"You'll never get ahead if you don't take care of what you have." - Doris Waddell, RIP

The late Ralph E. Williams with "Heidi" - morris mn

The late Ralph E. Williams with "Heidi" - morris mn
Click on the image to read Williams family reflections w/ emphasis on UMM.

Monday, April 10, 2023

DeToy's had look of a monopoly on Sunday

Heard someone say at Caribou this a.m. that there's no school today. It is Monday, the day after Easter. 
I remember talking with a Morris Post Office employee who said he was caught flat-footed by a phone call one morning. It was just prior to the Easter weekend. The caller asked "are you open on Easter Monday?" 
"I didn't even know what to say at first," my friend said, as he had never before heard of "Easter Monday." 
Well, why not a new holiday? It just means more R&R, right? 
Easter Sunday had a problem in Morris this year. I had wanted to stop by DeToy's restaurant for their buffet meal. Congrats to DeToy's on being open. My idea of dining there was shared by a whole lot of other people. It reminded me of the 1970s when you decided to try a Perkins restaurant anywhere. Wait in the entry area to be seated once space opened up. The wait could be excessive, annoying. 
Am I expecting too much? Well, I'm willing to pay in a commensurate way for the dining experience. I can't remember the last time I confronted a crowd at the entry to a dining establishment, in numbers that meant I'd have to wait. 
There were people standing outside the entrance to DeToy's on Sunday. They were chatting with each other in a breezy way. At first I thought they were an inconsiderate obstruction. I weaved my way through them to try to get a look inside. Maybe I seemed rude. Then I realized that people were actually backed up to outside the building! 
In the case of the afore-mentioned Perkins restaurants, the problem subsided through the years. OK, supply caught up to demand. Ronald Reagan jump-started the economy. Reward private initiative. We certainly need some renewed incentive in our Morris, don't we? One other restaurant that does like DeToy's does? 
I found it too annoying to have to wait on Sunday. I stopped by good ol' Casey's where I got a cold turkey sandwich and Lay's chips to get me through the rest of the day. I pass on soda pop these days because I've been diagnosed as diabetic. 
I praise the Casey's store as such an important resource for lost and drifting souls like me on certain holidays. 
Barry Goldwater once said he was skeptical of the new MLK holiday because "it's just another day when the mail doesn't get delivered." 
I'm quite sure that if we had a vote on the MLK holiday today, it would fail. The holiday appears to have been re-packaged. Now it's known as the "Martin Luther King Day of Service." It is much more appealing that way, has a purpose. 
What about Easter? Don't most of us wish our Willie's grocery store could be open for maybe four hours on Easter? Would Paul say they have too hard a time finding workers that day? If that's true, we'd have to respect that. I'm dubious if the reason is that we all have to move over for the Christian faith. Maybe you revere Christianity and that's fine, for your own personal purposes. 
The percentage of "nones" in the population goes up steadily. Those are the people with no religious affiliation. 
When I was a kid my family got together with my uncle and aunt Howard and Vi from Glenwood each year. A nice big special meal and the social aspect. As my parents and uncle/aunt grew into old age, I found too much of their conversation depressing: talk about old acquaintances in Glenwood who were in failing health, were in the nursing home or even died. I guess this is one of the passages of life - we're all headed there. We will understand when the time comes. 
Recently in response to an email about my 50th high school reunion set for this coming summer, I reported that a well-known and popular class member had a husband afflicted with Alzheimer's. So there I go myself! 
I can no longer celebrate Easter with a nice big chocolate bunny from Willie's. Of course I'd "cheat" on that and buy several others in the week or two prior to Easter! Today it's zero. My health considerations trump that: minimal sugar of course. I have been without soft drinks for about a month now, feel appreciably better actually. I wonder for how long I have had diabetes. 
I am trying to learn the rules but those rules seem awfully restrictive. I will try to do what I can. But, eat avocados all day? I scratch my head. 
So there's no school on "Easter Monday." This coming week ought to bring high school spring sports action, right? I took a walk past the softball fields in each of the last two days. It's part of my standard walking route - this is why I have been prompted to write so often about the "softball complex." I see it all the time. 
Take a look out there today on "Easter Monday." I think the snow melt will accelerate starting today. But to what extent? A layer of white crisp snow covered the whole place as of yesterday. 
Our high schools should offer indoor sports for the first half of spring IMHO. I'm a broken record on this. I have suggested intramural sports which would be a nice change of pace as it would not be so intense. Sports for fun? Well that's a novel idea. Baseball and softball could be considered primarily summer sports. That's a novel idea too? 
Early spring is depressing for people who have been excited through basketball season and "March Madness." It is a huge letdown with the extent of excitement one feels. I mean, to deal with a string of postponements at the start. To be followed by many games in less than pleasant conditions: wind, cold, wet grounds. And then we see post-season softball played over the Memorial Day weekend. I found that strange when I wrote for the Morris newspaper. 
A final question I'll lob out here today on this East Monday: Couldn't one other hospitality establishment in town offer an Easter Sunday buffet? It looked to me that DeToy's had a monopoly. I drove past a couple others in town and did not notice parked cars. 
Remember when we had the "community Thanksgiving dinner?" Then we let it die just like we let the traditional Prairie Pioneer Days die. Does this community have no shame? 
Finally I'll report that I was satisfied with my turkey sandwich and chips from Casey's. Good job Casey's.
 
Addendum: I have been writing blog posts more frequently lately, and this is a reflection of how I just feel better. Dr. Sam did some work on my body. Maybe that did the trick, in combination with adjusting my diet for diabetes: mainly no more soda pop! I will direct you today to my new post on my "Morris of Course" companion blog. It is about the T. Danny Sanford thing in South Dakota. You probably know about his little mess. He may not be charged legally but oh my. I invite you to read my post:
 
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

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