Oh Dear Lord…help me with this post.

I am under the weather.  But…I always say better to be under the weather than under the ground.

I came home early from work today.  I just glanced at the clock on my computer and it says 7:41…and I am worn out and ready to go to bed.

I was traumatized this afternoon.  I made the mistake of parking my hindparts on the couch and mash through the bazillion channels I have on my DirectTV that mean absolutely nothing given they are worthless.

Every time I wonder how the financial terms are of this country I think about the bazillion worthless television channels I pay to watch that have ample worthless commercials on.  Believe me…there are plenty commercials on.  The enterprise of making money for someone is alive and well.  That and all the worthless channels I pay for.  I watch ESPN.  I watch INSP.  I watch Hallmark.  I watch ESPN’s other networks.  I watch the locals on occasion.  Carrie, my dear wife, and I watch the Food Network and the Cooking Channel.

MTV stinks these days.  I miss it.  I remember when The Moody Blues were featured with videos on MTV… never mind…that was in the late 1980s.  VH1 Classic is okay every 14th show.

While I was scanning the channels today I saw some sights I never thought I would ever…or would hope to never see.

I was dumbfounded when I came across one channel.   I decline to indicate the channel or the network.  I do not decline the memory I had as I watched the program.

Lewis Grizzard, the late newspaper columnist, once said he was glad his father died before he saw his son, Lewis himself, getting his hair cut at a beauty parlor.

I must say I am glad Lewis died, he passed in 1994, before he had the chance to see what I saw on television today.  One subject of his humor and derision has made a rebound.  He was on TV today.  I saw him as I was channel surfing.  I thought i was going to faint.  What I saw was unimaginable.

The television evangelist Jim Bakker is still alive.  He was on TV today making a fool of himself.  He was quoting scripture and hocking junk, including meals in totes to supply on for the next seven years for near 3000 dollars.  The big deal was a $91 dollar special in honor of a 91 year old lady that recently passed away.  91 bucks for jewelry or throat lozenges…or water bottles…or…it was surreal…for 91 bucks.  I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone.

I am glad Lewis Grizzard didn’t live long enough to see Jim Bakker on TV today.

And to think…this is what I am in danger of as I wait to watch football on ESPN.

Speaking the Rights.

Danny Johnson

Well…as the old saying goes…it has to get better.

Last week my College Football Picks were woeful at best and pathetic at worst.  I am guilty. Upon further review, I admit to making a few picks with my heart instead of my head.  I abhor Ohio State.  In a big game like last week’s I just can’t bring myself to pick them…so I didn’t.  They won BIG.  I didn’t.

I didn’t want to pick Florida State to beat Georgia Tech.  I followed my heart.  I picked “the Rambling Wreck from Georgia Tech”.

I picked five winners and five losers last week.  That is not good.  For the season I have picked 110 winner and 40 losers.  I’m not disappointed.  It could have been much much worse.  It could have been much better.

Regardless…it was a good time.  That is what counts when making picks on college football games.  I reiterate from previous posts: I don’t bet on football.  I love the game too much to ever do that.  The day I am relegated to looking at point spreads instead of the atmosphere that makes college football special you might as well grab a shovel.

So this is it.  The last college football picks of the year.  Perhaps I will take a long hard look at the NFL playoffs and have some fun with them as well.  To do that, however, I will have to discover something for the pro game that has really evaded me thus far in 2014: a great deal of interest.

Louisiana Lafayette beats Nevada in the New Orleans Bowl.  ULL is the recent resident of this bowl having played in it often of late.

Know this…these bowl, well most all of  them, have corporate sponsors that unless it is absolutely necessary I will not mention.  I don’t advertise…at least not yet.  I have no reason to bore you even more by announcing every corporate syllable like: The Cousin Willie’s-Orville Redenbaker-Buttery Flavored Pop Corn Bowl brought to you in part by Pennzoil.  There is no such a game.  Perhaps it will join the fray next year joining one of this years entries: Popeyes Bahamas Bowl.  This is going to be played in Nassau.

Utah State beats UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl.

Colorado State beats Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Air Force beats Western Michigan in the Potato Bowl….where is Hayden Fox when you need him?

South Alabama beats Bowling green in the Camellia Bowl…man they need to do something about this bowl’s name.  That is just plain sad.  I know…if I were on a college football team and I had another chance to play a game I would not care if it was called the Sewage Bowl…it has nearly come to that.  That…and I am in favor of many bowls.  Whomever says there are too many bowls doesn’t appreciate the effort put in to playing and coaching the game.

