Lutherans do not have their hands clean

The Star Tribune had a feature within the last couple years about how many churches are changing their names. Bottom line: they are trying to get rid of denominational references. Churches find that the reference to denomination is a turn-off for millennials. The young, who are always smarter than the rest of us, think it's silly to get into conflicts between the various factions or denominations in the Christian faith.
I wrote a skeptical blog post when the Good Shepherd church got started in Morris (just outside of Morris to the north). Another Lutheran church? Is this really necessary? There are those who assert that Good Shepherd started as (frankly) a rebellion because of the once-hot gay ordination issue in the ELCA. See, this is the type of thing that alienates young people. Such firm opinions on issues that are blown out of proportion.
The purpose of the new inclusive policy was simply to guarantee that gays would not be subject to discrimination, just as a matter of policy. It didn't mean that gays were going to take over the synod. So, we hardly give a thought to this now. In the meantime, ELCA churches did lose some of their members.
Was Good Shepherd really created as a "refuge?" I do believe their members would say they are not a gay-bashing church. I don't wish to get into an argument. A friend of mine who is in the conservative or fundamentalist camp says "hate the sin, love the sinner." His point was to actually defend the exclusionary policy while at the same time professing "love."
I brought my complimentary Lutheran magazine with me to Stone's Throw Cafe in Morris Saturday. Mainly I just wanted something handy to read, or to occupy my attention, because of advice I had gotten that you might have to wait a while for your order there. I found that I didn't want other people to see the name of the magazine I had. I sensed the divisiveness that religion can inevitably cause. And, maybe I should be ashamed having a "Lutheran" magazine.
This is uncomfortable for me to write about because my recently-deceased mother was a most committed Lutheran who didn't have a prejudiced bone in her body about anyone. I remembered hearing over the years that Martin Luther was an anti-Semite. My church of First Lutheran in Morris recently had a Martin Luther impersonator visit, in costume in fact. He sure wasn't going to stand up there and act like an anti-Semite. But upon getting home, I wanted to refresh my memory on the anti-Semitic angle re. Martin Luther. Was it that bad?
Some alleged anti-Semitism falls within vague bounds, like when you question the nation of Israel. Regarding the real anti-Semitism, we know it when we see it. And now we have the horrifying synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh PA. Having a president who seems to fit the description of "white nationalist" is getting more ominous all the time. We sit back and are too passive about it. The Nazis got wiped out because decency prevailed with God's blessing.
What is to become of the U.S. now, a nation with so many older white men willing to wear MAGA caps? Will things get worse before they get better? How bad can it get? Martin Luther whose name inspires countless churches across the nation, was in fact a horrible anti-Semite, the worst kind. It was so bad, it was a leading factor in what developed in Europe in the mid-20th Century.
Luther wrote the treatise called "On the Jews and Their Lies" in 1543. He was more mild earlier in his life but that was only because he held out hope that Jews could be converted. Upon realizing that this was not in the works, rage took over. He openly urged persecution of Jews. His treatise argued that Jewish synagogues and schools be set on fire, their prayer books destroyed, rabbis forbidden to preach, homes burned, and property and money confiscated.
Someone on cable TV wondered last week why Rudy Giuliani seems to have suddenly vanished from the airwaves, after having been a prominent if eccentric (senile?) spokesman for Donald Trump. There should be no mystery here. Giuliani disappeared from public view because he crossed a line. He talked about how the government might "freeze the assets" of George Soros. Why? Was Soros "paying off" the protesters of Kavanaugh? Well, the truth is that Soros financially supports organizations the members of which are the type who might want to protest Kavanaugh. That of course is not the same thing. Logic can end up out in the periphery in the Fox News world.
We will find out soon in the mid-terms whether the crazed Trump world is going to keep making inroads. A simple Republican majority would ensure that.
Freeze the assets? If such anti-Semitic talk gains traction, we are truly on the way toward re-experiencing what happened in 1930s Germany. Martin Luther described the Jews as a "base, whoring people, that is, no people of God, and their boast of lineage, circumcision and law must be accounted as filth." Luther further wrote that the Jews are "full of the devil's feces, which they wallow in like swine." And, "the synagogue is an incorrigible whore and an evil slut."
Do you want me to go on? Research shows us this: "The prevailing scholarly view since the Second World War is that (Luther's) treatise exercised a major and persistent influence on Germany's attitude toward its Jewish citizens in the centuries between the Reformation and the Holocaust."
Luther was a rebel from the Catholic Church. We see the newspaper headlines today abut the abhorrent conduct that has been foisted on youth all over the nation, due to priest misbehavior. And so we wonder why millennials might be disillusioned? Can Christianity re-create itself in a new inclusive and progressive mold that has a little more passivity?
 
Addendum: Can you see Jesus wearing a "MAGA" cap?
 
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Four cross country Tigers make state

There is much to crow about in MACA cross country. We're at that apex time of the post-season. The orange and black made quite an impression in the 6A meet at Little Crow Country Club, New London. The Thursday event saw four MACA harriers make the grade for state. So now it's destination south for the tremendous spectacle of state cross country. The site will be St. Olaf College in the historic Minnesota community of Northfield.
Let's meet these high-achieving Tigers. Solomon Johnson arrived at the finish chute No. 8 (16:34.8), making state. Noah Stewart arrived at that plateau with his No. 9 showing (16:36.5). The Carrington sisters performed up to their lofty reputation Thursday. Maddie Carrington placed fifth (19:49.2) and Meredith Carrington was No. 11 (20:10.1). The Carrington sisters join Johnson and Stewart in preparing for the state spectacle.
The MACA boys placed third among 23 teams. First was taken by West Central Area, second by Staples-Motley. The boys champion was Emmet Anderson of Staples-Motley, time of 15:53.6. Here's the rest of the top five: Jacob Bright of WCA (16:02.6), Zach Haire of Breckenridge-Wahpeton (16:07.2), Hunter Klimek of Staples-Motley (16:21.0) and Christopher Borash of Royalton (16:29.0). The MACA effort was joined by Ben Hernandez (17:30.2, 25th place), Bradley Rohloff (17:53.5, 41st) and Jared Boots (18:09.9, 47th).
Our girls team took fifth among 21 teams. Staples-Motley had the highest-achieving girls team. Kira Sweeney of Staples-Motley topped the individual standings (19:16.7). She was followed by Lexi Bright of WCA in second (19:29.1), Kyanna Burton of Staples-Motley (19:30.9), Teagan Nelson of WCA (19:45.5) and Maddie Carrington. These other MACA runners joined the Carrington sisters: Caryn Marty (21:52.8, 46th place), Crystal Nohl (22:35.9, 70th) and Katya Lackey (22:39.2, 72nd).
 
