The Air in Me ... Yearns for a story

The Air in Me … yearns for a story

“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”
—Ernest Hemingway

I feel like sharing a story with you, one that I wrote last Spring. It has to

do with something I have always had an interest in, The American Civil War.

Please enjoy.

Sgt. Pickett

The song, “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” was part of the inspiration for Sgt. Pickett. It was written by Patrick Galvin in 1863 and became popular among the north and south as a plea for the end of the war.

(Music: When Johnny Comes Marching Home)

The date is May 21, 1864, in a little over a year from this date General Lee will surrender to General Grant …. The war will finally be over. but on a field once lush and green … not far from where the surrender will take place, six Union soldiers are closing in on a rag tag collection of Confederate soldiers from the Virginia 18^th.

Before long there will be one final flurry of bullets flying and knives clashing in the early dawn of a cool spring day.

(Music: When Johnny Comes Marching Home)

Union Soldier Sgt. John Pickett led our squad of six …

Our small squad had walked for three long days when we came to the edge of a bluff. Just below us we discovered a small meadow. To the left and the right the meadow was open space, up the middle a small grove of sycamores grew tall and lonely; Oh, I thought if those trees could only talk.

That night we kept a low fire but off in the distance we could hear the enemy singing songs, joking with fellow soldiers about how they’d teach ‘them’ Yankees a thing or two.

Sgt. Picket, a builder by trade, he’d built houses and barns up in Pennsylvania, and Pickett was a gambler for fun, that night though he  was quiet, more quiet than I could ever remember. All he said was “Try to get some rest, tomorrow’s going to be a long day.” He assigned watches and before long we were asleep.

Day break came early, Pickett motioned for me to follow him; Privates Mooney and Diggs were to go to the left side of the meadow about 50 yards from where we stood. Belmont and Squires made their way through a stand of trees in the middle and Pickett and me stayed to the right and off we went.

(Music: When Johnny Comes Marching Home)

Like I say, Pickett was afraid of nothing; but this day was different, his foot step’s fell with caution; his motions slower, like I say, this day was different.

It was like he knew something was up … his caution made me to think about each breath I took, each step I took …

We’d gone a short distance; maybe 25 yards … when Pickett stopped, I stopped, when he knelt down to one knee, I knelt down to one knee, when he fastened his bayonet to his rifle and I did the same. But then things changed:

(Music: UPTEMPO When Johnny Comes Marching Home uptempo)

Pickett stopped long enough for me to catch up to him. He motioned for me to stay to his left side … so’s I could keep an eye on any unwelcome movement … the next thing I know is Sargent Pickett is spooked, stops cold in his tracks, looks forward, looks back, then he yells “Rebs” and he moves to his right, hears something moving in the grass … when all hell breaks out, the flash, the bang, Pickett’s on his ass, cold and lonely and dead … Mooney killed one Rebel soldier, Diggs wounded in the shoulder, Belmont and Squires came to help me, when I realized Sgt. Pickett was dead I moved towards him when a young boy couldn’t a been more than 16 stood In the tall grass and pointed his rifle right between my eyes. Squires hollered, “Reb” I fired … he couldn’t a been more than 20 feet from where I stood. I shot first, he went down and before long it was over … a hush lay in the meadow and off in the distance one of the rebels moaned … “no more war, no more war, no more war. Diggs and I soon joined the chant and In a moment everyone alive quietly sang “No more war, over and over and over.

After we gathered up Sgt. PIckett, we went our way…the rebs went their way. Not once did we look back.

(Music: When Johnny Comes Marching Home SOFTLY)

It will still be over a year before this dreadful war is ended; over 600,000 troops give up their life, over 450,000 wounded and maimed and one President is left cold and lonely and dead, just like Sgt. John Pickett.

Chorus:

There was a flash and a bang

Pretty soon the angels sang,

Quiet as the cemetery dead;

lay the body of Sgt. John Pickett

Resting peacefully now down in among the thicket.

The angels sang a simple song ‘cause Johnny Pickett was now marching home.

And I loved him so very much.

(Music fades out)

As always, thanks for reading my blog.

Dan

The Air In Me Means Spring is busting out All Over

The Air in Me Means Spring is busting out All Over

I’m happy to say that it looks like I’m really going to be jumping in June.

See if you can stay up with me;

June 2, 16 and 30, 

I’ll be producing the noon news show on KBOO-FM 90.7  

June 4, 9, 18 and 25,

I’ll be bringing the noon news to Wild Planet Radio.                        

In addition to my news duty on Wild Planet Radio, I am developing a news/magazine show titled, "Spinning Around Portland on Wild Planet Radio. 