BYU will beat Memphis in the Miami Beach Bowl…God Bless Memphis!  They won 9 games this year.  Their coach deserves a statue!  BYU will  get them.

Marshall will beat Northern Illinois in the Boca Raton Bowl…The Herd has a chance to be 13-1.  They had their shot at the big time.  They wasted it.  But….given their schedule and their accomplishments, lets not be too greedy.  I am proud of this team.  They get to play in a bowl and they get home for Christmas.  Oh…Go Herd!

Navy will beat San Diego State in the Poinsettia Bowl…Navy discipline will find away against a bigger team.

Western Kentucky will beat Central Michigan in the Bahamas Bowl…Congrats to Coach Jeff Brohm leading his team to big win at Marshall in the season finale and taking them to a bowl game. 8-5 will sound good one of these days when he has the time to look back.

Rice beats Fresno State in the Hawaii Bowl…There may be a sparse crowd…but they will have a blast.  I have been to Aloha Stadium…my Granny took me there.

Louisiana Tech will beat Illinois in the Dallas Bowl…La. Tech has too much imagination for the Illini.

North Carolina will beat Rutgers in the Quick Lane Bowl…thus saving Coach Larry Fedora from more embarrassment.

Central Florida will beat NC State in the St. Petersburg Bowl….UCF will take a short bus ride and Coach O’Leary has a habit of coming through when he needs to.

Virginia Tech will beat Cincinnati in the Military Bowl…VTU was almost shut out of a bowl with a string of appearances going back to the 1993 Independence Bowl.  I was there.  They beat Indiana 45-20.  Coach Beamer will get the best of Riverboat Gambler, Coach Tommy (the will have to carry me out of Oxford in a pine box) Tuberville.

Arizona State will beat Duke in the Sun Bowl…and it hurts me.

South Carolina will beat Miami in the Independence Bowl…Coach Spurrier has to lead them to the victory.  I called them the champs at the beginning of the season.  Yes…I am that crazy.

Boston College will beat Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl…I remember watching this bowl in 2010 while Carrie, my dear wife, and I were in a Chicago hotel room.  I thought then as I think now, playing football in Yankee Stadium is like looking at a golf ball in a punch bowl.  Not right.

USC will beat Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl…This game, like the Alamo Bowl usually features two good programs.  Tommy of Troy will get the Coach in waiting Cornhuskers.

Texas A&M will beat West Virginia in the Liberty Bowl…I was hoping the Marshall Hers would play in this game.  Translation:  Go Aggies!  Please!

Clemson will beat Oklahoma in the Russell Athletic Bowl….Gads it hurts to type that name for a bowl.

Arkansas will beat Texas in the Texas Bowl…Pig Sooooie is on a roll.

LSU will beat Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl…what a coup for Nashville to get these two storied programs.  ^I think this happened in Shreveport once before in the Independence Bowl before we had so many bowl games.

Georgia will beat Louisville in the Belk Bowl…and I am delighted!

Stanford will beat Maryland in the Foster Farms Bowl?  I don’t know what that means.

Ole Miss will beat TCU in the Peach Bowl…Hotty Toddy and thank God they brought back the name Peach Bowl!  Go Rebels!

Arizona will beat Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.  RichRod has done good in Tuscon.

Mississippi State will beat Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl…The Cowbellers have had a great season.  They will be too much on D for GTU.

Auburn will beat Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl…Speed usually wins…like this bowl.

Baylor will beat Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl…Baylor will take playoff snub out on Sparty…no let down here.

Minnesota will beat Mizzou in the Citrus Bowl…Mizzou got beat by Indiana…how can I pick them?

Pitt will beat Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl…Thank God for the Armed Forces…many match-ups like this would be a detriment to the country.

Iowa will beat Tennessee in the Tax Slayer Bowl…Who wants a T-Shirt that says Tax Slayer Bowl?  Lame bowl name in the extremist!  Iowa…please don’t let me down again.

UCLA will beat Kansas State in the Alamo Bowl…this may be the best game of the entire bowl season.  Don’t miss this one!

Washington will beat Oklahoma State in the Cactus Bowl…Sounds like a bowl for Hayden Fox and Luther Van Dam.

East Carolina will beat Florida  in the Birmingham Bowl…the Gators will be looking for a coach and Pirates will be looking to give Coach Ruffin…a speaktherights favorite…a 9th win.  Go Pirates!

