciate Yankee Stadium this year.

Russell Athletic:  West Virginia beats Miami…proof I did not pick with my heart here.

San Fran Bowl:  Utah beats Indiana.. Bowling in consecutive years for the Hoosiers…a first since 90/91. The Hoosiers last bowl win was in 1991’s Copper Bowl.  They shut of Baylor 24 to 0.  It can happen.

Texas Bowl:  Texas A&M beats KState

Birmingham Bowl:  USF beats South Carolina

Belk Bowl:  Arkansas beats Va.Tech

Alamo Bowl:  Colorado beats Oklahoma State….Proof of bowl saturation…more than one game has conference teams matched up.  This ain’t March Madness.

Liberty Bowl:  Georgia beats TCU…and I still look at this game each year and sigh a bit.  It was where Coach Bear Bryant prowled the sidelines the last time in the 1982 game.  The Tide beat Illinois.  The Bear died less than a month later.  I was in my high school gym when I heard the news.  College Football turned on a dime that day.

Sun Bowl:  North Carolina beats Stanford…if there is one bowl game I hope to get to one day…this is it.  I doubt it will happen.

Music City Bowl:  Nebraska beats Tennessee…been to five of these.  Great time in a great town.  Nice match-up for the good folks in Nash Vegas.

Arizona Bowl:  South Alabama beats Air Force…Coach Joey Jones pulls off another big one in a great season for the Jags.

Orange Bowl:  Michigan beats Florida State

Gator Bowl:  Kentucky beats the Georgia Tech…I still call it the Gator Bowl.  Ohio State fans call it a bad memory.

Citrus Bowl:  Louisville beats LSU…providing they don’t get caught looking at LSU’s playbook.

Fiesta Bowl:  Ohio State beats Clemson in National Semi-Final

Peach Bowl:  Alabama beats Washington in National Semi-Final…of course

Cotton Bowl:  Western Michigan beats Swissconsin…Cos they want to play the Cheese more than the Cheese wants to play them…and have you seen their QB?  My paper says Wisconsin.  I just called an audible.  The heart still matters.

Outhouse…I mean…Outback Bowl:  Iowa beats Florida

Rose Bowl:  USC beats Penn State…in what should be a great game.  Looking forward to watching this one.

Sugar Bowl:  Auburn beats Oklahoma

Championship Game:  Alabama beats Ohio State and I am glad.  Put Brutus in a fire and roast him.

In 1988 when the Indiana Hoosiers defeated South Carolina in The Liberty Bowl, there were 17 bowls played that year.  I think I just picked over 40 games.  I liked it better in 1988.  I like watching the games on TV in 2016.  Don’t get me wrong.  I would tune in to any of them…because I can.  It was better though, when your team played in a bowl game that was covered in syndication by the likes of RAYCOM Sports and the color commentator, Dave Rowe (in 1988) called Anthony Thompson, the nation’s leading rusher and scorer, Anthony Thomas, as he referred to the school as the University of Indianapolis.   About as good was 1979 when the Hoosiers beat BYU in the Holiday Bowl. I think Harry Kalas may have called that game.  It ended past midnight.  The TV picture was provided by rabbit-ears.  My Dad and I were rooting the Hoosiers on.  I remember hoping the game would slow down so my Mother could catch some of it. My Mom, who worked 3 to 11 that night, got home in time to catch the end.  Behind a bowl of Raisin Bran, she did just that.  Lee Corso got his victory over an undefeated BYU team ranked in the top ten.  Most have forgotten that.

I told you I have a good memory.

These words all written with Brian Wilson’s 1988 solo effort “Imagination” playing in the background of all this football madness.

Earlier this year, Brian Wilson, at the Tanglewood Shed, Lenox, Mass.

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson

I have been having computer problems.  My trusty ancient laptop does not want to work.  I am typing on a machine that is a bit foreign to me.  I am screwing up left, right, and sideways.  I will press onward and keep the faith.

I know a few have asked for some pictures of the visit to Lucas Oil Stadium to watch the Big Ten Championship game.  My dear wife, Carrie, and I had a great time.  It was my first trip to Lucas Oil Stadium.  The place, the place that Peyton Manning built, is a testament to his endearing career and mark he put on the landscape of football in the Indiana…a basketball state.  If you look at downtown Indy, it does not look like a basketball town.  The football palace dominates downtown.

