Sometimes we fight with English language

The image shows there's something to be said for more Brians in the world, eh? Of course it's just another example of how our education system in the U.S. can leave people clueless sometimes. I believe there's a sign at the entry to our cemetery that has "your" instead of "you're."
People are notorious for putting an apostrophe in the wrong place, or putting one where it isn't needed. It's obvious people are just taking a shot in the dark sometimes: "I think an apostrophe is needed somewhere here so I'll just stick it in."
About ten years ago when the Hancock girls basketball team made state, there was a headline on our radio station website that referred to the "Owl's." That's on the especially bad end of the spectrum. And yet we're proud of our educational system. I sent Deb an email about the oversight and it sort of got corrected, as the apostrophe was removed but there was still a space there. Online communications gets more user-friendly all the time - today you could adjust for an error easier, IMHO.
I once thought it would be a big deal to start a blog. I saw a book at the Alexandria mall bookstore: "Blogging for Dummies." It was thick. I didn't acquire it, and I found out eventually that the Google Blogger system takes your hand quite effectively, helping you get established with online writing with no sweat at all. Del Sarlette helped convince me it would be no big deal to start this pastime, so you can blame him (LOL). I ended up embarrassed about how easy it was.
My early adult life was marked by learning the unwieldy systems for journalism: manual typewriters, "waxers" and the infernal photographic darkroom which was the epitome of "Rube Goldberg." I have to pinch myself to see if I'm dreaming now. The ease of the communications world is such, print-based communications is scaling back or at least radically adjusting. So, now there is no more mall bookstore in Alexandria! The mall itself nearly went up for a sheriff's sale recently. I read they got a temporary reprieve from that.
Is the Fergus Falls mall dead? There appears to be hand-wringing in Fergus Falls about losing businesses. Having driven around the city recently, I think it's quite bustling. I think it should be considered the envy of Morris. Two Burger Kings! Here in Morris, our McDonald's is basically closed for a chunk of the summer, and it appears Motel 200 (or whatever it's called) is shut down. The motel's parking lot looks empty from where I live. Was that a contract for deed situation? I remember when the bowling alley went through that. We are without two of our reasonably popular dining establishments for a chunk of the summer.
Is it true that the Thursday night talent shows at the park were a no-go this summer? Wasn't all that just held for Prairie Pioneer Days? Do our churches still occasionally use the Killoran stage at the park for a Sunday service? I personally haven't seen this lately and it's pretty hard to miss.
Why can't our youth get involved in something exciting musically in summer? It could be a marching band, however brief its season is, or something else. I have suggested a little brass band that could perform once a week at the Killoran stage. Wouldn't that be fun? Maybe hog dogs and pop could be served. Instead of this it seems our young people get absolutely obsessed with sports. Sports camps etc. I'm getting tired of this. I sometimes hear other people grumble about how kids have plunged into sports too much. I think it leaves behind a lot of kids who just aren't interested in it, and who have a hard time finding other avenues on a group basis. Is "winning games" what life is all about?
Got my school calendar in the mail the other day, and I see our school district is continuing to sponsor a football program. What a letdown. Football can never be made adequately "safe." We see advocates for the sport, those dinosaurs, talk about crap like protocols and heads-up tackling, terminology that just glosses over and puts a "spin" on football's problems, as if these problems can be solved.
Let's have soccer instead.
I am 63 years old and increasingly feel thankful about a couple things in my life that once might have been considered weaknesses or liabilities. One, I never played football. Thank the Lord. As a "scrub," I probably would have been asked to play on special teams, and that's the most dangerous part of football. Two, I have never engaged in dating behavior, so I'm not at risk of having my life ruined like so many of my male age contemporaries - Les Moonves at present - who are now being called out for past alleged sexual harassment. Whew! Thank the Lord again.
"Brians not Bombs." Usually my name is mis-typed as "Brain." When I got my first email address at the Morris newspaper, when the Internet was novel as all heck, it was set up so my email recipients saw "Brain" in the sender line. Thanks Nikki.
A final thought on Morris apathy or decay: If the Killoran stage was destined for absolutely negligible use, why did we allow it to be built?
We always expect Morris to slow down a little in summer. Still, I think we should be whistling past the graveyard a little about this. We just assume things will pick up in the fall. Well, you just never know. If Republicans take over our state government, it could put UMM (as a liberal arts institution) on the ropes, as with UW-Stevens Point in Wisconsin with Scott Walker as governor. Brrr, scary.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Come listen to Irondale band at Big Cat Thurs.

