Former BJ reporter John Dunphy beat the Black Keys to the White House.

His wife, Rebecca Allen, has credentials to the White House briefing room.

So they dropped in on their friend Barack. Or Barry, as they call him.

Rebecca practiced her standups in the NBC booth outside the West Wing.

John practiced grinning from ear to ear.

It’s a well-deserved reward for John, former reporter for the Orange County (California) Register, who has been eluding the Grim Reaper since 2012 over his esophageal cancer. Rebecca is deputy Features Editor at the OC Register. They live in Lakewood, California.

John keeps his hand in journalism as contributing editor at Southland Golf, which gives him an excuse to enjoy his favorite participation sport.

John and Rebecca traipsed all over Europe for six weeks and, currently, the East and Northeast USA. The White House was on their world tour. Beat that, Black Keys!

Just kidding, Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach, the two Firestone High kids who turned basement band into a truckload of Grammys for their musical achievements. And a social media exchange with the first African-American President in history that mentioned Air Force One and possibly, guess who’s coming to dinner?

John’s sons are Brian, Michael and Kevin.

His siblings are Harry Dunphy, Stephen Dunphy,  Pat Maureen Dunphy Welling, Peter Dunphy, Dennis Dunphy, Christine Dunphy Barnett and the late Paul Dunphy. Their parents were Harry and Angela Dunphy.

John and Rebecca had dinner June 30 with Angela Dunphy, Christine's niece, at Zaytanya in DC. Named for her grandmother Angela.
 John was part of the late Pat Englehart’s team that brought the BJ a Pulitzer for its coverage of the 1970 Ohio National Guard shooting that killed four and wounded nine Kent State students. “I spent more than 7 years full-time covering all the investigations and trials,” John wrote.

Egads, Dunphy survived errant National Guard rifle shots, Englehart AND esophageal cancer and can still whip my butt in golf! I tip my “WV” cap to you, John! All 11 of them.