Oh my, how times have changed.
Thirty years ago The Moody Blues released the album “Keys of the Kingdom.”
I am finally listening to this album today on vinyl. I aquired it via Ebay for a great price. Perhaps my last Moodies puzzle piece, I saw this album at the old Ear-X-Tacy store in 1991 for 14.99. I didn’t have fifteen bucks that day. Thankfully, today I do. This copy came from Germany at a comparable price.
I so enjoyed this album. At the time I was working at Sears in Clarksville, Indiana and attending class at Indiana University Southeast trying to find my way in the world. In a couple months, when I met Dr. Millard Dunn for G208, my life would never be the same. This was a good thing.
The Moodies always toured. When I knew they would be playing at the Timberwolf Ampitheater at Kings Island on August 13, 1991, I knew I would be there.
I did not know that a moment for me would be greater than the concert ever was. I took a young lady with me that day (this was my pre-Carrie love of my life days). We rode all the rides and had a great time. I admit it for the first time in nearly thirty years, that this young lady wanted to ride on the front car of the ride called the “VORTEX”. I swallowed hard and told her it was great. And it was. Would not trade it for the world.
Neither would I trade the moment when we were at a booth where you could win prize by throwing a football through a VERY small hoop.
Look. Confidence with a football in my hands was never a problem. My Dad coached football. I never had a football far from arm’s reach my whole life!
I stepped up to that booth and its confines. I laughed. I look at the guy running the booth. “This is too easy,” I said.
He told me to GO FOR IT.
I did.
I took a bonafide Ken Anderson five step drop and drilled that ball and all that ball hit was the back of the tent that held the game. Folks around the game actually cheered.
The guy in charge of the game shook my hand. He told me I could have any prize I wanted. I looked to my lady friend and told her to pick one out.
All I remember is that it was HUGE and we had to take that pink bear back to the car before the Moodies’ concert.
Does she still have that bear? I hope not. Those things don’t have a great shelf life!
Had I not threaded the needle we would not be talking about this today.
The Moodies concert? My lady friend looked at me and said, “These guys should be playing RIVERFRONT STADIUM instead of this this 10,000 seat venue.”
I knew then and I know now, she was a smart young lady.
Speaking the rights….
Danny Johnson