The Irondale musicians are again blessing Morris with their summer presence. Some promo fliers have been getting put up around town. Promotion has tended to be limited and last-minute for this July treat in Morris. The performance is not real formal. Never mind, it's a treat for the people who turn out in the bleachers at Big Cat Stadium.
I consider this the best thing to happen at Big Cat all year. It's better than football, that sport that imposes too much risk for the boys who play it. Let's share a toast to music! You will be impressed by the Irondale Marching Knights.
There is no admission charge for the Thursday, July 26, public exhibition. It begins with an "open rehearsal" at 6:30 p.m. The more formal part will start at the late time of 9 p.m. The lateness of the hour reduces the conflict with Horticulture Night at the WCROC. This isn't to say the Hort. Night attendees won't hear some rehearsal sounds floating toward them. Irondale is here to hone their performing in extended sessions. Maybe coming out to our prairie town reduces the distractions? Thursday night is just set aside especially for the public.
Everyone should be pleased about Irondale's presence. I suppose some guardians of our school district's image will squirm a little with the realization that we, Morris Area, do not have a marching band. I dueled with those school district "guardians" through much of my newspaper career. Of course, all I ever wanted to write was the truth - it's good for your soul. Better than trying to co-exist with the teachers union. I think the teachers of today are far more gentle and reasonable.
Hancock had its band showcased for their July 4. A toast to them.
You should know that Irondale is not the kind of marching band you probably have in mind. They are quite avant-garde. Their regimen is very demanding. I'm not sure I could cut it, were I to be in high school again. Oh to be in high school again.
I missed the Irondale performance last year. I had family circumstances that made it difficult to take in evening events. That's OK, I'd just watch Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC! And, the guy with my name, Brian Williams, in the 10 o'clock slot on that network.
The Marching Knights are self-described as progressive and innovative. They embrace diverse educational goals. The group involves more than 140 members, and it represents Mounds View District 621. The district also encompasses Shoreview, Arden Hills and New Brighton. These are northern Twin Cities suburbs. The red-themed marching band is part of comprehensive music offerings at Irondale High School. There's a fired-up booster organization. In recent years the band has toured all over including outside our nation's bounds. The musicians share concert band fare, jazz and marching through all these commitments.
The Marching Knights begin practice in May and persevere for months. The field show season ends in November. Band may be better than football - my opinion - but the two activities are not separate. The fall season has the Knights perform for football games. Field show festivals are also on the fall slate. Irondale hosts its own competition, "Music of the Knight," in late September. Irondale gets in the national competitive picture with its annual appearance in the "Bands of America" competition. The work finally winds down in November - whew! - with two indoor "standstill" concerts and a banquet.
Irondale has accumulated hundreds of awards from parades and field show competitions. They've taken champion honors in the Vikingland Band Festival in Alexandria - a skein of six years with the No. 1 honor, in fact.
Irondale's music program obviously instills a number of values in its young, developing participants. Sometimes people make a weak argument for football in that it seems to instill certain positive things. Oh teamwork, whatever. Those things are negated by the brutal punishment of body and mind. Next time you hear someone talking like that, say that music and marching band instill all of those same positive qualities. I don't know, is it reasonable to suggest that MAHS do something along the lines of marching band? Would a group of kids volunteer to form a "brass band," perhaps, to perform at the Killoran stage once a week? That stage hasn't been used nearly enough.
Morris had a robust marching band in the past. We weren't "avant garde" but we were awfully good, IMHO. My director was John Woell, although I did play under the legendary Bob Schaefer when I was in junior high.
My suggestion of considering a marching band will be met with some inflamed emotion here, people saying it's not practical or workable for various reasons, so I should just shut up. I have also pushed for Morris Area to re-start its boys tennis program. Here I am, just trying to be pro-active, and I risk encountering enmity. But we love Morris, don't we?
I recently posted about our community's background with marching band on my "Morris of Course" blog site. You'll see a nice photo of our gallant drum major from back around 1970, Scott Groth. I once drew a caricature of Scott titled "Watching Scotty Grow." Click on the link below to read, and thanks as always.
http://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2018/07/some-marching-bands-out-here-but-not.html

 

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

NY Yankees' history transcends "Mr. Coffee"

