Here we are smack-dab in the middle of July. Do you ever mix up June and July in your mind? Both start with 'J' and have four letters. So right now it's the heart of summer. Morris has a history of getting slow in summer. People find places they would rather be, if that's an option they can exercise.
We got a bad inflation number the other day. People will make a passing mention of this, but it does not appear to be a hot-button issue yet. I remember when it became hot-button in the 1970s. At least then, you could go to a bank and get a certificate of deposit that paid high interest. Today the banks seem to think we all should appreciate that they offer "free checking." Or, "free and easy checking," according to a banner that has been across a bank building on Morris' main street.
I'd prefer some "easy" interest payments that amount to something.
Restaurants have been restrained in raising prices. It has happened but to a limited degree. While I was going to McDonald's occasionally, I did notice prices nudging upward with what seemed like fair frequency. McDonald's has become an issue because of their reluctance to take orders at the counter. You can use a "kiosk" but you need kind of a "geek" knack, a generation 'Z' knack. I guess the millennials have moved on up - their digital instincts are pretty good too. The generations that grew up without digital are not "wired" properly.
I tried using the McDonald's kiosk once and failed to figure it out. I went in with a friend once who I thought was advanced with his skills, and he had no expertise with it. So he went and bugged an employee who, to her great credit, came over to help and gave us each a complimentary pie. So nice, but I still did not pick up the skills.
Did you see the recent item in the news about a "Good Samaritan" kid at a McDonald's? He noticed another kid being turned away at the drive-through because that kid had approached on foot. That restaurant must have had a closed lobby, a phenomenon that you may have noticed is happening out and around. The boy in a car realized what was happening and gave his own Happy Meal to the other boy - a "happy" outcome to be sure.
Upon reading this, I wondered with a friend if people who do not drive might only have limited access to fast food the rest of their lives. You might chuckle, as you think maybe your health would be better off anyway. I feel an occasional fast food meal is an acceptable treat.
What about our Morris Dairy Queen? It seemed like a good option for those frustrated by the McDonald's "kiosk-only" system. When last I checked, McDonald's had "kiosk only" some of the time with a big sign at the counter, making clear you should "get lost" if you couldn't use the kiosk. We have to suspect that McDonald's has an optimal profit margin - what else matters? - by going primarily if not exclusively with drive-through. I think they discovered that during the pandemic.
But what about the Morris Dairy Queen? I found them to have a closed lobby a couple weeks ago. Don't know if this is permanent. If a customer encounters a closed lobby once, and does not want to drive home in summer with cold treats in the car, that person might not check back any time soon.
DeToy's Restaurant is a fine place but is no longer open in the evening. I would guess it will never be open again in the evening. Don's Cafe is a wonderful "hometown" beehive of a place - it went from opening at 6 a.m. to 8 a.m., a huge change for many of us to deal with. It takes a major effort by yours truly to "sleep in" so I might have breakfast at Don's now. A positive: they have not raised prices for a while, but hang on to your hat.
The inflation numbers do not lie. I was out and around in the 1970s, listening to disco music. If our inflation gets really bad, I hope it doesn't mean we'll see more movies like "Smokey and the Bandit" again. Rimshot (maybe). Why did Jackie Gleason degrade himself by taking that role?
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| Don's Cafe, Morris MN |
In-person dining requires that we be willing to pay someone to prepare our meal and another person to bring it to us. We have been able to absorb these costs up until now. Now I'm starting to wonder. I lead a pretty isolated life and it's nice for me to get around people a little by dining out. I don't think I'm alone. But we have to adapt always.
I have never taken to Common Cup. That restaurant's recent history appears, well, checkered. I can't share personal testimony because I don't go there. It's right next to the intersection where the big trucks make a wide turn and force cars to back up for them. IMHO this is ridiculous, primitive. But Mongo just pawn in game of life. A friend has given me an informed update on Common Cup's recent misadventures. You'll find this interesting.
There’s been a lot of complaints about Common Cup lately, prices have gone way up and the service and food quality have gone down. So, the church consortium committee that oversees it fired the current manager – this gal had been the manager for only a few months, and wasn’t exactly a “people person." “Financial mismanagement” was the reason. No, not embezzling, just bad management. This is 3rd or 4th hand, but the "shoeshine guy" told me that Sharon Ehlers had to deliver the news to the now former manager. It was said that that was probably the first time in her life that Sharon had been told to “F-off”. Steve Just is also on that committee, and allegedly was sent an email from said former manager resplendent with obscenities and misspelled words.
