One day in his junior year, he remarked on Ron Harris’s Beatles t-shirt and they become fast friends. Until meeting Ron, Daniel describes himself as “not having any friends.” Afterward, he describes Ron as having been his “only friend.”[1] However, Daniel made another good friend, the young preacher Dale Dudgeon, who was a year behind Ron and Daniel in school.
In Daniel’s junior year, and early senior year, Dale spent the night at the Johnston home on occasion. He observed that, in this period, Daniel and his mother Mabel, got along exceptionally well—far better than Dale got along with his own family, who were unconcerned with Christianity or any manner of faith. Dale describes breakfasts in Mabel’s kitchen where she would prepare homemade frosting to adorn cinnamon rolls. Of greater importance, Dale describes Daniel and Mabel joking with one another and behaving purely playfully, without a hint of tension.[2] This is particularly remarkable for being at odds with every account of the relationship between Daniel and Mabel to follow.
Daniel expressed his concern for Ron’s soul. He told him that he couldn’t get to Heaven except through the Church of Christ. When Ron challenged Daniel’s assertions, Daniel backed off and said he doesn’t want to talk about it anymore.[3] (This in an early example of a trend of avoiding even the hint of confrontation. Daniel was extremely uncomfortable with any form of argument or even playful debate.) In a habit he would continue throughout his like, he learned to avoid confrontation, Daniel learned to tell people what they wanted to hear. There is overwhelming evidence of this sprinkled throughout the research materials.
Concerning faith and paths to Heaven, Dale explained that—generally—there was a pretty serious rift between his church (The Christian Church) and Daniel’s (The Church of Christ) but that there was only one real difference between the two: the inclusion or exclusion of instrumental music, and Daniel considered Dale’s soul to be just fine. Daniel expressed to Dale that he’d have preferred it if his church did allow instrumental music and didn’t understand why there was a rift between the two churches.[4]
Because Daniel wasn’t a particularly gifted trumpet player, he was asked by his high school band director to paint a large bear mural on the music department wall. Daniel described the process of painting the bear mural in detail in a journal entry for his high school teacher[5] Later this year he quit band, but he never told his parents he did so.[6]
According to Ron Harris, while Daniel was out of class painting the bear mural, his drama teacher Kelsey Heyward was asked if he’d ever hated a student. He said, “Just one, I’ll give you a hint,” and mimed picking his nose.[9] Everyone in class knew he was talking about Daniel. Word got back to Daniel as well. Daniel didn’t admit to being upset by this, which is in line with his usual response to being made fun of or bullied: he pretended it wasn’t happening; he deflected it off with a joke; he turned the other cheek.[10] There’s a whiff of this in the first line of “Casper the Friendly Ghost”: “He was smiling through his own personal hell.” This is also possibly what he means when he counsels others not to be like him in “Like a Monkey in a Zoo” when he sings: “don’t keep egg on your face.”
In spite of what his drama teacher had said, Daniel leant prized Yoko Ono records to Mr. Heyward. They were never returned to him but he didn’t hold a grudge. It is a remarkable testament to his faith and the importance of religion in his life that Daniel almost never seemed to hold a grudge.[11]
As a direct consequence of his obsession with The Beatles, he attempted to pick up girls by putting on an English accent, a la John Lennon.[12]
Daniel’s drawings of verses from Proverbs (his favorite book of the Bible) hung proudly from the walls of the church halls.[13]
He met and befriended Kevin Still, who was a member of a rock band that Daniel idolized.[14] Soon after, he ran lights for a school concert by Kevin Still’s rock band. This friendship would continue for years, as Kevin visited Daniel in his basement to play music with him.
He had multiple run-ins with the school librarian, Mrs. Stump, who had an unfortunately cartoonish nose that Daniel couldn’t help caricaturizing.[15]
[1] pp. 25-68NB79E; pp. 46-47 NB89A, and many others
[2] Dale Dudgeon Interview, would have to find date and timestamp
[3] Unrecorded Ron Harris interview
[4] Dale Dudgeon interview; Cassette on which Daniel asks Mabel why they can’t include instrumental music, to which Mabel simple says, “It’s church tradition.” – Again, I’d have to find specific citations but both things are true.
[5] pp. 30-34, NB79E
[6] Harris Video Interviews, 1991
[7] pp. 45-50, NB79E or. 46-47 NB89A: I’ll have to check on that.
[8] pp. 25, 43, NB79E
[9] NB79E, pp. 25-68
[10] Unrecorded Ron Harris Interviews
[11] Unrecorded Ron Harris Interviews
[12] http://turnit-down.blogspot.com/2007/04/daniel-johnston-interview.html
[13] So many notebooks. Would be difficult to track down but will do if you want. Or will just attribute to Dick interviews. Let me know which you prefer.
[14] Interview with Kevin Still. Let me know if you want me to find the time stamp.
[15] I’m sure Dick has some of these citations, but if not I can find some.