Mickey Mantle entranced my generation. Joe DiMaggio belonged to an earlier time. We associated DiMaggio with his "Mr. Coffee" TV commercials. We probably thought of the coffee thing before we thought of Marilyn Monroe. Henry Fonda was parodied for his exaggerated way of pronouncing "GAF" in commercials, remember?
In the days before personal computers, us boomers could be quite glued to the TV. We loved TV but we also loved the parodies of TV that Mad Magazine gave us. And, the comedians who said "GAF" the way an aging Fonda did.
Fred MacMurray made his mark with Greyhound Bus commercials. MacMurray had a reputation in Hollywood of having built his assets very well. He made his mark with boomers, indelibly, with his "Absent Minded Professor" and "flubber" thing. Have you noticed that when you re-watch old Disney movies as an adult, they don't seem as good?
Billy Crystal made a movie that was a paean to the background of sports entertainment for boys. Sure, the boomer boys of Minnesota totally loved our new team. But as much as we wanted our Twins to surpass the Yankees, we developed a soft spot in our hearts for the Yankees. We could be transfixed by Mickey Mantle. Mantle's name probably inspired more awe in us than Harmon Killebrew's. The Yankees echoed history. They were a dynastic team whose history was in grainy old black-and-white film. It was with reverence that we considered the Yankees.
Crystal was obviously in love with the particular generation of Yankees that played in the late '50s and early '60s. That generation touched us with interesting personalities. We learned much more about all that in Jim Bouton's 1970 book "Ball Four." I have written a whole blog post about the Phil Linz harmonica incident. The Yankees became out-sized personalities. Players with borderline talent could become celebrities. The Yankees traded Bill Skowron to pave the way for Joe Pepitone at first base. Pepitone had his assets but his reputation got overblown. Some of that reputation was notorious. Crystal's generation clutches all those memories. I'm in the ranks.

Yanks in a fishbowl
Personally, I loved our Twins but felt fascinated with the Yankees. Our Twins almost caught the Yankees in 1962. But we would have to wait until 1965. The Yankee dynasty of that era ended after '64, a year in which they won the pennant narrowly but lost the World Series to St. Louis. Yogi Berra was manager. Berra dealt with the Linz harmonica thing. The harmonica incident was a microcosm of how the Yankees got media attention even for trivial things. They were the Yankees and the whole world watched.

Bouton bought the premise that the Yankees were justifiably the focus for all the attention. He mined the personalities of that era, gaining considerable fodder for his 1970 book. It was a book that re-defined the boundaries that existed for sports books. The boundaries got wiped away. If Bouton had not written the book (with considerable help from a New York sportswriter), a book of this type was going to be written soon anyway. I was drawn into the "Ball Four" book too much. I bought Bouton's questioning attitudes too much. That's from my 2018 perspective. More mature? I don't know, maybe it's more a matter of prevailing zeitgeist.
It's hard to remember how we might have developed some of our past attitudes. The questioning of orthodoxy, in anything, was quite approved in the '60s and early '70s. Today I'm more inclined to think that a certain level of decorum should be maintained in sports journalism. Respect the old boundaries more. The Internet allows us to explore all angles anyway. It's futile to guard secrets.
I enjoyed those personalities of the New York Yankees in the early '60s. There was Roger Maris with that one incredible season he had hitting home runs. Crystal's movie was based on that '61 season. That was the very first season for our Twins. Phil Linz was basically a utility player. Hardly anyone would remember Linz today if he had played for, say, the Kansas City Athletics. Some historians diss Linz as a less than stellar player from the days of Mantle. Silly rabbit, anyone on the Yankees' roster was worthy of full respect.
I got my parents to buy me the paperback autobiography of Bobby Richardson. Richardson was a fixture in the Yankees' infield, holding down second base. I saw him as the quintessential infielder, a vacuum cleaner for ground balls. It was a more dangerous position then, when baserunners had total license to "take out the second baseman." Our Bob Allison had a reputation for doing that well. The Twins were willing to risk Rod Carew's body at second base. Years later we would risk the body of Joe Mauer at catcher, the most grueling position on the diamond in terms of bodily risk and deterioration. Mauer's bat was too valuable to have his body subjected to that punishment. A simple foul tip to the catcher's mask can send a player into concussion protocol nowadays. How many catchers in the past might have suffered because of the lack of protocols?

Bobby Richardson was a total October player but with one exception, when one looks at two errors he committed in the '64 Series. Those errors could well have cost the Yankees that Series.