Volleyball: Tigers 3, Minnewaska 0
The Tigers played 'Waska for the second straight match and with the same outcome: a win by sweep. The first of these matches was the end of the regular season. The second matchup was Thursday in the playoffs. Again the orange and black prevailed 3-0, so now it's on to round 2. We carry a 17-7 record forward.
The hitting department was marked by balance. Lexi Pew was atop the kill list with her total of eight. Bailey Marty came at the Lakers with five kills. Kenzie Hockel and Sophie Carlsen each pounded down three. Emma Berlinger and Jen Solvie each had two kills, and LaRae Kram had one. The duo of Kram and Liz Dietz set up the spikers as they posted ten and nine assists respectively. Marty and Macey Libbesmeier each contributed one set assist.
Pew was quite the force at the net as she performed six ace blocks. Carlsen had two ace blocks and Berlinger had one. In digs it was Riley Decker and Libbesmeier leading the way, each with nine. Marty performed eight digs and Hockel had five. Three Tigers each had one serving ace: Hockel, Dietz and Kenzie Stahman.
The 'Waska Lakers, who finished their season 9-15, had Ellie Danielson and Avery Hoeper each finish with two serving aces. Emma Thorfinnson and Sara Geiser each had one serving ace. Geiser was busy in setting and performed 22 assists. Danielson and Kristen Glover complemented that total with one each. In hitting it was Danielson leading the way with nine kills. Emma Thorfinnson performed eight kills. The list continues with Alexis Piekarski (5), Sierra Lindemann (2), Geiser (1) and Hoeper (1).
Danielson went up to execute two ace blocks. Here's the digs list: Thorfinnson (9), Lindemann (8), Hoeper (7), Danielson (6) and Geiser (5).
Let's not forget the game scores: 25-16, 25-20 and 25-15.
 
Mid-terms get closer
If you don't recognize Donald Trump as a flim-flam man by now, shame on you. This country may have to be wracked by a very bad experience before eyes get opened. Letting Republicans take over government is risky for a number of reasons, primary ones being they don't like regulations and they don't like government itself. We ought to accept government in the same way that we must "eat our peas."
Trump is a puppetmaster who knows how to control his minions, his naive fool followers all across the U.S. He deflects, he lies and he demonizes. He divides us in a way we've never seen before.
It may not be enough for Democrats to take control of the U.S. House. Trump and his sycophants are already working feverishly to prepare a strategy for fending off subpeonas and the like. They will claim the election is illegitimate, never mind that elections are held under the supervision of states. I thought Republicans were such adherents to state's rights.
Republicans tend to close well in campaigns. If they actually keep control of the House, the opportunity for the proper checks and balances is essentially gone. It will be "Katy bar the door and heaven help us all."
If Republicans win and the "evangelical" Christians take credit, I don't see how I can any longer call myself a Christian. Is it Christian to not want people to have health insurance coverage? What would Jesus say? Is it Christian to separate families at the border? What would Jesus say?
I am prepared to retreat to Native American religion where the recognition is simply of "the creator." But maybe there will be hope for Christianity after all. Let's count the votes.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Tigers win 6AA debut as Decker goes 5 of 5

No scoring for the first three quarters! It doesn't seem to spell excitement, granted, but there sure were reasons for the MACA fans to cheer at the end. We're off and running in the Section 6AA playoffs of prep football. It was no easy task for our orange and black on Tuesday night. The eleven points we scored in the fourth quarter made the difference as we advanced.
Durgin Decker was perfect passing the football - five of five - in our 11-8 win over the Knights of West Central Area.
I'm happy to see this playoff game that required so little travel by the visitor. It's so logical for the teams in the early-round games to be from communities reasonably close together. It is not always like that. I remember the year the Tigers had to travel to Fairmont MN down by the Iowa border for the opening round! That seemed very illogical.
Not only that, we apparently don't have "fan buses" anymore. There was a time when student fans would pile into an orange school bus driven by an affable fellow like Don Grossman, and head out of town like to Benson. Fun times even if the noise level on the bus could get loud! As a press person I shared many of those rides. Noise was not a problem. No, the spirit of enthusiasm was infectious! Today it's a different world, I guess.
Some time after the Fairmont game, I reflected on that in some idle comments at the newspaper shop. We had new management by then. Jim Morrison would never have expected a staffer to drive that far, certainly not for a first-round game in any sport. I commented that "I wouldn't drive that far even if you told me to." The remark wasn't meant to be taken at face value, but I probably shouldn't have made it.
Reflecting at present, my comment seemed on the money because it's ridiculous to travel that far for a first-round game. There are certainly zealous parents who'd cry bloody murder if the paper didn't send someone. The paper today would probably send someone. Keep in mind that the appeal of sports coverage in the local paper is always very limited, less than you'd estimate. We did a survey when Morrison was still there, in which the survey company gave us feedback that included the following: "Be careful about this (sports). The interest is limited."
How wonderful for early-round opponents to include the likes of West Central Area, Lac qui Parle, Benson or Minnewaska. It would be wonderful to keep the distances reasonable for the first three rounds of the tournament.
Today's (Wednesday) coverage in the Willmar paper did not state where the game was played. I think it was here at Big Cat. Until recently I'd check the Pheasant Country Sports website to confirm where a game was played. However, that website has seemed to go out of existence. So I'll post today's game review with no mention of location.
 
Tigers 11, West Central Area 8
The orange and black got its sixth win of the season. Decker is making strides, getting seasoning as our new signal-caller. His five-for-five on Tuesday night was complemented by zero interceptions. His passing yardage was 42. Jack Riley was the quarterback's favorite target. Durgin hooked up with Jack for three completions, netting 31 yards. The other two catches were by Jaret Johnson and Mace Yellow.
The rushing department had no surprise in terms of the leader - it was Camden Arndt who clutched the football on 22 carries, good for 100 yards. Matt McNeill charged forward to get 52 yards on 14 carries. Decker scampered forward from his QB spot to get 29 yards on five. Then it was Kenny Soderberg with ten yards and Colten Scheldorf with four. So our team rushing yardage was just under 200. Our first downs totaled 16. Soderberg made an interception for the orange and black.
The Knights of West Central Area netted eleven first downs and had Isaiah Sykora throwing the football: five completions in eight attempts but with two picked off. (The Willmar paper only credits Soderberg with an interception.) Sykora passed for 76 yards. The catches were made by Christian Norby (two, for 47 yards), Tanner Bennett (2-24) and Tate Christenson (1-5).
Here's the rushing story for the Knights: Norby (12 carries, 63 yards), Scot Johnson (8-40), Braden Overson (3-28) and Bennett (6-9).
OK, let's get into the game's drama. It ended up considerable, considering the dearth of points scored. We'll hone right in on the fourth quarter. Eli Grove kicked what turned out to be a most essential field goal. He found the middle of the uprights from 26 yards out. But WCA got the upper hand temporarily when Scot Johnson found the end zone on a run from the three. Sykora passed to Norby for two on the conversion. The game-winner came when Durgin Decker connected with Jaret Johnson on an eight-yard touchdown pass with under a minute left. Decker ran successfully for two on the conversion. In the past I could check with Pheasant Country Sports to see when our next game is. Can't do that now. We'll have to find new sources of information.
 