Carrie and I were for the Penn State Nittany Lions.  We spent the night in State College a couple summers ago.  It is a unique place.  The school is the town and the town is the school.  Kind of like another place I know rather well.

The first picture I ever took in Lucas Oil Stadium.

What a nice place.

The Penn State team won in a dramatic comeback.   Down 28 to 7…they came back and won 38-31.  Amazing.

On a display of Indiana Football legends, I found Vagas Ferguson.  It was 1975 I think it says, maybe 1974.  Vagas was the MVP of the Indiana North-South All Star Game.  He then went on to Notre Dame to become their leading rusher at the time.  He then played for a while in the NFL.

“Give it to Vagas!”  “Give it to Vagas!”  That was the battle cry of one of Vagas’ relatives at the Indiana All Star Game.  My Dad and I were there in Bloomington that day at Memorial Stadium.  They gave him the ball.  He played well.  It was another great memory I can reach in a pick out and see and listen to when I visit the home of the Indiana Hoosiers Football Team.  Though I feel a little distance from them…for a variety of reasons….when I get into Memorial Stadium I still have fun remembering the good times.

I do hope I get my computer working again.

I need that old relic to help me to…

Speak the rights.

Danny Johnson

I wish I would of had a digital camera twenty five years ago.  I would have pictures to show you. In 1991 my Granny and I visited The USS Arizona Memorial.  It was a humbling experience.  I still remember riding on the boat that took us to the site.  It was surreal.

Having had a son fight in a war, having had grandparents in World War II, my dear wife, Carrie, and I are rather dumbfounded when it comes to the remembrances of military conflict. I suppose one reason we so enjoy spending time near Wilmington, North Carolina is that Camp Lejeune is near.  There is a military presence and a reverence for our men and women in uniform unlike we have around Southern Indiana.  We appreciate those in uniform.  We thank them.  We need them.  We don’t remind ourselves until it is too late too often.

God Bless our men and women in uniform.

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson

December.

Carrie and I watched Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer already.  Can it be?

It can.  It is.  And 2017 is just around the corner.  2017.  I didn’t think we would go that high.

I like December.  I think back to the days when I worked in a large department store…there was a 7 on the end of one of those years too.  1987.  Working at the store during Christmas time was fun.  It was hard work.  Boy was it hard work.  Never stopped.  Always something.  Very exciting.  I was a Christmas Eve shopper.  Back then the store closed at 5 PM on Christmas Eve.  We were also closed on Thanksgiving.  Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day.  Those were the three days we were closed.  I volunteered to work on Christmas Eve.  I didn’t have much money.  I looked for Christmas Eve bargains and found them.  Stores would lower prices after 3 o’clock just trying to move stuff.  But I was concerting in my shopping.  I didn’t just grab something.  I took a nice long late lunch.  After 1 pm the place was rather desolate anyway on Christmas Eve.  The mall was giving way to folks prepping to head to Grandma’s house for dinner.

Me, I just took my bags out to the car after I made my purchases, then before I left the store, I made a deal with the store manager who drew the short straw and had to be there that day.  I got some wrapping paper for a discounted employee discount.  No, I did not take that much advantage.  I never walked out of the place without paying for it…sometimes more ways than one.  Here is to Ed Calldemeier,  Brother Love Kahl, Gary Beckley, Wanda, Dave Hussung, Davey Cochran, Christy Adams, Jude Smith, Dave Killebrew, Guy Williams, Duncan Hines, Casper, Bill Barnes….the Barnesman…and I could go on.  Merry Christmas to you all.

My dear wife, Carrie, and I are going heading to Indy tomorrow.  We are going to watch the Big Ten Championship game tomorrow night.  Penn State is the designated home team against Wisconsin…or should I say…Swissconsin.  I usually do.  I have seen both of these teams play on multiple occasions in Bloomington.  One year I saw Wisconsin in the Music City Bowl against Auburn.  That was a good game too.