Niche as committed Christian
In '64 the Yankees had this one last summer of legendary quality. Their fortunes deteriorated fast after that. I still have the Bobby Richardson book. It seems genuine as a true autobiography, i.e. not ghostwritten. Christian faith has been a defining feature of the man. He grew up as a Southern Baptist in South Carolina. He's from Sumter in that state.
Christians who wear their faith on their sleeve often irritate me. While Bobby is comfortable putting his faith out front as if he credits it for everything - an attitude that I generally don't like - I have always totally liked the man. He must have a nature of not being overly judgmental.
I recall one little passage in Bouton's book that seemed to involve Richardson but not so by name! Bouton referred to a "Fellowship of Christian Athletes" type in an anecdote. A teammate in a hotel room, peering into the neighboring room through some hole, claimed he saw something quite titillating. He swore that it was a must-see! "Boyohboyohboy," Bouton quoted him saying. Even poor Bobby Richardson - I'm assuming the target of the prank was him - had to give in. Once Richardson got his eye trained, he was "treated to the sight of a man sitting on the edge of the bed tying his shoes," Bouton recalled. 
Richardson always looked serious to the point of seeming grim on his baseball cards. His real nature projected much more cheer.
Bouton wrote about "beaver shots." Remember? The less said about that the better - it seems sexist now to recall such stuff.
I liked Bobby Richardson just as much as I liked Bernie Allen, the Twins' original second baseman. Richardson hung around to play two more seasons after the Yanks' dynasty folded. And it really did fold, pretty dramatically. Mantle hung around, belying his physical complications. Maris moved on to St. Louis for 1967 and continued his career surprisingly well there, getting in two more World Series'. Richardson handled his glove at second base in front of the Yankee Stadium crowd, even in the 1966 season when the bottom totally fell out for the team. It was a spectacular drop in fortunes. Bouton had developed a sore arm, so common for pitchers at the time (no pitch count).
The days of Casey Stengel were rapidly receding into the past. I thought Stengel was eased out as manager by the manner in which the '60 World Series slipped away from the Bronx crew, to Pittsburgh. It was in 1960 that the Pirates won the Series with Bill Mazeroski's home run at the end. Sometimes we in Minnesota think our 1991 World Series success ought to be remembered better in our national lore. You just as easily can argue this about the '60 Series, so we're not alone. And the '60 Series had the marquee attraction of the Yankees.

Ode to a second baseman
I have written a song about Bobby Richardson. Let's just call it "Ballad of Bobby Richardson." The melody is strophic - just one melodic idea, very practical for a story-telling song. We'll see if I ever get it recorded. I'm pleased to share the lyrics here - thanks for reading. - B.W.
 
"Ballad of Bobby Richardson"
by Brian Williams
 
I can look from the time machine
At Bobby Richardson
Standing there at second
Pinstripes and a grin
He fielded grounders like a madman on a binge
With his New York Yankees
Bobby Richardson
 
He was steeped in his Christian faith
From when he was a boy
Learning Baptist vision
Finding church a joy
It was a bulwark that he used to move ahead
Never with misgivings
Never with regret
 
He was born in the southern state
Where tall palmettos bloom
Sumter was his hometown
There he found his groove
He never missed a chance to get out on the field
Baseball was his mission
Baseball his ideal
 
As a boy he was energized
And found his perfect fit
He could field a grounder
Like it was God's gift
He lived with Casey's growl and moved on up the ranks
'Til he reached the summit
Telling God his thanks
 
In the fall when the candidates
Were jockeying once more
Kennedy and Nixon
Came out to the fore
Yanks sought a Series crown but it was not to be
Still we saw our Bobby
Getting MVP
 
Two years hence, in October sun
The Yankees took the field
Cuban missile crisis
There for all to feel
Thanks to God's providence the match was never lit
So we could love baseball
Feel the joy of it
 
It was down to the very end
And Yankees had to sweat
Giants were imposing
They had quite the threat
Then came a frozen rope just like it was from hell
Bobby reached and caught it
Answering the bell
 
He would bleed his humility
And share with all who asked
How he made it happen
With his glove and bat
Yes, there was family and friends along the way
And a higher power
He would surely say
 
I can look from the time machine
At Bobby Richardson
Standing there at second
Pinstripes and a grin
He fielded grounders like a madman on a binge
With his New York Yankees
Bobby Richardson

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

Tom Brunansky: a hit in 1987, not here for '91

Our beloved "Bruno"

The Minnesota Twins gave us one of the most significant chapters in Minnesota, generally seen as between 1987 and 1991. That period was bookended by our championships in '87 and '91. I'm sure some of us need to do homework to clarify details of that heyday, i.e. who played what position when.
When I wrote a song about our '91 campaign, I initially thought Gary Gaetti was still with us. Wrong-O. I discovered in my usual fact-checking that Gaetti moved on, no longer holding down our "hot corner." I reminded my barber Dave that Mike Pagliarulo was a key third baseman for us in '91. "I forgot about him," Dave said. Time can draw a misty curtain.
We might also remember that Scott Leius logged some important time at third that season. I assume it was a platoon arrangement. The lefty always gets more plate appearances in a platoon system. One-time Twins manager Gene Mauch drove me nuts because I felt he got carried away with platooning. I remember Lyman Bostock complaining publicly about being sat down one day against a left-handed pitcher.
Please refresh your memories about Lyman: he was a prodigy type of young player for the Twins at a time when owner Calvin had increasing trouble affording such players. Bostock moved on to the Angels and could be in the Hall of Fame had he not been murdered.
 