Terry Thraen, RIP
Boomers like yours truly are having to deal with human mortality more and more. Us boomer-vintage Morris natives have been ushering our parents to heaven on a too-frequent basis, a recent example being the mother of Paul Watzke.
Now we learn of the death of our peer Terry Thraen. Terry was three years older than me which meant I couldn't get to know him real well. But certainly my generation remembers him well from Boy Scouts at First Lutheran Church. His younger brother Randy, a wrestling sensation under coach Al Hendrickson, was in my '73 class. BTW Paul Watzke's younger brother Tom was in my class too.
Terry rather stood out with his personality. He was not bashful. He could even be, shall we say, a little strident sometimes, but we all loved him (to varying degrees I guess). Us boomers were not inhibited. We could be bullied and not complain much about it. It's a jungle out there, or it was for us anyway, in the pre-Jacob Wetterling days when we roamed and were self-starters in the community. We weren't raised like caged chickens.

Terry Thraen, "his highness"

The ebullient air of the Morris boomers is reflected in the image you see with this part of today's blog post. The photo of Terry Thraen was taken by Del Sarlette. Del notes that the back of this photo is labeled "his highness." The photo shows Terry in his "throne" that was lashed together as part of a Boy Scout experience. He sat in the throne bossing his peers around.
"If I remember correctly," Del says, "he also had a couple long poles inserted in the sides so a few of us could lift the chair up with him in it, and cart him around."
The Scouts of First Lutheran in those days opened their weekly meeting with "boomerang" or "scatterball" at the fellowship hall. Del recalls that Terry with his "small stature and disproportionately large hands, was very difficult to beat at boomerang. He would crouch down, making himself 'smaller,' and hold his hands out in front so as to catch any balls thrown at him." Del continued: "However, one game I remember distinctly had he and I as the 'final two.' I had the ball and bounced it off his leg and won! He was extremely angry, grabbed the ball and kicked it."
Your blog host truly understands how such a memory can be ingrained. Dan Amborn was a legend playing boomerang, but one night I got real focused and was able to make a catch of a smashing throw by Dan at point-blank range. Incredible. The boomerang gods were with me that night.
Terry will make all the catches in heaven. Terry Thraen, RIP. His parents James and Marian continue attending First Lutheran Church in Morris. I saw Randy at the funeral for the beloved wrestling coach Al Hendrickson. Randy went to great lengths losing weight in his wrestling years. I'm so thankful I never got tempted to do that sort of thing. Or to play football.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Tigers sweep Lakers to end regular season

The Tigers eked out a 26-24 win in Game 2, to stay on their way to a sweep win over the Minnewaska Area Lakers. The nifty 3-0 triumph upped our record to 16-7 on the season. The match actually marked the end of the regular season. The Lakers of 'Waska came out of Tuesday at 9-14.
Our sweep win was accomplished with scores of 25-20, 26-24 and 25-10. The site was 'Waska.
Our leader in kills was Lexi Pew who posted ten. Kenzie Hockel performed six kills followed by Sophie Carlsen and Emma Berlinger who each had five. Bailey Marty and Jen Solvie each came at the Lakers with four. Three Tigers each had one ace block: Carlsen, Hockel and Pew. Riley Decker topped the digs list as she often does, on this night with a stat of 13. Marty performed nine digs followed by Hockel and LaRae Kram each with seven.
Kram took the lead in the setting department and racked up 21 assists. Liz Dietz had a complimentary role with nine assists, and Marty and Decker were handy to each perform one. On to serving: Here we see Kram topping the list with three aces while Marty and Kenzie Stahman each had two and Decker had one.
Five different Lakers each had one serving ace: Sierra Lindemann, Sarta Geiser, Avery Hoeper, Emily Harste and Grace Bartles. Geiser performed 20 set assists. Ellie Danielson was team-best in kills with nine. Danielson executed an ace block. This Laker was also team-best in digs with 12.
The Tigers will have a re-match with Minnewaska in the post-season. We're seeded No. 2 in Section 3AA-North, and 'Waska has the No. 7 seed. Paynesville has the top seed. We'll debut at home.
 
Cross country: Tigers top the conference
Montevideo was the destination for the West Central Conference cross country meet on Tuesday. It was a meet in which the orange and black shone. Our teams took No. 1 in boys and girls.
Our Noah Stewart won the boys race with his time of 17:09.92. Our Solomon Johnson was No. 3 to the finish chute with his time of 17:44.95. Also contributing to the championship showing were: Ben Hernandez (19:06.02), Bradley Rohloff (18:51.79), Jared Boots (19:08.57), Thomas Tiernan (19:45.76) and Colton Wohlers (20:14.08). The runner-up in the race was Melrose's Preston Poepping, time of 17:29.00.
The MACA girls took No. 1 among the six teams, led by Maddie Carrington whose time was 21:09.65, good for second behind Sauk Centre's Sophia Kluver (20:46.95). The Carrington name like always had big impact as fans saw Meredith reach the finish chute No. 3, time of 21:41.64. Also contributing to our No. 1 status were: Caryn Marty (22:57.33), Crystal Nohl (23:00.93), Malory Anderson (23:14.57), Kaylie Raths (23:50.23) and Katya Lackey (23:56.26).
Of particular importance in this race was Crystal Nohl of the Tigers edging out Jessica Klopfleisch for 12th place. Nohl got this advantage by .44 seconds. It meant the championship for the MACA girls!
 