My guest on June 9 will be Eldot and we’ll be talking about his five volume series of books, Barr’s Meadow, the story centers around a young boy coming of age while coming face to face with his sexuality, and this takes place in his first summer at scout camp. 

In addition, during June, I’ll be getting together with Emily Newberry and we’ll read from our books. Additionally we’ll spend time talking about how we evolve as writers within the LGBT community. Emily is a poet, writer, and a Transgender activist.  

June 14 and 15 is Portland Pride maybe I’ll see you at the parade on Sunday … if you see me be sure to say “Hi”

Now here’s the really big news!   

June 17,

I’ll be reading and presenting my book at the Hillsdale Branch Library, located at 1525 SW Sunset Blvd. Time for the reading will be 6:45 pm.

June 22,

I’ll be at the Belmont Branch Library, 1038 SE Cesar E Chavez Blvd. time is at 1 pm.

June is busting out all over … I hope to see you at one of these locations.

In closing, here is a piece that is included in my book, I think you’ll like it. It is titled

Invisible

“Do you see me?” the old man asked, “Yes” I said. The old man sipped from his coffee cup, wanting to savor the last taste of dark roast before facing the rain storm.

He spoke loudly since he was at the other end of the counter…well just two stools away.

“I had a good job, drove a limousine…a shiny new Lincoln every year for forty one years.” Still working each drop of coffee as if it was gold, he looked up, smiled through his wrinkled face and said, “I paid taxes, always paid my bills, even paid alimony, never late…but you know what?, now people walk past me as if I don’t exist.”

I motioned to the waitress for more coffee…then I noticed she had to walk past the old man to get to me; she acted as if he was not even there. I asked if she would fill his cup one more time, she glanced to her left and said, “Oh, him, I forgot he was even here?”

Just before we left, the old man said, “You see, when you reach a certain age, you slowly begin drifting out of sight…no matter what value you provided in your youth, it doesn’t count for much…you just wait, one day, just like me, you’ll become invisible.”

The old man stood, now bent from arthritis, bundled himself for the waiting rain, but just before he opened the door to leave, he said to the waitress, “see you tomorrow” Without looking up she waved him off by saying, “Bye dad, see you later.”

I was once a man

Seen, heard, valued, respected

But now I am a ghost.

As Always, thanks for reading my blog.

Dan

The Air in Me…..I blame it on my Publisher

For a while now my publisher has been encouraging me to use my blog space to toot my horn, you know; self-promotion, hype the book, talk more about me then about the subjects I’ve been writing on. She said, “Put little teasers on the blog from your book” she went on to say, “people will love it and will be encouraged to go out and buy your book.”

I can’t blame her, Suzanne Deakins from One Spirit Press knows what she’s talking about, but the truth is almost every writer I know hates the job of marketing their work, myself included. So, here I go, grumbling and cursing into the abyss of self-promotion.

I guess every once in a while it’s OK to toot your own horn, march to the beat of your drum and wait, let me see if there are any other clichés I can add. No! no more clichés, just the facts.

Below you will find what two readers have to say about my book:

“You {Dan} have a gift for setting scenes and taking your reader to a particular place, season, time or mood (sometimes all at once!) “

Robyn Steely

"As I read DL Johnson's words he has such a wonderful way of reminding us that gay or straight we're all the same. We all have the same feelings and trials in life, while at the same time sharing the struggles of a gay person just trying to live life with love & purpose. He also sees and puts into words the humanity and beauty in life that many of us miss like his story of "Two Boys on the Bus." Synthia "Syn" Taylor

Now that I have attention, here’s a listing of upcoming book signings:         

          June 17, 2014 Multnomah County Library, Hillsdale Branch time is 6:45 pm

          June 22, 2014 Multnomah County Library, Belmont Branch time is 1 pm

How you can find The Air In Me:

          Order your copy from www.amazon.com or go to www.onespiritpress.com. 

          Your local favorite independent bookstore can order copies, as a matter of fact if you are living along the coast anywhere from Astoria to Cannon Beach, just head into Beach Books and pre-order your copy because they are on their way. Beach Books is located at the corner of Broadway and Holliday in beautiful downtown Seaside, Oregon.

          

 

My friend Karen from Beach Books

         

If you see me schlepping my way across town, just holler, I always carry a few books with me that I would love to sell.

I'm about ready to cross the Burnside Bridge

As always, thanks for reading my little blog and if you’ve already purchased your copy of “The Air In Me” … thank you very much. If you have not purchased your copy drop me an email at www.dljohnson365@gmail.com and I’ll let you know how easy it is to get one.