Arkansas State will beat Toledo in the GoDaddy Bowl…it hurt to type that lame name too.

Florida State will beat Oregon in the Rose Bowl….an abomination of the Rose Bowl as we are devoid of a PAC- 10 (12) v. Big Ten match-up as was meant to be before dollars got int he way.  FSU is like a cockroach in a A-bomb storm….the make it through…sad to say.

Alabama will beat Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl….The Tide will be resting players in the second half of this one.  Brutus may be roasted on Bourbon Street before this one is over.

The National Championship?

Roll Tide.  Alabama beats Florida State as Winston finally implodes on his teammates and himself.  Kind of like Johnny Manziel’s performance against the Bengals today in his first NFL start.  Well…maybe not that bad!

Roll Tide!  My friend, brother Tim, should be happy.

Speaking the college football rights for the last time in 2014!

Danny Johnson

Today I pulled a collection of songs that I recorded nearly a decade ago and put the finishing touches on two years later.  My recording of these songs was a dream come true.  My dear friend Jeff Carpenter was at the controls engineering away as we filled his studio with the best sounds we could come up with…I have no doubt they were exactly that.  As I was listening today I was more than pleased once again and the memories of those recording sessions just came flowing back.

Our sessions were the work of somewhat of a three-headed music monster.  I wrote the songs…words and music.  As cool as that sounds, it seems hollow without thinking about how these songs were shaped by Jeff Carpenter and Tim Krekel.  Jeff called the shots and made suggestions via his ear for the right sound.  Tim called the shots and led the instrumental charge with his guitar and his remarkable ear.  Though I wrote the songs and sang them, I still felt a bit like Minnie Pearl.  I was just proud to be there.  Jeff had recorded with Tim for years.  Tim was a gifted player.  If you have ever heard Jimmy Buffett’s song off the cd Son of a Son of a Sailor called Livingston Saturday Night…before the guitar solo Buffett calls out a variation of Tim’s first name.

I snickered to myself today as I listened to one of the songs we had recorded.

Traffic on the Back Alley is the name of the song.

This song is somewhat of a lamenting love song…the chorus goes like this:

There’s a side street in my memory that’s more than just a lane                                             Where things I never talk about come back to life again                                                         A place that’s all about the wrong and right                                                                             There’s still traffic on the back alley of my life

I had that chorus and a preceding verse that made up the original tune…that was all I had.

You see, when the recording process begins we cut what we call demos first.  That is when you run through potential songs to record.  It is a simple process.  Jeff Carpenter on one side of the glass and me and a guitar and a microphone going through songs and making simple recordings along the way to build on as we move along.

We must of went through seventeen songs.  I was pooped.  I was tired of singing.  My fingers were tired from strumming and finger-picking the rhythms out as I sang on for nearly two hours.  I was about to pack up for the day when Jefferson asked me about that “Traffic on the alley song”.  I had played him that one verse and that one chorus some weeks, if not months, earlier.  He remembered the tune.  That in itself was a bit flattering.  I then sheepishly told him all I had was that verse and that chorus.  That was it.  Then I looked at Jefferson and told him to hang on a minute.

I grabbed a pen and a piece paper and wrote out that verse and that chorus.  I studied it.  I looked at it for a few minutes.  Then I let happen what just was meant to happen.  I wrote out some of the most meaningless sappy lyrics I have ever written.  They just flowed out.  They made sense.  They worked.  I am just glad Jefferson asked about them.  It really isn’t a bad song.  In fact, I have had friends ask me about whom I was referring to in the song.  I have had a good time being glib about the answer.  The truth is so meaningless…but not without interest.

All the lyrics?

Traffic on the Back Alley

A Blue-eyed brunette from Pittsburgh/ A high school football game

Things that are forever gone that never left me the same

A Mustang I still yearn for/ An empty bottle of Jack

Things I’m not too proud of I wish I could take back…

There’s a side street in my memory that’s more than just a lane                                             Where things I never talk about come back to life again                                                         A place that’s all about the wrong and right                                                                             There’s still traffic on the back alley of my life

A girl I thought that loved me/ The things I did for her

The sacrifices that I made…why does it still hurt

I ran into her yesterday/ She smiled and said hello

And I thought there’s still so much she needs to know…

There’s a side street in my memory that’s more than just a lane                                             Where things I never talk about come back to life again                                                         A place that’s all about the wrong and right                                                                             There’s still traffic on the back alley of my life

Songwriting is a great mystery.  What wasn’t there ten minutes ago can become a part of your life.  Awesome.