So we are heading for one more game in the sun.  Well, not really.  It kicks off at 8:17 and is being played in the Lucas Oil Stadium.  That is the home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.  Given I have made trips to Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and The Joan in Huntington (just one game…though we had tickets for more)…everyone I tell that I have yet to see the inside of the Lucas Oil Stadium is surprised.  I suppose I have made an effort to avoid it.  But that time has passed.  I so enjoyed watching Peyton Manning in the old Hoosier/RCA Dome.  That is how I wanted to remember Colt football in person.  I’d imagine the place will be adorned in Big Ten field.  But I don’t know.  Heck, it is almost 2017 so it is time.  I was at The Rose Bowl two weeks ago.  It is time to check out that stadium two hours up the road…not five hours by plane.

I have seen my share of stadiums.  After the Rose Bowl, they’re all like tater tots.

This week’s games I better hurry with the first one.  I am not watching…but ethically, it kicks off in less than 10 minutes:

Western Michigan beats Ohio…I want to pick Coach Solich’s team…I really do.  Can’t.

Penn State beats Wisconsin….There will be tears in the eyes of some of the Mt. Nittany faithful tomorrow night.  I hope so.  They need to win.  They need some good.

Alabama beats Florida….then they beat the next team and the they beat the next team and then they are National Champs again.  Rumor has it Coach Saban ordered the Bama Wood Shop class to offer 3-d renderings of the new cabinet they are looking to put the new trophy in.  Who could blame him?  Then after that, he can find a new offensive coordinator.

Western Kentucky beats Louisiana Tech….I hope the Bulldogs win this one.  I have been to Ruston.  I like the people there better than the folks in Bowling Green.  But the pizza is better in Bowling Green.

Colorado beats Washington…I really think they will.

Oklahoma beats Oklahoma State…my DVR will get a work out tomorrow.  Won’t be watching these while we are in Indy taking it in.

Baylor beats West Virginia…that is a heart call.  Can’t call those Mountaineers winners!

Navy beats Temple….Anchors Away!

Virginia Tech beats Clemson…Does anyone out there know what the “pucker factor” is?  Clemson has had the puckers on occasion this year.  They will tomorrow too.

New Hampshire beats James Madison…They are on the road, but I like my UNH Wildcats here.

Kansas State beats TCU….Bill Snyder for President in 2020.

Grambling beats Alcorn…Might be a kicker’s battle.  That would be fun.

The Citadel beats Wofford…That is for my old friend Pat Conroy.

The next set of 2016 picks will be the Bowlapalooza Picks…including Bama as National Champs.

Stay warm…it is going to get cold out there.

And go Nittany Lions.  I will be pulling for you tomorrow night.

Speaking the Rights…

Danny Johnson

The leaves have fallen off the trees in my little piece of Southern Indiana.  It is chilly out this morning.  The wind is not blowing.  That is a good thing.  It is amazing how cool 37 degrees can feel after you have spent a Summer that seemed to last forever.  In two months 37 degrees will feel balmy.  That is just the way it goes around here.  Though I was not home for it last weekend, I here it went from 78 degrees last Friday to half of that the next day.  Oh well.

My dear wife, Carrie, and I are not going to see the Herd play tonight.  There are multiple levels of motivation for missing this one.  We hate to miss Senior Day.  That is always a good time.  But…they are kicking off at 7 PM.  Not good.  I doubt there will be 18,000 people there.  I wish they were kicking off at noon.  That might of gotten us there.

There is also a matter of so blooming many games to look at today on the television.  Rivalry week that is compelling television is my date on the couch.  I do plan some time on the exercise equipment today as I am watching also.  Too much turkey and dressing and pie will do that.  But we sure had fun on Thanksgiving Day.  It was good to have a house full.

I hate to see the regular college football season end today.  It has gone too fast.

This week’s speaktherights.com College Football Predictions:

U of L beats UK…There were UK buses parked downtown in Louisville last night.  I saw the offensive bus.  Is that necessary?  To spend the night when you can drive up there in an hour and a half or less?  Maybe Kentucky wanted to pick out the stick they are going to get beaten with.

Indiana beats Purdue…At least they should.  This game can do some funny things.  It may be just like the natural order of things for IU to get upset and everyone can march on Assembly Hall.

