OCTOBER 9 BIRTHDAYS

Tomorrow is the birthday of 2 of my favorite people.

The most famous...is John Lennon. Tomorrow would be his 70th birthday. I still recall the morning in December 1980 when I woke up to the radio, and hearing the news that John Lennon had been murdered the night before.

Most of you know that the Beatles are my favorite musical group...and I think John was the 'brains' behind the success of the group. He was very innovative and very controversial, often despised and hated. But I think there was a genuineness to him that made him more realistic than his bandmates. This article talks a little about that subject.

Tomorrow is also the birthday of one of my best friends from my growin' up years...Jimi. His parents refer to me as their 4th son. They were a wonderful part of my life and I am eternally grateful to them.

Jimi was my sports 'able' buddy who always let me tag along. Jim was a good football player, good baseball player, good basketball player, good tennis player...and he tried to help me get better with all of them...but I could never quite get to his level.

Today, Jimi is a great coach at the high school level in southern Illinois. He has coached most of the sports at one time or another at his school...and currently is the cross country coach...in fact had a recent article written about his success.

I like the music that John played a part in...that contributed to the 'music' fabric of my life.

But I love the 'real life' aspects that Jimi made a part of my life.

Happy Birthday Jimi.


Dan