Singing the Rights.

Danny Johnson

In front of me as I type these words is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.  I never miss it.  It has been playing on CBS as long as I can remember.   I never tire of watching it.  There are so many elements of Rudolph we can relate to.  Misfits…we know them.  Some of us are them.  Friends…we know them.  Some of us are them.  Heroes…we know them.  We are all a hero to some one at some time.  I believe that.  Weather…we all know it.  Some of us love snow and some of us don’t.

Every year for many years and in some cases, recently, there are a few other Christmas shows I try to get around to looking at when they come through my living room.

Frosty the Snowman is my second favorite.  The fastest thirty minutes on television.  I still get upset when Frosty melts in the hot-house.  That is just plain sad…pitiful…not right.   Thank God he comes back to life in good time.  Had he not come back the first time I saw it I would have needed therapy I am sure.  I took my babysitter killing over on me when I was five better than watching Frosty melt!

The Little Drummer Boy is another show I try to watch every year.

In recent years there is a movie my family and I have been watching on the Hallmark Channel when it shows up.  The Christmas Card is a movie about an Army fellow that gets a card in the mail while he is deployed to the Middle East.  He takes his card and tracks down its origins and we are entertained by the twists and turns of a predictable story that is still pretty cool…not unlike Rudolph and Frosty.

We can’t forget A Christmas Carol.  I like the Reginald Owen 1938 version the best.  I have a copy of it.  I try to find it on TV.  God Bless Us…Everyone.

There are others….many others.

Along with television there are songs.  I enjoy listening to the Christmas Songs on the radio.  One station in Louisville plays them constantly right now.  I tune for a while every day.

Carrie, my dear wife,  and I have a simple wooden Nativity…a great manger scene… on display in our living room 365 days a year.  I never tire of looking at that either…especially that.  God Bless Us…Everyone.

Songs…one of my favorite seasonal tunes is The Christmas Song…you know…the one that talks about chestnuts roasting on an open fire and all.

I sang that song as a 5th grader at Brownstown Central Elementary School and as a 6th grader at North Harrison Elementary School.  The song sounded much different in year’s time and 50 miles south from one school to another.  In Jackson County the vowel is much tighter and defined than it is in Harrison County where the vowel is much looser and more country sounding.

The difference is kind of like this:

Jackson Co.:  And every mother’s child is going to spy to see if reindeer really know how to fly.

Harrison County:  And ever-ry mother’s chiiiild is gonna spyyyy…to see if reindeer really know how to flyyyyyy.

Me….I have a hybrid accent that can take on any place any time.  That is what I get for being a child of Mississippi born parents who was born in Columbus, Indiana.  South meets North.

Most folks think I have a southern accent.  I have no problem with that.

It came in handy one day in 2011.  I was getting gas in the Village of Amherst, New Hampshire.  The gas station attendant asked me a question.  I answered.  He declared I was not “from around here (Amherst, NH)”.  He asked where I was from.  I told him I was from Indiana.  I can still hear him in his northeastern accent: “Indiana? I coulda swore you were from South Carolina.”  I was most appreciative.  I love South Carolina.

Speaking of Southern Accents…who in their right mind would cast Dan Akroyd as an Atlanta resident…witness Driving Miss Daisy.  This Canadian actor sounded about as Southern as a Walleye Sandwich.  Pitiful.  I still like the movie though.

Enjoy the holiday season.  Tell someone why you love them. God Bless Us…Everyone.

Speaking the Rights.

Danny Johnson

How many deer did you dodge today?

I thought I was going to buy it…a new car that is…on more than one occasion this morning.  With the time change and the winter solstice on the horizon, it is not uncommon for me to drive to work in the dark and drive home in the dark. This translates, given my commute is of a rural persuasion, into my chances of hitting a deer going up.  I know many posts ago I mentioned that I alone had hit no less than 5 of Bambi’s cousins myself over the years.  Good luck and God bless us all trying not to hit the deer!

College Football Picks Week # 15 for my Possum friend named Carl.

Conference championships will shake out this weekend, as will the decision to choose those to play in the mythical four team playoff for the so-called national championship.

Here goes:

Northern Illinois beats Bowling Green…MAC Football is quality football.  The Huskies will take care of business.

