Can we adjust long-term to this new lifestyle? We are still fairly new into this. It seemed to come out of the blue. Our spirits were lifted for at least the short-term by summer-like weather on Monday. There was home improvement activity, or should I say yard improvement in my neighborhood. We have new residents who I do not know because in America of 2020, we do not get to know our neighbors. It did not used to be that way.
We once had neighborhood parties on Northridge Drive. File that away with Norman Rockwell magazine covers. It is too easy to say the old days were better. Our nature is to filter out bad aspects of the past while focusing on the good. Isn't some affinity with neighbors a good thing? Perhaps today we see privacy as more of a bedrock.
My yard improvement project Monday was removal of brush piles and some logs that had built up over time. The buildup was acceptable for as long as it was, because we are semi-rural. So I guess we get a pass for certain things that would be no-go in town. Probably a little fungible. I was starting to feel concerned that if I held off much longer having a tree service come, I could get a complaint.
Chore is done now. Aesthetically it's better but there's probably a little loss of windbreak. The northwest wind roars down from the slightly elevated land to the north in winter.
The Earn Julius farm was well-established when the residential strip sprouted in the early 1960s. The Holts of the soils lab moved in right next to the lab, how convenient. Then came us. Faces have changed through the years but Williams has been a constant with our mailbox on the pink stand.
The first summer-like day probably served to get our minds off the current, well, circumstances. The pandemic has profoundly changed everything. The realistic side of us acknowledges there is still danger with our attempts to circulate normally again. A part of us wants so badly to do that. All the new rules are downright mystifying because it's important to implement this with precision. Social distancing? Six feet? A store clerk still must present a receipt to a customer. "We can't throw it at them," a business spokesman said on the radio the other day.
Customers can circulate pretty freely in some places like grocery stores which seem like an oasis of normality amid the drastic restrictions. The store is essential, yes. But do we really want to accept the risk that comes about? Again there's conflict: the rational side of us that wants to recognize the limitations, and the human side that desperately wants life as normal. The latter urge comes close to trumping the former, no doubt unfortunately.
I suppose we take risks when we drive an automobile each day. We hear about traffic fatalities constantly. Many of us have been impacted by death or serious injury among family or people we know/love, yet we accept the risk.
We see all the rules and recommendations in connection for dealing with the pandemic. Yet we know there are all sorts of weaknesses or breakdowns in the strategies. A part of us must insist on simply "plugging away" with our daily routine as we seek to shut out the most disturbing thoughts. The anti-lockdown protesters around the country have to be thinking this way. The judges who required the in-person voting in Wisconsin had to have been thinking this way. New Covid cases have been attributed to the voting.
Today, Tuesday, we hear so much about the reopening plans. How can we not feel joyous and buoyant about this? We are in a time of year that would normally be full of school activities to cap the school year, concerts etc. It's impossible to imagine life with this whole slate wiped out. Just imagine all the music concerts at UMM in April and May. Our public school would be abuzz. Instead we have all been hunkered down.
Kids and learning
Distance learning is supposed to be in effect. Reports are surfacing, though, that parents are getting discouraged about this as time goes on. If kids are going to be at home, maybe our impulse toward privacy is surfacing. "We'll take care of ourselves." I'm not a parent but maybe parents feel as though keeping their kids active with self-directed reading is good enough. Good enough for the short term anyway.
Maybe we'll all realize that basic reading, writing and arithmetic, the things achieved through the old eighth grade education, is really good enough. One argument for this is that "advanced" learning seems less necessary today - paradoxical yes - because of our digital age and the mind-boggling shortcuts to efficiency. We literally do not need to work as hard. My old friend Tony O'Keefe, RIP, said "you only work if you have to."
Work is presented as a virtue but it really is done by necessity. And "work" today is not measured by the traditional metrics, so much as before, from when the 40-hour week was a standard and we clicked our heels on Friday and got set for the weekend with its opportunities for alcohol consumption as an escape. That old template for living has gotten erased. Just accept it - it's reality.
And if distance learning is really to be embraced, how do we know it can't be with a whole new system that has little connection to our local taxpayer-supported bricks and mortar schools? Why can't seventh graders everywhere take online-based lessons from the finest educators? The sea change lying ahead can be disturbing. Our livelihoods will be disrupted or eliminated, which is why we hear louder arguments for UBI (universal basic income) which would give us some insulation from the turbulence. Andrew Yang has been a leader arguing for UBI.
Shutdown accelerates natural change
Pre-pandemic we were already on the road to far more home-based work duties. We were held back some by a natural fear of drastic change, or maybe by customers' expectations of traditional offices. But those "legacy" considerations are being put aside even faster due to our current circumstances. Change happens and then years later we remember the quaint traits of how it used to be. What was it like going from Morris to Cyrus in horse and buggy, or in the earliest motor vehicles? Will we reminisce someday about how so much of our work was once in offices where we had to commute to?
Will inner-ring suburbs lose their attractiveness as fewer people need to commute? Will auto transportation itself be a much lower priority? Surely our air could be made cleaner. Surely there would be satisfaction in knowing that auto vehicle mishaps with all the tragedy will go down. So maybe someday we'll think it's insane how our highway arteries in highly populated areas were such congested madhouses of motor vehicle traffic. Why did we ever put up with it?
Amid all these thoughts we welcome early summer of 2020. We go outside and we just want the pandemic to go away. We can even try to be in denial.
The home or yard improvement projects on Northridge Drive send the strong message that we are all trying to be optimistic. Our natural inclination.
We don't even want to think about if the 2020-21 school year is now imperiled. It could well be. Families will work to adjust and to advance learning in a practical way because to cite a cliche, kids really do want to learn. It's less of a cliche today and more practical reality because of online communications, the availability of all the info and enrichment in the world, at your fingertips. Kids want to absorb knowledge and new and interesting things, and the opportunities are now afforded them. It really is a bonanza.
The people left whistling past the graveyard are those who have made their living in the established manner of schooling: get on the orange school bus, get bullied, arrive at school too tired and probably agitated, survive the day with rules and restrictions that can come across like prison, although it's probably not as bad as it once was. The people who run schools know the world we're in, and that their sense of monopoly has been crushed - they had better sell themselves, create a user-friendly environment.
It's too late for me of course. Make sure your kids learn reading, writing and arithmetic. Where has "advanced education" gotten us? The U.S. populace elected Donald Trump. You know those drawings that show the progression of ape to man? Maybe we're going backwards now. Just don't drink Clorox.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Friday, April 24, 2020
Somber anniversary: Mom's death in 2018
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| Martha Williams at right with her mother Hilda and identical twin nephews Allan and Norman, sons of Edwin (Mom's brother) and Doris Ohlson of California |
Three of my four grandparents were gone at the time I came into the world in 1955. My mother's mother Hilda lived with us in Morris until her passing in 1963. She came down with a stroke in our house and died at the Morris hospital. My mom and dad passed away right in our house with me within feet of them. Mom spent six weeks in a nursing home before returning home for the last year of her life.
Mom grew up in pretty humble circumstances in Brainerd MN. I remember in the '70s we'd drive by her old home place. Hers was a family not with lots of material blessings but surely with love.
Andrew had a first wife named Johanek who died in 1920 at age 46. Mom's sister-in-law Doris, still with us today in California, tells me that to her knowledge, Andrew and Johanek had no children.
I knew nothing about Johanek until observing the Evergreen Cemetery website, Brainerd. Perhaps a real genealogy "buff" could learn more about her - I think it's sad I cannot. Her life left barely an imprint based on what we can learn today. No one should be in that position.
So my grandfather Andrew began his family of three children with Hilda when he was at an advanced age for this. Mom graduated from Washington High School in Brainerd in 1942 when our nation was of course plunged into wartime. Her formative years were when FDR was guiding the country like an essential patriarch. The nation was trying to shed vestiges of the Depression. Both my parents went through life with the cautious traits of people who experienced the Depression.
I think they made me a little too scared of spending money. They'd come with me for clothes buying and they'd insist that I get items I could "grow into." That might mean I'd look dorky in the short term. But the clothes had to last a maximum amount of time, thus to be a practical purchase. Clothes seemed expensive in my childhood relative to other things. That's quite in contrast with today.
Clothing is bought today to feel comfortable so you don't have to worry about judgments based on style. Nor does anyone have to worry about how they dress for going to church. Again, quite a different situation when I was young. A male usher dressed in suit and tie would greet you at the church sanctuary and lead you to the suggested seating place in the pews. Today there are no ushers. Someone dressed totally casual might be there to hand you your weekly bulletin, male or female, young or old. Oh, and that's great. Except that it might be nice seeing more people in church.
Our family church is First Lutheran in Morris, a church that seems challenged with numbers and finances. Still lots of humanity and love of course, the things that really matter. We are considered a politically liberal church today, fine by me, but lots of people seem influenced by political thought leaders to eschew such a place and to vote for Donald Trump.
Can you imagine how my mom Martha would react to Trump? I wouldn't even allow her to hear a news report about the "Access Hollywood" tape. She grew up when people were supposed to be proper. We were supposed to be ashamed of our base mortal impulses. We were supposed to ask forgiveness for such things.
I sent Mom on many motorcoach tours, one of which was to Washington D.C. It was when the FDR memorial was just getting finished. I told her that if it was not on the itinerary, she should ask about the possibility of visiting. It was done. Mom took a photo of the sculpture of FDR that had his dog "Fala" at his side. My father was always amused by the FDR comment "you can criticize me all you want but don't criticize my dog." Fala is not as well remembered today. There are references in the 1960s comedy movie "McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force."
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| Mom at left w/ sister Mildred |
My father Ralph joined the Navy and served as lieutenant in the Pacific Theater. I don't know to what extent he would have been involved in "Operation Downfall," the planned land invasion of Japan. Maybe his life was saved by the atomic bomb along with the lives of so many others. Tragically, Stevens County lost the life of Floyd Lange who was on the USS Luce when it was struck by a Kamikaze pilot in the closing stages.
We remember the sacrifice of such souls on Memorial Day. But how wonderful if the war had not been fought. A thought: If the current pandemic had happened in 1942, would it have totally shut down the war?
Eerily beautiful
Have you seen the photos that show major cities looking so clean now without the air pollution? In an eerie sort of way they look nice, look desirable. Would that we could live in such a clean world without sacrifices in the economy. I have wondered if extraterrestrials planted the virus as a way of saving the planet, a scenario just like in the movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still." Anyone have any better theories about how the virus came about?
We hear the staggering numbers of nursing home casualties. Alas, the lives seem to become like "statistics" by their end. All of us, whether we admit it or not, have the thought "well, those people were pretty close to the end anyway." A pox on us but we're human. How concerning for me if such a bug had come along when my mom was at Barrett Care Center. It was just six weeks but it seems longer in my mind.
Knute Nelson Hospice became like family for us in the ensuing months. And yes it could be difficult at times. Mom went through several significant health issues. It was a learning process for me sometimes. She had her first UTI at the time of the men's chorus reunion at UMM. I was not aware that this condition can cause some mental instability.
I learned about ulcerative colitis for which pills were prescribed, successfully twice. It was like a godsend for those pills to work. Dr. Barnstuble did yeoman's work with a patient who was on the downslide of life, for whom there were not going to be nice tidy answers all the time, to say the least. The doctor rolled up his sleeves and applied his best judgment. So kudos to him and to Dr. Sam.
A pivotal moment in Mom's life was on a Fourth of July, I remember, when I just happened to be looking at her when she reached up to her left shoulder and made a face indicating pain. She had always said "no" to a mammogram. She was advised by her doctor previous to Barnstuble that she "probably" had cancer. I guess I should have asserted myself sooner.
After seeing her on that Fourth of July project pain, that was it! But even then, I postponed the mammogram a week because I read skeptical things online about mammograms. But then we went ahead and did it, at SCMC. Dr. Sam operated on her. Several years earlier Dr. Sam operated on Mom for "adhesions" when her symptoms seemed as though she might be dying. Dr. Sam was a miracle worker with all his work.
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| Martha (left) w/ siblings Edwin, Mildred |
So many memories come back at the anniversary of her passing on a tranquil spring day in 2018. The funeral service was wonderful. At present a funeral cannot even be held. Will the whole custom of funerals change permanently? Who knows?
Mom grew up in a foreboding world that had the Depression. No one could have known for sure what the future would hold. We are right back in the same circumstances today. Mom would totally understand. She would understand fully the vicissitudes of life, and more importantly that God would always be watching over us. Martha Williams, RIP.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwillhy73@yahoo.com
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
History doesn't always even rhyme
The current crisis has pulled us into a new world, one we have to accept whether we like it or not. We have had emergencies in the past like the bombing of Pearl Harbor. People can be fond of making comparisons. They'll equate our current circumstances with something like the onset of WWII or the Great Depression.
Sometimes people will hesitate with such comparisons but then they'll add: "History doesn't repeat itself but it rhymes." My late father would sometimes say "analogies are dangerous." Grappling with the current situation demands recognition that it's something new, IMHO.
No one could have felt certain how WWII was going to play out. There was no script calling for a scenario of roughly four years in terms of the U.S. involvement. The actual conflict of course pre-dated Pearl Harbor. The atomic bomb was not on the table until the very end. Once developed, the bomb changed everything. So we got the Cold War which in such hideous fashion planted the seeds for the Vietnam war.
The Depression created a whole generation of Americans who were a little paranoid. We must wonder: What if the Depression and WWII had not happened? The shattering events are so ingrained in our minds and history books, it takes some effort to weave an alternate history. Humanity always has choices to make. Alternate histories are a fascinating branch of writing, which prompts the question: is it fiction or non-fiction? Such works must of course be fact-based.