Ah, "Bruno"
We associate Tom Brunansky with the Twins of that heyday period of the late '80s. But as with Gaetti, we might easily forget that "Bruno" was with our team for just one of those championship years. Gaetti and "Bruno" were together for that fairy tale-like season of 1987. The Twins surprised everyone. Only a few years earlier, the Twins seemed genuinely out of favor with much of the state's populace, really. The big league owners truly understood the vagaries of their customers - they just know when a certain franchise needs to be jump-started.
The owners knew that the Twins needed a new venue back around 1980. I find it profoundly sad reflecting on the last few years of our Metropolitan Stadium in the Twin Cities suburbs, that "castle on the plains" as I refer to it in some of my song lyrics. I find it sad because Metropolitan Stadium transformed life in our state at the time it was built. It literally brought big league sports here. Instead of being grateful, within a short 20 years us Minnesotans seemed to be shrugging off the old Met, definitely for baseball. Yes we were enthralled by the football Vikings. And yes we loved the novelty or fad of Minnesota Kicks soccer, which demonstrated simply that Minnesotans were ready for more entertainment options.
We thrashed around looking for such options. The "Carlton Celebrity Room" ended up getting mocked (at least in my interpretation) in the movie "Fargo." The movie was a broad parody on a whole lot. One of the bad guys took his hooker date to the Carlton Celebrity Room, remember? Trivia: who was the singer featured that night? It was Jose Feliciano.
More trivia: Feliciano in the late '60s was perhaps the first "name" singer to perform the Star Spangled Banner in an edgy manner, fomenting some controversy, which looks ridiculous today. Oh, but the late '60s had quite the different cultural air with the Lawrence Welk generation still holding forth. Us young people heard "America, love it or leave it," and many of us were prepared to leave if the alternative was to honor our military draft notice.
Today the National Anthem can be quite the cultural flashpoint with sports. Sometimes musical performers get attention for simply screwing up with the hard-to-perform song. The vocal range is way too wide. But no longer is there any controversy with a performer simply doing it by contemporary popular standards.
Oh, think of the movie "Moneyball!" We hear the National Anthem performed rock guitar style as a bunch of older people unfurl Old Glory out on the middle of the field. The performance totally "rocks" but so what? On the field we see the typical older men wearing suits, ties and American Legion hats, and they totally accept the musician's interpretation. The performance would have been scandalous if done before a World Series game in the late '60s. Remember, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., lionized by all today, was considered subversive in many quarters back in his time, due to being an early critic of the Vietnam war.
Here's a classic "what if" re. history, the most intriguing "what if" I can think of: What if Billy Graham had called a sudden press conference in 1967 or '68 to state strongly that the Vietnam war was immoral and we needed to get our young men out of there. What if?

"Say it ain't so" after trade
Tom Brunansky was traded by the Twins after '87 to the team we had just beaten in the World Series: St. Louis. So it seemed strange seeing the big guy in that Cardinal red so soon. One day when "Bruno" got a key RBI for St. Louis, Chris Berman of ESPN gave a robust pronunciation of "Bruno" with elan. It tugged at my heartstrings.
"Bruno" had a role in 1987 that I would compare with Bob Allison of our 1960s Twins. Both were outfielders. Both had power but not in an overwhelming way. They were secondary stars. Still they are lodged in our collective memory.
Ah, "Bruno." He hit the game-winning home run in the only game I personally attended in the '87 stretch drive. Twins mania had fully set in. Seems that me and my friend, high school classmate Art Cruze, got two of the few remaining tickets that were left that day. We sat way up in the furthest-back seats. But we had a blast. Our starting pitcher was Mike Smithson who was being sent out to the mound on a wing and a prayer, because he was in decline at that point. Just think of the "Hellman" character in the movie "Angels in the Outfield."
Bob Casey announced Smithson's name with great enthusiasm like he was trying to inject a little extra dose of optimism. I recall Smithson pitching good enough to help us to victory, with "Bruno" giving the exclamation point at the end with his home run.
 