Oregon beats Arizona…I think.  They game is in Eugene and the Ducks have a regular season score to settle with the Tuscon boys.  Mariotta should wrap up the Heisman with this game giving the Pacific Northwest its first Heisman winner since 1962 when Oregon State’s Terry Baker took the statue in 1962.

Marshall beats Louisiana Tech…The Herd better be ready to play defense after the meltdown that was an embarrassment to the Herd last week.  They lost their shot at a BIG TIME BOWL …but not all is lost.  Go Herd.

Cincinnati will beat Houston…The weather alone will help the Bearcats win this one.

Oklahoma beats Oklahoma State…The call this game Bedlam.  It will be a tough one.  Always is.

Tulane will beat Temple….The Green Wave beats the Owls…in case you care.

Kansas State beats Baylor…Most folks will turn their heads like a hound listening to a goofy sound when they see this one.  This thing is…some media types are already calling for K-State to play Louisville in the Russell Athletic Bowl…based on the fact K-State will lose this game.  Hogwash.  How soon we forget Bill Snyder is coaching the Wildcats AGAIN.

Georgia Tech beats Florida State…Maybe this will get the Seminoles out of the championship race and satisfy 99.8% of college football fans in the process.  FSU has been a joke and a black eye for a great game.

Wisconsin beats Ohio State…I don’t have it in me to pick OSU to move on to the final four. Besides…Swissconsin has cheese-fed and grain-fed beef up front that will cause December woes for the Buckeyes.  Too bad this game is played indoors.  Not very Big Ten like.  Even Minnesota is playing outdoors these days.  Putting a Big Ten Football Championship indoors is like putting perfume on a hog.

Boise State beats Fresno State…The Blue turf at Boise is enough to make anyone want to go back to California.

105 winners  35 losers and counting…next up is the bowl season and the call for the champs.

Have a great weekend.

Carl the Possum is doing well.

Speaking the rights.

Danny Johnson

What follows is a column I wrote in 2006.  It saw the light of day in another publication.

Thanks goes out to all the prayers and well-wishes my family has received following the death of my grandmother.  Personally, I am still having a hard time being convinced she is gone.   I half expect her to come waddling around the corner propped up on her ‘Hurry Cane’.  But…I know…that is not going to happen.

I read this piece again tonight for the first time in YEARS!  At the time, Carrie and I were taking care of her grandparents.

Yes…football fans…I know…I was 6 good picks and 4 bad picks this past college football weekend.  Here is what I am going to do.  I will pick the conference championship games this weekend….and the Army-Navy game….and maybe a few FCS games to get ten games picked out of the deal.  Then, when all the bowl games are matched up, including the mythical 4 team playoff, I will pick all the bowl games at once for good measure.  This is a risk.  We don’t know who is going to get hurt, or stabbed, or decide to join a monastery between now and bowl season time.  So be it.  I will be a man about it and stick by my picks!  So far this season I have 105 winners and 35 losers.  I am not disappointed.

I hope you enjoy the following:

It Pays to Hold Hands

Carrie, my dear wife, and I were sitting at a table in an urban eatery recently.  We had placed our order and were waiting patiently.  We can do that, Carrie and I; we can easily wait patiently because it’s not about the wait.  It’s about spending time together.  That may sound like an audition for a greeting card commercial, but it’s true.  Circumstances called our life have rendered us, Carrie and me, precious little time together in the last few years.  Caring for folks whom can no longer care for themselves will do that to you.

So there we were, quietly enjoying each other’s company when the manager of the restaurant came bounding over to our table.  He was a tall man with a neatly trimmed mustache.

“Here’s a coupon for five dollars off your meal because I caught to the two of you holding hands” he said.

“Thanks” is what I said back to him.  Then I thought, I wonder if the old boy would give me a ten-dollar coupon if I gave her a kiss on the mouth.  Alas, I decided not to press my luck or my lips.  The five-dollar coupon was a kind gesture.  I really appreciated it.

Carrie made mention that holding hands is a very involuntary thing between the two of us.  Without thinking about it, I agreed.

Hand-holding is a time-honored tradition.  When I was a kid handholding was the second public sign that you were sweet on a girl.  The first sign was standing closer to a girl than normal while being seen with each other more than absolutely necessary.  After this, hand-holding was sure to come later.  Next was pushing a girl on a swing on the playground.  Speaking of which, not long ago I crossed paths with the first girl I ever kissed on the playground.  I started to speak to her, knowing she graduated high school with friends I had kept up with over the years.  I spoke authoritatively about Jerry Brown, a dear friend and Mike Warren, another old crony and Mark “Great” Brittain.  Inquisitively, she looked at me and asked, “Do I know you?”