Michigan beats Ohio State…I think Michigan was looking past Indiana last week and looking forward to this one.  Who could blame them?  Michigan may be the only team that can play with Bama.  They would still get beat.

Georgia beats Georgia Tech…The Bulldogs get the Wreck in a close one.

Bama beats Auburn…The Iron Bowl is one of college football’s greatest spectacles.  It should not be close.  But you just never know with this game.

Ole Miss beats Mississippi State…The Egg Bowl is another good one.  This has been a disappointing season in the Magnolia State.  Bragging rights are still worth showing up to fight for.

Virginia Tech beats Virginia…The Hokies have had a fair year.  Blacksburg is a special place.

WKU beats Marshall…The Herd has gone from 3 ten win seasons to a game shy of 10 losses.  What happened?  The pieces have to be in place if you are going to win the chess match.

Tennessee beats Vandy…The Dores are improving.  Still not enough to upend the Vols and a that pesky song they play.  There will be a bunch in Orange sure they are ready to walk to music row to be the next big thing in country music after so much practice today.

Colorado beats Utah…The team at the edge of the Rockies should win again.

Clemson beats South Carolina…but there is always hope.

Minnesota beats Swissconsin…Have you figured out my pattern of nearly never picking against Goldy and never picking for Bucky?  There is a reason.  I like Goldy.  I don’t like Bucky.

USC beats Notre Dame…This is still a classic match-up.  I have always enjoyed watching this one.  I know Aunt Barbara in Mississippi likes this one to.

Here is to our TV remotes (mashers) getting a workout today!

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson

My dear wife, Carrie, is in the kitchen working on the makings of tomorrow’s Thanksgiving feast.  No one does it better.  Just ask anyone who ever wandered into her kitchen.

I went to see a specialist type doctor yesterday.  To say a neurosurgeon is looking at how healthy my back is or is not seems rather serious.  All I can say is my back hurts.  It has been hurting for 33 years.  The old L 4/5 injury…lower back.  When I was 15 the first neurosurgeon I saw about this ailment said the words “Down the road…” as in down the road he will probably have problems to deal with.  I did not think the road would be so short.  I figured down the road meant when I was 88…not 48.  Oh well.  I will press onward.

The Rose Bowl.

There are times in our lives when we have built things up in our mind and the reality of being does not live up to what we had either dreamed or conjured up in our minds.  I can tell you I had the highest of expectations last weekend when my Dad and I traveled to Pasadena to see USC play UCLA in The Rose Bowl Stadium.

The place lived up to those expectations and actually exceeded them.  I didn’t think that was possible.

I remember a line from the movie “Broadcast News” when William Hurt’s character, Tom, asked Albert Brooks’ character, Aaron, “What do you do when your real life exceeds your dreams?”  Aaron looked at him and told him to keep it to himself.  Well, The Rose Bowl, a place that has been the Sugarcandy Mountain of Football Stadiums in my dreams, was more than I ever expected.  The whole trip was a blessing.  My Dad had a blast.  I am so glad he did.

What follows are several pictures and a few words about the trip.

I walked down Rosemont Ave and at the bottom of the hill that had houses and trees on both sides, I found this…

I thought…it is real.

Later that day, Dad and I took the train to Santa Monica.  It was very beautiful.  It was only the second time I had seen the Pacific Ocean.  The Atlantic is an old friend.  The Pacific, which I saw the first time in Hawaii, was different.  To see the sun there over the water in the late afternoon seemed a bit odd I must say.

The LA Union Station terminal is a bit docile compared to NYC’s.  The architecture is gorgeous.

From the train, I took this photo.  I have never seen so many cars and so many people as far as the eye can see for such a long distance.  Hollywood, LA, Burbank, Culver City, Pasadena, Santa this and Santa that…they all run together and they are all full of folks.  And I must say, the people were very friendly.  I was impressed.  I did not know what to expect.

Some rides on the Santa Monica Pier.

This is the Courtyard of the Pasadena City Hall.  It too was remarkable to the eye.

SO WAS THIS…

My Dad was buying a hat at the UCLA STORE tent.  He wanted a hat.  He only has about 500.  He needed another one.  So he bought one outside the Rose Bowl before the game.