Attitudes altered over time
I had emotional attachment to the Twins up through 1993. It was never the same after that, never, because the players strike of 1994 damaged my outlook. I learned to live without baseball, to go through "withdrawal" as it were. I remember a syndicated cartoon where one guy says to another: "Think of all the time we wasted when we could have been watching baseball." Humorists penetrate our pretenses so well.
I'm probably a better person for having severed my personal enthusiasm for baseball. I don't get dragged into the arcane "baseball analytics" of today. Occasionally I'll experiment with trying to be interested in the Twins again. However, I fail to get to first base, as it were - it's not even close. A televised game is like watching paint dry, IMHO.
Dick Bremer must be on the verge of going nuts as he gets so consumed with analyzing every day's game, all the fine detail. Give me good ol' Halsey Hall and the simple, lively banter he shared. What would Halsey have said about "analytics?" He'd just want to light up another cigar. A toast to him.
I have written a song about Tom Brunansky of the 1987 Minnesota Twins. It's a song with 'A' and 'B' sections set up as follows: AABA-instrumental-BAA. It has a pulsating rhythm. Enjoy the memories from the pre-strike period of joy in baseball!
Oh! I neglected to say how Minnesotans got their increased appetite for entertainment finally satiated. Drum roll. . . Casinos! So much for gambling being immoral.

"Tom Brunansky"
by Brian Williams

Tom Brunansky
Was a Twins fiend
With his big swing
He was something
When the Twins won
He was handsome
And watch those homer hankies wave

Tom Brunansky
Made us happy
In the days when
We loved Reagan
Bruno wowed us
With his prowess
And watch those homer hankies wave

BRIDGE:
Was it all a fairy tale
Or something that was true?
Twins on top for all the world to see
Just like in the heady days
Of Harmon Killebrew
We were so enamored with our team

Tom Brunansky
Pushed our big dream
Of the big prize
We were wide-eyed
Yes it happened
In the northland
And watch those homer hankies wave

(instrumental interlude)

(repeat bridge)

Tom Brunansky
Sitting pretty
In the five spot
In the lineup
Such a good bet
In the home stretch
And watch those homer hankies wave

Tom Brunansky
Had us home free
Past our rivals
Like the Royals
We just sat there
Rarefied air
And watch those homer hankies wave

TAG-ON AT END:
We got those memories to save


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

Church & marching bands: fading to twilight?