There’s just something about feeling the pulse of another hand in yours.  Plus, it’s convenient.  Hands were made to join.  But more than that, there is a great deal of significance in dealing with the hand.  The hand is what feeds us.  The hand is how we express ourselves non-verbally.  Those love notes have to be written somehow.  And it just feels good.

I enjoy shaking the hands of old friends when we see each other for the first time in a long time.  That’s special.

Playing music at church is good times and so are the times when we gather hands and pray.  Hands brought together in prayer are strong hands.  I always think it’s cool when the prayer is over and the one who is holding my hand gives it an extra squeeze at the end to punctuate the amen just delivered. Amen.

Last night I was totally taken aback by a hand-holding ceremony.  I was visiting the home of a ten-year-old boy who is the son of a friend of mine’s cousin.  The boy had surgery today.  Last night I was asked to lead a prayer for the boy.  His chemotherapy-deprived hair could not diminish the smile attached to his face or eyes that danced in time with each of us in the room.  So, so special.

We gathered around the boy’s bed and before I began to offer prayer, out from under his covers came the boy’s two arms extending his hands to those on his immediate right and left.  We all joined hands.  I prayed.  Today that boy had a large portion of one lung removed.  I’m still praying.  And I’m still seeing the smile on a face that has more trust and strength and hope than any other ten guys I know.

You could say, yes, but the boy doesn’t know any better.

I say he does.  I say we just think we know more.

Remember the old Beatles song I Want to Hold Your Hand?  It really is “such a feeling”…

Speaking the rights.

Danny Johnson

Wow.  This will be my 100th entry on speaktherights.com.  Time flies under all circumstances.

This is the final full week of the 2014 College Football regular season.  The record of picks so far is 99 winners and 31 losers.  My biggest faux pas is being so stubborn I refuse to pick against some of my favorites.  I mix picks with hopes and that is not always a good thing.  As I said before, I would never bet on football games.  Therefore, I can do as I darn please with my picks and face the music…regardless of the last tune.

RIVALRY WEEK…

This is the weekend of great rivalries.

Ohio State beats Michigan…This game has lost some shine since the Michigan team has struggled of late.

Purdue beats Indiana…The Old Oaken Bucket game is the Stinker Bowl.  These two teams are bad. They have one conference win between them.  I had four tickets to this game and had a hard time giving them away.

Kentucky beats Louisville…Don’t ask me why.  Just a feeling.  The Notre Dame win will be hard to come down from for the Cards.  The Cats are hungry.

Ole Miss beats Mississippi State…I refuse to pick the Bell Ringers and I refuse to shy away from this pick.  Hotty Toddy!

Alabama beats Auburn…This is a classic.  The Iron Bowl is a happening like no other in college football.  There is a reason why UAB is thinking about dropping their football team. This game.  These teams.

USC beats Notre Dame…In what is my personal favorite rivalry game of the all, this game brings back so many memories of Thanksgiving Weekend of days gone by.  Great memories.  I am back on Dubarry Lane in Jackson, Mississippi at Uncle Durwood and Aunt Barbara’s house each time I so much as think about this game.  That is enough to make it my favorite rivalry.

Washington State beats Washington…This is a long shot.  I just have a hard time doubting Mike Leach when they need it most.

Oregon beats Oregon State…Ducks and Beavers…I may watch a few minuted and try to feign interest.

Florida State beats Florida…This is a game I would love to miss my pick on.  Go Gators.

Georgia beats Georgia Tech….Another classic game.  I think Georgia has a good team that has been through too much turmoil than they deserve.

Enjoy the weekend.

Speak the rights.

Danny Johnson

We gave my Granny, Flo Johnson, a proper send-off last night.  Her funeral service was held in Ramsey, Indiana at the Swarens Funeral Home under the caring, watchful eye of one Norman Swarens and crew.  God Bless them.  They are like family to us.

We celebrated Granny’s life last night.  Rev. Jeff Reed did a great job sharing words of truth, compassion, hope, and comfort.  My Dad sang “Sentimental Journey” to open the celebration and closed it as we all joined in to sing “Amazing Grace”.  I got up and had a few speaks myself.