What if General Lee had won at Gettysburg? Frankly it was difficult for either side to "win" a large-scale battle in the Civil War. The two sides would simply shoot each other up. Lee's gamble was that the pain would prompt the North to sue for peace.
What went wrong with humanity, that the tragedy of WWII developed the way it did: evil and death on an incomprehensible scale? Civilization broke down. Memorial Day speeches, warm and uplifting as they are, cannot negate the scale of the tragedy experienced.
Is there really any road map from the past experiences to guide us now? Can we even be sure that the virus with its new forms (mutations) and manifestations won't wipe out humanity? We can't even be sure about this, can we. And if we survive, what will history books say about the reaction we are showing at present? There is no way to know. What will history books say about how so many of our leaders are weighing the economy against human lives?
We have colleges whose fundamental purpose is to instill wisdom, and yet we have a lieutenant governor of Texas saying on national TV "there are things more important than living." Boy, I'd like to hash over that little nugget with a philosophy professor I remember from college, last name Corliss. I remember him talking about the belief "you can't define 'good' without using the word itself or a close synonym." Philosophy professors might be especially helpful for us now.
Is the pandemic going to shake us up in such a profound way, it will end up being like the crises of the mid-20th Century? It might "rhyme" and it might not. To repeat: "analogies are dangerous."
Aren't you concerned about how historical accounts will someday treat our U.S. president? I mean, if you're one of the many who voted for Trump in our Seventh Congressional District, this most "red" district, are you comfortable as you ponder how history is going to treat him? That judgment is going to reflect on you. It will get personal.
A Democrat as president would have taken charge faster vs. the crisis, not as distracted by how the stock market was likely to react. Democrats are programmed more to take care of people's basic needs. Barack Obama would surely have done this. He would have adhered to the "pandemic playbook." He wouldn't play games with diversions and with tossing scraps of satisfaction to a narrow base, the latter exemplified by Trump's immigration statement. Trump knows immigration is a handy boogeyman.
But can his self-interested tactics last much longer? It's so hard to predict now because there is so much we still don't know about the virus.
We go out in public with such mixed thoughts because we can't know if we're safe. A grocery store will make "wipes" available. Seems very logical but what if we miss a little spot? Will that kill you? We see all these micro efforts at trying to feel safe. Meanwhile in Georgia, look how the governor is trying to open things up. Just like the mayor in "Jaws" who wanted to hush up the shark worry. The character was so obviously "evil" in the eyes of people who watched the movie. Today there are politicians who seem totally in that mold. And they have been elected by us, the U.S. citizens. How are future history books going to judge them?
If we can land on our feet, will it be with a totally new grasp of what a proper civilization is, a civilization not so riveted on the day-to-day fluctuations of the Dow Jones? I thought Republicans preferred a minimal government in our lives, and yet they look to their "fearless leader," this Trump fellow, to guide them along literally every day, as if we owe our welfare to this political leader.
I rolled out of bed this morning and for a few semi-awake moments, forget about what all is going on. That happen to you to? No, I won't be going to the Morris library to glance at the West Central Tribune with its sports section front page full of the usual photos of kids who happen to have athletic talent. Athletes are surely the top tier of our young people, right? Well, I don't buy that. And now we're living in a world without any high school sports.
What are kids thinking as they see all the people around them grapple with a crisis? They are realizing that life goes on even with no sports. What an amazing revelation.
Kids can view life through a more clear lens than the rest of us. What do they think as they see the most zealous conservatives in the media talk like the economy and stock market must be served as if there is a price to be paid with a substantial number of lives lost? Because that is what we are hearing with little if any nuance. The people you hear in the media are vain and attention-seeking - they can be aligned with narrow interests that have an economic agenda.
To counter that, let's remember "all politics is local." We all want to know if there are any virus cases confirmed in our own county. We all want our own immediate lives and interests to be served, not the proclamations from someone like Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh. The attorney general of the U.S., a puppet or sycophant of the president, is threatening to take legal action against states that he sees as overly strict with movements of people. Talk about "big government!"
We can be thankful we don't have the kind of leadership that can characterize the southern states like Texas with its lieutenant governor. "There are things more important than living." Will this go side-by-side with Neville Chamberlain? Chamberlain BTW has not been reviled in Great Britain to the extent as elsewhere like here in the U.S. where his name has become like a cudgel. Or handy cliche.
The economy is paramount? Well how do you define "economy?" Is it something serving the interests of all the people, and if not how can you possibly feed at its trough? How do you make the moral argument? How can you seriously suggest that so many of us are to be viewed as expendable, literally, for the sake of seeing "green arrows" with the stock market?
Maybe we need a more socialist-oriented economy. Maybe we don't have to live by the opulent standards that have characterized us. Why travel so much? Why fly so much? Our new digital tools enable us to communicate with anyone at any time. Why not truly combat climate change? Why do so many of us wish to diss that in the name of Trump?
We have political leaders like in Texas and Georgia who seem comic with their denial of risk, in Georgia with the idea that even bowling alleys can open up. So, "there are more important things than living." Like bowling? Aren't you all worried how the kids of today are eventually going to judge us all?
I'm sure the kids are realizing even faster than their parents that life can go on just fine without sports. Keep the buses in the bus garage. Let's all just stay put. The Federal government should assign a "czar" to tackle the pandemic 100 percent regardless of any short-term economic pain, regardless of the "red arrows" down.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
Sometimes people will hesitate with such comparisons but then they'll add: "History doesn't repeat itself but it rhymes." My late father would sometimes say "analogies are dangerous." Grappling with the current situation demands recognition that it's something new, IMHO.
No one could have felt certain how WWII was going to play out. There was no script calling for a scenario of roughly four years in terms of the U.S. involvement. The actual conflict of course pre-dated Pearl Harbor. The atomic bomb was not on the table until the very end. Once developed, the bomb changed everything. So we got the Cold War which in such hideous fashion planted the seeds for the Vietnam war.
The Depression created a whole generation of Americans who were a little paranoid. We must wonder: What if the Depression and WWII had not happened? The shattering events are so ingrained in our minds and history books, it takes some effort to weave an alternate history. Humanity always has choices to make. Alternate histories are a fascinating branch of writing, which prompts the question: is it fiction or non-fiction? Such works must of course be fact-based.
What if General Lee had won at Gettysburg? Frankly it was difficult for either side to "win" a large-scale battle in the Civil War. The two sides would simply shoot each other up. Lee's gamble was that the pain would prompt the North to sue for peace.
What went wrong with humanity, that the tragedy of WWII developed the way it did: evil and death on an incomprehensible scale? Civilization broke down. Memorial Day speeches, warm and uplifting as they are, cannot negate the scale of the tragedy experienced.
Is there really any road map from the past experiences to guide us now? Can we even be sure that the virus with its new forms (mutations) and manifestations won't wipe out humanity? We can't even be sure about this, can we. And if we survive, what will history books say about the reaction we are showing at present? There is no way to know. What will history books say about how so many of our leaders are weighing the economy against human lives?
We have colleges whose fundamental purpose is to instill wisdom, and yet we have a lieutenant governor of Texas saying on national TV "there are things more important than living." Boy, I'd like to hash over that little nugget with a philosophy professor I remember from college, last name Corliss. I remember him talking about the belief "you can't define 'good' without using the word itself or a close synonym." Philosophy professors might be especially helpful for us now.
Is the pandemic going to shake us up in such a profound way, it will end up being like the crises of the mid-20th Century? It might "rhyme" and it might not. To repeat: "analogies are dangerous."
Aren't you concerned about how historical accounts will someday treat our U.S. president? I mean, if you're one of the many who voted for Trump in our Seventh Congressional District, this most "red" district, are you comfortable as you ponder how history is going to treat him? That judgment is going to reflect on you. It will get personal.
A Democrat as president would have taken charge faster vs. the crisis, not as distracted by how the stock market was likely to react. Democrats are programmed more to take care of people's basic needs. Barack Obama would surely have done this. He would have adhered to the "pandemic playbook." He wouldn't play games with diversions and with tossing scraps of satisfaction to a narrow base, the latter exemplified by Trump's immigration statement. Trump knows immigration is a handy boogeyman.
But can his self-interested tactics last much longer? It's so hard to predict now because there is so much we still don't know about the virus.
We go out in public with such mixed thoughts because we can't know if we're safe. A grocery store will make "wipes" available. Seems very logical but what if we miss a little spot? Will that kill you? We see all these micro efforts at trying to feel safe. Meanwhile in Georgia, look how the governor is trying to open things up. Just like the mayor in "Jaws" who wanted to hush up the shark worry. The character was so obviously "evil" in the eyes of people who watched the movie. Today there are politicians who seem totally in that mold. And they have been elected by us, the U.S. citizens. How are future history books going to judge them?
If we can land on our feet, will it be with a totally new grasp of what a proper civilization is, a civilization not so riveted on the day-to-day fluctuations of the Dow Jones? I thought Republicans preferred a minimal government in our lives, and yet they look to their "fearless leader," this Trump fellow, to guide them along literally every day, as if we owe our welfare to this political leader.
I rolled out of bed this morning and for a few semi-awake moments, forget about what all is going on. That happen to you to? No, I won't be going to the Morris library to glance at the West Central Tribune with its sports section front page full of the usual photos of kids who happen to have athletic talent. Athletes are surely the top tier of our young people, right? Well, I don't buy that. And now we're living in a world without any high school sports.
What are kids thinking as they see all the people around them grapple with a crisis? They are realizing that life goes on even with no sports. What an amazing revelation.
Kids can view life through a more clear lens than the rest of us. What do they think as they see the most zealous conservatives in the media talk like the economy and stock market must be served as if there is a price to be paid with a substantial number of lives lost? Because that is what we are hearing with little if any nuance. The people you hear in the media are vain and attention-seeking - they can be aligned with narrow interests that have an economic agenda.
To counter that, let's remember "all politics is local." We all want to know if there are any virus cases confirmed in our own county. We all want our own immediate lives and interests to be served, not the proclamations from someone like Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh. The attorney general of the U.S., a puppet or sycophant of the president, is threatening to take legal action against states that he sees as overly strict with movements of people. Talk about "big government!"
We can be thankful we don't have the kind of leadership that can characterize the southern states like Texas with its lieutenant governor. "There are things more important than living." Will this go side-by-side with Neville Chamberlain? Chamberlain BTW has not been reviled in Great Britain to the extent as elsewhere like here in the U.S. where his name has become like a cudgel. Or handy cliche.
The economy is paramount? Well how do you define "economy?" Is it something serving the interests of all the people, and if not how can you possibly feed at its trough? How do you make the moral argument? How can you seriously suggest that so many of us are to be viewed as expendable, literally, for the sake of seeing "green arrows" with the stock market?
Maybe we need a more socialist-oriented economy. Maybe we don't have to live by the opulent standards that have characterized us. Why travel so much? Why fly so much? Our new digital tools enable us to communicate with anyone at any time. Why not truly combat climate change? Why do so many of us wish to diss that in the name of Trump?
We have political leaders like in Texas and Georgia who seem comic with their denial of risk, in Georgia with the idea that even bowling alleys can open up. So, "there are more important things than living." Like bowling? Aren't you all worried how the kids of today are eventually going to judge us all?
I'm sure the kids are realizing even faster than their parents that life can go on just fine without sports. Keep the buses in the bus garage. Let's all just stay put. The Federal government should assign a "czar" to tackle the pandemic 100 percent regardless of any short-term economic pain, regardless of the "red arrows" down.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
Sunday, April 19, 2020
Finding peace on Sunday in the pandemic
Our back yard continues so tranquil with the wildlife oblivious to the crisis going on in our human world. I remember setting Mom up for her morning bran flakes in the last delicate year of her life. We have rabbits in our neighborhood. No one is shooting them any more. We're in the city limits on the north end of Morris so we ought not use guns.
I realize wildlife can get out of control. Hunting has the purpose of managing it. My late father was big on hunting. I gather it was imbued in male culture when his generation was young. A major part of the 1940 Armistice Day blizzard history is the tragic ending for so many hunters. It's less popular today, isn't it? Seems so and it seems logical.
I appreciate my father's efforts at taking me hunting. It did not have the same appeal for me. We eventually got rid of all our guns. My father seemed to go through a philosophical change too. I remember him saying "live and let live."
Thoughts of family are paramount today as it's Sunday. Our house has big picture windows that face to the north. We have a rather "wild" back yard, a little overgrown and I've been working to remedy that. It's wild enough that logically we get wildlife. So Mom and I would enjoy seeing at least one rabbit on a typical morning.
I guess people with gardens are not comfortable with such a sight. But Mom and I found the rabbits quite agreeable. I don't really have a garden but I plant zinnias in a patch of soil directly in front of the house. This is in front of the large picture windows we have facing to the south. Dad obviously appreciated these views when planning the house.
I had one major home improvement project done right after Mom died. Western Products, a real fine company, came and put in new picture windows facing the south. My cousin Kenny of Idaho told me the south side of the house is more susceptible to the effects of aging as it faces the sun more. Western Products put in state of the art windows at a price that guaranteed this was going to be a pretty fine product! I endorse them.
Mom and I would have imaginary conversations with the rabbits some mornings. Let's remember Beatrix Potter. Judy Bluth of Morris is known as a big Beatrix Potter fan. She had a collection of Peter Rabbit books on display at the public library. I had an old book that I gave to her through our then-library director Melissa Yauk. Yauk BTW resides in Idaho now. Our librarian now is Anne Barber who is dealing with the circumstances of the shutdown for the pandemic.
My life is slow since leaving the newspaper world and I have depended on just a handful of public places for some social stimulation. The library is one of them. It's scratched off the list now. What isn't scratched off the list?
