New variant while holidays beckon

We might have expected the "new covid variant." Whatever it's called, it won't be the last word. We can probably count on that. 

Are the new variants a way for this bug to get around the vaccinations? A means of evolution? Do we know yet for sure how this menace got thrust upon us? The Wuhan lab? A lab leak? Bats? Wet market? Given the gravity of the matter, you'd think the powers-that-be would summon the means to get an answer. 

Gain of function research? I mean, is there maybe a grain of truth, at least, in the suspicion being leveled by Rand Paul vs. the venerated Dr. Fauci? I had a line in my annual Christmas song last year that was quite respectful toward Dr. Fauci. Trying to guard him from some slings and arrows. But what about "gain of function research?" And was Dr. Fauci a party to that? 

We don't know the full answer on origin yet. Thus we entertain all sorts of speculation. 

Yours truly theorized early-on that space aliens might have thrust this menace on us. Such a move would have a purpose of saving the planet. The most powerful person on Earth, the president of the U.S., proclaimed during 2016-2020 that climate change is a "hoax." This individual took us out of the Paris Climate Accords. Were the space aliens paying attention? Did they decide that something had to be done with urgency, lest this planet meet its end for living things? 

Such a scenario would follow perfectly the plot line for the original "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and its sequel. The movies by themselves show that we, the human race, are not clueless about our environment. 

But it is we of the United States that chose a particular president for 2016-2020, as if we were just trying to amuse ourselves. A president who apparently seriously considered employing nuclear weapons toward the end. To the extent that a high-ranking military person felt he had to share a heads-up with other world leaders. 

So, we hear about this on the news and then just sort of shrug? File it away with other crazy things coming out of that presidency? Is it that important for us not to be bored? 

The space aliens are surely aware that the president of 2016-2020 did not get the most votes in 2016. The opponent did. The opponent would have been a "proper" president. And in many people's minds, that would mean "dull." This individual would have tackled the pandemic in a way that surely would cause some inconvenience and annoyance in the short term. The effort would probably have gone beyond short-term, given the extent of the danger. 

This individual would have used the Defense Production Act in the proper manner. Everyone would have just nodded with understanding. It's a crisis and we must respond with prudence. Government 101. Not the kind of approach that yields a gold mine for the media. The media instead salivates over an inexperienced reality star president who acts in a provocative way constantly. It appeals to our limited attention span, keeps us occupied. Gives the media "eyeballs" which in contemporary times, is judged essential by those denizens e.g. Chuck Todd. 

We had a president pre-Biden who used the Defense Production Act to direct meat processing plants to continue operating. What does this have to do with combating the pandemic, "fighting the war" against the bug? "Defense" means there is danger at our doorstep. That's the whole point. It is invoked when our normal capitalistic processes aren't going to cut it. 

Donald Trump's supporters have vilified states that adopted special means for voting that might not be totally in line with state constitutions. It was an emergency. We don't want people streaming into polling locations, or streaming into meat processing plants to work, if a substantial percentage will have their health threatened. Or to die. Such reasonableness. 

Mark Zuckerberg led an effort to facilitate voting under the cloud of the pandemic, clearly non-partisan. The Trump crowd shouts him down. 

Can't we all get along eating a little less meat? Think of the sacrifice this nation made for World War II. 

The Republicans scream about spending proposals they judge "socialism" from the Democrats. What did the 20-year war in Afghanistan cost us? The monetary cost. Can you suggest a figure? A Republican president got us mired over there because, well, he just had to. He had to make sanctimonious pronouncements about "fighting for freedom." He always talked about "freedom." Like freedom from regulations that might ensure a healthy planet. 

Why are so many of us so obstinate in not recognizing the stark reality? People stream into their conservative churches out here in red state country, western Minnesota, and so much of their thoughts are applied toward attacking "critical race theory," for one thing. Ignoring things like the genocide of Native Americans will not make that chunk of history go away. 

Ken Burns is arguing that a really great nation is classy and honest enough to recognize its missteps, its warts from history. But the conservative churches like around Morris are full of people who want to stomp on gay marriage and gay rights. The space aliens may be paying attention. 

I pray that my theory about the space aliens, their possible effort to cleanse the Mother Earth of homo sapiens, is not true. Can you actually swear that this theory cannot be true? Can you explain the crop circles?

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

Replay giveth, replay taketh away

Chatfield 14, WC Area-Ashby 13

Replay review for high school football games? I didn't realize such an animal existed. The system generated headlines in connection with the AA state championship game. Isn't this rather deflating? If replay is not the practice during the regular season, why should it be thrust at us for Prep Bowl? The powers-that-be decided it must be so. 

And so it was that West Central Area-Ashby was denied a two-point conversion run. The play was initially ruled good. WC Area-Ashby fans reacted with the emotions you'd expect: jubilance. Were their Knights on the way to victory? Such hopes proved fleeting. The emotions now? The media reported that even WC Area coach Nate Wood was crying. 

Anthony Sykora was the Knight who clutched the football on the fateful conversion bid. The time remaining in the game: 3:51. The conversion followed Evan Paulson's one-yard run for the touchdown. Paulson is the quarterback. At this point the score is 14-13 with the Knights trailing. All eyes would be on the conversion play. 

Did Sykora reach the end zone? Refs thought yes at first. but then the matter was turned over to replay. It was thumbs-down. The Chatfield Gophers would win this game 14-13. The game was the ultimate in how fans' emotions can be drained.  For the loser, it had to be excruciating. Action was Friday at U.S. Bank Stadium. The occasion was Prep Bowl 2021. 

Replay was at centerstage more than once. Chatfield got denied the other time, which happened not long before the Knights' conversion play heartbreak. In Chatfield's case, an apparent 74-yard fumble recovery return got nixed. What a dramatic play that may have seemed. But aha, replay enters the picture and "hold everything." Which in this instance, buoyed WC Area-Ashby. 

But alas, replay giveth and replay taketh away. The tables would be turned via "the eye" of the video camera. I suppose this can be humbling for the on-field referees. Should the practice continue, I mean even for this one day? Yes it worked both ways in Friday's AA showdown. But does it have a deflating effect for fans and TV viewers? I mean the loss of certainty with the initial call made by refs closest to the scene, "in the heat of battle?" 

Fans might even become reserved in how they react sometimes. A corner of their minds will ponder "will there be replay?" Will there be a (possibly excruciating) wait? Maybe the replay is an experimental thing for H.S. ball. Drama? Yes the replay instills a little drama of its own. I suppose it's a godsend when you win because of it. On Friday it seemed rather a "push" in the AA game, advantages shifting. 

Either way, one team has to win, the other to lose. The winner takes the outcome regardless of how it comes. I hope Sykora doesn't replay the pivotal run in his mind indefinitely, as he might wonder how one little extra bit of daylight could have come about. It's like in baseball where a long drive gets snared by a leaping outfielder at the fence, alas. 

But West Central Area-Ashby most definitely had a sterling season. Final won-lost of 13-2. 

Even more drama can be reported in connection to Friday's game. As I have written previously, the Chatfield quarterback situation was unsettled. I wrote on Nov. 25 that star quarterback Sam Backer had gotten benched because of misbehavior. This happened in the state semis vs. Barnesville, a game won by Chatfield 22-18. Backer may have been Chatfield's best player. He was called for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the Barnesville game. What got his dander up so badly? Evidently he took umbrage when Barnesville players were too slow letting him go after tackles. 

Backer got the heave but would he be back for Prep Bowl? Would you believe, the matter ended up in court? Backer and his family awaited the ruling, I would guess with not much optimism. A U.S. District Court judge weighed in. The judge turned thumbs-down on Backer's bid to play. The drama could have been a distraction for the Gophers. But coach Jeff Johnson commented "we had lots of kids ready to play ball, and excited." 

The semis game with Barnesville saw Backer replaced at QB by a sophomore. This was Parker Delaney, not exactly seasoned. Basically he had done mop-up duty. He did terrific in the Barnesville game. And then, under the state title game lights, he held his own by completing five of 13 passes for 67 yards. 