If you are not familiar with the lyrics of the song “Sentimental Journey”, words include reference to 7 o’clock…which was the time of of Granny’s service and there is mention of a train ride in the song.  As we sang that very song a train came rumbling through Ramsey as if right on cue…horn blowing and the whole works.  Understand the funeral home sits less than 100 yards south of a set of East-West rail tracks.  The whole scene was most wonderful.

Folks showed up last night that we had not seen in a while.  It was good to see them all.

The day before the funeral, I thought it was best if I called one of Dad’s old football players from Brownstown…Barry Hall.  On less than 24 hours notice, Barry and his wife Tammy were there.  Thank you, Barry Hall.

My friend brother Tim “Roll Tide” Petty was there with his folks James and Janet Petty from Decatur, Alabama.  They were visiting for Thanksgiving.  They are wonderful folks.  Tim’s wife Michelle was there and so were her folks, Mike and Alice Combs.

I can’t sit here and mention all that were in attendance.  I would bound to leave someone out.  Know we appreciate your love and care and concern.

The joy that exists from a group with faith in a loving God and the redemption offered by his son Jesus is palpable in times like these.  We have been held up by and with prayer and faith and love that none of us can truly comprehend.  We can, however, say “Thank You.”

I told a few stories about my Granny last night.  I also told everyone thanks for sharing my Granny.  I then rattled off the list of places and peoples that had also shared time with my Granny:

Germany, England, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, Lichtenstein, Italy, France, Bermuda, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and most of the United State including Hawaii and Alaska.

Let me also give special thanks to my friend Dan Goins.  Danners loved Granny.  She loved Danners.  Dan didn’t show up to the funeral home with a customary pot of flowers.  Dan showed up with a football.  He called it the game ball for Granny.  On one panel of the football Dan had written in two-tone marker two words…two words that Granny was famous for when it came to her watching a football game.  When her team was on defense and a guy for the other team was running with the ball she yelled two words:

“GET HIM!”

One day she was explaining how it doesn’t always work out.  Said she:  “Sometime they get him…and sometimes they don’t get him…and sometimes he runs out of bounds.”

And like what happened with Granny Saturday, sometimes the clock just runs out.  And the rest of us are left to carry on.  Thanks to her, we can do so with so much more clarity than we could have without having her around so long.  We have indeed been blessed.

I Love You Granny.  And I miss you so much.

Speaking the rights.

Danny Johnson

The title of this post was inspired by an email I sent to a cousin this morning in Shreveport, Louisiana.  It was a phrase that made complete and total sense at the time.

What I was describing to my cousin was the daunting task of summing up the life of my Grandmother,  Flo Johnson, in a few measly paragraphs.  I was writing the obituary of my Granny.  It had to be done.  I cringed with every syllable.

Granny’s worn out body gave it up yesterday afternoon.  She was 89.  She passed as the college football games of the day were in full swing.  Man, I miss her already.

So…there I was trying to put 89 years on a few lines of paper.  It is an arduous task that has to be done.  I get that.  And I get that her old body needed rest…and finally got it. Yes…I understand.  It was a blessing that she was able to die in her own bed with her family close at hand.  There was a sense of peace and calm in Granny’s little apartment after the local funeral director did what he had to do and rolled his hearse out of the driveway with Granny in it.

I have some words I need to put together to say at her funeral service on Tuesday.  I will find them.  Putting them out there will be the hard part.

I can’t begin to thank the wonderful folks of Hosparus Southern Indiana.  They were all magnificent with their care for my Granny.  These folks were also grateful for the effort that was put forth by my family members in caring for Granny along the way.

Granny checked out of the hospital on October 25th and lasted nearly a month after she was told her Leukemia was not going to get better.  In that short time I witnessed as dignified and as graceful a tough death as one could. Granny never wavered.  Granny never complained.  She wanted the song “Sentimental Journey’ to be sung at her funeral.  My sister was at her bedside singing that song to her when she breathed her last.  It was a fitting end.

Below is the obituary I submitted:

Coralyn Floreta Johnson

Coralyn Floreta (Flo) Johnson, 89, Depauw, died Saturday, November 22, 2014 at her home.

Born August 10, 1925 in Jackson, MS, she was the daughter of the late Ila Ashley and Fred Harvey.  She was also preceded in death by her husband, Herbert D. Johnson in 1987.

