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| Scrooge at night |
Schedule information can be a little elusive because of the pandemic-caused delay in the action. The people in charge of these things have been scrambling. I was out for a walk Tuesday night and came home via the UMM campus route. I saw "Tigers" and "Redmen" on the scoreboard. So the opponent would seem to have been Sisseton. The "Redmen" nickname must be deemed proper there as opposed to in other places.
The players looked pretty mature but was this varsity? A couple days later a friend got back to me: it was 'C' team or freshmen.
In my newspaper background, I was used to seeing sub-varsity football games in daytime time slots. This was a boon for photographers: no light challenges whatsoever. Glorious sunshine if the sun was out, a workable situation even if it was not. Newspaper photographers everywhere would have told you that nighttime football was probably their biggest challenge. There were tricks but with limitations.
So I'd have to wonder if the fan experience could be affected too. The nighttime air tends to be more chilly than daytime, obviously. The field's lights might be decent but can they completely overcome the limitations of darkness?
Let's think deeper about what nighttime or darkness means. All our progress means we have been increasingly more able to function normally after dark. Try to remember many years ago. I'm age 65 so that gives perspective for what I mean by "many." Obviously no Internet. And TV? The broadcast day might not even begin until morning sometime - it's so long ago I can't guess the exact time, but people my age remember what we saw on the screen before normal programming. We saw the "test pattern." The Indian headdress was in the middle.
Humorists sometimes recall the "test pattern," like by saying it's better entertainment than some lame show. Comics like all of us must be sensitive to how our culture and lifestyle change. So many of today's young or even middle-age adults wouldn't grasp "test pattern."
When I was a kid we read about the kid "wearing the dunce cap" in class. As you might guess, it was punishment for bad behavior. This custom was a relic even when I was young. We at least became aware of it, and it could be handy as a metaphor sometimes. Do today's kids gain any exposure?
These days I usually go to bed early and rise early. Getting up early would have been a bleak experience in past times, not so today. Well, open your laptop or switch on the TV, so many channels. Such easy stimulation and entertainment. Which we all probably take for granted. It's a blessing but when we take stuff for granted, we can get bored with it. It's just human nature. I remind myself often to be amazed at how we can enrich ourselves at all hours now.
A profound takeaway from all this is that we can function so easily around the clock - we have conquered the night! Perhaps all the new assets and stimulation are why we have seen Friday and Saturday nightlife (as it used to be) fade, become dated. As a young adult I'd see the Friday/Saturday foolishness on display so much. Restaurants catered to the "bar rush." Many people had no inhibitions about acting drunk.
Granted, I don't go on the town any more myself, but my own behavior probably just reflects the norm. We are far more restrained and civilized, probably because we don't have to "stretch" so much to entertain ourselves. Back when tedious or "labor" jobs were so much more common, people sought escape from the "drag" of that with weekend fun-seeking. Work today may have stress but it generally is not a "drag." You need rest when you're done.
People my age will remember peers who had a reputation for showing up late for work, or not showing up at all, or showing up ill-tempered, because of a "hangover." Has the word "hangover" gone the way of "dunce?" Maybe not completely, but it seems to be largely in the dumpster along with old TV icons like Dean Martin and his "rat pack." The rat pack! An absolute museum item now. Misogyny along with alcohol abuse. Late hours!
I can get up at 4 or 5 a.m. today and call up a particular podcast or YouTube piece. Four cable news channels give perspective on what's going on, yes from well-known political biases, around the clock. Miss their prime time shows? They get re-run while the owls hoot outside. BTW did you know that skunks have one predator to fear? It's the owl because owls do not have a sense of smell. Aren't you glad you check this blog from time to time?
You can read my blogs in the middle of the night! As my generation would say: "far out!" You can hear my voice from my "Morris Mojo" podcast in the middle of the night. Rim shot.
Maybe nighttime in the past had its intended soothing effect as a time to withdraw, rest and re-charge. If you wish a broader historical perspective, you would be fascinated learning about the day/night contrast in pre-industrial times. In times before electric light. The sun would set and a restrained, mysterious sort of dream world would pervade, peaceful but with dangers like crime. Trying to get about outdoors had its dangers. People fell into roadside ditches. I was reminded of this when walking to town very early in the morning a few days ago. Daylight savings time hasn't yet been ended.
I was away from streetlights as I crossed the field to the south of where I live, to the north of Pizza Hut. The uneven terrain made me unsteady in places. I used the non-maintained road across the University field. It's non-maintained but it does get a little gravel once in a while. Some holes on the south end got filled recently. The road connects with the service road that takes you to Grandstay. It connects but with an incline that would probably call for a 4-wheel drive pickup. I have seen people do this, people with no University business.
People in long-ago times did not seek sleep in one uninterrupted eight-hour period. Wow! We take for granted the eight-hour thing now, but in times past people had two sessions of sleep each night, separated by wakefulness when they would meditate or even visit neighbors! People were much more aware of the next "full moon."
Urbanization, industrialization and electrification changed everything. Oh, and night was when the working class could be equal with the ruling class!
Are you scared of the dark?
My "Morris Mojo" podcast for this day, Thursday 10/15 continues thoughts on the quality of night vs. daytime. Please click on permalink:
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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