It's Sunday morning as I write this and I'd be at a restaurant for breakfast at around 8:15. Don's usually for Sunday. I'd park my car on west side of library in between Don's and my church. I miss seeing the waitresses at Don's and everyone who's normally there actually. After breakfast I'd walk to church. This is First Lutheran, a bastion for Christians who have not been sucked into the ultra-conservative world of Donald Trump.
I hope the hard-right Christians can continue to put up with us ELCA Lutherans. It's amazing because when I was young, Lutherans were considered conservative. The question then was to understand the difference between Lutherans and Catholics. I had friends who introduced me to Catholicism by taking me to Catholic bingo! Funny how I was accepted for bingo but I can't take communion at a Catholic funeral. An old friend with whom I shared this point retorted: "We'll always take your money!"
Today it's not the dichotomy of Protestants and Catholics that characterize faith. We have the zealous Trump crowd that seems so abrasive and paranoid. They can't stand being dragged into the mid-portion of this new century. But they had better put parts of their regressive political agenda aside now - we have the pandemic that ought to command our unified attention.
Instead we have Trump - so predictable this was - pounding away with the paranoid political stuff, his flock everywhere so eager to follow him, to shout "fake news" at the media etc.
Well I'm a proud ELCA Lutheran and really do not consider myself terribly political anyway. I simply accept gay rights and women's reproductive health rights as proper and most incontrovertible. There is room for debating around the edges. It needs to be calm which is something that Trump knocks over like a bear with boxing gloves. It's always "us vs. them" in his eyes, and he cannot resist turning up heat on Democratic governors like our own most reasonable Gov. Walz. How petty and shallow. How needlessly combative.
There is one escape I can find from the tremendous pandemic stress and Trump fatigue. And that's to look out the picture window to our back yard with its rabbits and other wildlife. Mom and I would imagine the rabbits talking about how they liked our yard. Oh, ditto with the squirrels. How amazing is their skill with jumping from one high-up tree branch to another.
I began my previous post by quoting "just another day in paradise." I intended it having some ironic meaning. But in the peace of a Sunday morning, looking over our "wild" back yard, it has literal meaning. Who knows what the future holds now? We must caress the present with whatever joy it gives us. Peace.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwillyu73@yahoo.com
I realize wildlife can get out of control. Hunting has the purpose of managing it. My late father was big on hunting. I gather it was imbued in male culture when his generation was young. A major part of the 1940 Armistice Day blizzard history is the tragic ending for so many hunters. It's less popular today, isn't it? Seems so and it seems logical.
I appreciate my father's efforts at taking me hunting. It did not have the same appeal for me. We eventually got rid of all our guns. My father seemed to go through a philosophical change too. I remember him saying "live and let live."
Thoughts of family are paramount today as it's Sunday. Our house has big picture windows that face to the north. We have a rather "wild" back yard, a little overgrown and I've been working to remedy that. It's wild enough that logically we get wildlife. So Mom and I would enjoy seeing at least one rabbit on a typical morning.
I guess people with gardens are not comfortable with such a sight. But Mom and I found the rabbits quite agreeable. I don't really have a garden but I plant zinnias in a patch of soil directly in front of the house. This is in front of the large picture windows we have facing to the south. Dad obviously appreciated these views when planning the house.
I had one major home improvement project done right after Mom died. Western Products, a real fine company, came and put in new picture windows facing the south. My cousin Kenny of Idaho told me the south side of the house is more susceptible to the effects of aging as it faces the sun more. Western Products put in state of the art windows at a price that guaranteed this was going to be a pretty fine product! I endorse them.
Mom and I would have imaginary conversations with the rabbits some mornings. Let's remember Beatrix Potter. Judy Bluth of Morris is known as a big Beatrix Potter fan. She had a collection of Peter Rabbit books on display at the public library. I had an old book that I gave to her through our then-library director Melissa Yauk. Yauk BTW resides in Idaho now. Our librarian now is Anne Barber who is dealing with the circumstances of the shutdown for the pandemic.
My life is slow since leaving the newspaper world and I have depended on just a handful of public places for some social stimulation. The library is one of them. It's scratched off the list now. What isn't scratched off the list?
It's Sunday morning as I write this and I'd be at a restaurant for breakfast at around 8:15. Don's usually for Sunday. I'd park my car on west side of library in between Don's and my church. I miss seeing the waitresses at Don's and everyone who's normally there actually. After breakfast I'd walk to church. This is First Lutheran, a bastion for Christians who have not been sucked into the ultra-conservative world of Donald Trump.
I hope the hard-right Christians can continue to put up with us ELCA Lutherans. It's amazing because when I was young, Lutherans were considered conservative. The question then was to understand the difference between Lutherans and Catholics. I had friends who introduced me to Catholicism by taking me to Catholic bingo! Funny how I was accepted for bingo but I can't take communion at a Catholic funeral. An old friend with whom I shared this point retorted: "We'll always take your money!"
Today it's not the dichotomy of Protestants and Catholics that characterize faith. We have the zealous Trump crowd that seems so abrasive and paranoid. They can't stand being dragged into the mid-portion of this new century. But they had better put parts of their regressive political agenda aside now - we have the pandemic that ought to command our unified attention.
Instead we have Trump - so predictable this was - pounding away with the paranoid political stuff, his flock everywhere so eager to follow him, to shout "fake news" at the media etc.
Well I'm a proud ELCA Lutheran and really do not consider myself terribly political anyway. I simply accept gay rights and women's reproductive health rights as proper and most incontrovertible. There is room for debating around the edges. It needs to be calm which is something that Trump knocks over like a bear with boxing gloves. It's always "us vs. them" in his eyes, and he cannot resist turning up heat on Democratic governors like our own most reasonable Gov. Walz. How petty and shallow. How needlessly combative.
There is one escape I can find from the tremendous pandemic stress and Trump fatigue. And that's to look out the picture window to our back yard with its rabbits and other wildlife. Mom and I would imagine the rabbits talking about how they liked our yard. Oh, ditto with the squirrels. How amazing is their skill with jumping from one high-up tree branch to another.
I began my previous post by quoting "just another day in paradise." I intended it having some ironic meaning. But in the peace of a Sunday morning, looking over our "wild" back yard, it has literal meaning. Who knows what the future holds now? We must caress the present with whatever joy it gives us. Peace.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwillyu73@yahoo.com
Friday, April 17, 2020
Still some blessings short-term
"Just another day in paradise," if you wish to make a point by contradiction. We wax philosophical in these days. The whole world now strikes us as a much more delicate, risk-filled place. We consider history and other earthquake-type events that pulled us from the sense of certainty we thought we had.
One day, we here in Morris dealt with such minor things as what kind of water softener we had, whether the UMM softball complex called for upgrading, and whether we had to absolutely have our seat belts on at all times.
Can I assume that now the dark cloud of the pandemic has arrived, the local police aren't so consumed with ticky-tack citations? I mean, we're all pulled into a world now where we focus on the really big issues, the really big questions. Let's put aside the word "existential." I remember in college a rather raging discussion over whether anyone could really explain what the word meant. Now there's a minor issue - solution is to just find other words.
Years ago I heard the theory that extraterrestrials would plant a virus sometimes to thin the population. Or, maybe if they get ticked off for some reason. You have no doubt heard of ETs' connection to Antarctica. So maybe the ETs are upset about the global warming we've caused, as it's reducing the polar ice caps. Less snow and ice to provide cover? They needn't fear us anyway as they possess superior powers. The fear is on our part.
Looking their way, I could quote a cliche type of line from sci-fi movies: "These beings are of obviously superior intelligence." Maybe the line per se was never actually spoken, like "play it again Sam." And General Sherman never actually said "war is hell." It's a paraphrase. My well-received song about the First Minnesota Volunteer Regiment has the title "Take Those Colors," something supposedly said by General Hancock to the regiment during the battle of Gettysburg. It's a paraphrase - so tempting always to arrive at paraphrases which then get accepted as fact.
General Hancock said "See those colors? Well then take them."
The thoughts about ETs, Antarctica and the virus might be expected to come from middle-of-the-night AM radio. It's always entrancing to listen to such stuff. George Noory? When I get weary of listening to this, I might turn to permabear economic commentators. The "gold bugs?" They too are entrancing in a particular way. They are having a field day now with the current circumstances of the pandemic and the apparent shifting of the economic ground underneath us.
The gold bugs can give you a hundred convincing reasons why the stock market is about to crash, then the opposite happens. David Stockman may not be a true gold bug but he has the same kind of track record. He can write a book about economics as thick as the Bible and then he's wrong, wrong, wrong on forecasts.
Based on that, why don't we weigh seriously the theory about extraterrestrials, viruses and population-thinning? Our human species may owe itself to the ETs as we may be a hybrid: aliens and Earth primates.
Avoid the "E" word
Maybe it's "just another day in paradise" here in mid-April of 2020, as we normally get eager for warm weather, in the sense our lives have surely slowed. Also, in the sense we can forget about all the nit-picky things that normally distract. Now we can worry about the short list of big picture items. Existential? Nah, let's back off from that word.
The confinement means many of us are spending far more time with immediate family than usual. I have joked this might be bad. Seriously it can be quite good. In the short term it's manageable because 1) we haven't felt the full effects of the shutdown yet, and 2) the government can bail us all out, at least for a while. Beyond the short term, who the h--- knows what awaits us. Maybe we're at the mercy of the extraterrestrials.
The shutdown has revealed that us hybrids or whatever we are engage in confusing thought patterns. A dude in Traverse County already got legally charged for violating the governor's stay-at-home order. A huge asterisk to be applied here: the guy had other issues with his behavior, let's leave it at that. Government overreach with laws applied as government sees fit.
So, you can't leave your home for any reason, "but if you have to, then you can."
If this virus is truly a killer, why do we so casually apply a "wipe" on the handles of our shopping basket at Willie's? Don't you have to lift the basket up first? If masks are essential, why do some employees of Willie's wear them, others don't? Why does my accountant's office have closed doors at the height of tax season, while at the same time I could enter Town and Country and buy hedge clippers? I haven't been in T & C but I'm told by a neighboring business that it's "essential."
The Apostolics are probably circulating pretty freely, as they are Fox News-oriented people who are fed the idea that the pandemic is overblown, or even if it isn't, it's more important to keep the economy going than to save lives. And then they are "pro-life" also. The ETs must be looking over us with real wonderment sometimes.
I have read over the years that the movie "Jaws" lost legitimacy because the town's mayor was so ridiculously evil, wanting to prioritize business over lives in his tourist place. Man, get real. But in 2020 the movie gains legitimacy because there are Republican politicians who are actually behaving like that, e.g. the governor of Florida. We are so human an animal. Or, a hybrid w/ ETs.
We cannot dine in our favorite restaurant. But you get restaurant food delivered to your car or house, which may have been prepared by people who didn't wear masks or gloves.
The banks? I do not do drive-through with banks. I park the car and walk up to the drive-up window, which means I might look ridiculous sometimes standing behind a car or two, with the possibility of another pulling up from behind. But that's how I do it.
The bank employee took my check yesterday, then returned a piece of scratch paper with a different paper clip than the one I supplied. Man, do you suppose she was required to remove my clip with plastic gloves? We hear of such measures, but then I went to Willie's, a place that itself is a contradiction to all the practices, and I swear I see from the parking lot, Rob Eul putting some merchandise into a customer's vehicle with the customer standing right next to him.
We turn to the wisdom of Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil from the TV screen. We'd get more wisdom from Shari Lewis and her puppets. Remember them? Actually, give me Mr. Green Jeans from "Captain Kangaroo."
We can't really blame the ETs for getting a little ticked off at us. Yes, us Earth beings are of obviously inferior intelligence.
Try enjoying the "paradise" for as long as possible. It's not my fault if you wish to keep putting faith in Donald Trump. For some perspective, watch the movie "A Face in the Crowd" with Andy Griffith, pre-Mayberry.
Addendum: I was amused seeing DeToy's Restaurant's plans at the start of all this, requesting that customers "give a description of their vehicle" when calling in for pick-up. It seemed like "Get Smart," the TV comedy. "Buy a newspaper and sit in the lobby." Liz Morrison once advised me "Brian, everything isn't a conspiracy." Well, I grew up influenced by the Cold War.
Addendum #2: Speaking of movie/TV lines that were never spoken per se, let's add "Beam me up Scottie."
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
One day, we here in Morris dealt with such minor things as what kind of water softener we had, whether the UMM softball complex called for upgrading, and whether we had to absolutely have our seat belts on at all times.
Can I assume that now the dark cloud of the pandemic has arrived, the local police aren't so consumed with ticky-tack citations? I mean, we're all pulled into a world now where we focus on the really big issues, the really big questions. Let's put aside the word "existential." I remember in college a rather raging discussion over whether anyone could really explain what the word meant. Now there's a minor issue - solution is to just find other words.
Years ago I heard the theory that extraterrestrials would plant a virus sometimes to thin the population. Or, maybe if they get ticked off for some reason. You have no doubt heard of ETs' connection to Antarctica. So maybe the ETs are upset about the global warming we've caused, as it's reducing the polar ice caps. Less snow and ice to provide cover? They needn't fear us anyway as they possess superior powers. The fear is on our part.
Looking their way, I could quote a cliche type of line from sci-fi movies: "These beings are of obviously superior intelligence." Maybe the line per se was never actually spoken, like "play it again Sam." And General Sherman never actually said "war is hell." It's a paraphrase. My well-received song about the First Minnesota Volunteer Regiment has the title "Take Those Colors," something supposedly said by General Hancock to the regiment during the battle of Gettysburg. It's a paraphrase - so tempting always to arrive at paraphrases which then get accepted as fact.
General Hancock said "See those colors? Well then take them."
