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.
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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