In front of the tent, there were UCLA cheerleaders sitting at a table signing items and talking to folks.  I yelled at my Dad as he was coming out of the sales tent; I told him to go stand in front of the table so I could get a picture of him with the UCLA cheerleaders.  He made his move over to the table.

That was not enough for the cheerleaders.  They sprung into action!

A few joined in and then more joined in…

And then more joined in…and I had to tell them that enough was enough…though I appreciated their effort.

It worked out well.  Dad’s legend has grown again.

Here he is walking through the tunnel to the see the inside of The Rose Bowl.  It was a twenty yard tunnel.  I had never seen anything like it.

Inside we found this.  I was a nervous wreck.  We made it.

I think this is my favorite picture.

Watching kickers warm up before the game.

There really are roses at The Rose Bowl.

Fantastic.

The USC Marching Band

Script UCLA

The UCLA Bruins lost to USC 36 to 14.

It was still a good time had by all.

I have been asked what possessed me to up and take my Dad to the Rose Bowl to watch a football game.  Honestly, I think my Granny had something to do with it.  Granny died two years ago yesterday.  It was a Saturday.  We were all gathered at Granny’s and I went home for a while.  I was on the elliptical downstairs when the phone rang.  It was Carrie.  She and my sister were at Granny’s bedside when she passed.  The rest of the day was a blur of time and emotion and stillness and silence and loss and time that doesn’t make sense and awkward bewilderment and grief and relief and more silence and just some kind of stuff that goes with a day like…when you lose someone you love.  It was a long day.  It was a November Saturday.  When Carrie and I finally got home that night, I fell on the couch and looked at the TV.  It was not on.  It was a silent black screen.  And I knew my Granny would not want me to sit and look at that.  I turned a football game on.  

USC was playing UCLA in The Rose Bowl.  Granny always wanted to be there to see a game.

Last Saturday, she made it there.

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson

I am a bit tired.

Yesterday my Dad and I were delayed for hours waiting for a flight from Louisville, Kentucky that would eventually get to Burbank, CA and the Bob Hope Airport.  This is a small and quaint air port.  It was the first time I had gotten off a 737 from the rear walking off the plane to the ground.  I felt like giving everyone there a peace sign as I got off.

Long story short.  We got here last night/this morning.  We were over four hours late.  I thought it would be worse.  A hydraulic part was suspect on the plane we were leaving Louisville on.  They got it off the ground.  It landed in Las Vegas without incident.  Dad and I barely made it on the connecting flight from Vegas to Burbank.

Tomorrow we will be at the Rose Bowl to see the UCLA Bruins host the rival USC Trojans.  I went by USC today on a train.  We even saw a bit of the LA Coliseum.

First, the picks for tomorrow’s games.  I must be brief.

Iowa beats Illinois….bad, I hope.

Ohio State beats Michigan…I wish I were wrong.

Nebraska beats Maryland…The Huskers are not bad at all.

Swissconsin beats Purdue…Purdue can’t stop their shadow.

Michigan beats Indiana….and they may score 50 or more.

Minnesota beats Northwestern….I may miss this one…probably will.  Go Goldy!

Penn State beats Rutgers…Big Ten out of towner Bowl.

Utah beats Oregon…without trouble.

Washington State beats Colorado…The Coogs are for real.

Stanford beats Cal in The Big Game.   Has the band been forgotten?

Washington beats Arizona State…they are not happy campers in Seattle.

Oregon State beats Arizona…Not much wild about these cats.

USC beats UCLA…and I hope I am wrong.

Notice a pattern here?  I am paying homage to The Rose Bowl.

This week’s picks were from the Big Ten and The PAC 12.  These are the Rose Bowl’s traditional opponents.

The Rose Bowl?

I found it today.  It was about a two mile walk from our hotel.  I am glad I got there by foot.  It gave me time to recall so much of the history I love about this place.

Carl found it today.

He really liked it.

I did too.  I am so looking forward to seeing a game inside it.  It is so simple outside.  There is a valley in there and a field that probably inspired a dream or two.

Dad and I took to the train today in Los Angeles.

Our trip ended here.

The Santa Monica Pier.

The Pacific Ocean.