Football: BOLD 35, Tigers 7
Not much to cheer about for Tiger fans in the last regular season game. The spirited fans at BOLD had frequent reason to cheer as their Warriors downed our Tigers 35-7. BOLD wrapped up its regular season undefeated at 8-0. The orange and black came out of the night at 5-3. The action was at Olivia, Wednesday (the annual MEA week game).
BOLD scored in each of the four quarters. Gavin Vosika got the Warriors started with a 35-yard touchdown run, followed by a Braeden Tersteeg PAT kick. Gavin Vosika would finish the night with 117 rushing yards on ten carries. There is another Vosika in the BOLD fold: Dawson, who carried for 14 yards. Tim Peppel picked up 64 ground yards on 14 carries. Jordan Sagedahl had five carries good for 44 yards.
BOLD scored in the second quarter on a five-yard run by Peppel. Tersteeg kicked for the point-after.
The Tigers scored their only touchdown in the third quarter when Durgin Decker passed eleven yards to Jaret Johnson. Eli Grove kicked the point-after.
BOLD had the game's last three touchdowns, by Gavin Vosika (a 61-yard run), Peppel (an eleven-yard scamper) and Gavin Vosika again (a 12-yard run). Tersteeg kicked successfully after all three.
Jordan Sagedahl threw all but one of BOLD's passes and he completed four of ten for 114 yards, no interceptions. Matthew Moorse completed his only attempt. Gavin Vosika had three of the receptions, good for 68 yards. Luke Ryan and Joey McMath had the other receptions. Ryan, Gavin Vosika and Tersteeg each made an interception. BOLD's defensive leaders were Andrew Sheehan (five solo tackles and three assists), Tersteeg (3-6), Cade Morse (4-5) and Anthony Maher (1-5). Maher got a quarterback sack.
The Tigers' Camden Arndt rushed to over the 100-yard plateau again, on this night accumulating 113 ground yards on 15 carries. Kenny Soderberg rushed for 49 yards on five carries. Also picking up yards were Jack Riley, Tristan Raths, Matt McNeill and Bradyn Daugherty. Decker who is pretty new to the varsity picture completed four passes for 43 yards and had two picked off. Eli Grove completed one of one for 19 yards. Our pass receptions were made by Riley, Jaret Johnson and Colten Scheldorf.
The post-season is now upon us! As of today, Friday, the weather is terrific. Remember the year we had the Halloween blizzard?
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Don't bet against Republicans in mid-terms

The political complexion today seems pretty fixed. We pray that the dominant political party can show wisdom. When you hear Donald Trump speaking at one of his rallies, "wisdom" does not come readily to mind. It's a circus atmosphere. Many people react with outrage and it doesn't matter. The Republicans totally have the wind in their sails today.
I remember when the Democrats had that kind of momentum in the 1970s. It got to where I welcomed Ronald Reagan being elected president in 1980. Democrats can fumble their power just like Republicans can.
The Republican Party of 2018 scares me more than the Democratic Party ever did. Our president had no meaningful background in politics prior to getting elected. He was a calculating showman. Daily we can tune in to the "Morning Joe" TV program and be updated on the abominations of Trumps's behavior and comments. I am concerned that it is a waste of time to even consume this coverage. The Trump train rolls onward.
The peculiar Sean Hannity keeps on with his Fox News program which operates on the assumption that anyone who calls himself a Democrat is stupid or a coward.
And yesterday (Tuesday) the stock market rocketed upward again. Even the sharpest minds in the media can't seem to explain the market's drastic movements. It swings back positive within a couple days after every apparent downward dip. Closed-door meetings among media people re. the market must be interesting. Is it even "news" when we get a dip of 500 to 1000 points in the Dow? Should we treat it like it's significant news? Is a stock market dip getting to be like the boy who cried wolf? So we end up looking stupid by suggesting a stock market dip is cause for concern?
I keep wondering: what if the market dips a thousand points and then does not rebound? What if it goes down several thousand more points? My point is that the media are in a hair-pulling mode over this. What to make of it? And, here's a secondary point - perhaps the primary point to be made about this: a consistent market upturn between now and election day will help seal the Republicans' position in government. So you'd better buckle up and hope the Republicans can in fact take care of us decently with their embarrassing leader in the White House.
Democrats at present are on the defensive. Any misstep by a Democratic candidate can be a death knell for that campaign. Look at what happened with Heidi Heitkamp Tuesday, the revelation of her mistake about disclosing certain names. She had to formally apologize for that. Her campaign is now toast. I fail to see how her policy positions are not in the best interests of North Dakotans. But North Dakotans now have that "itch" of wanting to be reactionary, to reflect the tea party rhetoric of a few years ago, and to talk about Democrats like they carry some sort of disease.
How did we get here? In the '70s, pre-digital times, our economy worked differently. Eventually the forces of globalization and automation moved in, causing a sea change. It left many people of the old cherished middle class of America flummoxed. They now buy what the Republicans are selling. Republicans say outrageous things like how "climate change is a hoax," a stance that could affect us all on an existential basis. A Republican will say "I am not a scientist." But Republicans aren't professional economists either but they say in self-assured fashion, at all times, that cutting taxes and slashing regulations are always a good thing, always.
Americans need help with health care. Democrats hear this concern and took steps with Obamacare, what is actually a mainstream type of approach, not out of the left wing "loony bin" as Republicans would describe it. John Boehner admitted that "Obamacare is now the law of the land." Quaint times: Boehner speaking for the Republican Party. He is an outlier now as the crazies have taken over.
John Cornyn was asked a couple years ago, by a Fox News host no less, if the Republican Party was ready to shelve Obamacare and replace it with something "better and cheaper for all Americans." Isn't that what we want? Seriously, isn't that what we want? And if we cannot get it, isn't Obamacare better than nothing? Cornyn answered the question "yes." So, this GOP leader said Republicans were ready to enact something better than what we had. Why are his feet not now held to the fire on this?
When Democrats make statements that turn out to be disingenuous, they are excoriated by the political right, and the media must acknowledge the misstep. Democrats are hung out to dry. Anything embarrassing about Democrats as with Heitkamp's blunder is amplified. Any restraint by the media brings shrieks of "bias" and "fake news" from the predictable crowd. And the media, knowing its own business interests, can be intimidated. I am trying to get out of the habit of watching "Morning Joe" in the morning. It seems to be accomplishing nothing. Revelations come out every day of the sheer assault on decorum by Trump and his acolytes.
The Republican power structure with Trump on top seems if anything to be picking up momentum. So I ought to just shrug and hope that our civilization continues OK. Just take care of myself.
Hillary Clinton's van crashes into a pole at a Bob Menendez fundraiser. We're supposed to laugh at that, while a similar type of incident on the Republican side would be shrugged off. We shrug off Trump's abominations every day. We live in an age where a president of the U.S. can publicly call a woman "Horseface." But there was a time when Stormy Daniels was surely able to induce an erection from Trump, right? Do you challenge me on that? This is the level of our discourse now.
With the stock market back on its standard upward track, look for the Republicans to come out of the mid-terms in good shape. Hang on because the roller coaster ride could get more bumpy for us all. One-party government is risky, despite what North Dakotans appear to think.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Tigers roll in 2nd quarter, beat Sauk C. 48-26