Two institutions that were strong when I was in high school were, our mainstream churches and marching band. On Sunday we saw a page 1 article in the Star Tribune about the steady decline of mainstream churches. The Strib writer used the term "mainline." I have been skeptical of using "mainline" as a synonym for "mainstream." I associate "mainline" with drug use - injecting a drug into a principal vein. Maybe this is one of those words that is evolving through usage.
Our language is indeed fluid. "Mainline" as used in the Strib piece probably comes to mind subconsciously as an approximation of "mainstream." People can follow their impulse with words, as when we hear someone say "I could care less." Technically it is supposed to be "couldn't care less." Put on your thinking cap about this. Radio host Mark Levin said "could care less" on his show one day and was promptly upbraided by a caller, to which Levin bristled.
We're gradually shrugging our shoulders about "mainline" and "could care less."
Shall I assume that Hancock had its marching band in the July 4 celebration? I observed it through the years when I covered July 4 for the Morris newspaper. I was impressed with how Ken Grunig groomed this group for its appearance. I also freely shared the suggestion that Grunig bring this group over to Morris for our Prairie Pioneer Days. I often got the response that too many of the kids would be "gone." It's midsummer after all, and while these kids would feel enough civic zeal to be there for their own parade, a parade eight miles away in Morris, in "alien territory" I guess, would be a no-go.
When I hear these excuses about people being "out of town" I'm often skeptical. Do people really hop in their vehicle and take off from their homes so often? Sometimes I think people just don't want to be bothered by certain commitments. I'd be nervous if I were gone from our residence for an extended time. I'd want to check the mail daily and in general just keep an eye on the property.
When I wrote sports in summer for the Morris and Hancock papers, I'd have to be aware of certain coaches who might be at the lake. A Benson-Hancock Legion coach had to be gone occasionally for his National Guard commitment. That coach, last name of Mills, was interesting to work with because he was on the ground floor with electronic communications. I learned this when I discovered his phone line to be busy for extended periods of time. "My modem was on," he'd tell me later.
Eventually using the phone became problematic because some people set up answering machines in such a way they couldn't be counted on to answer their phone. This caused some hair-pulling on my part for a while. It took me a while to get used to it. My old systems for collecting sports information, as it turned out, were going to be antiquated in many ways. It wasn't unusual for me to go to a coach's home, not just to gather info but maybe get kids identified in a photo. Over time I sensed there was a change in prevailing attitudes about this, less willingness to allow outsiders, even obviously friendly ones, onto your property.
The town team baseball coach in Benson told me he decided to have an unlisted phone number because "a picture of our house turned up on the Internet," inexplicably I guess.
As time passed, I think an understanding set in that coaches would have the responsibility fall on them more directly, to get info to the media if they wanted to see coverage. Some coaches were coverage-conscious and others not so much. I have been absent from the corporate media for 12 years. I can't be sure how it's all going now. But we do know: the Hancock Record is no more. I hope the Hancock community remembers all I did on their behalf, writing about their youth, for years and years.
Papers are consolidating and closing. Recently we heard about about the Raymond/Prinsburg paper shuttering. My immediate thought was that I wondered if the new tariff wars, which have caused the price of newsprint to go up, is the reason.
We shouldn't care because we have the Internet, right? But I'm not sure youth sports has done nearly enough to establish its coverage online. Instead I have seen only "baby steps." Maybe the broad public doesn't care. But maybe with time we'll see a true migration of high school sports coverage to online. Everything is changing all the time.
What about church? Whether you call them "mainstream" or "mainline" denominations, I do not sense a lot of hope, frankly. I have to wonder how much longer Morris can sustain two ELCA Lutheran churches in town. Some people were concerned when Faith Lutheran chose to build new. Faith Lutheran would have to be the winner if there were consolidation of the two churches now, because of the obvious handicapped accessibility issues presented by First. The issue can obviously get emotional.
It was against my basic nature to go to church for many years. I'm 63 years old which puts me at the heart of the boomer generation. Our parents brought us to church when we were kids but we became skeptical when we got old enough to make our own decisions. I am attending church once again at First Lutheran, the one with all the steps. My future at that church has been determined: my late mother would want me to go there, even when the experience is basically ruined by loud, unruly infants at the Sunday services. I just sit there looking devout.
So much about the experience seems outdated. The offering plates bother me - can't we just make periodic contributions some other way? Well, I do. We look up to the pastor as if he's such a wise guru. This system developed in the days when the pastor might be one of the most educated people around. That's no more. We are annoyed by "evangelicals" around us who seem more interested in politics, kissing the ring of Donald Trump, than in their faith. But as a boomer I must withdraw from my normal instincts of being so analytical. Just go to church, man.
Marching band has a glorious chapter of history in Morris. We hear the name of Bob Schaefer talked up so much. Hardly anyone mentions John Woell. And yet I think Woell kept standards just as high. This lasted until societal pressures built up, with kids getting more diverse interests (including sports camps), and band became too tough a sell. But I was in our marching band ranks during its last grand chapter, when we went to Winnipeg and other places.
A few marching bands are still out there. The Irondale band is coming back to Morris for its annual intensive summer camp session. Unfortunately their public performance will be on the same night as Horticulture Night, according to what I've been told. Man, Morris can be such a slow and lazy time in summer, and now we have two big events on the same night. Everyone at Horticulture Night will be able to clearly hear the band sounds.
I'll give you the heads-up that Irondale is not your father's marching band (in other words, not my marching band). It's quite avant garde but it's wonderfully entertaining. They'll perform at Big Cat Stadium in the most special event to be held there, IMHO. We as a society must eradicate football. We should all be praying for fewer boys going out for football this fall. Let's take care of our kids' health.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

