Prices for concessions at our county fair struck me as high. I say hardly anything about this because I clearly sense that people out and about don't care. So that's fine if they don't care, really, and we ought say congratulations if their personal $ fortunes are so good.
We had severe inflation in the '70s and people most definitely talked about it. Our political leaders felt it was an issue. If it's an issue now it does not seem to rank very high. Kamala Harris tried talking about it in the past couple days. "Tried?" People out here with the strong "red" political inclination would not listen to her for a second - they would only comment on what she says in the context of disparaging her.
A guy came into DeToy's the other morning and referred to the Democratic nominee as "Camel Hair." Ha ha. That's the attitude around here. It's just reality and I must navigate it.
In the '70s we heard the term "inflation psychology" as if the phenomenon grew out of our own missteps. So if we just changed our attitude? Balderdash, I would suggest. It was our president Gerald Ford who helped unveil the "WIN" button. Ahem, "whip inflation now." So I guess it was incumbent on us the public to tamp down inflation, through our own resolve.
Ford also wanted to go back into Vietnam with our military but Congress said "no, we're not giving you the money."
Is there anything more quaint than to remember the 1976 presidential campaign? Ford vs. Carter? How civilized and congenial it was? There was a harsher tone for the Carter vs. (Ted) Kennedy race for the Democratic nomination in 1980. Those were the days when people in western Minnesota would have taken the Democratic candidate seriously, not seen that individual as nothing more than some kind of boil.
Republicans are making waves now in states where they have full control: get pornography off the Internet. I remember Rick Santorum making statements about this years ago. South Dakota now appears to be on the verge of taking steps.
And of course any time you begin protests against "pornography," you get into a thicket of complications. How to explain? I'll just cite the famous quote from someone who I think was a judge: "I can't define pornography but I know it when I see it."
Does an image of the naked human body by itself constitute pornography? Do we really need to plunge into this morass again? Support felony convictions for librarians who are suggested to have "porn" in their building's materials? Such efforts always break down. The alternative would be to be generous to First Amendment-protected expression.
Easily accessible porn? You know about "Pornhub," right? Want to see it disappear? Republicans posture on "moral" questions such as this because they realize they can get a certain segment of the public to vote for them. "Protect children." Well, how can anyone argue against that?
I am going to be especially blunt here, strive for candor. I am recognizing the wisdom included in Bernard Goldberg's most significant book in which he observed "people are notorious for lying about their sex lives." By the same token, people lie when they say they think pornography is disgusting. How unclean and immoral it is etc.
It is the point of view which maybe we should aspire to. In the recesses of our private thoughts, we are programmed much differently. People enjoy sexual feelings. But what about protecting kids? Here's where I'll venture into raw frankness. Buckle up. I have no problem with kids discovering a site like Pornhub and spending time there, because: they will find in a short period of time that it becomes boring. They will become "desensitized."
This happens with adults all the time I'm sure. And I'll argue it's a good thing because it takes our minds off sex. The horrible moral stigma of sex can cause great distress. And maybe this is especially true with kids/boys. Let the boys "get over it." Don't make them desperate to find naked images of women. Don't make them feel out of their minds guilty if moms discover evidence of sexual interest.
I won't be more explicit re. "evidence of sexual interest. " So Maybe I'm not being so frank after all. Even I have limits.
Let kids see some porn and they will not view sex as this huge foreboding forbidden forest as it were (for lack of a better description).
Did I deal with anxiety from all this in my own youth? Well yes. I will reflect no further.
More on our county fair
It's in the books now: the 2024 Stevens County Fair. Concessionaires have totaled up their profits.
I have a sense that the 4-H foodstand is slipping some. I think people are gravitating to the other end of the grounds around where the Cattlemen and wrestling program do their thing with concessions. There's a big top tent and picnic tables there, quite inviting.
I do not take in any of the special entertainment at the fair. A friend shared with me the following:
I heard that the featured performer in the grandstand show Friday night wasn’t very good - lots of complaints on the Facebook today.
The newspaper this week
I shared with the friend who is quoted above:
Went to library this afternoon, looked at fishwrap. Big featured photo at top of page 1, whole width of the page, of the Friday night entertainment which you indicated was mediocre. I too have heard some comments about this. Not a great subject to feature on page 1. I would have sought a photo that showed kids' involvement at the fair, specifically 4-H where there are always photo ops.