The orange and black was triumphant in front of an appreciative home crowd Friday night. We got our fifth win in a dominant way, with the dominance establishing itself in the second quarter. The Tigers outscored Sauk Centre 21-0 in quarter No. 2, then followed that up with a 13-0 advantage in quarter No. 3.
Mission accomplished. We put this game in the win column with a flourish: a 48-26 final score. So we're now 5-2. The visiting Streeters fell to 1-6. I remember Sauk Centre being a very tough opponent when I was in high school, early '70s. They had an all-state quarterback named Loren Beste.
Our first touchdown Friday was scored by Camden Arndt who turned into a marquee type of performer. Arndt got past the end zone stripe on a 20-yard pass reception. Durgin Decker threw that pass. That's a new name for me to incorporate in my sportswriting. Welcome Durgin. Riley's brother? Eli Grove kicked the point-after.
Sauk Centre kept the game close for a time. Irvin Brenes broke loose on a 53-yard TD run for the Streeters. Then it was Arndt scoring for MACA on a one-yard run, and Grove kicked the PAT. Anthony Marsh answered for the visitor, covering 28 yards on a run for six. Sauk Centre failed on its two-point conversion plays in the first quarter. The quarter ended with MACA up 14-12.
On to quarter No. 2 where the Tigers ruled. Here they come: Matt McNeill scored on a run from the one. Grove kicked the PAT. Jaret Johnson caught a 30-yard touchdown pass for six, bringing cheers again from the MACA partisans. Decker put the ball in the air. Grove was workmanlike again on the kick. Arndt, who rolled up 166 rushing yards on the night, ran the ball in from the six. Grove added the point-after.
In the third: it was Kenny Soderberg bringing the "touchdown" sign from the refs with his 20-yard punt return. Grove was automatic on the kick. Our final TD on the night was by Jack Riley: a six-yard run.
Sauk Centre scored twice in the fourth quarter, with their TDs by Brenes (a run from the two) and Jackson Berscheid (an eight-yard scamper). A pass for two was good after one of these scores.
Sauk Centre actually outdid us in first downs, 24-20.
We had lots of contributors in the rushing department, led by Arndt with his 166 yards on just nine carries - quite the stats. Jack Riley rolled up 41 yards on the ground in just four carries. Colten Scheldorf picked up 33 yards on three. Matt McNeill's numbers: seven carries, 22 yards. Adding to the mix were Kenny Soderberg, Tristan Raths and Durgin Decker.
Decker completed five passes in eight attempts for 92 yards and had one interception. Johnson put his arm to work to complete two of two in passing for 17 yards, no INTs. Here's the receiving list: Johnson (two catches, 58 yards), Riley (two catches, 17 yards), Arndt (1-20), Scheldorf (1-9) and Mace Yellow (1-5). Cameron Koebernick made an interception.
The Streeters showed a well-balanced running attack with these three fellows standing out: Irvin Brenes (117 yards), Jackson Berscheid (96) and Anthony Marsh (82). Casey Schirmers managed just one pass completion in six attempts for 16 yards and had none intercepted. Riley Gritz had the reception. Macoy Thiesen made an interception for Sauk Centre.
 
Volleyball: Tigers 3, Sauk Centre 2
The volleyball court had the orange and black in action at Sauk Centre on Thursday. The Tigers got up 2-0 for a time, then their momentum faded to cause a 2-2 deadlock, setting the stage for the deciding fifth game. We won! We wrested the momentum back to take the decider 15-11 and put this hard-fought match away 3-2. It was our 15th triumph of the season.
It was a win truly to be savored because Sauk Centre has a premier reputation. The loss for the Streeters was just their second of the season, compared to a rich harvest of 24 wins. What could be more encouraging with the post-season so near?
Four Tigers each came at the Streeters with one serving ace: Bailey Marty, Kenzie Hockel, LeAndra Hormann and Liz Dietz. The setting work was spread out a little more than usual with Dietz posting the team-best 19 assists. LaRae Kram executed 17 assists. Riley Decker performed seven, and Hockel and Kenzie Stahman each had one. In hitting it was Hockel setting the pace with 19 kills. Then it was Marty coming through with 15 and Lexi Pew with 13. The list also includes Jen Solvie (4), Sophie Carlsen (3) and Dietz (1).
Pew had two ace blocks followed by Solvie and Carlsen each with one. Decker stood out in digs like she often does, performing 35. Here's the rest of that list: Marty (26), Kram (14), Hockel (11), Dietz (10) and Macey Libbesmeier (7).
For the Streeters, Tori Peschel performed three serving aces. Megan Klaphake was the busy setter with 34 assists. The hitting department saw Nicole Kortan and Peschel each get 16 kills. Miranda Middendorf was sharp at the net with seven ace blocks. (It's nice to see the Middendorf name still in Sauk Centre athletics). Reece Ritter was the top Streeter in digs with 24.
 
Forum Communications schizophrenia?
You cannot trust tried and true Republicans to ever take a fresh view of things, even when empirical evidence would beg them to. Despite the fact that the Willmar paper, a Forum Communications property, has publicly blamed Trump's tariffs for having to cancel their Monday print edition, the Forum has endorsed a Trump clone to be Minnesota's governor: Jeff Johnson.
So convincing was Johnson's trumpeting of Trump's greatness, he and his Trumpian crowd turned back Tim Pawlenty in the primary. My goodness, Pawlenty once had the quite conservative image, n'est-ce pas? So did George W. bush. The recent thinking has become twisted to where conservative opinion leader Lou Dobbs of Fox Business describes Bush as a "liberal." Trump insisted in a Republican debate that 9-11 happened "on Bush's watch," insinuating the most negative thing possible re. the former president: that he had to be held accountable, to a degree, for the terrible tragedy.
Pawlenty and Bush aren't cutting it any more in the Republican Party. The flag-waving is being done by emotional radicals. They have pushed through two extreme Supreme Court nominees, the second of whom emerged through a cesspool of controversy. What would previous generations say? Think back to Eisenhower.
We know what's really behind the current push from the Trump loyalist crowd: it's all about white male resentment. What's amazing is that it has been allowed to get this far, while so many of us just watch stunned. We'd like to assume this type of radical element could be kept on the margins. The loony tunes stuff was always on the margins when I was a kid. I remember seeing a booth at the Crow Wing County Fair full of the print publications that epitomized the John Birch element, the equivalent of today's Trump-ism.
And Forum Communications isn't bothered at all, and in fact is trying to give a push to Jeff Johnson to be Minnesota's governor. Why does a Fargo-based business find it so important to push us around here in Minnesota, using its clout to try to sway our political sentiment? If this bothers you, I must say: cease any financial support you give to Forum Communications newspapers. That includes our paper here in Morris. Attention Indivisible Morris: get the word passed around about this.
Minnesota is a blue state and getting the job done quite fine that way.
 
