It was with a bittersweet air that I went to the UMM campus on July 17 for a lunch acknowledging my family's contributions to the school. Our family's involvement has retreated into the mists of history, you might argue. All the more reason to keep our family's name relevant, I'd argue.
The lunch was originally set for an earlier date with the idea Mom could attend. As it turned out, she was entering her last lap of life. Both my parents died at home in their 90s. Having been on the scene for that and having been caregiver, I have become acclimated to the reality of death. I now accept that "death is a part of life." It happens to 100 percent of us, and there are very few things you can say that about.
Our monument at the cemetery reminds that Dad was "founder of UMM music." You'll see some little musical notes as a decoration. It is a bench monument and feel free at any time to use it as a bench! The monument acknowledges Mom having been a "diligent worker at UMM." She worked at the bookstore and post office, managing the latter in the pre-email time when I'm sure paper mail was more vital.
UMM had its start in 1960. Now in 2018, substantial change has happened. We hear that cursive handwriting isn't even taught to young people anymore. My generation took notes in spiral notebooks rather furiously when we took classes. Should I assume they keystroke on laptops today? But there's no way you could type fast enough to even come close to keeping up with the instructor. Information is probably imparted differently today. In the old days when Floyd Schmidgall owned the restaurant now known as Detoy's, it was open 24 hours - can you believe it? - and you'd see UMM students hanging out there, poring over pages of textbooks with an exam no doubt looming. Is that old routine performed anymore?
Do students still tote around their cumbersome textbooks or do they consume knowledge in a more economical manner? If the latter is true I'd say it's a good thing. The old system seemed to stress raw memorization too much. Students really didn't seem happy as they "crammed for finals." It was a ritual we just assumed was normal and necessary. Was it really an offshoot of the industrial age when exhaustion and tedium were associated with one's work? The values of the industrial age have faded. Today I suspect, once you have mastered basic reading, writing and arithmetic, you're set to leapfrog into the world of managing a certain type of productive system. It may take some sophistication to master. But it does not by necessity require you to "work" a certain number of hours a week as a means of asserting your basic legitimacy as a human being. What matters is that you can harness a system that provides value of some kind to people.
If you are in fact stuck in the traditional tedious 40-hour-a-week routine, it is nothing to be proud of. It is something to be overcome. I could make a face when I think back to the days when I filled out "timesheets" at the Morris Sun Tribune newspaper. Worse than that, me and others would get scrutinized by certain colleagues who might be suspicious of how we were recording hours. What if I wanted to take a little more time with quality control like with proofreading? It might appear wasteful.
But the point is, focus on the task to be done and make sure it's done properly. The perception of "having your nose to the grindstone" is so 20th Century. We are clearly in a new age now and it's nice. UMM will find its way in a constructive manner, we can be sure.
The July 17 lunch at UMM was to acknowledge us with President's Club status but it doesn't end there. We have contributed sufficient funds to have a perpetually endowed fund in my parents' names: the Ralph and Martha Williams Fund. My mother was able to make one trip to campus, in the building where she ran the UMM post office, to sign her name to documents. We did this even though I had power of attorney for her, but I think UMM officials decided they'd feel more comfortable if they had Mom's signature. We were in that phase where I felt some nervousness about her capability signing her name, or if she could keep it on the specified line etc. We were pleasantly surprised by how well Mom handled it. I went through the same kind of phase with Dad. My dad made it to age 96 and Mom to 93. Mom was about six weeks from her 94th birthday. I think family caregiving was a factor in their longevity, not that I have anything against nursing homes. I do think that when someone is sent to a nursing home, it means the medical system is essentially done with them. They are nursed along in a very capable way until something called "palliative care" kicks in.
No matter the approach, there is no truly comfortable, orderly and acceptable way for people to die. It's still a tragedy and cloaked in sadness. I placed my mother's hand on her childhood Bible. She was always proud to say she had read the whole Bible. I will attend church for the rest of my life for the simple reason that Mom would want me to. I will attend even when screaming infants in the sanctuary mean I can't hear what's being said! I'll just daydream while all that is going on. A prominent member of my congregation uses the term "screaming brats." Might I have been that way once?
I was baptized at Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, and now I'm out here in the glorious rural setting, bathing in the therapeutic peace just like our University of Minnesota-Morris.
Emphasis: music
The Ralph and Martha Williams Fund is for the purpose of helping the UMM music department. My father was the only music faculty in UMM's first year. Music was housed in the building that is now the multi-ethnic resource place. Yes it was long ago. But I will always think of the present when weighing our family's investment in, and connection to, the "jewel in the crown," UMM.
I hope all my blogging about UMM is factually accurate and with no typos. I remember when an esteemed member of UMM's founding community made a public statement about how Fred Switzer was among UMM's founders. Well, Switzer didn't come to Morris until 1970, as new superintendent succeeding Oscar Miller. I mentioned the mistake to my boss Jim Morrison at the Sun Tribune, and Jim smiled and said, "well, everyone figures (this person) will give a bunch of money to UMM someday, so no one is going to correct him."
Money can indeed give you a bit of a cushion.
It was a tremendous pleasure to visit UMM on July 17 despite the somber aspect of Mom not being there. Her spirit was there. Close your eyes and imagine Mom walking across the campus in her trademark brisk pace. A UMM staffer once photographed that just to have the image for posterity. She is looking down approvingly from heaven now. Dad too.
A UMM student performed wonderfully for us at the lunch meeting. Keep watch on the upcoming calendar of concerts for the new academic year.
Here is a YouTube link to a song I personally wrote about Dad and had recorded in Nashville TN. No, the song style isn't exactly the kind of thing Dad did! But it's my style. Would he be pleased? I hope so. The singer is the fabulous Debra Gordon. The song was recorded at the Frank Michels studio. Please click:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
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