The thoughts about ETs, Antarctica and the virus might be expected to come from middle-of-the-night AM radio. It's always entrancing to listen to such stuff. George Noory? When I get weary of listening to this, I might turn to permabear economic commentators. The "gold bugs?" They too are entrancing in a particular way. They are having a field day now with the current circumstances of the pandemic and the apparent shifting of the economic ground underneath us.
The gold bugs can give you a hundred convincing reasons why the stock market is about to crash, then the opposite happens. David Stockman may not be a true gold bug but he has the same kind of track record. He can write a book about economics as thick as the Bible and then he's wrong, wrong, wrong on forecasts.
Based on that, why don't we weigh seriously the theory about extraterrestrials, viruses and population-thinning? Our human species may owe itself to the ETs as we may be a hybrid: aliens and Earth primates.
Avoid the "E" word
Maybe it's "just another day in paradise" here in mid-April of 2020, as we normally get eager for warm weather, in the sense our lives have surely slowed. Also, in the sense we can forget about all the nit-picky things that normally distract. Now we can worry about the short list of big picture items. Existential? Nah, let's back off from that word.
The confinement means many of us are spending far more time with immediate family than usual. I have joked this might be bad. Seriously it can be quite good. In the short term it's manageable because 1) we haven't felt the full effects of the shutdown yet, and 2) the government can bail us all out, at least for a while. Beyond the short term, who the h--- knows what awaits us. Maybe we're at the mercy of the extraterrestrials.
The shutdown has revealed that us hybrids or whatever we are engage in confusing thought patterns. A dude in Traverse County already got legally charged for violating the governor's stay-at-home order. A huge asterisk to be applied here: the guy had other issues with his behavior, let's leave it at that. Government overreach with laws applied as government sees fit.
So, you can't leave your home for any reason, "but if you have to, then you can."
If this virus is truly a killer, why do we so casually apply a "wipe" on the handles of our shopping basket at Willie's? Don't you have to lift the basket up first? If masks are essential, why do some employees of Willie's wear them, others don't? Why does my accountant's office have closed doors at the height of tax season, while at the same time I could enter Town and Country and buy hedge clippers? I haven't been in T & C but I'm told by a neighboring business that it's "essential."
The Apostolics are probably circulating pretty freely, as they are Fox News-oriented people who are fed the idea that the pandemic is overblown, or even if it isn't, it's more important to keep the economy going than to save lives. And then they are "pro-life" also. The ETs must be looking over us with real wonderment sometimes.
I have read over the years that the movie "Jaws" lost legitimacy because the town's mayor was so ridiculously evil, wanting to prioritize business over lives in his tourist place. Man, get real. But in 2020 the movie gains legitimacy because there are Republican politicians who are actually behaving like that, e.g. the governor of Florida. We are so human an animal. Or, a hybrid w/ ETs.
We cannot dine in our favorite restaurant. But you get restaurant food delivered to your car or house, which may have been prepared by people who didn't wear masks or gloves.
The banks? I do not do drive-through with banks. I park the car and walk up to the drive-up window, which means I might look ridiculous sometimes standing behind a car or two, with the possibility of another pulling up from behind. But that's how I do it.
The bank employee took my check yesterday, then returned a piece of scratch paper with a different paper clip than the one I supplied. Man, do you suppose she was required to remove my clip with plastic gloves? We hear of such measures, but then I went to Willie's, a place that itself is a contradiction to all the practices, and I swear I see from the parking lot, Rob Eul putting some merchandise into a customer's vehicle with the customer standing right next to him.
We can't really blame the ETs for getting a little ticked off at us. Yes, us Earth beings are of obviously inferior intelligence.
Try enjoying the "paradise" for as long as possible. It's not my fault if you wish to keep putting faith in Donald Trump. For some perspective, watch the movie "A Face in the Crowd" with Andy Griffith, pre-Mayberry.
Addendum: I was amused seeing DeToy's Restaurant's plans at the start of all this, requesting that customers "give a description of their vehicle" when calling in for pick-up. It seemed like "Get Smart," the TV comedy. "Buy a newspaper and sit in the lobby." Liz Morrison once advised me "Brian, everything isn't a conspiracy." Well, I grew up influenced by the Cold War.
Addendum #2: Speaking of movie/TV lines that were never spoken per se, let's add "Beam me up Scottie."
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
What all does shutdown portend for us?
One small consolation this morning: there is no fierce wind blowing. Perhaps the conditions will lend themselves to a short pleasant walk. The temperature ought to be higher than it is. We need to break the shackles of our confined living spaces.
We learn that the shutdown could continue to a certain extent into 2022. And there appears little certainty about the future, really. The virus does not accede to our wishes. The Pope thinks it might have something to do with climate change. I have admired Catholicism because it celebrates large families and people on a truly populist level, led by the current Pope. But of course that faith has been shattered in a profound way - you know what this alludes to. So sad.
I have strongly felt that formal education will be judged far less important as time passes. The Internet is a 24/7 resource for kids to learn and for adults to keep from going mad. It's so easy to forget how things used to be. One of my personal traits is to remember and reminisce in a way that gives helpful perspective. People my age seem proud to say "we all got by" in pre-digital times. But we were limited in so many ways that we are now inclined to forget.
I grew up in cynical times. We so often expected the worst outcome with things. We had a president who talked about our "malaise." I graduated from high school right at the time when American society decided it should allow younger people to consume alcohol. Today we'd be aghast at any such suggestions. How could our minds be programmed so different then?
Many of my peers today would say "who cares?" - that was then and we have to live in the present. True. But if we were inclined toward certain undesirable attitudes or habits in times past, we must file that away as a relevant part of our makeup. We make mistakes. We falter. We are vain and short-sighted. My point here is that, despite what I'm sure would be firm denials, our current situation will cause a slide into 1970s-style cynicism again. An anger may begin bubbling up. Imagine our kids being denied school and organized activities of the type we've just assumed. It's wiped out almost overnight? Actually literally overnight.
And the experience is still so new, maybe a part of us wants to adjust and accept. We're talking about months that are going to roll by apparently with little change in our circumstances.
In contrast with the '60s and '70s, my growing-up time, we have gotten conditioned to reflexive optimism in the last 30 or so years. We cannot assume this will continue as the norm. We are flawed human beings as the Christian faith always reminds us. Our kids are at home now and one thing we ought to notice is that the star athletes are no different from the kids who don't get cloaked in that kind of special attention. And you know what? I think the kids might like that aspect of it, though it's only a tiny crumb of consolation.
Kids who are "slow" academically need not worry about being stigmatized now. In the privacy of their homes, they are more in position to advance their learning at their own pace. They can retreat and go through things more than once, before advancing to the next level. A tutor might have helped me with math skills when I was a kid. Or, a fun and user-friendly book for kids about math, such as what actress Danica McKellar ("The Wonder Years") has written.
My mind is inclined toward such second-guessing thoughts about my life now, as I feel we are all so inclined, as the pandemic slows things to a crawl, keeps us indoors and makes us realize our mortality more, our quite limited time in this life.
We have gone from setting such high expectations for the public school and college experiences for our youth, to living without those institutions almost completely. I will predict that as time goes on and kids deal with online learning more and more, families will want to be left alone by the formal taxpayer-supported education institutions. We may realize sooner than would happen otherwise, that these elaborate, overhead-heavy systems are actually a big and rather regressive vestige of our pre-digital lives.
A portion of our society was so focused on high school sports. People streamed into gymnasiums to watch just a few kids engage in competitions vs. other towns, as if it were gladiatorial sparring in some way. How ridiculous, because these kids from different communities should be encouraged only to feel comity with each other. Sports is now wiped from the brains of this significant faction of school-oriented people. Gone. In a heartbeat. Gone with the wind. The sports "stars" who get glorified constantly in the local media are now putting their pants on one leg at a time, like all the other kids whose talents or inclinations lie elsewhere. It's a nice equalizer but also sad as it reminds of our usual habits.
Speaking of local media, I haven't seen the Morris paper in a month. Usually I'll look at it when at the library, the senior center or church. Amazingly those institutions are wiped out. Like so much else: gone with the wind. You had better get used to this for a long time. I am fortunate to have a laptop at home. Please be sure to support Mobiz. But as the current shutdown continues, I'm wondering if there should be one really reliable and go-to place for local news.
Remember, the media businesses rely on revenue to justify everything they do. The radio station site is by far the best now, but perhaps it could be made better. The incentive for this? That is a good question. Maybe financial incentive is not completely necessary. Just because there is a need doesn't mean someone has to make a profit filling it. Unlike the past, before digital, overhead costs are not essential for reaching the mass public.
Our Chamber of Commerce like all such groups has taken steps toward meeting the need. More could be done. The Chamber of Commerce has financial incentive in the sense it can build up its image or relevance by serving the public.
The shutdown for the pandemic is greatly accelerating the shift to online-base systems, such as for churches reaching their congregations. However, all might not be rosy for our local churches long-term, as surely people can get their spiritual enrichment from unlimited sources far beyond their own local bricks and mortar church. It's ditto with education, 100 percent, as young people do not need to rely on a particular bricks and mortar place with local teachers. Young people can tap into the greatest education possibilities by searching online. People have experienced life-changing learning by just going on YouTube. Really!
And the education establishment will fight back, scoffing at such notions because they see their comfortable little fiefdoms threatened. Such fiefdoms won't have a prayer long-term against the immense inevitable forces coming down on them. Our shutdown will expedite that in ways that will be a boon for most of us, but devastating for the protectors of those fiefdoms.
We are all still so new to our "shutdown" world. Aren't you scared by the effects this will begin having on all of us? I have envisioned crime, gangs, mobs and warlords. Of course we never know what actually lies ahead. It could be the '70s-style cynicism and defeatism? Remember "Studio 54?" As Count Floyd of SCTV would say, "Brrr, scary."
The ideal perspective
Remembering the past is instructive, and putting it side by side with the present. For most of my life, the mayor character in "Jaws" was seen as such a caricature, so implausible to consider, it diminished the movie. He wanted to keep the beaches open for the sake of the local economy. A caricature? I certainly thought so, but today we have a governor of Florida who behaves exactly like this, and it seems only a minor issue, not an outright disgrace.
What has become of all of us? Republican lawmakers seem inclined to think in these terms. Yet they say they're "pro-life." Very, very strange. We worship at the altar of the stock market, the "Dow Jones," virtually daily. Someday we might see history books showing our America of today as the equivalent of Sodom and Gomorrah. I think we need someone like Jimmy Carter.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
We learn that the shutdown could continue to a certain extent into 2022. And there appears little certainty about the future, really. The virus does not accede to our wishes. The Pope thinks it might have something to do with climate change. I have admired Catholicism because it celebrates large families and people on a truly populist level, led by the current Pope. But of course that faith has been shattered in a profound way - you know what this alludes to. So sad.
I have strongly felt that formal education will be judged far less important as time passes. The Internet is a 24/7 resource for kids to learn and for adults to keep from going mad. It's so easy to forget how things used to be. One of my personal traits is to remember and reminisce in a way that gives helpful perspective. People my age seem proud to say "we all got by" in pre-digital times. But we were limited in so many ways that we are now inclined to forget.
I grew up in cynical times. We so often expected the worst outcome with things. We had a president who talked about our "malaise." I graduated from high school right at the time when American society decided it should allow younger people to consume alcohol. Today we'd be aghast at any such suggestions. How could our minds be programmed so different then?
Many of my peers today would say "who cares?" - that was then and we have to live in the present. True. But if we were inclined toward certain undesirable attitudes or habits in times past, we must file that away as a relevant part of our makeup. We make mistakes. We falter. We are vain and short-sighted. My point here is that, despite what I'm sure would be firm denials, our current situation will cause a slide into 1970s-style cynicism again. An anger may begin bubbling up. Imagine our kids being denied school and organized activities of the type we've just assumed. It's wiped out almost overnight? Actually literally overnight.
And the experience is still so new, maybe a part of us wants to adjust and accept. We're talking about months that are going to roll by apparently with little change in our circumstances.
In contrast with the '60s and '70s, my growing-up time, we have gotten conditioned to reflexive optimism in the last 30 or so years. We cannot assume this will continue as the norm. We are flawed human beings as the Christian faith always reminds us. Our kids are at home now and one thing we ought to notice is that the star athletes are no different from the kids who don't get cloaked in that kind of special attention. And you know what? I think the kids might like that aspect of it, though it's only a tiny crumb of consolation.
Kids who are "slow" academically need not worry about being stigmatized now. In the privacy of their homes, they are more in position to advance their learning at their own pace. They can retreat and go through things more than once, before advancing to the next level. A tutor might have helped me with math skills when I was a kid. Or, a fun and user-friendly book for kids about math, such as what actress Danica McKellar ("The Wonder Years") has written.
My mind is inclined toward such second-guessing thoughts about my life now, as I feel we are all so inclined, as the pandemic slows things to a crawl, keeps us indoors and makes us realize our mortality more, our quite limited time in this life.
We have gone from setting such high expectations for the public school and college experiences for our youth, to living without those institutions almost completely. I will predict that as time goes on and kids deal with online learning more and more, families will want to be left alone by the formal taxpayer-supported education institutions. We may realize sooner than would happen otherwise, that these elaborate, overhead-heavy systems are actually a big and rather regressive vestige of our pre-digital lives.
A portion of our society was so focused on high school sports. People streamed into gymnasiums to watch just a few kids engage in competitions vs. other towns, as if it were gladiatorial sparring in some way. How ridiculous, because these kids from different communities should be encouraged only to feel comity with each other. Sports is now wiped from the brains of this significant faction of school-oriented people. Gone. In a heartbeat. Gone with the wind. The sports "stars" who get glorified constantly in the local media are now putting their pants on one leg at a time, like all the other kids whose talents or inclinations lie elsewhere. It's a nice equalizer but also sad as it reminds of our usual habits.
