As a kid I was infatuated with the autographs of Cincinnati Bengals football players.  I grew up in Brownstown, Indiana.  I was a Bengals fan.  Ken Anderson, he retired from football in 1986 when I was 18, saw me through my formidable years of watching the NFL.  I have a few Kenny autographs.  He autographed a 1977 football card.  It is my favorite of his.

My Dad was a football coach and I was fortunate in that he took me to see the Bengals during their summer training camp on many occasions.  My days then were not about practice.  It was about the practice of acquiring a good autograph.  In 1978 I can still remember getting the autograph of Bengals punter Pat McInally.  He went to Harvard.  He was the brainchild behind the League-Lineup sports action figures and made more geat doing that than he ever thought about playing football.  In 1978, Pat handed me his helmet as he signed his autograph.  He told me I could put his helmet on.  I did.  I saw the world through Pat McInally’s face mask.  It was a wonderful thing.

I have many Moody Blues autographs.  On the wall in my office here at home, I have no less than seven Justin Hayward autographs on display.  I have the signatures of the other guys in the band propped up too.  They remind me of the music of my youth.  This music is still with me.  If I learned anything from Justin and the Moodies it is that I need to hang on to the music of my youth.  I always keep it close.

Last week I invited three North Harrison students into my office to autograph an article that was featured in the local paper.  They are THE VINYL COVENANT.  Robby Kellums, Isaac Gleitz and Jacob McDaniel.  This trio plays some worthy jams and I was delighted to see them get some publicity in the paper.

The music autograph holds a place dear in heart.  I will let you in on the rest of the story…my apologies to Paul Harvey.

I worked at Medora Schools from 1998 to 2000….two full school years and a two months.  In 2000 I took a position at a different school.  I was there for two years.  I missed Medora.  After I was gone for a year, I knew I should not have left.  During this time I recorded a CD of tunes I had written.  One day I was visiting Medora and I had some of my CDs with me and I gave one to the principal, Jim Stewart.  I enjoyed working with Jim.  He is still one of my favorite people in education.  He told me that no matter how the politics screw up education the desire to learn is still a resilient thing and we have to press onward in spite of the political foolishness that puts us at the bottom of the hill so often in this business.

I brought my CD to Stewart.  We talked in his office for over an hour.  When I got up to walk away, he said, “Johnson, you need to sign this CD for me.”  I did.  I wrote the following:  Chief…Take me back!   I called him Chief.

A year later Chief called.  “Johnson…did you mean what you said when you signed this CD?”  I had no idea what he was talking about.  He went on to remind me what I had written.  He told me the school’s guidance counselor was retiring and he wanted me to come back to Medora to be the counselor.  I had one statement to Jim Stewart… I am on my way.

I went back to Medora.  I worked there for 13 more years.  The graduating class of 2015 at Medora High School and I both walked into the building together in the fall of 2002.  There was an announcement at graduation that I would be leaving and taking a job at North Harrison in the fall of 2015.  Everyone in the gym at graduation was on their feet in that Medora Gym and it was the most humbling experience I have ever known.  I have Jim Stewart to thank because he wanted my autograph.

Stewart always wanted me to get back to North Harrison.  I wish he had lived long enough to see it happen.

I understand the power of the autograph.

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson