Levi brags a lot. It's part of his personality. When it comes to hockey, he says he's known since he was twelve that he was better than most of the other players his age, and that was when he began to dream of being a pro someday. He made the varsity team at Wasilla High in his freshman year, a year that he was home schooled. In his sophomore year he was enrolled at a smaller school, Burchell, that didn't have a hockey team. That meant he could play for Wasilla's. He attended class just enough to be allowed to continue playing hockey. He was chosen for a 2007 US Select Team in the spring, and ended up in the Nationals.
Then came the junior year when he and Bristol conceived the child we know as Tripp, but I'm rushing things.
In late 2007 and early 2008, Levi Johnston was making a name for himself on the ice and, age-appropriately, he began to think about how he was going to get into college. Even an athlete with a scholarship needed sufficient grades to get in. His dad had been scouted in high school for football, and World Hockey League scouts were already checking out Levi. Life could be good if he could get the grades. Never the serious student, he says he decided to buckle down and get good grades so he'd be able to play college hockey.
It was a good year. In spite of having a cracked tibia, he played and scored the only points in the last game of the 2007-2008 season in spite of playing with a cracked tibia.
You know, I'm a skeptic. I had to see if this checked out, so I got into the archives of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman. As far back as February 2005 I was finding praise for Levi Johnston in the sports reports. He really was a hockey phenom. Here's what they said about the last game of the 2007-2008 season:
Then came the junior year when he and Bristol conceived the child we know as Tripp, but I'm rushing things.
In late 2007 and early 2008, Levi Johnston was making a name for himself on the ice and, age-appropriately, he began to think about how he was going to get into college. Even an athlete with a scholarship needed sufficient grades to get in. His dad had been scouted in high school for football, and World Hockey League scouts were already checking out Levi. Life could be good if he could get the grades. Never the serious student, he says he decided to buckle down and get good grades so he'd be able to play college hockey.
It was a good year. In spite of having a cracked tibia, he played and scored the only points in the last game of the 2007-2008 season in spite of playing with a cracked tibia.
You know, I'm a skeptic. I had to see if this checked out, so I got into the archives of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman. As far back as February 2005 I was finding praise for Levi Johnston in the sports reports. He really was a hockey phenom. Here's what they said about the last game of the 2007-2008 season:
Byline: Jeremiah Bartz Saturday, February 9, 2008
WASILLA — After a disappointing loss to South Anchorage in the first round of the ASAA First National Cup 4A state hockey tournament on Thursday, the Wasilla Warriors knew they had two options when they hit the ice against the West Valley Wolfpack on Friday morning.
The Warriors could either bring a brand of physical and aggressive hockey to the rink, or they could put away their gear and call it the end of the 2007-08 season.
It goes on to say:
Junior Levi Johnston gave the Warriors a 2-0 lead midway through the second.
And how about these statistics for the year:
Wilson, Johnston and Barkley combined for 34 goals and 54 assists during the regular season.
Impressive, right? Levi had reason to believe that, with hard work in the classroom and at home doing homework, he had a bright future. That future involved going to college, leaving Wasilla, and working hard for some years right after high school.
(Hmmm, what would Bristol think of those plans? How would that get her out of the home life she wanted to escape? She could have other plans. Never have known a Palin kid to value college. Just sayin'.)
(Hmmm, what would Bristol think of those plans? How would that get her out of the home life she wanted to escape? She could have other plans. Never have known a Palin kid to value college. Just sayin'.)
At this point I want to pile on just because it's going to make Sarah Palin really mad. Levi, it turns out, was the near-opposite of Sarah, who is lying when she claims to have made winning points for her High School team's basketball championship. She had an injury, and all she did was get in during the last minutes, get fouled, and get a couple of free-throws. She padded the winning score, but the team had already won the game. Levi is the athlete Sarah pretends to be, as shown by this reporter:
By MATT TUNSETH
Frontiersman
Published on Saturday, February 9, 2008
WASILLA — Two days after suffering their biggest setback of the season, the Wasilla hockey team earned its biggest win in a decade Saturday morning.
Junior forward Levi Johnston had two goals, and junior goalie Jake Dargis stopped all 22 shots he faced as the Warriors skated off with a 2-0 win over Lathrop to claim fourth place in the ASAA First National Cup Alaska class 4A state hockey tournament at the Menard Memorial Ice Arena in Wasilla.
The win gave Wasilla its best state tournament finish since 1997...
The inspiration of my internet research into Levi's truthfulness about his potential for making it as a hockey pro was his story on page 77 of Deer in the Headlights - his recollection of what was going on in his life and in his head the day Bristol told him she was pregnant with the baby we now know as Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston.
The purpose of my internet research was to give us Trig-Truthers more clues to when Tripp was conceived. I am among those who think we've been lied to as much about Tripp as about Trig.
Here is a parallel story to demonstrate why this jumped out at me. Two weeks ago, a young man that I'm going to call Rob, shared with me his own story that had similarities to Levi's. Eleven years ago, Rob was in college. A talented artist, he had plans to study abroad in his next semester. Paris. It was a dream about to come true. Then, on a Saturday night, he got a call from his then-girlfriend. She was pregnant. It was his.
Though it's been eleven years since Rob got that call, he remembers the day of the week, the time of day, the words they spoke and the thoughts he had. His future changed in the blink of an eye. He didn't go to Paris. He didn't finish school. His ten year old daughter is the apple of his eye, but he had to go to court to get shared parental rights. He is now a US veteran using his GI bill to continue his interrupted college studies after serving seven years in the military. It's not been easy, and the details are very clear in his mind. That is presented for you to consider Levi's statements.
I'm going to separate and put in bold, some statements so that they stand out. This is from pages 77 - 78 of Deer in the Headlights :
The purpose of my internet research was to give us Trig-Truthers more clues to when Tripp was conceived. I am among those who think we've been lied to as much about Tripp as about Trig.
Here is a parallel story to demonstrate why this jumped out at me. Two weeks ago, a young man that I'm going to call Rob, shared with me his own story that had similarities to Levi's. Eleven years ago, Rob was in college. A talented artist, he had plans to study abroad in his next semester. Paris. It was a dream about to come true. Then, on a Saturday night, he got a call from his then-girlfriend. She was pregnant. It was his.
Though it's been eleven years since Rob got that call, he remembers the day of the week, the time of day, the words they spoke and the thoughts he had. His future changed in the blink of an eye. He didn't go to Paris. He didn't finish school. His ten year old daughter is the apple of his eye, but he had to go to court to get shared parental rights. He is now a US veteran using his GI bill to continue his interrupted college studies after serving seven years in the military. It's not been easy, and the details are very clear in his mind. That is presented for you to consider Levi's statements.
I'm going to separate and put in bold, some statements so that they stand out. This is from pages 77 - 78 of Deer in the Headlights :
... Bristol called me from her aunt’s house in Anchorage. She said, Hey I’m coming out. I miss you, babe. She was all kinds of excited.
It was a Thursday. I’d gone to all my classes and just walked in the door of our house, with my homework in my backpack.
That past semester I had pulled a 3.8 GPA.
I’d been thinking more and more about the connection between good grades and a possible future in hockey. It had dawned on me that the next year college scouts would need to see that I could deal with not just sports, but academics, too. I kept my nose buried in the books as much as possible, thinking I could actually get an athletic scholarship. I wanted to play junior hockey and try to get into the Western Hockey League and then go pro. I had already been looked at by a WHL team. By the time I was nineteen, I would have been good enough to play for them, or the University of Alaska.
UA told me I just needed the grades. I’d gotten them.
That past semester I had pulled a 3.8 GPA.
I’d been thinking more and more about the connection between good grades and a possible future in hockey. It had dawned on me that the next year college scouts would need to see that I could deal with not just sports, but academics, too. I kept my nose buried in the books as much as possible, thinking I could actually get an athletic scholarship. I wanted to play junior hockey and try to get into the Western Hockey League and then go pro. I had already been looked at by a WHL team. By the time I was nineteen, I would have been good enough to play for them, or the University of Alaska.
UA told me I just needed the grades. I’d gotten them.
My tibia was fractured, but despite that, by the season’s last game I was playing the best hockey of my life.
I was thinking of talking to Bristol about all this when it hit me.
I was thinking of talking to Bristol about all this when it hit me.
Are you pregnant? I asked her over the phone.
No.
Are you lying?
No, she shot back. I’m not fucking lying.
Fine, I told her. But I knew.
Everyone who has heard the story before, how and when Bristol and Levi found out she was pregnant, will already know he claims this was just before his eighteenth birthday, May 3rd. In fact, he says in the book that it was Thursday, May 1, 2008. But other things in the book contradict that timing, and as spelled out in a previous post of mine, which I link here. In that post, I also present the theory that Levi drops out of school in March, 2008.
I believe there is reason to support the theory that when he says May, he is talking about March, 2008. Here's what I learned from the internet:
February 9, 2008 Levi played the final game of the season with a cracked tibia.
Thursday, March 6, 2008, was the close of a quarter at Mat-Su Valley schools.
March 10-13 were vacation days from school.
Now, ask yourself, which THURSDAY is more likely to be the one when Levi was thinking about having a talk with Bristol about his future - his good grades, his hockey potential, and his college dreams. March 6, with it's combination of season close, 3.8 GPA, and an upcoming school vacation. Or May 1st, EIGHT WEEKS later?
I know what I think.
Did Levi go back to school after that mid-March vacation? Bristol, in her memoirs, claims Levi always dropped out right after hockey season. Maybe in 2008 he did, but was it what he wanted to do? I doubt it. He had hockey dreams and college dreams. He got benched by a girlfriend who stopped taking her birth control pills.
When was Tripp born? Not December, if any of this is on the mark.
Keep digging Truthers!
Everyone who has heard the story before, how and when Bristol and Levi found out she was pregnant, will already know he claims this was just before his eighteenth birthday, May 3rd. In fact, he says in the book that it was Thursday, May 1, 2008. But other things in the book contradict that timing, and as spelled out in a previous post of mine, which I link here. In that post, I also present the theory that Levi drops out of school in March, 2008.
I believe there is reason to support the theory that when he says May, he is talking about March, 2008. Here's what I learned from the internet:
February 9, 2008 Levi played the final game of the season with a cracked tibia.
Thursday, March 6, 2008, was the close of a quarter at Mat-Su Valley schools.
March 10-13 were vacation days from school.
Now, ask yourself, which THURSDAY is more likely to be the one when Levi was thinking about having a talk with Bristol about his future - his good grades, his hockey potential, and his college dreams. March 6, with it's combination of season close, 3.8 GPA, and an upcoming school vacation. Or May 1st, EIGHT WEEKS later?
I know what I think.
Did Levi go back to school after that mid-March vacation? Bristol, in her memoirs, claims Levi always dropped out right after hockey season. Maybe in 2008 he did, but was it what he wanted to do? I doubt it. He had hockey dreams and college dreams. He got benched by a girlfriend who stopped taking her birth control pills.
When was Tripp born? Not December, if any of this is on the mark.
Keep digging Truthers!
14 comments:
Wait- let's back up for a minute please. Why was Levi home schooled in his freshman year? Do I also remember some chatter about BP being home schooled at one point? When? Why?
Allison - I enjoy your writing style and appreciate the insights into Levi's books and the excerpts in earlier posts. Great job tracking down the news articles that put Levi's hockey talent into perspective. In one of his 2009 post-breakup interviews, he said he'd put up his hockey skates for good. So sad.
In your first post, you wrote, "Levi says in his book he drops out of school in March 2008..."
Here you ask, "Did Levi go back to school after that mid-March vacation?"
Would you please clarify if Levi specifically said he dropped out in March?
I also wonder how your theory would account for the reported May 4 or 5 baby shower photos which show Trig the same size as the kitchen photos. I have a hard time placing the baby shower before April 18.
Conscious at last - Levi admits to being an obnoxious character. He got in trouble with teachers very soon after the year started, and then talked his mom into homeschooling him for the remainder of the year. Homeschoolers can participate in sports. He calls Alaska's complete lack of oversight of homeschooling "legalized truancy."
I'll look into just what Bristol said in her book and get back to you.
Curioser it is stated unequivocally on p 226 of Deer in the Headlights:
I had dropped out my junior year two months before it ended, to work.
What he had said earlier about dropping out of school (page 89) tied it in to Bristol being pregnant:
I don't support this, my father told me, when I announced I was dropping out of school. I want you to get your diploma; stay in school. Mom and I can help you work this out. His words echoed the expression I'd seen on my mother's face, if only for a second, when we told her Bristol was pregnant.
I respected my father's opinion but I needed to earn money, not take from them. Todd had made that clear, though I'd already figured it out for myself.
...I hung up my skates. It was time to be a working man. I did, though, continue to wear my Wasilla High wristband, just to remember those times.
There it is. Dropped out in March. Todd said he had to drop out when they told Todd and Sarah about the pregnancy. If Todd didn't learn until May, Levi was already a drop out so May doesn't make sense. None at all.
I agree, that line about hanging up his skates is sad and so is the wristband that he wore, just to remember those times.
The shower pictures have always looked staged. There was a lot of discussion once long ago. After I review some of that I can give you my impressions. For now, I'll say I am skeptical that we have been given any accurate dates ever, ever, ever. I'll put this on my list of things to explore.
Thanks for asking great questions.
Thanks Allison. I feel sick that this kid did everything to take responsibility and was treated so horribly. You found themes and issues in the book that other reviewers seem to have missed.
I certainly noticed Levi's tendency toward being vague about dates and details in interviews. At the time, I thought it seemed to be his communication style rather a deliberate effort to confuse. I blamed the interviewers for not asking questions to get to specifics. I wonder about the ghostwriters. They worked from recorded interviews and counted on Levi to read the final draft before going to print. I'm not sure that was wise and wonder if he really read it.
Allison...have you seen this video of Levi...it's from and interview with Simon & Shuster...
http://www.simonandschuster.com/multimedia?video=1223260063001&cp_type=ea&custd=641688&mcd=ea&view_pc_site=1
There is another one that he did with some "fans" at Dave & Busters in NYC...