Speaking of local media, I haven't seen the Morris paper in a month. Usually I'll look at it when at the library, the senior center or church. Amazingly those institutions are wiped out. Like so much else: gone with the wind. You had better get used to this for a long time. I am fortunate to have a laptop at home. Please be sure to support Mobiz. But as the current shutdown continues, I'm wondering if there should be one really reliable and go-to place for local news.
Remember, the media businesses rely on revenue to justify everything they do. The radio station site is by far the best now, but perhaps it could be made better. The incentive for this? That is a good question. Maybe financial incentive is not completely necessary. Just because there is a need doesn't mean someone has to make a profit filling it. Unlike the past, before digital, overhead costs are not essential for reaching the mass public.
Our Chamber of Commerce like all such groups has taken steps toward meeting the need. More could be done. The Chamber of Commerce has financial incentive in the sense it can build up its image or relevance by serving the public.
The shutdown for the pandemic is greatly accelerating the shift to online-base systems, such as for churches reaching their congregations. However, all might not be rosy for our local churches long-term, as surely people can get their spiritual enrichment from unlimited sources far beyond their own local bricks and mortar church. It's ditto with education, 100 percent, as young people do not need to rely on a particular bricks and mortar place with local teachers. Young people can tap into the greatest education possibilities by searching online. People have experienced life-changing learning by just going on YouTube. Really!
And the education establishment will fight back, scoffing at such notions because they see their comfortable little fiefdoms threatened. Such fiefdoms won't have a prayer long-term against the immense inevitable forces coming down on them. Our shutdown will expedite that in ways that will be a boon for most of us, but devastating for the protectors of those fiefdoms.
We are all still so new to our "shutdown" world. Aren't you scared by the effects this will begin having on all of us? I have envisioned crime, gangs, mobs and warlords. Of course we never know what actually lies ahead. It could be the '70s-style cynicism and defeatism? Remember "Studio 54?" As Count Floyd of SCTV would say, "Brrr, scary."
The ideal perspective
Remembering the past is instructive, and putting it side by side with the present. For most of my life, the mayor character in "Jaws" was seen as such a caricature, so implausible to consider, it diminished the movie. He wanted to keep the beaches open for the sake of the local economy. A caricature? I certainly thought so, but today we have a governor of Florida who behaves exactly like this, and it seems only a minor issue, not an outright disgrace.
What has become of all of us? Republican lawmakers seem inclined to think in these terms. Yet they say they're "pro-life." Very, very strange. We worship at the altar of the stock market, the "Dow Jones," virtually daily. Someday we might see history books showing our America of today as the equivalent of Sodom and Gomorrah. I think we need someone like Jimmy Carter.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
Sunday, April 12, 2020
Easter sans the favored chocolate bunny
I could not celebrate Easter in my preferred way this year. Willie's Super Valu did not have chocolate bunnies available. So, had to settle for some creme-filled eggs. No regular meal today because the usual food merchants are closed. I drink Boost to stay stable. A couple bananas available too.
That's just fine but it's atypical, this dearth of food opportunities. Oh, and religious services too. So everyone is trying to get excited and fulfilled by their church's online efforts. That's gratifying to an extent. But will it last? If the months roll on with no change, will we remain as attached to our particular church, feel the same sense of community with each other?
Is anger starting to build behind all the closed doors? There are so many reasons to feel anger now. What happened to our normal assumed lives? Our children in particular may be reeling in shock as they are less likely to be schooled in how life offers up brickbats sometimes. Will they get jaded like the young generation of the Great Depression?
I heard a comment that the people who experienced the Depression came out of it "paranoid" and they never shed that totally. If our current shutdown becomes very extended - seems quite possible - will today's youth end up with similar scars in their psyche? Adversity can build character. But adversity is still adversity.
Kids just assumed they could slide from one sports season into the next. How can the parents now share with them how life can indeed deliver roadblocks?
We have never experienced anything like this.
Personally I can live without church - it's a side matter, maybe not even that. Christianity today has become a cloak which our president wraps around himself. He has legions of followers who applaud him with that. All these lemmings seem to want to put Trump on the very level of God and Jesus, it seems. Maybe even to supersede God and Jesus. Maybe literally to enter the Bible at some point. To which I shrug and express total consternation about what has happened to all of us.
Trump wears no cloak of Christianity in my mind. I think he's a total con artist and that it has been apparent for some time.
There's no point in even trying to argue with Trump supporters anymore. So if Easter is a time when Trump gathers strength in the public eye, mesmerizing his flock such as the local Apostolics, then I'm just not interested. With the exception that I really wish Willie's had some chocolate bunnies in stock. Steph at Willie's said Town and Country had that coveted item in my eye (or palate). I said thanks and added I was not that desperate.
Was rather surprised Saturday when I stopped at DeToy's for meal pickup and noticed the Town and Country parking lot was nearly filled. We're all supposed to avoid close proximity with other people. The DeToy's person told me Town and Country was open because it was considered "essential." Boy, I don't know. Were all the people there really doing essential shopping? Well of course not. The people could not have all been there to get chocolate bunnies (LOL).
A lot is to be said for chocolate bunnies, though. Steve Sack did a cartoon in the Star Tribune once about Bill Clinton "talking to" his chocolate bunny in the Oval Office on Easter, with Ken Starr poised outside the door to spy on him. "Oh bunny!" the president said, giving the impression that he was flirting with yet another woman while on the job.
I sent Mr. Sack an email when his work was slowed by illness, the nature of which I never asked about, and mentioned that old cartoon plus a couple others. He thanked me in a response. We met in our college years, he at the University of MN-Twin Cities and me at St. Cloud State. I interviewed him for a class project.
When faxing was new and novel, I faxed him a cartoon idea which he seemed to utilize, with a variation. This was when Clinton was trying to deny he had ever really used marijuana. "I didn't inhale," Clinton said. Remember that? Sack's specific idea was probably funnier than mine - he's the pro. He dubbed Clinton Joe "Don't Inhale" Camel.
I'm happy for my church of First Lutheran if it's maintaining the bond with its congregants. We're ELCA which means you can feel comfortable joining us if you vote for Democrats. We have become an outlier in that respect.
There's another ELCA church in town - don't know if two are really necessary - and this is a church I once associated with the most assertive (translation: pain in the a--) leaders with the Morris public school teachers union. I can never get that out of my head. Our education system is much more user-friendly today than back in those times ('80s and '90s). Look at how lengthy the honor roll lists are today. Amen and hallelujah.
I am very heartened by First Lutheran and Faith Lutheran of Morris behaving more and more like there is no dividing line between them. We lost some people to Good Shepherd but they were mostly oddballs. Good Shepherd is the sanctuary for those who don't accept gay rights. Well, yawn, go ahead and keep pounding that drum, you people - hardly anyone cares about that any more.
I suppose evangelicals are cheerleaders for Trump because he wants to kick all the transgenders out of the military. The rest of the world is moving on from you people, you Neanderthals. But when you tune in to Fox News, you get the sense the Neanderthals are still setting the tone for Christianity, defining it.
All of cable news even outside of Fox treats Easter like a sort of universal fountain of celebrating. Why? Can't we respect Jewish people a little more? There are many other people who are non-Christians and we must strive to live with them with mutual respect.
I would profess there is one huge universal: our love for chocolate bunnies.
Now that my parents are gone along with my uncle Howard and wife Vi of Glenwood, I'm alone for major holidays. For nearly all my life we'd all get together either here in Morris or in Glenwood. You'll see a "Williams" monument at Glenwood Lutheran Cemetery. That's us. Howard and Vi are laid to rest on one side, my grandparents Martin and Carrie on the other.
But in 2020 it's yours truly alone and there's no pet in our household any more either.
So I seek my chocolate bunny - creme-filled eggs will do - and I also call up the concluding scene of Monty Python's "Life of Brian" on YouTube. Ah yes. "Look on the Bright Side of Life." Well, those words are inspiring, aren't they?
Will we have a county fair in 2020?
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
That's just fine but it's atypical, this dearth of food opportunities. Oh, and religious services too. So everyone is trying to get excited and fulfilled by their church's online efforts. That's gratifying to an extent. But will it last? If the months roll on with no change, will we remain as attached to our particular church, feel the same sense of community with each other?
Is anger starting to build behind all the closed doors? There are so many reasons to feel anger now. What happened to our normal assumed lives? Our children in particular may be reeling in shock as they are less likely to be schooled in how life offers up brickbats sometimes. Will they get jaded like the young generation of the Great Depression?
I heard a comment that the people who experienced the Depression came out of it "paranoid" and they never shed that totally. If our current shutdown becomes very extended - seems quite possible - will today's youth end up with similar scars in their psyche? Adversity can build character. But adversity is still adversity.
Kids just assumed they could slide from one sports season into the next. How can the parents now share with them how life can indeed deliver roadblocks?
We have never experienced anything like this.
Personally I can live without church - it's a side matter, maybe not even that. Christianity today has become a cloak which our president wraps around himself. He has legions of followers who applaud him with that. All these lemmings seem to want to put Trump on the very level of God and Jesus, it seems. Maybe even to supersede God and Jesus. Maybe literally to enter the Bible at some point. To which I shrug and express total consternation about what has happened to all of us.
Trump wears no cloak of Christianity in my mind. I think he's a total con artist and that it has been apparent for some time.
There's no point in even trying to argue with Trump supporters anymore. So if Easter is a time when Trump gathers strength in the public eye, mesmerizing his flock such as the local Apostolics, then I'm just not interested. With the exception that I really wish Willie's had some chocolate bunnies in stock. Steph at Willie's said Town and Country had that coveted item in my eye (or palate). I said thanks and added I was not that desperate.
Was rather surprised Saturday when I stopped at DeToy's for meal pickup and noticed the Town and Country parking lot was nearly filled. We're all supposed to avoid close proximity with other people. The DeToy's person told me Town and Country was open because it was considered "essential." Boy, I don't know. Were all the people there really doing essential shopping? Well of course not. The people could not have all been there to get chocolate bunnies (LOL).
I sent Mr. Sack an email when his work was slowed by illness, the nature of which I never asked about, and mentioned that old cartoon plus a couple others. He thanked me in a response. We met in our college years, he at the University of MN-Twin Cities and me at St. Cloud State. I interviewed him for a class project.
When faxing was new and novel, I faxed him a cartoon idea which he seemed to utilize, with a variation. This was when Clinton was trying to deny he had ever really used marijuana. "I didn't inhale," Clinton said. Remember that? Sack's specific idea was probably funnier than mine - he's the pro. He dubbed Clinton Joe "Don't Inhale" Camel.
I'm happy for my church of First Lutheran if it's maintaining the bond with its congregants. We're ELCA which means you can feel comfortable joining us if you vote for Democrats. We have become an outlier in that respect.
There's another ELCA church in town - don't know if two are really necessary - and this is a church I once associated with the most assertive (translation: pain in the a--) leaders with the Morris public school teachers union. I can never get that out of my head. Our education system is much more user-friendly today than back in those times ('80s and '90s). Look at how lengthy the honor roll lists are today. Amen and hallelujah.
I am very heartened by First Lutheran and Faith Lutheran of Morris behaving more and more like there is no dividing line between them. We lost some people to Good Shepherd but they were mostly oddballs. Good Shepherd is the sanctuary for those who don't accept gay rights. Well, yawn, go ahead and keep pounding that drum, you people - hardly anyone cares about that any more.
I suppose evangelicals are cheerleaders for Trump because he wants to kick all the transgenders out of the military. The rest of the world is moving on from you people, you Neanderthals. But when you tune in to Fox News, you get the sense the Neanderthals are still setting the tone for Christianity, defining it.
All of cable news even outside of Fox treats Easter like a sort of universal fountain of celebrating. Why? Can't we respect Jewish people a little more? There are many other people who are non-Christians and we must strive to live with them with mutual respect.
I would profess there is one huge universal: our love for chocolate bunnies.
Now that my parents are gone along with my uncle Howard and wife Vi of Glenwood, I'm alone for major holidays. For nearly all my life we'd all get together either here in Morris or in Glenwood. You'll see a "Williams" monument at Glenwood Lutheran Cemetery. That's us. Howard and Vi are laid to rest on one side, my grandparents Martin and Carrie on the other.
But in 2020 it's yours truly alone and there's no pet in our household any more either.
So I seek my chocolate bunny - creme-filled eggs will do - and I also call up the concluding scene of Monty Python's "Life of Brian" on YouTube. Ah yes. "Look on the Bright Side of Life." Well, those words are inspiring, aren't they?
Will we have a county fair in 2020?
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
Friday, April 10, 2020
Softball complex seems luxury issue now
Seems so long ago when an element of this community was buzzing about the planned upgrade of the softball complex on the east end. It would be a partnership of UMM and the public school. In this way it would be an extension of Big Cat Stadium.
Naturally if we were to be rational about all this, Big Cat would be converted to soccer. Or its use could be contracted to various high schools in this part of the state that still have football programs. Because Morris Area (or MACA) should not have one. That stance should be taken out of the best health interest of our boys.
Yes, football is a boys-only sport. For that reason alone it should be ended. I was going to say "phased out" but that would imply a drawn-out time period. No, it would be so simple to do the right thing immediately: end the sport and in the absence of that, families could take matters into their own hands.
Consider that St. Cloud State U has ended its football program, in one bold and abrupt move. There was no appreciable pushback or controversy in the aftermath, nothing I could discover by perusing the media. SCSU considered doing this about ten years ago - talk was floated in a pretty high-profile way - but it was not practicable yet. SCSU put up a grand new football stadium just in 2004. Holy mackerel. I suppose it will be used in whatever ways are practicable now.