Flo moved from Shreveport, Louisiana to Depauw, Indiana in 1994 to be closer to her son.  Prior to moving to Indiana, she lived in Shreveport for nearly forty years.  In Shreveport, she served as the secretary of The First Presbyterian Church for fourteen years and fourteen more years as the secretary of Agudath Achim Synagogue from which she retired.  Flo enjoyed traveling, spending time with her family, being a positive example for others, and watching football.  She was a member of The First Presbyterian Church in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Survivors include her son, Larry (Tressie) Johnson, Ramsey; a sister, Lula Hodge of Shreveport, LA.; three grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Funeral service will be held at Swarens Funeral Home on Tuesday evening, November 25, 2014 at 7PM.  Visitation the same day after 4PM.

A graveside service and burial will be held at Forest Park Cemetery in Shreveport, Louisiana.

The family suggests memorial gifts be made to Hosparus of Southern Indiana.

Here are some recent and slightly not so recent pictures of my Granny I wanted to share:

Granny with her grandchildren and their spouses.

Granny with with three generations around her

Granny with great grandchildren Katie and Matt

Granny and my brother-in-law Steven cheesing it up!

Granny and me admiring her spoon collection.  It is a sight!

My dear wife, Carrie, and me with Granny last Christmas.

I have no idea what had granny so tickled…but I know it was worth it.

With grand daughter-in-law, Emily…so what if Granny was only 4’9′.

She packed a great deal of love and life in that little body for over 89 years.

As I finish this post I still feel a bit like I did when I was writing Granny’s obit.  It still feels like I am trying to build a pyramid with a few grains of sand.  She was that large.

And…she would want all of us to press onward. Keep moving.  Keep enjoying life.  Find something else to explore.  Live.

She knew what she was talking about.  The list of countries and sights and sounds she witnessed in her lifetime is an entirely different post.

When I watch football on TV without her, I suppose it is now up to me to yell “GET HIM!” the best I can.

Speaking the Rights.

Danny Johnson

I was asked about this week’s football picks today (Friday).

It is good to know there are a few folks paying attention and are polite enough to ask the whereabouts of the picks.

First things first.

I visited my Granny tonight.

I would like to believe she knew I was there.  I do believe she knows I love her with all my heart.

I was reminded tonight that there are some things we are not meant to understand or figure out.

Whether it is just pure grief or the fact that I can’t ask my Granny how LSU did this weekend, when I looked at the grid of games I can watch on TV this weekend…I just sort of shrugged my shoulders.  Yes…it is grief.

Nonetheless…Granny would want me to keep picking games.  She got a kick out of the pro games she picked for us on speaktherights.com.  It was the last weekend she was able to do so.  Please consider yourselves lucky.

WEEK 13…Here we go…oh, by the way, the record so far this year is 93 winners and 27 losers.  I hope we make it to 100 victories this weekend.  I must say, the wild cards worked out last week…maybe they will again.

BIG TEN IS FEATURED THIS WEEK…

I was brought up on the BIG TEN.  I used to be able to say I had seen every Big Ten team play in person, including Penn State and Nebraska.  I can’t say that anymore.  I could care less if I ever do.  Rutgers joined the Big Ten for New York television dollars and Maryland joined the Big Ten for Mid-Atlantic television dollars.  I care about football more than I care about football money.

Still…I feature the Big Ten this week out of respect for my past.

Michigan beats Maryland…The Terps look to beat the Maize and Blue.  They should be black and blue.

Ohio State beats Indiana…They have since 1988…except for a tie in 1990 (I think).

Minnesota beats Nebraska…Goldy the Gopher is on a roll.  This will make some folks turn their heads sideways like a confused beagle.  I still believe in Goldy.

Penn State beats Illinois…the Illini are at home.  The boys from Happy Valley…do they still say that?…are determined to prove their worthiness.

Northwestern beats Purdue…A let down for Northwestern after the Notre Dame win?  No…Purdue let me introduce you to Wildcat Buzz Saw.  Good luck.

Michigan State beats Rutgers…See Rutgers money reference above.

Iowa beats Wisconsin…May not happen.  I just like my Hawkeyes.

Marshall beats UAB…Like a drum and the Herd still gets no love from the Playoff Committee…Oliver Luck is a member of that bunch, isn’t he?

Louisville beats Notre Dame…The Cards have waited for a game like this since they beat Alabama in the Fiesta Bowl circa 1990.  They take advantage of a Domer team down after a defeat to Northwestern while being less than thrilled to play the likes of Louisville.

UCLA beats USC…Dear Lord…I want to watch this game…please don’t adorn the Bruins in some crappy colors.

Have a great weekend!

Speaking the rights.

Danny Johnson