Ah, a million stories in the naked city.
Problems arise, but nothing quite like in Freeport along I-94. A camel tried to bite the head off a zoo worker. I didn't even know there was a zoo in Freeport. We associate the town with the "smiley face" water tower or Charlie's Cafe. A friend told me "you should write a song about that - Minnesota head-chomping camels."
Back when Campbell MN had its own school, didn't they use the "Camels" nickname? A terrific trivia challenge: nicknames/mascots of now-defunct small-town high schools. The Granite Falls "Kilowatts." Neat.
My offer stands
I will repeat: I lead a pretty isolated life. I try to find happiness as best I can. I have found a bond with the University of Minnesota and made a financial gesture toward that. I'm looking at our local public school in the same spirit. This has ended up very tentative. You might say I have gotten to first base but no further. I have a particular proposal which I have previously alluded to in my online writing. Obviously I am "pliable" in all this, if that word applies to a person. Here's from an email I sent to the MAHS band director on June 24:
I was able to see the world when I was 17 years old thanks to my involvement in band, so it's appropriate that I "give something back." I remember when we were all dispersed for our "free time" in New York City, I instead got out my trumpet, walked out to the front of the stage at Carnegie Hall, and spent about five minutes just playing - the only music sound in the place at the time. We were told not to move around any chairs or music stands because "the union people" did that!
Someone put my father's composition of "Alleluia" on YouTube. This is a 1952 composition as performed by the 1971 Oregon All-State Choir. The video shows a vinyl record on turntable, so the recording is "archival" but you can still appreciate the quality of the composition of course. My heart is warmed that someone somewhere wanted to share this recording in this way.
Here is the link for that:
Still floating in summer
Enjoy it while it lasts, this summer of 2022, coming on the heels of the unpleasant winter and spring. The "derecho" has demoralized me, drained me of some enthusiasm in a fundamental way. The climate is changing. Joe Manchin may have just doomed us all. He calls himself a Democrat.
Looks like Trump will run for president again and he could win. This would mean no further action to combat climate change. Will Elise Stafanik be his running mate? She talks like she would be totally subservient to him. We can only pray that the inattention to climate change will not be devastating. But I fear it will be.
For the very present, just try to enjoy the too-short summer. Pretty soon it will be fair-time and we'll start to get a "nip" in the evening air, alas.
You cannot try to reason with the local Trump supporters. They are rock-ribbed, prickly, oblivious to any facts that ought to prod their better judgment. I'm sure all the local Apostolics would vote for Trump again.
Here's a book that I feel is most helpful for understanding what is going on: "Jesus and John Wayne" by Kristin Kobes Du Mez. How did a man like Trump get so intertwined with the Christian faith? Nothing I can do about it. Mongo just pawn in game of life.
Emailing with McDonald's
I wrote a post on my companion blog of "Morris of Course" about emailing McDonald's corporate. The bone of contention was the Morris restaurant's "kiosk-only." I got a nice personal response with apparent receptiveness to my concern. I have not been to the restaurant since, so I do not know if their policy has budged. You may read my blog post by clicking here.
Addendum: It is Friday evening, July 15, and I noticed just now that the door to the Dairy Queen lobby is open. Looks like the lobby was open. I dined at Don's: chocolate shake with grilled cheese sandwich. The fries are getting to be too much for me. I only have three meals between Saturday and Sunday.
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| Morris Floral (kmrs-kkok image) |
I should note that my source has not always batted a thousand. He's the one who told me several years ago that charges against the then-high school principal had been dropped. Actually that rumor was making the rounds. I reported this news "tip" on this blog and then got an email from the police chief. My post had stirred things up a bit. Well, charges had not been dropped. My guess on what happened: the alleged victim in the case was telling people she wanted charges to be dropped, so people surmised a conclusion. You know what happens when you assume.
The principal was charged with four counts of criminal sexual conduct, if I remember correctly. Two of them in the first degree? That was a wild ride. A prime news source in Minnesota used the word "assault" instead of "conduct" - not sure if it matters. The charges were eventually dropped. I wrote a post that rather castigated the prosecutor. Was he showboating? Well, who knows? I believe I'm the only local media person who tracked down a photo of the prosecutor. Interesting chapter in Morris history.
The principal landed on his feet and continued working in education. I do find that rather surprising. I do feel the principal should have been terminated here at the time of the charges, just based on what was known about his behavior on the evening in question. I wouldn't dream of horsing around like that. And I'm not even paid to set an example for the kids.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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