"We like it here," don't we?

Remember the sign at the old HHH Metrodome? First of all, imagine a big league sports facility that does not have corporate naming rights. Boggles the mind. And to think, a stadium named for a politician? And heavens to Betsy, a Democratic politician? 

I bring up the sign in light of the weather we're having right at the present, mid-December of 2022. "We like it here." That was the sign, so often in the background as we watched sports on TV. I repeat: "We like it here." 

So how is that thought going over in your mind now? No, we are not having the classic Minnesota blizzard with near-white outs, a northwest wind and drifts building up super-high. Or so much snow that intersections in town become dangerous for dealing with. But the current storm simply builds a godawful bleak atmosphere. The atmosphere hangs over us in such a prolonged way. Day after day. 

We remove snow and then must repeat the effort in pretty short order. People in town, so I hear, have to be careful as heck following the snow removal policies. Vehicles get towed, quite no-nonsense. People appeared before the city council last winter to complain about what they felt was the onerous nature of it all. "Tell it to the judge," I guess was the rejoinder. We heard the discussion about whether the City of Morris should use its official website or its "Facebook page." I would never presume that a Facebook page has the final, official word, but maybe I just have to get in the year 2022. 

I live semi-rural and have my own garage. No issue with where to deposit my vehicle. I guess I have to be careful if I park in town. 

Sunlight is at a minimum this time of year regardless of any other circumstances. We're just past the Solstice. We have observed St. Lucia Day which coincides with the Solstice. St. Lucia is also the subject for my annual original Christmas song. I have sent links to a number of people. I can't remember everyone of course. The song is a good opportunity for me to touch base with old acquaintances who I don't see regularly any more. 

Don't accuse me of being a Scrooge. Continuing with that thought, this is the time of year when we might make a last-minute decision on charitable contributions. The idea is to get a tax break for next year. Wait a minute, the idea is to actually have your money do some good! We must try to be like the Ebeneezer Scrooge who woke up on Christmas morning. 

Amazing that Charles Dickens could write such a classic that starts out "Marley was dead." Probably goes against the recommended form for novel writing. Dickens sure hit upon something with that story. The book elevated Christmas as a holiday, so that someday we in America could watch Andy Williams and Dean Martin on TV! Oh, those classic annual Christmas TV specials from the days of the Big 3 TV networks. Quite fading into the past now. Boomers like me will remember. 

The "Mr. Magoo" version of "A Christmas Carol" was my favorite for most of my life. It's still terrific. But I have come to greatly like the Jim Carrey version. 

Charitable gifts: I'm thinking of sending off a check to the West Central Initiative this afternoon. I'll have to call to make sure I touch all bases properly. I need to ask them if I can support priorities if my check is for the Morris Area Public School Foundation. It is presumed that with yours truly, music is at the top. 

I also have a clear No. 2: the "YouTube geniuses" of the school, now an official school activity. Blows my mind, what these young people can do when harnessing the web. Hey kids, I grew up before the web existed. We didn't even have "VHS tapes" when I was in high school. Wasn't the photographer Gary Bentz a pioneer with having VHS tapes available to check out here in Morris? 

People might laugh at the concept of those tapes now. My generation would have considered them a miracle when young. Hey kids, don't take all this new stuff for granted. My parents grew up without TV. 

So maybe I'll send off the check to West Central Initiative today, along with maybe a gesture in my late parents' name to the University of Minnesota Foundation: focus music again. Let us never forget Ralph and Martha Williams. My father Ralph formed the music department at our UMM (or UMN). He was the only music faculty in the institution's first year. I suppose I could say "seminal year." 

Is UMM at a crossroads as I write this? It is entirely possible that the wheels are turning for something drastic to happen with our campus. It's just that the powers-that-be would not want to be speaking openly about it. 

I have said for several months that this appointment of the Crookston person to be executive chancellor of UMM for two years has meaning. I cannot accept the explanation that she is just backup. You know me, I am never snowed by the "party line." I am a Watergate era journalist. 

Substantial change at UMM? Would that be a bad thing? It might be 100 percent good, might get the numbers going up. Who is to say the downward trend over the recent past would not continue, if intervention of some kind is not made? We all love the "liberal arts" so that is not even the question. The question is whether we need to depend on the old bricks and mortar model in dispensing such learning. Perhaps formal education needs to focus more on practical stuff. 

I am simply trying to state reality. Reality shall set us all free. 

All of us across America need to start taking a hard look at the typical college student lifestyle. And it is about time. This issue ought to be forced into the forefront by the Idaho murders. Should "Greek life" be prohibited? Consider that depressing video from outside the "food truck" after "closing time." Why do we countenance such frivolity and actual danger as part of this rite of passage we call "college." To heck with this "passage" if it involves such absolute foolishness, self-destructive behavior in fact. 

How about climbing into a warm bed at about 10 p.m. We should encourage our young adults of ages 18-22 to shape up and start behaving like true adults at the age of 18. 

I dropped off a check at church two days ago. I'll be putting a check in the mail for the West Central Horticulture Garden today too. That check goes to the U of M Foundation just like the $ for my family's music fund at UMM (or UMN). 

"We like it here," don't we? I remember watching Steve Carlton pitch for the Twins with that message in the background. The good ol' Metrodome. Carlton was well past his prime but he was on the roster for the 1987 World Series champion Twins. At his prime he was nicknamed "Lefty." Bill Madlock said of him in later years: "I faced Lefty when Lefty was Lefty, and Lefty isn't Lefty anymore." 

But we loved all those 1987 Twins. I feel for all pro athletes, the physical trials and hurdles they go through. I realize that more than ever.

(image from twitter)

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com