Dad and me above The Santa Monica Pier.

Lunch.

It was a great spot to enjoy a fine meal.

More later.

Carl is for UCLA.

I have no doubt these mountains are the ones shown at the beginning of M*A*S*H.

Speaking the Rights…

Danny Johnson

Last Sunday I was in Louisville, Kentucky recording a new song.  The experience I had that day was what legends are made from.  It felt that way for me, anyway.

On these pages I have indicated my strong appreciation and delight in having the opportunity to have crossed paths with Dr. Millard Dunn.  He was my mentor in the English classroom in college.  His work and advice along the way, over twenty years since I was in one of his classes, has never left me.  Stories are still thrown around like fertilizer.  They get thicker and better every year.  I am fortunate enough to still be in touch with some of the folks that were in Millard’s class when I was.  They too enjoy the telling of good tales and remembrances.  One thing that is not lost on us is what good things we were taught by Dr. Dunn.  All the fun aside, we still hold strong to both the values and the knowledge we gained from this great guy.

Here is Dr. Dunn listening intently to what I am suggesting we do to make a song better.  He gave his two cents also.  I am thankful he did.  He helped to make the tune stronger.

Working on the song, Rod Wurtele, myself, and Millard.  Rod is a keyboard master and he put some beautiful sounds to this song.

We recorded this unlike anything I have ever recorded before.  In earnest, I thought it was quite ambitious.  I was not sure how things would go.  I never lost faith.  It worked fine.

What I did was bring the song lyrics and the tune in my head and sing it for Rod.  I wrote the song in October, the last time Carrie and I were at our favorite spot in North Carolina looking at the ocean together.  She was sitting next to me when I wrote it.  I knew then and there that this was the thing to do with this tune.  It is a ballad and I knew it needed some soft keys that only Rod understands from working with me in the past.

It is not always so serious for us, understand.  We do know how to have a good time.

And there may also be a time when I am a bit too serious?  I don’t know.  This was during the playback and I was trying to figure out if this was really happening.  I was shocked at how well it went.  Given the folks in the room with me, I should not of been.  Like I said, I really did have faith.

The thing is, this will probably the most special song I have ever recorded.  Not just because the song is about Carrie, my dear wife.  The recorded version of the song was taken the first time it was ever sung straight through.  We worked on bits.  Verse here.  Stop.  Chorus here. Stop.  Intro.  Stop.  Chorus again.  When it was time to sing the song from start to finish, we rolled the tape.  We captured it the first time the song was EVER sung.  It was, as Millard to his wife, Carol, later in the evening, “Fascinating.”

Along with The MAN AT THE CONTROLS, Jeff Carpenter, we knew we had found the sound we were looking for.

To share this moment, was very special.

Maybe we will do it again.

By the way, this was post number 300 of…

Speaking the rights.

Danny Johnson

I am on the porch.  It is dark and it is getting cooler by the minute.

I had a grand post in the works.  I will get to it tomorrow.  I assure you.  It is about the greatest day I ever had in a recording studio.

For now…I give your my College Football Picks for this week.

UCLA beats Oregon State…Oh how I hope so.  My Dad and I will be in the Rose Bowl next week to see UCLA play USC.

IU beats Penn State….I said it.  This game will be the watershed moment to tell all the Lagow is the quarterback next year.

Louisville beats Wake Forest…of course they do.

Michigan beats Iowa…and I hate every minute.  Alabama beware.  Michigan will be your opponent in the National Championship Game.

Ole Miss beat Texas A&M…I hope.

Tennessee beats Kentucky….Sorry Cat fans.

Alabama beats Mississippi State….I hope Brother Tim and Michelle enjoy this one.  They will be listening to Denny Chimes and rooting on the Tide.

USC beats Washington…and get the Huskies out of the Final 4 picture.

Minnesota beats Nebraska…I hope.  My heart gets in the way too much.

Notre Dame beats Army…In the worst of times the Irish won’t lose to two service boys.

Vandy beats Mizzou…and Derek Mason keeps his job.

Northwestern beats Purdue…in a close on.

Michigan State beats Rutgers…just like everyone else does.

Some great music news to follow soon on

Speak the Rights…

Danny Johnson