Thanks,

Dan

The Air In Me is surrounded by Inspiration from an Artists Colony

The Air in Me is surrounded by Inspiration from an Artists Colony

I have lived many places in my life; Los Angeles, Chicago, Ketchikan, Alaska to name just a few and I have met people that inspired me to write about their lives either in prose or poetry, but the one place I have never lived until now is an honest to goodness artist’s colony in Southeast Portland.

A view from the rose garden

When I first moved in to this 300 unit senior affordable apartment complex I did not realize that I would be rubbing elbows with such a diverse community of accomplished and talented individuals.

In our community we have musicians, singers, writers, photographer’s painters, quilters and artists in many disciplines. Each and every one brings inspiration to the others. 

For this blog I want to introduce you to a few of my friends, most of whom are retired and now have time to follow their passions, as well as display a little bit of their work.

Sharon Sites Adams:

Sharon aboard her boat

The day I moved into Westmorland’s Union Manor in beautiful southeast Portland, I heard about Sharon Sites Adams.

Sharon was the first woman to sail a boat by herself from Yokohama, Japan to the shores of California. She wrote a book titled “Pacific Lady” which describes in great detail about her exciting journey. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Sharon on KBOO-FM and she’s been interviewed on major radio and TV stations across the country.

Even though her journey took place a number of years ago, Sharon still makes appearances throughout the state. In January of this year Sharon spoke at a function in Lincoln City.

Becky Bent

Becky Bent tells me that as a student at Grant High School here in Portland, she studied Calligraphy and after graduation she made her way to San Francisco where she worked professionally as a Calligrapher. Becky returned to the Portland area in 1986 where she earned a BFA from Marylhurst College at the same time her passion of working with fabric was born.

After retirement, Becky started taking on commissions and projects as a quilter. One of her proudest projects remains on display on the first floor of our building.

 Jim Davis and David Huskey:

David Huskey is the award winning keeper and protector of our rose garden. When he and his wife Jan return from their annual trip to the desert, he begins work on the next season of roses. We are fortunate to have such a gifted artist who takes so much pride in his work.

All of the photos you see were taken by Jim Davis, an avid photographer shown below at his birthday party. Jim not only handles taking photos at special events all year long, he also catches the countless numbers of birds and animals that make their way over the seven acres of property that Westmorland's Union Manor sits on.

A freeloader just waiting for his dinner

These are just a few of the many artists that live on our little colony; most do it for the love of their medium, many have had acclaim, but at the end of the day we are collectively artists under one roof, which makes this place a pleasure to live in.

I’ll come back soon to talk about some of the other artists that I share space with.

A short selection from The Air In Me:

Connections

Reaching to yonder

Sky smiling down on simple

Me holding my breath

To order a copy of The Air In Me go to www.amazon.com or www.createspace.com.

Thanks for reading The Air In Me

Dan

The Air in Me ... Soon an end to 2013

• The Air In Me … Soon an end to 2013 

And the beginning of 2014

Well, here we are again, just you and me. In less than a week 2013 will be in the history books and for me this has been an exciting year. Why you ask? Well for one thing, I came out of it pretty much unscathed older and wiser. For another thing, I’m in reasonably good health and then of course there’s the little book called The Air In Me, which is doing well. So, you see I have nothing to complain about, matter of fact I’m quite pleased.

What’s been going on?

Home Sweet Home

On December 8^th I had a reading/signing of my book at Westmorland’s Union Manor, and of course this gave me an opportunity to tell more people about my book, and thanks be, many of those in attendance bought copies, for which I am very grateful. Thanks to all the folk that bought books that day, I’m humbled and appreciate their generosity.

What’s coming up?

Thursday, January 2, I’ll be interviewed on KBOO Community Radio,, 90.7 by AM News and Public Affairs Director, Kathleen Stephenson.. The show is Between the Covers and it airs at 11 am. The fun thing about this is that the tables were turned and I was answering questions instead of asking, which is what I usually do. Thanks to Kathleen.