An anecdote re. Morris Elementary
Just got back from the annual public breakfast/lunch at Zion Lutheran, a Lutheran denomination that I guess is more "strict" than mine. Should I be embarrassed? Based on researching Martin Luther, I should be embarrassed or ashamed calling myself a Lutheran but I digress. Anyway, in the course of reminiscing I heard that a couple well-known Morris teachers of the 1960s, in contrasting disciplines, didn't always see eye to eye. We're talking physical education and band.
Anyway, following a donkey basketball fundraising event, the phy. ed. teacher Jim Grant said it'd be OK to have the donkeys parked temporarily in the band room. The band director was the legendary Bob Schaefer, under whom I played while in junior high. The decision with the donkeys brought the disfavor of the music man.
Schaefer had the legendary Morris marching band of that era. It's my understanding he wrote our school song. Didn't he move on to Brookings SD?
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

The days of mania w/ Hancock girls hoops

The self-serving book

High school sports is managed in a way today to tamp down emotions. Much of this has been accomplished by taking away the incentive of small schools to beat the bigger schools. An overall air of civility just seems to be enforced now.
We used to see the P.E. Center at UMM get filled practically to the rafters for post-season games. I was forced to soak in a lot of this due to journalistic obligations. We all acted so exhilarated. The atmosphere actually made me nervous quite often. The hyper emotions seemed misplaced. The Hancock school had a reputation for being rather sports-crazed. There are worse pursuits for consuming our young people, to be sure.
Hancock had a couple coaches who wanted to take on the world, as it were. Their activities were not mere healthy diversions for their students, part of a healthy growing-up experience. "They want to win so bad it hurts," commented a high school peer of mine who worked as assistant coach for a time. My old friend seemed to have his perspective intact, to see the seeds for obsession planted in an otherwise healthy activity.
How could a journalist not share in some of the euphoria? I put on blinders at times and acted quite contented. The Hancock girls basketball team would win in round after round of the post-season. They got attention in our Sun Tribune newspaper by default, I guess you could say, because they'd play beyond when other teams fell. Our Morris team was a non-factor in girls basketball. While the excesses of Hancock were not the preferred model, it was rather head-scratching to see Morris on the sidelines. Isn't it elementary to point out that our population and school enrollment are substantially higher? Just asking this question would make many Motown residents prickly.
As Hancock won in the post-season, the travel commitments for subsequent games would get more demanding. Looking back, I should have asserted hard and fast rules for all my sports travel commitments, applied to all teams: I would travel no more than roughly a half-hour's drive for any game, anytime. One exception would be Alexandria because I could make an Alexandria trip an outing, as so many of us in Morris do. Today that's harder to justify because the shopping mall is basically dead. What to do in Alexandria now?
I am writing about an era when photography was more of an exclusive endeavor, whereas today we see ubiquity of cameras, most of which could probably yield adequate results for a sports event. But Ron Lindquist at the paper once told me that it wasn't enough to simply ensure we had good photos. The parents and fans, Ron told me, wanted someone from the paper to be present. He was right.
Making trips and bestowing attention for a team outside of Morris had its problems. We were the Morris paper, it was constantly asserted, but why couldn't we have a girls basketball program that could climb a little in post-season, instead of being essentially a non-presence?
Hancock's girls basketball coach was Dennis Courneya. Anyone who seeks a case study on the importance of winning in our culture, need look no further than Courneya. His career crashed and burned due to legal troubles. This trouble could have flared up sooner to abort his career. He wore the mantle of hero in the eyes of many, making potential skeptics or accusers hesitant. To this day he probably denies wrongdoing.
I'm reminded of this back and forth by the recent spectacle of Brett Kavanaugh being put severely on the defensive over his confirmation. The circumstances are the same - the nature of the accusations are the same. When the Courneya matter erupted as a legal thing, where sheer winning wasn't going to be an ally any more, there was a subhead with Star Tribune coverage suggesting that rumors of misconduct had been circulating for years. The article had documentation with interviews - there had better be documentation for anything asserted in the headline.
I wondered in a conversation with a well-known Morris main street person, why, if a pattern of misconduct had been noted for some time, it took so long. This person said: "He won." It's a sobering revelation about the importance we place on winning in high school sports.
The incentive used to exist for coaches in a town like Hancock to rise above by outdoing the larger towns in post-season. That temptation was probably a big problem. The High School League has worked over the years firmly to separate the schools and their athletes on the basis of school size. To advance now, you must beat schools your own size, no opportunity to thump your chest over beating a larger school. All things being equal, the big school would win. All things were not equal.
The Hancock girls coach employed a system that I'm sure all area school administrators understood. I can't imagine they'd be ignorant while a mere journalist like me could see what was happening. The Hancock girls program employed an "ugly" style that involved constant running and pressing. This they did even when they got a good lead. Why didn't other teams do it? That's actually a good question. Perhaps the reason was taste: normal coaches wanted to encourage a "civilized" and restrained type of game where you'd pass the ball around and try to get a good shot.
The Hancock girls played post-season games at our P.E. Center in front of crazed packed houses. Roger Clarke's son played his electric guitar while the Owl mascot dashed out in front of all the fandom. What did all this accomplish? What did it prove? I was happy writing the articles at the time because the articles helped fill our sports section, like I said by default. My private thoughts were never that enthused.
It got back to me that the coach had a low opinion of me. Spencer Yohe reported back to me that his colleague's negative assertions about me were "so bad, I won't even repeat them because it would hurt your feelings." What to make of that? I'd rather be in the position I'm in now, rather than in coach Courneya's, the latter having had to serve time in prison. Accusations and denials went back and forth leading up to that, a lot like the recent Kavanaugh circus. Kavanaugh wasn't actually on trial. The Hancock coach was. The legal system turned thumbs down on the man.
He eventually wrote a book seeking to vindicate himself. I assume it was self-published. I have not read it. Reader reviews can be found online. The skeptical reviews seem most credible to me. "If I wouldn't have known better, I would have fallen for everything in the book," one person said. Another writes: "I can't believe the man has swayed so many by writing a self-serving, pity party of a book." This individual concludes by saying "overall, this is a pathetic attempt to regain his 'glory years' from when he was the sports god of a nowhere town in West Central Minnesota."
Hancock's obscurity might have been a reason everyone was so eager to ride on this gravy train of success. Even I have my souvenir sweatshirt still in the basement, bearing the words "Hancock's at state in '88." Cool. It might look a little tight if I pulled it on now.
Morris was never able to quite catch up to Hancock in the years leading up to the High School league putting its foot down with the four-class system.
Yohe coached wrestling and was in the hyper-motivated mold, although his reputation stayed reasonably solid despite a perception of his being a little, well, eccentric. The talking points about Yohe were negative around Morris for a long time, with the spouse of a coach telling me once he's "the biggest creep I've ever seen," but once he finally signed on to coach Morris wrestling, he got a standing ovation at the winter sports banquet, an unusual gesture. Perhaps he was credited with saving our wrestling program.
Yohe was technically a very good coach. But I'm not sure I'd want to be a superintendent or principal at a school where he was coach.
I share all of this as an observer, actually very thankful I never got caught up in the whole sports circus myself as a participant. I didn't experience football head injuries. I didn't experience dramatic and unhealthy weight loss as a wrestler. Of course I didn't have the "talent." Except as a writer. And I am most thankful for that.
The Hancock girls basketball coach thanked Larry Halvorson of the Alexandria paper in his book. I'm honored to have been spared any thanks from that guy. The only excuse I might make for Courneya is that he served in the Vietnam war.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Silverstreaks down our Tigers at Osakis, 14-6

