My dear wife, Carrie and I witnessed some extraordinary history this past weekend. A drive to Dayton, Ohio was where we found inspiration, sadness, joy, awe, and thanksgiving.
On Friday night we attended a concert by American Rock and Roll icon John Fogerty. Though I have been well acquainted with his work, and have admired it for some time, this was the first time time I have ever heard John Fogerty play live. He played at The Rose Music Center, an outdoor venue under cover that seats about 4200. If you are not sure who John Fogerty is, he wrote and sang the hits for a band called Creedence Clearwater Revival in the late 60s and early 70s. Fogerty was the backbone, as well as most of the other bones of the band. His songs are timeless classics.
The photo above was the best we could do. The lighting was terrible. To his credit, the stage was a stripped down presentation. A black curtain was behind them. The lighting was modest. By the way, that is Kenny Arnoff playing drums. It was all about rock and roll. And the songs?
To name a few:
Proud Mary, Have You Ever Seen the Rain?, Centerfield, Lookin’ Out My Back Door, Fortunate Son, Down on the Corner, Who’ll Stop the Rain?, I Heard it Through the Grapevine, Lodi, all the great songs that used to be on a commercial when I was kid…and more. It was like listening to a wing of the best American Music Museum you could dream up.
Wile I have had Fogerty and Creedence on my music shelf for years, this was the first time I ever heard the man live. Over Spring Break I read his autobiography, Fortunate Son, in between wistful stares at the Atlantic Ocean.
The best thing I can say about this show was that at age 71, John Fogerty sounds great and his guitar playing was a stunner. I have never seen a player his age with as much vitality on stage. He was all over the place. It was loud. It was fun. He told stories. He seemed to be glad to be there. It was one of the best shows I have ever seen. The simplicity of the show was certainly an exhibit of less is more.
On Saturday, at the behest of my Dad, Carrie and I visited the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton. Carrie and I are both still talking about the sights and sounds and nuggets of history the rest of the world will never know about and should, with regard to so many of the brave men and women whose stories we learned of. I want to go back. I will share with you some photos from the museum.
This plane dropped an atomic bomb over Japan.
I had heard of The Flying Dutchman. I read her story and the story of her crew. It will haunt me for a very long time. This is a piece of the aircraft. It will haunt me for some time, I am sure.
Below is the picture that is referenced above…
The bust of Hitler’s head is next to the eagle.
Just an amazing display of birds.
A piece of the fallen Berlin Wall.
This museum is a destination I recommend to anyone. There is no admission charge to visit. It is here for us to learn from. I certainly did. My respect-a-meter for military personnel …already high…found a higher reading yet after visiting this place. And we will be back. We spent four hours looking and we did not see it all. A new hanger is to open in June. It will feature presidential planes and space travel. So yes, we will be back.
Speaking the rights…
Danny Johnson