Meet a few of my friends:

Emily P Newberry

Christopher Lord

Leland Hall

Saturday, January 11, I’ll be joined by three other LGBT writers for a fund raiser for Sage Metro Portland. Leland Hall, Emily Newberry, Christopher Lord and me will read and sign our books at Friendly House, located at the corner of NW 26^th and Thurman. The event runs from 1 pm to 3 pm. Come and learn more about how Sage Metro Portland provides valuable services for the aging LGBT Community. Proceeds from book sales at this event will go directly back to Sage Metro Portland to help continue their many programs. This is another way to help support local indie writers that are a part of the growing LGBT community throughout the Portland Metro Area.

~~~~

About a year ago at this same time I wrote a poem titled Pouring, which is included in my book, and I’d like to share it with you. As I’ve said many times, I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions, but I do constantly try to make my life mean more than just going through the day, and I do this by being open to trying new and adventurous things.

Pouring

I find myself:

Pouring another cup of coffee, decaf, black, and a little ground cinnamon

Still I’m:

Pouring me into writing poetry, rhyme, doesn’t rhyme, I don’t care, and I need to write one more line.

I find adventure:

Pouring myself into doing new things for the first time, using Larry’s Mac Book, going to a Catholic Mass, adrenaline flows like sea billows roll. What’s next?

This year I’m committed to:

Pouring myself into finding out more about whom I am, give a little, gain much more, doing whatever I can do, writing from deeper places I’ve never been, giving more of me to nobler causes.

But for now I’m content to:

Pouring another cup of black decaf with ground cinnamon…and I feel so free.

If you’d like to pick up a copy of The Air In Me go to www.amazon.com/books

A note before I close this blog:

Eugene Woodworth

This afternoon, I received an email from a friend, advising me that Eugene Woodworth passed away, Saturday, December 21^st while his husband, Eric, was at his side. Eugene and Eric were together for sixty years and just two weeks ago they were legally married in Vancouver, Washington.

To me, Eugene was one of the quiet angels, always infecting you with his wonderful smile.

Eugene will be terribly missed, and I am happy to say that I was honored to know him.

Rest well my friend.

Eugene and Eric

As always, thanks for reading my blog and here’s wishing you a happy and prosperous 2014.

Thanks,

Dan

The Air In Me and Mulligan Stew

The Air In Me and Mulligan Stew

Please believe me, I’m not going to wax poetic about Mulligan Stew, but it does bring back memories from early experiences with The Boy Scouts and camping in the woods of Northern California.

As I recall everything but the kitchen sink went into making up really good Mulligan Stew. Potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, chunks of beef, lots of spices and anything else you may have left over from a week of camping.

Today’s blog is a lot like Mulligan Stew…I want to fill the pot with lots of stuff that I’ve experienced over the last few weeks…let’s get this pot stirred up.

First Ingredient: Linda Campbell:

Almost two weeks ago I had the privilege of listening to Linda Campbell speak at the Sage Gay & Gray Expo here in Portland, and I can guarantee that for the audience of over one hundred people, there wasn’t a dry eye In the house.

Linda on the right with her late partner Nancy

Many of you will remember how hard it was to talk to friends or family members during the 1950’s and 1960’s about being Gay, in most cases it was impossible Linda kept her secret for many years until she could bury it no longer.

Hearing Linda speak and recount the joy’s and sadness that has filled her life was a great experience, but to get a good picture you must read Mike Francis article from the Oregonian who wrote an excellent piece in February of this year. http://blog.oregonlive.com/oregonatwar/2013/02/in_a_first_va_approves_request.html

Hearing Linda share her story of love for Nancy and enduring strength to face life’s challenges was a real inspiration for not only me but the group of people that gathered that day. If there was one thing I was left with regarding Linda’s experiences, it was that in life, no matter the circumstances we must all stand for something…something like Oregon United for Marriage…it’s about time.

Spice it up with Oregon United for Marriage

The latest word from Oregon United for Marriage is that currently there are about 110,000 signatures gathered for the petition that will allow Gays and Lesbians in Oregon the right to marry whomever they choose.

Congratulations to the Illinois State Legislature for voting approval of Gay Marriage in the Land of Lincoln.

Stir in a good dose of KBOO-FM

KBOO-FM 90.7 is a non-commercial, member supported, volunteer powered community radio station that is celebrating 45 years of serving the Portland area, and I’m proud to be a part of this highly eclectic family of broadcasters.

One of the exciting things about being involved with KBOO is that we are not owned by one of the large conglomerate broadcast companies. Other than airing Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now and The Tom Hartman Show, almost all of our programming is locally produced all with volunteers and a paid staff of six. To read about KBOO’S history go to www.kboo.fm scroll down to the bottom of the page where you’ll find Station Info, then click on Our Story.

Flavor for taste, The Air In Me

The Air In Me is selling well, but it could always use a shot in the arm. If you have read the book and liked it, you would be doing me a great favor if you were to go to www.amazon.com and write a review of my book. If you have not yet purchased The Air In Me you can purchase it online by going to  https://www.createspace.com/4388287. 

One bit of additional news is that soon The Air In Me will be released as an ebook. I’ll let you know when that happens.

As always thanks for reading.

Dan