MACA football experienced a bleak night Friday, getting shut out for the first three quarters in a 14-6 loss. We still have a nice 4-2 record. Camden Arndt brought cheers from the Tiger faithful who were present at the Osakis field. Arndt broke loose on a 25-yard run to put MACA on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter. The conversion play was unsuccessful.
Arndt had 61 rushing yards on the night on 13 carries. Colten Scheldorf covered 33 yards in six carries. The signal-caller was Jaret Johnson who added 15 yards to the rushing mix on ten carries. Other rushing yards were turned in by Matt McNeill and Jack Riley. Johnson with his passing arm completed two aerial attempts for 39 yards and had none picked off. The receptions were by Arndt and McNeill.
We were held to seven first downs while Osakis picked up 17. Osakis has the very neat nickname "Silverstreaks," one of my favorites. The Silverstreaks scored one touchdown each in the first and second quarters. It was Triston Stoetzel getting Osakis' first score on a nine-yard scamper. Jonathan Lara kicked the point-after. Luke Imdieke got the second Osakis score on a 29-yard run, after which Lara again kicked the PAT.
Imdieke surpassed 100 rushing yards on the night, achieved on 17 carries. The 100 plateau was also surpassed by Stoetzel: 18 carries, 102 yards. Jacob Backes added 15 rushing yards to the mix. So the Osakis rushing yards total was 293. Osakis got the job done offensively with no passing.
The Silverstreaks are having a fine campaign and now own a 5-1 record.
To the extent that the MACA coaching staff had a shaky relationship with the Willmar paper over the last third of last season, it appears there is no problem this time around. I can only speculate on the background of all this. In the "old days" I'd be quite well-versed on everything. Even when MACA scored 30-plus points in a home playoff win over Breckenridge last season, it didn't get in the Willmar paper, and that ties my hands as a blogger. When BOLD came here and won big a year ago, I can understand why the Morris staff wouldn't be excited about calling that in, but I'm sure the BOLD parents were expecting to see a summary in the Willmar paper. I'm sure lots of phones were ringing. I know how all that goes.
Anyway, I am very happy at the present time to be sharing about the excitement in Tiger football. I cannot be held down very easily, eh?
 
Volleyball: Tiger 3, ACGC 0
Three games were all that were needed for the MACA volleyball team to get the job done Thursday night at home. We got to the ten-win plateau with this success. Scores were 25-17, 25-16 and 25-9.
Bailey Marty gave spark from the serving line with four aces. Kenzie Hockel and Riley Decker each had one ace. The duo of Liz Dietz and LaRae Kram shared the setting work and produced 15 and 12 assists, respectively. Our hitting attack was led by Lexi Pew who pounded nine kills. Marty had impact with her seven kills. Three Tigers each had four kills: Emma Berlinger, Jen Solvie and Hockel. Sophie Carlsen came through with three kills and Kram with one.
Hockel and Pew each went up to perform two ace blocks. Berlinger and Carlsen each had a block. Decker stood out in digs with eleven.
ACGC had no serving aces. Rachel Wilner had 14 set assists. Shayna Hobson slammed six kills for the Falcons. Lindsey Minnick and Erika Tagtow each had three kills and Rachel Wilner and Alexis Schmidt each had one. ACGC had no ace blocks. Jeana Denton led in digs with nine followed by Rachel Wilner with seven.
 
BOLD 3, Tigers 2
The orange and black didn't fare as well in the match against BOLD at Olivia. The West Central Tribune reported that this match was played on Thursday but it was on Tuesday. It was a hard-fought match that had a 2-3 outcome with game scores of 25-23, 25-15, 13-25, 21-25 and 13-15.
Yes, the scores show we were up 2-0 at one point although BOLD was contesting hard. BOLD eked out the advantage to the delight of their home court fans over the last three games. BOLD soared to a 14-1 season record with this success - quite the juggernaut.
LaRae Kram did well in the serving department for the Tigers, executing three ace serves. These Tigers each had one ace: Bailey Marty, Riley Decker, Kenzie Stahman and LeAndra Hormann. It appears that the Willmar paper continues to misspell some of the Tigers' names. I am employing what I feel to be some of the corrections.
Kram and Liz Dietz had the main setting responsibilities and produced 22 and 16 assists respectively. Riley Decker had four assists. Three Tigers each had nine kills to lead: Sophie Carlsen, Lexi Pew and Marty. Kenzie Hockel had eight kills, and the list continues with Emma Berlinger (5), Jen Solvie (3) and Dietz (2).
Four Tigers each had one ace block: Carlsen, Berlinger, Pew and Marty. Decker topped the digs list with 12 and she was followed by Marty (10), Kram, (8), Hockel (7), Dietz (5) and Macey Libbesmeier (5).
Let's move on to the BOLD Warrior stats and here we have Makenna Steffel with two serving aces while Morgan Schmitz and Ashley Trongard each had one. Makayla Snow did the setting work and came through with 47 assists. Steffel was the kill leader with 23 while Trongard had ten kills and Snow had nine. Steffel had three ace blocks and Alex Revier had one. The top Warriors in digs were Brenna Weis (27), Steffel (25) and Schmitz (20).
 