High schools that still have football apparently enjoy playing at such places like our Big Cat Stadium. Yes, slam the opposing players (your enemy) down on the turf. Make sure there's a fully-manned ambulance next to the field. Have trainers at the ready for attending to hurt moaning players who are stretched out along the sidelines. Well, I never risked any of that. Does that make me smarter than average?
I suppose the potential exists for significant upgrades of the softball complex on the east end of town. We call it the UMM fields now.
Many years ago I visited Mankato for the state tournament when Mary Holmberg's Tiger team played there. I remember our ace pitcher had the last name Giese. I shared with people how Mankato seemed an unusual choice for the event as opposed to a more central place in Minnesota, or someplace in the Twin Cities which is considered prestigious (e.g. Williams Arena).
I was told that southern Minnesota was known for some very nice softball facilities. Well, I suppose the Mankato facility was nice. I fail to see why that region of the state should have a particular advantage. It's to the south where we might expect the climate to be a little more facilitating? Oh man I would suggest the advantage is minimal. It's still Minnesota. My friend Brad from college days mimicked someone from "southern Minnesota" with a Deep South USA accent. It's the sort of thing I'd laugh at in my college years.
I remember sharing concern about the southern Minnesota location with Jerry Witt. He just repeated this notion of southern Minnesota being this hub of such activity. By the same token, our high school softball team has historically suffered when having to play teams from southern Minnesota in the playoffs. Yes, I have been puzzled by that. But I often ask questions in this community that irritate people. Why not just answer them?
Witt gave me his answer with sort of a wry smile, like he understood my skepticism and wasn't going to rebut it. I was frustrated having driven to Mankato and back without the convenience of an Interstate Highway. Witt's son Zach was a star football player for Mankato State. I remember Zach was a lefty also. I hope he has no permanent health limitations from his extensive participation in football.
Forrest and Taylor were slam-dunk athletes from the Witt family too - incredible genes. Jerry and Holly are among those Morrissites who have "abdicated" to Alexandria. How are you gonna keep 'em down on the farm once they've seen Lake Latoka?
Anyway all our grandiose plans with the UMM fields seem rather on the back-burner, wouldn't you say? Without mass testing and a vaccine vs. the current health menace, I see no way our schools can open at all, not even for the 2020-21 year. Correct me if I'm wrong. The Federal government should have declared war on the virus, using every conceivable resource right away, because this is the only route to normalcy.
Our Federal government has wanted to kick everything over to the states. Ironically, we're supposed to have our attention riveted on the president each and every day for his TV appearances, this despite his professing that states must take the lead.
The right wingers have been at their worst through all of this, no surprise. Some of them have proclaimed that some Americans, senior citizens and the infirm among them, might have to literally sacrifice their lives for the sake of the economy. Maybe I should put "economy" in quotes because when this is all over, the Federal government is going to "own everything." The Federal Reserve chairman is becoming a media star now. I thought free market enterprise was always supposed to take the lead. Well no.
The right wingers who feel the "sacrifice" of lives might be necessary, are the same ones who cried out about alleged "death panels" in Obamacare. And Republicans still want to kill Obamacare.
These right wingers are the "pro-lifers?"
We are still in the early stages of the current stress or panic. Our minds can still relate to the pre-pandemic norm but that could start changing quickly. Just to be realistic, may I suggest that civil unrest may be on the way? History includes many episodes of uprisings. When will people take up pitchforks? We cannot exclude such scenarios from our thoughts. That is why our government must be dug-in totally, immediately if not sooner, to ensure widespread reliable testing and to get a vaccine. It's a Manhattan Project.
I remember when our Morris softball program got started, it was at Wells Park in west Morris. The facility did just fine and everyone had fun. I was there to cover it, and also at Whitney Field in St. Cloud for the state tournament. We are having to scale back our standards and expectations now, under the cloud of the health scare. We'll probably decide it isn't necessary to have such a state of the art softball complex, just like we must withdraw from football.
At the time of the state tournament in Mankato, I remember thinking about our fields on the east end of town and thinking that it wouldn't take that much to get them on the level of Mankato. But now, does it really matter? What will it be like for our community of Morris if there is no 2020-21 academic year either for UMM or the public school?
The institutions will morph into online-based, I guess, just like our churches. But as time goes on, this system will morph further and perhaps even crumble, as people realize that the instruction needn't emanate from the standard bricks and mortar institutions. Online enrichment and utility is unlimited and isn't harnessed in any way to the systems that preceded it. Kids can take the best math classes online that have no connection to anything local.
Oh, ditto with our churches, unless we want to support our local church just for sentimental or comfort reasons. Or because we'll never stop pining for the old way. I got enriched for Palm Sunday by visiting the online service of Nativity Lutheran Church in Allentown PA. Should that surprise anyone? It shouldn't. It's a sea change, and part of this will involve looking at the $ issues with supporting the vast quilt of bricks and mortar places. I'd hardly know where to begin re. this. Our lives are changing.
The HLN network reported this morning that food prices are indeed rising. My lifestyle is gradually changing to where I'll plan one good meal each day, cost of around $15 (including tip), and just snack or drink Boost outside of that. Good luck to everyone as the waves of stress and adversity get bigger. Hate to say this but prayers won't be enough.
Addendum: Got a kick out of how the sage Peter Schiff responded to the right wingers who constantly say "Americans want to get back to work." "No they don't," Peter says. "Work is hard. Work is boring."
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
Naturally if we were to be rational about all this, Big Cat would be converted to soccer. Or its use could be contracted to various high schools in this part of the state that still have football programs. Because Morris Area (or MACA) should not have one. That stance should be taken out of the best health interest of our boys.
Yes, football is a boys-only sport. For that reason alone it should be ended. I was going to say "phased out" but that would imply a drawn-out time period. No, it would be so simple to do the right thing immediately: end the sport and in the absence of that, families could take matters into their own hands.
Consider that St. Cloud State U has ended its football program, in one bold and abrupt move. There was no appreciable pushback or controversy in the aftermath, nothing I could discover by perusing the media. SCSU considered doing this about ten years ago - talk was floated in a pretty high-profile way - but it was not practicable yet. SCSU put up a grand new football stadium just in 2004. Holy mackerel. I suppose it will be used in whatever ways are practicable now.
High schools that still have football apparently enjoy playing at such places like our Big Cat Stadium. Yes, slam the opposing players (your enemy) down on the turf. Make sure there's a fully-manned ambulance next to the field. Have trainers at the ready for attending to hurt moaning players who are stretched out along the sidelines. Well, I never risked any of that. Does that make me smarter than average?
Many years ago I visited Mankato for the state tournament when Mary Holmberg's Tiger team played there. I remember our ace pitcher had the last name Giese. I shared with people how Mankato seemed an unusual choice for the event as opposed to a more central place in Minnesota, or someplace in the Twin Cities which is considered prestigious (e.g. Williams Arena).
I was told that southern Minnesota was known for some very nice softball facilities. Well, I suppose the Mankato facility was nice. I fail to see why that region of the state should have a particular advantage. It's to the south where we might expect the climate to be a little more facilitating? Oh man I would suggest the advantage is minimal. It's still Minnesota. My friend Brad from college days mimicked someone from "southern Minnesota" with a Deep South USA accent. It's the sort of thing I'd laugh at in my college years.
I remember sharing concern about the southern Minnesota location with Jerry Witt. He just repeated this notion of southern Minnesota being this hub of such activity. By the same token, our high school softball team has historically suffered when having to play teams from southern Minnesota in the playoffs. Yes, I have been puzzled by that. But I often ask questions in this community that irritate people. Why not just answer them?
Witt gave me his answer with sort of a wry smile, like he understood my skepticism and wasn't going to rebut it. I was frustrated having driven to Mankato and back without the convenience of an Interstate Highway. Witt's son Zach was a star football player for Mankato State. I remember Zach was a lefty also. I hope he has no permanent health limitations from his extensive participation in football.
Forrest and Taylor were slam-dunk athletes from the Witt family too - incredible genes. Jerry and Holly are among those Morrissites who have "abdicated" to Alexandria. How are you gonna keep 'em down on the farm once they've seen Lake Latoka?
Anyway all our grandiose plans with the UMM fields seem rather on the back-burner, wouldn't you say? Without mass testing and a vaccine vs. the current health menace, I see no way our schools can open at all, not even for the 2020-21 year. Correct me if I'm wrong. The Federal government should have declared war on the virus, using every conceivable resource right away, because this is the only route to normalcy.
Our Federal government has wanted to kick everything over to the states. Ironically, we're supposed to have our attention riveted on the president each and every day for his TV appearances, this despite his professing that states must take the lead.
 |
| Del Sarlette's birthday in 2020 |
The right wingers who feel the "sacrifice" of lives might be necessary, are the same ones who cried out about alleged "death panels" in Obamacare. And Republicans still want to kill Obamacare.
These right wingers are the "pro-lifers?"
We are still in the early stages of the current stress or panic. Our minds can still relate to the pre-pandemic norm but that could start changing quickly. Just to be realistic, may I suggest that civil unrest may be on the way? History includes many episodes of uprisings. When will people take up pitchforks? We cannot exclude such scenarios from our thoughts. That is why our government must be dug-in totally, immediately if not sooner, to ensure widespread reliable testing and to get a vaccine. It's a Manhattan Project.
I remember when our Morris softball program got started, it was at Wells Park in west Morris. The facility did just fine and everyone had fun. I was there to cover it, and also at Whitney Field in St. Cloud for the state tournament. We are having to scale back our standards and expectations now, under the cloud of the health scare. We'll probably decide it isn't necessary to have such a state of the art softball complex, just like we must withdraw from football.
At the time of the state tournament in Mankato, I remember thinking about our fields on the east end of town and thinking that it wouldn't take that much to get them on the level of Mankato. But now, does it really matter? What will it be like for our community of Morris if there is no 2020-21 academic year either for UMM or the public school?
The institutions will morph into online-based, I guess, just like our churches. But as time goes on, this system will morph further and perhaps even crumble, as people realize that the instruction needn't emanate from the standard bricks and mortar institutions. Online enrichment and utility is unlimited and isn't harnessed in any way to the systems that preceded it. Kids can take the best math classes online that have no connection to anything local.
Oh, ditto with our churches, unless we want to support our local church just for sentimental or comfort reasons. Or because we'll never stop pining for the old way. I got enriched for Palm Sunday by visiting the online service of Nativity Lutheran Church in Allentown PA. Should that surprise anyone? It shouldn't. It's a sea change, and part of this will involve looking at the $ issues with supporting the vast quilt of bricks and mortar places. I'd hardly know where to begin re. this. Our lives are changing.
The HLN network reported this morning that food prices are indeed rising. My lifestyle is gradually changing to where I'll plan one good meal each day, cost of around $15 (including tip), and just snack or drink Boost outside of that. Good luck to everyone as the waves of stress and adversity get bigger. Hate to say this but prayers won't be enough.
Addendum: Got a kick out of how the sage Peter Schiff responded to the right wingers who constantly say "Americans want to get back to work." "No they don't," Peter says. "Work is hard. Work is boring."
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
Monday, April 6, 2020
Future uncertainty & the political tenor
One might assume that far-reaching changes are coming as a result of the current crisis. Certainly there has been much talk and speculation on that front. How much of education will permanently retreat from the bricks and mortar model? Same with church and other obligations in our life.
It would be easy to assume. But we cannot. Maybe our impulses will build up to really want face-to-face contact as we fulfill our obligations. Intangibles? Or maybe people will feel there really are tangible benefits. The question has been hovering out there for some time. The shutdown has just highlighted it. And yet I feel there is no clear-cut answer.
Predicting the future is a fool's errand. How could we have ever predicted the election of Donald Trump? Regardless of how you felt about Barack Obama's policies, surely we'd agree he was a first class and civil gentleman. Always respectful and restrained, aware of established protocol.
Look up the text for Trump's "Access Hollywood" tape. Recite it out loud, please. Add to that his abject lack of experience in government or the military. His lapses in character, his pettiness and his scheming for partisan advantage are obvious so regularly, it's amazing we are so restrained in our assessment.
I know a retired Morris high school teacher who always carried himself with maximum class, yes the epitome of that, who bulls forward with Trump support. You have to be cautious airing any criticism of Trump around him.
And because Trump endorsed Roy Moore for Senate (Alabama, wouldn't you know), this individual became defensive even on Moore's behalf. You are no doubt aware of Moore's background. Not sure which is more offensive, the Access Hollywood tape or Moore's background, but in league with that was Trump's behavior with porn stars/Playboy models. It was in all the papers. Too unsavory for me to want to review, and yet you would think the people across the political aisle from me would be the banner carrier for "personal responsibility." Isn't that the flag waved so long by Republicans?
None of what I'm writing here would make anyone in the Trump crowd, including all those Apostolics, ponder to take a fresh critical look at their own views. They are well past any propensity for critical thinking. It's just "Make America Great Again."
Constantly we must try to assess how Trump actually became president. The long view of history and of the media might help. Consider that after the famous 1960 Kennedy/Nixon debates, our nation went into quite a hiatus with that process. This despite some very burning issues over the next 10-15 years. Today is the polar opposite: we have gotten drunk with debates even in the primaries. Trump was among something like 17 GOP candidates. They got trotted out for debates.
I smile as I consider the truism that all GOPers basically think alike. Oh, they really do. They can speak in grandiose terms to try to endear themselves, but once in possession of power they're all the same. Of course Trump doesn't want strong Federal government leadership in the current crisis. GOPers don't go for that sort of thing unless it's the military and then it's just for the purpose of chest-thumping.
Republicans do not want people to like government. Toss it to the states, do not bother us at the Federal government level, except that the president loves his daily TV presentations because after all, that's the kind of forum that got him elected. Trump lacked any meaningful credentials to be president but he made up for that with cunning media instincts. This he plied in standing out among the huge field of GOP presidential hopefuls, some of whom were no doubt in the field just to build up their names for book marketing or the lecture circuit.