The midsummer of newspapers' discontent

We have entered that most blessed time of year known as "midsummer." The weather for June was pretty mild with lots of cool and wet days. That's pleasant enough but it is not the apex of our cherished summer season, a time of year we know has a fleeting quality to it. Right now we can bask in hot and humid weather, overbearing some of the time - make no mistake about it - but a part of us wants to say "hallelujah."
We can reflect on this time period over the very long and overbearing winter. How wonderful now to get your skin baked a little. We see it as an excuse to slow down. The atmosphere seems laid-back for everyone. School activities are suspended. Many years ago I covered the various levels of summer baseball for the Morris newspaper. The newspaper was so much bigger then and I could roll up my sleeves for any one issue and really mine the sports scene.
VFW and Legion baseball were the highest priorities. I never felt totally comfortable around the Little League diamonds, perhaps sensing that these kids should compete free of media attention. Nevertheless I covered both this and elementary softball for girls. Softball for kids did not exist when I started at the Morris paper. The Legion team seemed like a continuation of the high school season.
Our Legion team placed second in state a few years ago. I thought that was such a tremendous accomplishment, so it was with great displeasure that I observed the mediocre coverage given by the Willmar newspaper. That paper prides itself on area youth sports coverage. The coverage goes beyond what you would expect the newspaper there to do. The Legion season of that summer reached its climax on a Saturday, and the Willmar paper has always seemed to have trouble reviewing games played on Saturday. Saturday games are generally rare. I suspect the sputtering has something to do with the work schedules of the Willmar sports people. In the final article that summer, the name "Mac Beyer" was spelled "Mac Beier." Had I been responsible for a glitch like that, it would be cause for serious name-calling.
I wanted to use the Willmar paper as my info source for a final, triumphant blog post to write about the Morris Legion team. Second in state! That was quite a deal. I could not write the kind of post I wanted. Instead I wrote a brief post that mostly complained about the Willmar paper's deficiencies.
How much longer will the Willmar paper try to hang in there with area-wide sports coverage? There are already leaks in the dike: games that don't get reported for whatever reason - uncooperative or lazy coaches? - and mistakes and discrepancies in the coverage.
News reports are telling us that the decline of newspapers continues apace. The trend is not "flattening out" the way Warren Buffett reportedly expected it would. And now there is a new threatening specter for newspapers: the Trump tariff war. The U.S. Department of Commerce levied its first tariffs on Canadian uncoated groundwood paper six months ago. This has resulted in a big increase in the cost of newsprint. Publishers have done what they had to, by cutting page counts, decreasing issue frequency and laying off employees. And, we learn that small, local papers have been the hardest hit! Oh my. You can find case studies in the news about how papers are struggling to adapt. This is after retrenchment had already reared its ugly head like here in Stevens County, Minnesota, where Forum Communications has had to apply the scythe in several ways.
The tariff exacerbates the situation badly, not that we really need papers in our age of the Internet, but we really hate seeing them disappear too. One CEO is quoted saying the tariffs are "a kick in the teeth." And oh my God, the new landscape with tariffs is impacting those ad circulars that come as a stack with each week's Morris newspaper! Maybe some people look at these - Elden's? - but those people are not in the same orbit as me. Mostly the fliers are for Alexandria businesses. I set them aside when I have occasion to page through the Morris paper.
Have you noticed how much "fluff" is on pages 1-3 of the Morris paper? Instead of real hard news, which might be useful for us to comb through, there's feel-good material about people doing good things, to be sure, but so what? A disaster drill? I would expect local agencies to do such drills and for the drills to be successful. Again, so what? If the drill were not successful, would we read about it? I know how these things get covered: some guy with an agency calls the paper and requests it. The paper obliges with a nice pat on the back spread. But do we as readers need to consume this?
Anyway, the tariff thing has caused U.S. commercial printing companies to pay more for paper, thus the increases get passed on to customers, including advertisers who run prepaid inserts in papers. The Alexandria prepaid inserts used to come here as the Lakeland Shopper. The Lakeland Shopper is a Forum Communications product. When the Forum invaded Stevens County to take over our print products (which used to include the Hancock paper), I guess it was a matter of time before that ungodly pile of Alex ad fliers would get pushed into the Morris paper.
Thankfully I don't buy the paper, I just look at it in public places. The circulation of the Morris paper has been in a tailspin - I wonder when we'll see all the fallout from that.
Advocates for youth sports need to pay attention to what is happening with our hallowed Fourth Estate. The decline process of papers means sports will need promotion and reporting from other quarters. Those avenues online certainly present themselves. But youth sports has been way too slow in adjusting, in harnessing the new media to stay high-profile and to make sure it keeps getting the desired resources.
Football practice begins at around the time of the county fair. Maybe football doesn't deserve support any more. I have tried putting forth a clarion call about this. News items surface regularly about how we must simply reject football, and the sooner the better. Most recently we learned of Tyler Hilinski, Washington State quarterback, who took his own life. He had the brain of a 65-year-old, not to disparage people who actually are 65 years old. Hilinski's parents blame the changes in his brain on CTE, a traumatic and degenerative brain disease detected in many older athletes.
I felt defensive in high school over not having the talent or inclination to play sports. It doesn't help that newspapers like in Willmar shower such endless special attention on athletes. Increasingly I feel concern about this. Issue after issue of the West Central Tribune gets churned out, always with a sports section that has the effect of glorifying kids who play sports like football. Are the kids lured by the opportunity for "glory," as it were? Well, I think they obviously are. And I look at the death of a single person like Hilinski as reason enough to negate football, to wipe it out, and to make us look closely at the risks kids take in all sports.
It's nice for someone like me to realize I won't have any cognitive issues related to football, because I didn't play it, but I feel for all my peers who did. Why can't we as a society be smarter?
Enjoy getting your skin baked the rest of July. That's one risk I do take.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com