Kavanaugh is in
Could be a dark day for America today as the right wing has taken over with the narrow vote in favor of Brett Kavanaugh. Maybe the sky is not falling. We should always try to be glass-half-full or keg-half-full as Kavanaugh would say. If the political right wing truly has values that will ultimately uplift us and make our lives better - which I gravely doubt - then we will have to be happy. Our only hope is that people like me are wrong and the right wing can genuinely make all our lives better.
So we pray for that. Of course, the Supreme Court should not be so political in the first place. Kavanaugh was not a top candidate at the start. Did he rise because of signs he might be inclined to make Donald Trump a king of sorts, to protect him from indictment? Are we as a nation going to keep acquiescing to what the narcissistic and power-drunk president wants? Are we all going to be like those zombie admirers of Trump at the MAGA rallies? Will we someday view video footage of those rally speeches and be reminded of what turned out to be a dark chapter in American history?
Will there be light at the end of the tunnel: a new president who is kind, who is civil and who is respectful even if espousing views that are ideological? Can we be rescued by someone like Kamala Harris being president? Can Harris stand up to the horrible insults that will be hurled at her by Trump and the right wing media? We need someone with courage, now more than ever.
 
Dorothy Watzke, RIP
I don't go to funerals often but I joined the friends and family of Dorothy Watzke this morning (Saturday) at Federated Church. We paid tribute to the memory of one of those parents of the boomer kids. The kids grew up under such different times. The kids ran wild in a lot of ways and weren't restrained much in any way, shape or form. No one would have thought of contracting "security" to a private company at the school.
We walked and rode bike to school and played self-supervised games where we could learn to be self-starters, albeit with imperfections and some risk. Those were the pre-Jacob Wetterling days. Today we hear of "free range parenting laws" in some states to bring back some freedoms for kids. It's bad to court any risks but it's also bad for kids to grow up so protected and living such a sedentary lifestyle.
The "boomer" brand of freedom may never come back. We wax nostalgic about it. We can blot out some of the negative stuff like bullying, often intense, partying with associated vices, and onerous grading systems in school classes resulting in maybe only 3-4 kids on the 'A' honor roll. Compare that to today.
I was delighted to see Tom Watzke with whom I graduated in the spring of 1973. We heard our class speaker Edie Martin talk about how we should "not be a milquetoast." We certainly broke the mold which I'm sure brought no objection from Dorothy, her husband Jack and the other adults who saw a big unbridled frontier out there for us.
I missed seeing Matt at the funeral.
Dorothy Watzke, RIP.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Kensington Runestone calls for some verses

The Kensington Runestone is a fascinating but sad feature of life in West Central Minnesota. The fascination should be self-evident. The sadness comes from the fact that despite endless scrutiny, no true consensus on authenticity (or lack of it) emerges. No it doesn't, even if many of the academic stripe insist on pooh-poohing it in their normal condescending way.
Serious and sober scholars analyze this slab of rock in the present and come up with complicated analysis that at least leaves the question of authenticity hanging out there. And, if some academic types were to read that sentence and sneer at me, I'd just say "go to hell."
The argument for authenticity asserts that ol' farmer Ohman (or accomplices) could not have had the contemporaneous knowledge to put forward runes in the form that we see on the stone. Too many nuances that cannot be explained. So, I certainly respect the arguments of Scott Wolter and others who would implore us, based on refined research, that we ought to weigh authenticity if not embrace it outright.
As a journalist I got sucked into this matter in the early 1980s. I ended up bitter because of the two sides that could not find common ground. When people in academia decide to reject something, they can become so abrasive and disrespectful. It's like when the "ancient astronaut" theory first started getting currency, despite all the amazing and credible leads behind it all, academia decided this just wasn't for them. So they went into the sneering mode. They probably felt that if this theory were to gain traction, it should have been their idea in the first place. What matters most to them is protecting their own turf, their own fiefdom.
The debate on the Runestone has followed a similar pattern. I recall a professor at UMM who reflected the type of academic condescension I'm presenting here. He is now deceased. He created his own mock artifact as an exhibit to try to show how we ought to have a skeptical attitude.
There's nothing wrong per se with being skeptical. There was in fact sufficient basis for being skeptical to a degree. But the contemporary analysis by some very sharp minds has done more than keep the debate alive, when in fact if the stone was a hoax perpetuated by a few Scandinavian jokesters, by now we could all feel quite certain of that.
I have written song lyrics abut the fascinating exhibit we know as the Kensington Runestone. I have had the chorus melody in my head for some time. I just needed to arrange some verse ideas around it, and now I have it. The song's name: "Writing on the Stone." Will I have it recorded? Possibly. I'm pleased to share it with y'all. 
  
"Writing on the Stone"
by Brian Williams

It's in the runes
A story true
New vistas for the human race
Those Vikings went
As if hell-bent
Through hill and dale with quickened pace

Their longboats breezed
Across the seas
To Greenland and the land beyond
They felt the awe
Of all they saw
And they did sing a Nordic song

CHORUS:
We can see the writing in the runic signs
In a vast new continent where they'd reside
In a Viking frame of mind they rode the tide
And they left their writing on the stone
And they left their writing on the stone


A land so large
They could go far
And not see half the boundless West
They rowed and sailed
And did prevail
When odds were stacked against their quest

They left a stone
The legend goes
With symbols mesmerizing true
When it came forth
It shocked of course
And experts argued like on cue

(repeat chorus)

A farmer found
It in the ground
Trapped in the taproots of a tree
With furrowed brow
He wondered how
This curious stone had come to be

He did not seek
Celebrity
But now there was such fertile ground
For paper scribes
From far and wide
To make him stand out from the crowd

(repeat chorus)

He reached his end
Our farmer friend
With discourse still not put to rest
About his stone
Was it a joke?
Or proof that Vikings passed the test?

We keep the faith
Keep our game face
So we can know our history
Pilgrims be damned
Let Norway stand
As where we owe our pedigree

(repeat chorus)


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