The Murdochs of Fox News tipped the scales a little too because that is their whole wheelhouse: influence through the media. It isn't enough to come across as a good person with good ideas for improving people's lives. We pretend that this influences us. We have deluded ourselves into thinking this is so. If this is the measuring stick, then why not Jeb Bush for president? Surely he checks all the right boxes for Republicans. But no, in this age of our collective mini-attention span, we wanted more of a bright shiny object, someone we could laugh about at the proverbial water cooler. We got him.
Some of us I'm sure felt the campaign was like a carnival act and if in power, surely Trump would do a turnaround and appreciate the gravity of his position. Wrong-O. And now so many of us don't wish to admit to ourselves we were wrong. In fact, we might re-elect Trump just to try to show we might be right yet.
Why can't we have a president who can give a speech like Queen Elizabeth in the current crisis? Obama would have given a speech like that, word for word probably. To impress upon everyone what a shared challenge we face and how we must truly bond, surely to transcend petty differences. We don't need to hear sniping at "the fake news" and disparagement of governors who happen to be Democrats. We must be truly fearful that states with Democratic governors might get the dirty end of the stick in some way. Do you realize how ludicrous it is, to even have to worry about this?
At least in Minnesota, half the legislature is controlled by Republicans. Maybe that will help.
Will Trump and the Murdochs keep pulling strings to bamboozle us? Their formula has worked until now with shocking ease. Their top mouthpieces bull forward with zero room for humility. The people on the other side have to make statements to defend themselves. There is no shame among the righties. That is, unless more Americans start seeing through the smokescreen of right wing rhetoric, the incredible fakery of the Christian evangelicals.
Traditional conservatives want government to be restrained and civil, for life to have a reasoned and secure pace to it. That philosophy would frown on a a charismatic leader getting the limelight each day, yes even Palm Sunday when Trump demanded TV airtime - nothing new to say, just a platform for bluster.
Conservatives in the mold of Mark Meadows are actually not supposed to like this sort of thing. They want free market capitalism to set so much of the tone in our lives. Yet amazingly, they sit idly by while their government unleashes bailouts - a command economy - and countenances the Federal Reserve as it undertakes bizarre actions as if it's some sort of savior. Huh? The Fed is just supposed to manage the money supply. Part of its mission is to stay in the background, but not now: Mr. Powell went on the Today Show recently.
Yes, "Alice Through the Looking Glass."
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
It would be easy to assume. But we cannot. Maybe our impulses will build up to really want face-to-face contact as we fulfill our obligations. Intangibles? Or maybe people will feel there really are tangible benefits. The question has been hovering out there for some time. The shutdown has just highlighted it. And yet I feel there is no clear-cut answer.
Predicting the future is a fool's errand. How could we have ever predicted the election of Donald Trump? Regardless of how you felt about Barack Obama's policies, surely we'd agree he was a first class and civil gentleman. Always respectful and restrained, aware of established protocol.
Look up the text for Trump's "Access Hollywood" tape. Recite it out loud, please. Add to that his abject lack of experience in government or the military. His lapses in character, his pettiness and his scheming for partisan advantage are obvious so regularly, it's amazing we are so restrained in our assessment.
I know a retired Morris high school teacher who always carried himself with maximum class, yes the epitome of that, who bulls forward with Trump support. You have to be cautious airing any criticism of Trump around him.
And because Trump endorsed Roy Moore for Senate (Alabama, wouldn't you know), this individual became defensive even on Moore's behalf. You are no doubt aware of Moore's background. Not sure which is more offensive, the Access Hollywood tape or Moore's background, but in league with that was Trump's behavior with porn stars/Playboy models. It was in all the papers. Too unsavory for me to want to review, and yet you would think the people across the political aisle from me would be the banner carrier for "personal responsibility." Isn't that the flag waved so long by Republicans?
None of what I'm writing here would make anyone in the Trump crowd, including all those Apostolics, ponder to take a fresh critical look at their own views. They are well past any propensity for critical thinking. It's just "Make America Great Again."
Constantly we must try to assess how Trump actually became president. The long view of history and of the media might help. Consider that after the famous 1960 Kennedy/Nixon debates, our nation went into quite a hiatus with that process. This despite some very burning issues over the next 10-15 years. Today is the polar opposite: we have gotten drunk with debates even in the primaries. Trump was among something like 17 GOP candidates. They got trotted out for debates.
I smile as I consider the truism that all GOPers basically think alike. Oh, they really do. They can speak in grandiose terms to try to endear themselves, but once in possession of power they're all the same. Of course Trump doesn't want strong Federal government leadership in the current crisis. GOPers don't go for that sort of thing unless it's the military and then it's just for the purpose of chest-thumping.
Republicans do not want people to like government. Toss it to the states, do not bother us at the Federal government level, except that the president loves his daily TV presentations because after all, that's the kind of forum that got him elected. Trump lacked any meaningful credentials to be president but he made up for that with cunning media instincts. This he plied in standing out among the huge field of GOP presidential hopefuls, some of whom were no doubt in the field just to build up their names for book marketing or the lecture circuit.
 |
| (wikimedia commons) |
Some of us I'm sure felt the campaign was like a carnival act and if in power, surely Trump would do a turnaround and appreciate the gravity of his position. Wrong-O. And now so many of us don't wish to admit to ourselves we were wrong. In fact, we might re-elect Trump just to try to show we might be right yet.
Why can't we have a president who can give a speech like Queen Elizabeth in the current crisis? Obama would have given a speech like that, word for word probably. To impress upon everyone what a shared challenge we face and how we must truly bond, surely to transcend petty differences. We don't need to hear sniping at "the fake news" and disparagement of governors who happen to be Democrats. We must be truly fearful that states with Democratic governors might get the dirty end of the stick in some way. Do you realize how ludicrous it is, to even have to worry about this?
At least in Minnesota, half the legislature is controlled by Republicans. Maybe that will help.
Will Trump and the Murdochs keep pulling strings to bamboozle us? Their formula has worked until now with shocking ease. Their top mouthpieces bull forward with zero room for humility. The people on the other side have to make statements to defend themselves. There is no shame among the righties. That is, unless more Americans start seeing through the smokescreen of right wing rhetoric, the incredible fakery of the Christian evangelicals.
Traditional conservatives want government to be restrained and civil, for life to have a reasoned and secure pace to it. That philosophy would frown on a a charismatic leader getting the limelight each day, yes even Palm Sunday when Trump demanded TV airtime - nothing new to say, just a platform for bluster.
Conservatives in the mold of Mark Meadows are actually not supposed to like this sort of thing. They want free market capitalism to set so much of the tone in our lives. Yet amazingly, they sit idly by while their government unleashes bailouts - a command economy - and countenances the Federal Reserve as it undertakes bizarre actions as if it's some sort of savior. Huh? The Fed is just supposed to manage the money supply. Part of its mission is to stay in the background, but not now: Mr. Powell went on the Today Show recently.
Yes, "Alice Through the Looking Glass."
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
Friday, April 3, 2020
An odyssey as we deal with pandemic
Stardate April 3, 2020. Indeed we seem to be in an odyssey with the radically adjusted approach to life. "Star Trek" was an odyssey through space. Right now it's the adjustment to isolation and being parked at home. How many married couples are starting to realize they shouldn't be married any more? A lot of these relationships unravel anyway. I have personally never risked it.
Forced togetherness creates its problems and then we have economic anxiety. Add to that the anxiety about how the virus itself could come knocking at our door.
I remember a "Star Trek" episode about a fatal virus on a planet. The Starship Enterprise discovered only children on the planet. They died one by one as they reached adolescence. They turned into monsters at the time of their expiration - they went into spasms and then lay limp. I smiled as I considered the symbolism: maybe in America we don't do enough to guide children into adolescence.
Did you know that the precursor show for Star Trek was not some other sci-fi show, it was "Wagon Train?" Premise was quite similar: going new places, not knowing what all you'll encounter.
Say, anyone excited about how the government is going to send you a check for $1200? That's if and when they can get around to it. That sum is less than what I spent for a new water softener. That expense came about because of the city's posture which seemed heavy-handed. Also, confusing.
I had no special prior knowledge about water softeners. I only knew that when the salt level got low, I'd pour some in. The city threatened people who had "old" softeners but that's a quite non-specific term. I went through several steps until I deduced that the only way I could feel stress-free was to go ahead and have an on-demand softener put in. I took no joy in doing this. And then to add insult to injury, I learned from my tax preparer that the expense cannot be applied as a "home improvement." This after the government acted in a threatening way.
The "threat" is enforced by a law. But how is the law to be understood? You never know about these things. When seat belt became a primary offense, it's true that cops gave a fair number of warnings but they also gave out tickets. I got a ticket the first time I was pulled over.
Was the city going to go door-to-door to check out people's softeners? This was a very valid worry. The city manager addressed a "rumor that was going around town." It may have been a rumor but it was based on official actions.
A light bulb then went on over my head: the purpose of the law is to mandate action by rental property owners who are already subject to regulations/inspections, right? Rental property owners have to live with this sort of thing, whereas the normal independent property owner would feel disrupted and upset re. any effort to come inspect.
There is a broader and quite fundamental question: to what extent does a city have the right to COMPEL people to make home improvements? It would be nice if we could all live according to the highest possible standards. The problem of course is that it's not realistic for many of us. Any community will have its "poor" element, people who in fact add much to the life and personality. We'd like for them to do better but it's not within reach for many of us.
Every few years it seems a spokesman for the city wants to make a pronouncement about "nuisance properties." I'm not sure much ever gets done about the "nuisances" but the quotes in the paper are perhaps designed to give a hint: get your act together. Oh, and don't let the grass grow quite so long. That can be a problem: I'm not really offended by the sight of lush grass that has gotten rather long. It's subjective. Why not ask the rabbits?
Right now with the water softener issue, brought about by the water treatment plant, it seems so incredibly minor compared to the big picture with what all is going on: the virus, the social distancing, the $ anxiety etc. It would be embarrassing to even talk about softeners now.
Such a luxury to be able to focus on an issue like that - if we are, things overall must be going pretty good. Well, they aren't going pretty good now. The virus has taken the life of Ellis Marsalis, who was once a visiting performer/clinician for the UMM Jazz Festival. The display you see below is from Del Sarlette who is a local historical resource re. the Fest. I'm sure Bob Bruininks still has his UMM Jazz Festival T-shirts! (See? I can still type Bob's last name.)
Music at our public school
Feeling bored? You might want to discuss a Morris Area school district bone of contention or whatever. Controversy? Could potentially be, but for the time being there's the depressing headline: "School district lets yet another music teacher go."
"Yet another." Holy cow. I remember the previous time: teacher name of Bartholet. I guess performance was an issue in that case. I attended her jazz band concert in the spring and thought she did fine. That dismissal took on an air of controversy - public statements like from Rev. Chris Richards etc.
The person in the news now is Erica Ronsberg. "Termination of the contract. . ." Sheesh.
With all the other stuff going on, all around us now?
The termination spells no tenure, a big deal for educators.
I questioned when Trent Oberg got tenure.
Ronsberg is seventh and eighth grade girls choir director. Morris must have gender-specific groups. Well, don't think we'll have a spring music concert by the MAHS choir, or band.
Mike Odello is an ambassador for music on the school board, and he disapproved of the action re. Ronsberg. Looks like Odello wants to shine light on administrative processes, guidance? He hints maybe certain teachers could be supported more. Supt. Troy Ferguson seemed receptive to examining processes with staff. Yes, look in the mirror I guess. Ferguson suggested a "committee" would be set up. That always solves everything, right?
Odello was the only vote against the non-renewal. Is it true that the eighth grade girls present an especially stiff disciplinary challenge? Could Ronsberg have gotten a little more help from above? Whoever has the ninth grade next year, look out. That is, if school resumes at all. We might all just be staying home, watching re-runs of "Star Trek." "Live long and prosper."
"Miri" is the name of the Star Trek episode I write about in the first portion of this post. I wrote a whole post about that episode once. It's on my "Morris of Course" site, and here is the link. Thanks for reading.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
Forced togetherness creates its problems and then we have economic anxiety. Add to that the anxiety about how the virus itself could come knocking at our door.
I remember a "Star Trek" episode about a fatal virus on a planet. The Starship Enterprise discovered only children on the planet. They died one by one as they reached adolescence. They turned into monsters at the time of their expiration - they went into spasms and then lay limp. I smiled as I considered the symbolism: maybe in America we don't do enough to guide children into adolescence.
Did you know that the precursor show for Star Trek was not some other sci-fi show, it was "Wagon Train?" Premise was quite similar: going new places, not knowing what all you'll encounter.
Say, anyone excited about how the government is going to send you a check for $1200? That's if and when they can get around to it. That sum is less than what I spent for a new water softener. That expense came about because of the city's posture which seemed heavy-handed. Also, confusing.
I had no special prior knowledge about water softeners. I only knew that when the salt level got low, I'd pour some in. The city threatened people who had "old" softeners but that's a quite non-specific term. I went through several steps until I deduced that the only way I could feel stress-free was to go ahead and have an on-demand softener put in. I took no joy in doing this. And then to add insult to injury, I learned from my tax preparer that the expense cannot be applied as a "home improvement." This after the government acted in a threatening way.
The "threat" is enforced by a law. But how is the law to be understood? You never know about these things. When seat belt became a primary offense, it's true that cops gave a fair number of warnings but they also gave out tickets. I got a ticket the first time I was pulled over.
Was the city going to go door-to-door to check out people's softeners? This was a very valid worry. The city manager addressed a "rumor that was going around town." It may have been a rumor but it was based on official actions.