The school referendum
Everyone is so happy about school referendums. And it's "referendums" and not "referenda" - I looked it up. They always pass in Morris, right? Well, was not so easy or routine this last time. It passed but by a tight margin. So let's unload some wheelbarrows-full of $ for the school again. I don't want to come off sounding like a curmudgeonly older person who gets skeptical about school spending.
I did not vote - would have voted "no" if I had. You "yes" people needn't be upset with me - you got your money, good luck. I reflect on the referendum in a post that appears on my "Morris of Course" site. Here is the permalink, thanks for reading:
As a follow-up I share further from an email I sent to my musing correspondent:
Wow, I just went to kmrs site. I was skeptical they'd even have a report on referendum because it's not like the old days with Marshall. But it was reported there! And I was surprised at how close the vote was - very close. Based on this, I'm surprised I didn't hear more "talk on the street" leading up to it. I guess I should have voted. I would have voted "no" but I figured that all referendums are slam-dunk for passage these days. Just think back to the 1960s.
At church coffee Sunday, Mike O. was at my table and I noted how part of the money will be for "seating at the tennis courts." He confirmed that. Then I said "what we really need is seating at the softball complex - that's more important." He didn't respond. Well, maybe for the next referendum. I'm sure the school can come up with a new list. They will. But now it looks like referendums cannot be assumed for passage.
Someone on the "no" side should have submitted a letter to the editor. Remember how Warren Luebke and Ken Johnson tag-teamed on this once? They failed but they worked hard to educate us. Remember the referendum for the "new elementary school?" But it wasn't just for an elementary school, as it included a lot of other stuff like new varsity gym, band room and choir room. Wanda sure has the band room decorated nice. I hope she has a lot of returning talent.
My friend responded:
Bri -
There already is some seating at the softball complex, but none at all at the tennis courts. Lots of people come to watch the tennis matches.
I, too, am surprised at the closeness of the tally. It’s a good thing that not enough Scrooges voted. There was very little publicity on either side of the coin – just the flyers mailed out. No letters to the editor (not that anyone reads the paper any more), no “Community Connection” on KMRS (not that anyone listens to that station any more), and no “social media” blitz from either faction. I’m surprised anyone showed up to vote at all.
Our discussion continued with me sending the following missive:
The problem with the small section of aluminum bleachers at Holmberg Field is that only from the very center can you see the whole field of action. So it just does not seem like a professionally planned layout at all. Of course I investigated all this before a game was ever played there. I am an outlier. Ironically the secondary field has a little better seating for fans. And then there's the third field which is the one most recently completed. I walk by the place almost every day and have not seen much game action there. I have written from the start that the batters face the sun too much at that field. This is on the same spot as the old UMM softball field, which was actually planned well with sun angle in mind.
The old UMM softball field had fences that an adult of average height could easily look over. The new place [Holmberg Field] is terrible. If you sit on the first or third base sides, you are having to look through the fence at an angle. And you have to bring your own chairs. Many people choose to put their chairs down out by the outfield fence. I see this all the time. Not desirable. And then the fans are looking right at the outfielders' butts.
One theory I have is that all new fields of this type have to stress safety so much - protect fans from foul balls, especially with fans looking down at their phones. Remember the old school art deco auditorium. I still regret that we razed that. But it had the "drop-off" at the front of the stage which would be a real hazard now.
The way the softball complex was originally announced, I really expected it to be super-duper. And it just is not. And they promised us a paved parking area. You have to watch what these schools are up to.
I wonder if Tiger sports will make progress toward getting more timely game review information online in various places. The paper coming out once a week absolutely doesn't cut it.
The radio station website has already had its "heyday." That's too bad.
- BW
Watch the Tigers!
We're close to high school fall sports. This always starts soon after the fair. We're welcoming soccer as a fall sport. Reportedly very popular among the Hispanic youth. Congratulations to them. I hope the appeal goes beyond that demographic. We must try to expedite the end of football. Too bad it is taking so long. I am not impressed by this Pope guy who coaches. I'm not talking about his coaching ability.
I write more about the clarion call posed by repetitive head trauma in football in my Aug. 8 "Morris of Course" post. Here's the link, and again, thanks.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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