Curiouser and GinaM,
These short videos are kind of sweet. Levi comes across as a nice kid, doesn't he? I entered that contest to play video games in Times Square with Levi. Now I know who won - lucky guy.
Everybody lies sometimes. Levi seems to be giving us as much truth as he can, and sometimes it conflicts with the lies. But he forgets what he already said and so we have these interesting pieces that I'm bringing into the light. To quote Mr. Johnston himself, "No one has a good enough memory to make a good liar."
When he made an appearance on Lawrence O'Donnell, he was handed the book and asked to read aloud from a highlighted section. He looked at what it was (the shower scene) and blushed and said something like "you would pick this" but he read it. Not smoothly, and even misread the word "perp" (as in perp walk) as "prep" and didn't correct himself. A day or so later, Mr. O'Donnell commented that it appeared Levi might have been reading his own book for the first time.
One year earlier, Levi was on that same show as a guest the first night it launched. Laurence O'Donnell asked Levi the same questions Katie Courtic asked Sarah, including "what do you read"? Levi honestly said he isn't much of a reader.
So, no, I don't think Levi read his own book. At least not carefully. Maybe he looked at the pictures. Certainly Levi did not write his own book, we know who did. My guess is he did nothing more than submit to some interviews and give a tour of Wasilla.
There can be no argument that the ghost writers didn't think things through carefully enough to recognize the contradictions; there are glaring contradictions between details from early in the book and things stated in the last few chapters. That is why this book is a source for those of us looking for the truth. I'm loving Levi's book.
Allison,
I truly appreciate your efforts. In your comments you state that "there are glaring contradictions" throughout Levi's book. This is true of all the Palin and Johnston works of fiction. Why use these books as references AT ALL? They are all a waste of time. Yes- there might be a glimmer of twisted fact sprinkled in at points-- but why bother?
There other sources of information re: babygate that do not suffer from these limitations.
Allison,
I've read through, albeit too quickly, your theory of a Nov. 2008 birth for Tripp. It fits a lot of facts. And it fits the Philly Zoo early July picture if indeed that is a pregnant Bristol at the far end. But it would make Bristol 5-6 mos. along in those two pictures from late July-early August (one is Alaska state fair) where she doesn't look pregnant at all.
The summer photos are better understood by a July birthdate for Tripp, after the Philly Zoo. That would also comport with Tank's tale of an obviously older--i.e., more than one month older--Tripp. I just don't know what to think.
Thank you for reading Levi's book carefully. I haven't had the time to do so. But I have a ton of post-its in Joe's book where I read things that I hadn't heard from blogs or MSM, so I don't doubt there are treats in Levi's text.
You and Brad are welcome additions to the blogging world.
Hey, Allison, keep up the good work! Your writing is fun and engaging.
Conscious at last, I'm using them because they have first hand accounts. Even when people are being honest, they see things differently. First person information is one of the foundations of good investigation. Don't get me wrong, this is more a hobby than a mission, but I'm the kind of person who loves to investigate, to question, to put puzzles together.
Hi B! Just finished a long post, but I want you to know that I've puzzled over that Philly Zoo pic too. All picture dates are subject to question unless proven. That's my stand. The State Fair is a very limited period of time, and she's somewhat hidden, nevertheless she doesn't look HUGE like at the RNC. I do know women who have been able to look not pregnant (to strangers) and then, within days they "pop" and people say "OH MY." It happened to a relative recently. Just sayin'
Thats all bullshit created to make Levi look like a responsible person. Levi NEVER cared about school, didn't attend school formerly after spring 07, ADMITTED HIMSELF he would rather hunt.
The boy once used the term "fighted" when he referenced Sadie and Bristol's relationship. (They fighted from day one)
And he obviously had home issues if he felt drawn to Bristol's family and chose her over his own.
557468643 said...
Thats all bullshit created to make Levi look like a responsible person. Levi NEVER cared about school, didn't attend school formerly after spring 07, ADMITTED HIMSELF he would rather hunt.
The boy once used the term "fighted" when he referenced Sadie and Bristol's relationship. (They fighted from day one)
And he obviously had home issues if he felt drawn to Bristol's family and chose her over his own.
October 30, 2011 9:54 AM
Ivy...Me thinks that you might have a little soft spot for ole Levi...Hmmmm. Maybe you was doing a little lusting after the young good looking muscular man....Hmmmm....you want to share some of those lustful thoughts or will your Boss Lady Aka Crazy woman get mad...because you know that old bat don't like to share SHIT...except maybe Todd (Have you seen Todd!)...but I think you already know about sharing Todd...NUDGE NUDGE WINK WINK!
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