A light bulb then went on over my head: the purpose of the law is to mandate action by rental property owners who are already subject to regulations/inspections, right? Rental property owners have to live with this sort of thing, whereas the normal independent property owner would feel disrupted and upset re. any effort to come inspect.
There is a broader and quite fundamental question: to what extent does a city have the right to COMPEL people to make home improvements? It would be nice if we could all live according to the highest possible standards. The problem of course is that it's not realistic for many of us. Any community will have its "poor" element, people who in fact add much to the life and personality. We'd like for them to do better but it's not within reach for many of us.
Every few years it seems a spokesman for the city wants to make a pronouncement about "nuisance properties." I'm not sure much ever gets done about the "nuisances" but the quotes in the paper are perhaps designed to give a hint: get your act together. Oh, and don't let the grass grow quite so long. That can be a problem: I'm not really offended by the sight of lush grass that has gotten rather long. It's subjective. Why not ask the rabbits?
Right now with the water softener issue, brought about by the water treatment plant, it seems so incredibly minor compared to the big picture with what all is going on: the virus, the social distancing, the $ anxiety etc. It would be embarrassing to even talk about softeners now.
Such a luxury to be able to focus on an issue like that - if we are, things overall must be going pretty good. Well, they aren't going pretty good now. The virus has taken the life of Ellis Marsalis, who was once a visiting performer/clinician for the UMM Jazz Festival. The display you see below is from Del Sarlette who is a local historical resource re. the Fest. I'm sure Bob Bruininks still has his UMM Jazz Festival T-shirts! (See? I can still type Bob's last name.)
Music at our public school
Feeling bored? You might want to discuss a Morris Area school district bone of contention or whatever. Controversy? Could potentially be, but for the time being there's the depressing headline: "School district lets yet another music teacher go."
"Yet another." Holy cow. I remember the previous time: teacher name of Bartholet. I guess performance was an issue in that case. I attended her jazz band concert in the spring and thought she did fine. That dismissal took on an air of controversy - public statements like from Rev. Chris Richards etc.
The person in the news now is Erica Ronsberg. "Termination of the contract. . ." Sheesh.
With all the other stuff going on, all around us now?
The termination spells no tenure, a big deal for educators.
I questioned when Trent Oberg got tenure.
Ronsberg is seventh and eighth grade girls choir director. Morris must have gender-specific groups. Well, don't think we'll have a spring music concert by the MAHS choir, or band.
Mike Odello is an ambassador for music on the school board, and he disapproved of the action re. Ronsberg. Looks like Odello wants to shine light on administrative processes, guidance? He hints maybe certain teachers could be supported more. Supt. Troy Ferguson seemed receptive to examining processes with staff. Yes, look in the mirror I guess. Ferguson suggested a "committee" would be set up. That always solves everything, right?
Odello was the only vote against the non-renewal. Is it true that the eighth grade girls present an especially stiff disciplinary challenge? Could Ronsberg have gotten a little more help from above? Whoever has the ninth grade next year, look out. That is, if school resumes at all. We might all just be staying home, watching re-runs of "Star Trek." "Live long and prosper."
"Miri" is the name of the Star Trek episode I write about in the first portion of this post. I wrote a whole post about that episode once. It's on my "Morris of Course" site, and here is the link. Thanks for reading.
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Change continues: no Lent service tonight
We're sitting on April 1 and as I flip the calendar, I see "Lent" as a reminder. No in-person attendance of course. My church often has a soup supper beforehand. One never knows if it'll be a full meal or just soup! What a small potatoes issue or question now. My, the tiny things we tend to complain about in good, normal times.
There will be no going to church tonight. Or, this Sunday. Churches are scrambling to get services on the Internet with reasonably good quality. Quality has been spotty in the past. We're reminded of the transition caused by our online world in so many ways. You see, if online is to be tapped for Sunday enrichment, it needn't be through the service as posted by my local physical church. That might fill the bill just fine. But one might check out an endless array of Sunday spiritual enrichment.
Know of a former favorite pastor who now plies in some other place? Well, it's child's play to look up that pastor's Sunday presentation. For example, I knew Pastor Lauren Hauger when she was in Morris. Her last name was Snell when she first came here. She and a retired dentist have now found happiness in Park Rapids. The dentist handled me twice when I was in an emergency situation - I'll never forget. Had I not gotten in quickly, I would have had to go to the medical clinic for pain relief. Dr. Jeffrey Hauger was a godsend.
I recently got caught up on my dentistry following a three-year hiatus, and such wonderful timing because I doubt it's business as usual with the virus fears changing everything around us. My dentist now is Dr. Kevin Williamson. I faintly recall hearing in my family that a few generations back, it was "Williamson" and then the last syllable was dropped.
I went to Lauren Hauger's church website partly to make sure she was still there. There was a troubling online news article on the KMRS/KKOK site that dropped her name. There was reason to think that maybe, just maybe, she had shown questionable judgment that could, frankly, be career-threatening.
My first reaction to the article was to think highly of the radio station to show such enterprise as to produce such a lengthy piece. It was "true crime" in its tone. Lauren was definitely not one of the central players but she got in on the periphery. Maybe as an accomplice? Maybe just trying to help someone in trouble? That can be commendable, but knowledge of a judge's forged signature, if that was the scenario, would create a serious snag.
A friend from my own church who also knew Lauren and was familiar with the situation, gave me some very good news:
I know a little more about Lauren's involvement in the kerfuffle. Her job is not in jeopardy. She was helping a parishioner fax a paper to the courts in Louisiana, she was NOT involved in the forging of the document. Because it was a person who came to her in her capacity as a pastor, she cannot talk about it. She was not charged with any misconduct for this. She feels absolutely terrible about the whole thing. Apparently the forged document had misspellings and grammatical errors that were totally overlooked by the Louisiana people - I figured that's just normal for them! Anyway, they let this criminal woman out of jail and she disappeared. She and her document- forging boyfriend hooked up in Texas, where they lived in a Hispanic neighborhood and were soon caught by an investigator. They were not the brightest bulbs on the tree!
I had to wonder if someone at the radio station had a connection to the story in some way. The headline had a dramatic flourish. Normally the radio station material is, while helpful, dry.
It's terrible if Pastor Lauren got put on the defensive. The radio story forced me to inquire about ramifications.
One can easily visit Lauren's church in Park Rapids, with the "Hubbard" name, via the online world and appreciate her work just as if she was still at Federated Church here. I'd like to know Lauren's reaction to the Oak Grove Methodist church that gained infamy by appearing to want to kick out its old members. The church had to actually deny that it was going to physically bar people at the door! Wow.
Our Federated Church is one-half Methodist. That's a curious arrangement, one I don't really grasp, where the other half is UCC. United Church of Christ?
I have stated for a while now that Federated, First Lutheran and Faith Lutheran ought to consider coming together. The same type of people attend all three. Unfortunately the Methodists are still having a silly battle over gay ordination. I would say the parishioners are in a mood to shrug and say "let's just move on from this." The ELCA has done that, establishing a policy that gay people are not going to be discriminated against. Not in the year 2020.
The mainstream Protestant churches of Morris are challenged today because of a couple factors: creation of the Good Shepherd Church as a non-gay-friendly bastion, and the existence of those Apostolics who always seem to promote mixed feelings, at least in my head. The Apostolics are such motivated people who strive to lead such upright lives. Personally I don't see why the women have to look so different. I also think the parishioners have a bent to vote Republican in a knee-jerk way, and this I feel is dangerous. We have people like that to thank for Donald Trump being president. We all may be looking at hell to pay for that.
In the meantime, so many political and other issues are being put aside as trivial while we deal with the wave of anxiety and tragedy with the virus. It put things in perspective, n'est-ce pas? Just like the Great Depression left my parents in a certain frame of mind for the rest of their lives. They knew "small potatoes" when they saw it.
Addendum: The KMRS online article that included Rev. Hauger had a pejorative tone in connection to her, IMHO. The reporter even reached out to her. The pastor "wasn't saying much," the article read. The quote subtly suggested that the pastor probably knew of something untoward. Remember, no one is under any obligation to speak to a media reporter. Reporters have no legal standing to summon statements from people. Put bluntly, you have the right to slam the door in their face.
When you say "no comment," a snarky reporter might quote that in a way that suggests complicity in something. However, "no comment" means just one thing: "no comment."
Why allow a writer from the corporate media to put together something with his/her own spin or perspective? What gives them that right? I guess I should feel thankful I'm not in the corporate media anymore. How do I feel about the Morris paper? "I'm not saying much."
Reporters can make typos just like anyone can make typos. Just look at the news today about U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, who has had to backpedal after writing that Speaker Nancy Pelosi was "retarded." He says he meant "ridiculous" and that it was a "typo." Would people have bought that explanation from me, from back when I wrote for the Morris paper?
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
There will be no going to church tonight. Or, this Sunday. Churches are scrambling to get services on the Internet with reasonably good quality. Quality has been spotty in the past. We're reminded of the transition caused by our online world in so many ways. You see, if online is to be tapped for Sunday enrichment, it needn't be through the service as posted by my local physical church. That might fill the bill just fine. But one might check out an endless array of Sunday spiritual enrichment.
Know of a former favorite pastor who now plies in some other place? Well, it's child's play to look up that pastor's Sunday presentation. For example, I knew Pastor Lauren Hauger when she was in Morris. Her last name was Snell when she first came here. She and a retired dentist have now found happiness in Park Rapids. The dentist handled me twice when I was in an emergency situation - I'll never forget. Had I not gotten in quickly, I would have had to go to the medical clinic for pain relief. Dr. Jeffrey Hauger was a godsend.
I recently got caught up on my dentistry following a three-year hiatus, and such wonderful timing because I doubt it's business as usual with the virus fears changing everything around us. My dentist now is Dr. Kevin Williamson. I faintly recall hearing in my family that a few generations back, it was "Williamson" and then the last syllable was dropped.
 |
| Pastor Lauren Hauger |
My first reaction to the article was to think highly of the radio station to show such enterprise as to produce such a lengthy piece. It was "true crime" in its tone. Lauren was definitely not one of the central players but she got in on the periphery. Maybe as an accomplice? Maybe just trying to help someone in trouble? That can be commendable, but knowledge of a judge's forged signature, if that was the scenario, would create a serious snag.
A friend from my own church who also knew Lauren and was familiar with the situation, gave me some very good news:
I know a little more about Lauren's involvement in the kerfuffle. Her job is not in jeopardy. She was helping a parishioner fax a paper to the courts in Louisiana, she was NOT involved in the forging of the document. Because it was a person who came to her in her capacity as a pastor, she cannot talk about it. She was not charged with any misconduct for this. She feels absolutely terrible about the whole thing. Apparently the forged document had misspellings and grammatical errors that were totally overlooked by the Louisiana people - I figured that's just normal for them! Anyway, they let this criminal woman out of jail and she disappeared. She and her document- forging boyfriend hooked up in Texas, where they lived in a Hispanic neighborhood and were soon caught by an investigator. They were not the brightest bulbs on the tree!
I had to wonder if someone at the radio station had a connection to the story in some way. The headline had a dramatic flourish. Normally the radio station material is, while helpful, dry.
It's terrible if Pastor Lauren got put on the defensive. The radio story forced me to inquire about ramifications.
One can easily visit Lauren's church in Park Rapids, with the "Hubbard" name, via the online world and appreciate her work just as if she was still at Federated Church here. I'd like to know Lauren's reaction to the Oak Grove Methodist church that gained infamy by appearing to want to kick out its old members. The church had to actually deny that it was going to physically bar people at the door! Wow.
Our Federated Church is one-half Methodist. That's a curious arrangement, one I don't really grasp, where the other half is UCC. United Church of Christ?
I have stated for a while now that Federated, First Lutheran and Faith Lutheran ought to consider coming together. The same type of people attend all three. Unfortunately the Methodists are still having a silly battle over gay ordination. I would say the parishioners are in a mood to shrug and say "let's just move on from this." The ELCA has done that, establishing a policy that gay people are not going to be discriminated against. Not in the year 2020.
The mainstream Protestant churches of Morris are challenged today because of a couple factors: creation of the Good Shepherd Church as a non-gay-friendly bastion, and the existence of those Apostolics who always seem to promote mixed feelings, at least in my head. The Apostolics are such motivated people who strive to lead such upright lives. Personally I don't see why the women have to look so different. I also think the parishioners have a bent to vote Republican in a knee-jerk way, and this I feel is dangerous. We have people like that to thank for Donald Trump being president. We all may be looking at hell to pay for that.
In the meantime, so many political and other issues are being put aside as trivial while we deal with the wave of anxiety and tragedy with the virus. It put things in perspective, n'est-ce pas? Just like the Great Depression left my parents in a certain frame of mind for the rest of their lives. They knew "small potatoes" when they saw it.
Addendum: The KMRS online article that included Rev. Hauger had a pejorative tone in connection to her, IMHO. The reporter even reached out to her. The pastor "wasn't saying much," the article read. The quote subtly suggested that the pastor probably knew of something untoward. Remember, no one is under any obligation to speak to a media reporter. Reporters have no legal standing to summon statements from people. Put bluntly, you have the right to slam the door in their face.
When you say "no comment," a snarky reporter might quote that in a way that suggests complicity in something. However, "no comment" means just one thing: "no comment."
Why allow a writer from the corporate media to put together something with his/her own spin or perspective? What gives them that right? I guess I should feel thankful I'm not in the corporate media anymore. How do I feel about the Morris paper? "I'm not saying much."
Reporters can make typos just like anyone can make typos. Just look at the news today about U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, who has had to backpedal after writing that Speaker Nancy Pelosi was "retarded." He says he meant "ridiculous" and that it was a "typo." Would people have bought that explanation from me, from back when I wrote for the Morris paper?
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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