WC Area-Ashby scored its first touchdown in a thrilling way: a 30-yard touchdown pass, Paulson to Cole Anderson. 

Evan Paulson (MSHSL image)

The teams struggled with turnovers. Chatfield scored on a 31-yard fumble recovery return by Carter Daniels. The score was good for putting Chatfield up 14-7 for halftime. 

The Knights succeeded with an onside kick to start the second half. Eventually they got within a point of the Gophers but then needed the conversion run in order to accomplish their objective. Enter the replay camera drama. To repeat: it "giveth and it taketh away." Nuts. 

The "Minnesota Football Hub" summary had this headline: "One good overturn deserves another." Chatfield was ranked just seventh in Minnesota. Their 2021 state title is their fifth. In 2021, defense asserted itself in a big way for the Gophers. Friday's game was the tenth time this season they've held an opponent under 20 points. 

The Daniels fumble recovery return for six came when WC Area-Ashby was facing third-and-eight. Grady Schott and Campbell Berge converged on Knight QB Paulson. The result was the fumble. Daniels was in perfect position to seize the ball, then he turned on the jets for 31 yards. Later, Cole Johnson forced a fumble and Daniels got another recovery. This recovery snuffed out a promising WC Area-Ashby drive. 

Paulson attempted 29 passes, completing 15, but had three picked off. Sykora completed his only pass attempt. Here are the receiving stats: Hunter Norby (four catches, 71 yards), Cole Anderson (4-67), Mattson Hoff (4-33), Sykora (3-33) and Ryder Staples (1-17). Sykora's rushing stats were 21 carries, 63 yards. Hoff, Norby and Paulson had negligible rushing stats. 

The WC Area assistant coach is Todd Hickman, former UMM coach. Head coach Wood is also assisted by David Stone and Brandon Gruchow. 

What a 2021 season for the Knights of West Central Area-Ashby! Now, on to the Christmas holiday season.

 

Meanwhile, at Morris Area

Mark Ekren has submitted papers toward retirement. Mark Torgerson has been "overheard at Willie's" saying this basketball season will be his last. There's a slam-dunk source: "overheard at Willie's." The school district will be losing lots of experience. 

I remember writing a little profile of "Ek" as a new teacher way back when. My relationship with him was always 100 percent enjoyable. So often he'd just call me by my initials "B.W.," probably based on an on-again, off-again column I wrote. The column used a graphic of an old-fashioned typewriter. They weren't old-fashioned when I started at the paper! 

The developments with "Ek" and "Torgy" inspire my new blog post on "Morris of Course." I invite you to read:

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2021/11/ekren-and-torgy-heading-toward-sunset.html 

Congratulations to the West Central Area-Ashby "Knights" of 2021.

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

Our community Thanksgiving dinner went kaput

The late Glen Helberg and I used to discuss how holidays are hard on people who are alone or unemployed. So today (Thursday) is Thanksgiving. It is assumed that people get together with family. Not everyone is in a position to do that. 

Remember when Morris had its "community Thanksgiving dinner" at Assumption Church? That fell to the wayside, same fate as our Prairie Pioneer Days. Asked to explain the meal's cancellation, people sort of bristled and then said large groups of people were coming in (hint: not enough financial remuneration). 

To which I'd respond: Maybe the free-will donation basket wasn't enough. I remember the basket being put off to the side, to indicate there was no heavy-handed expectation for money. If the very future of the event was at stake, maybe the expectation of money should have been a little more up-front. 

We needn't view this as crass, it's just reality, something needed to keep the event going. 

People who live alone do not find it practical to prepare the standard Thanksgiving meal in one's kitchen. I live alone and have chosen to not even have my refrigerator/freezer running. Were I to have such a resource activated, I'm sure I would over-eat. We used to have a refrigerator/freezer running for our family of three, four if you include the dog. 

I am hanging on with a lifestyle that is sufficient. I can't say there's any depression, thank goodness, but holidays are mostly a downer. They are set up for families to relish life. For people without families, holidays are just times to endure, to get through. We perk up with the resumption of normal life the next morning. 

Was there a problem getting volunteers for the Thanksgiving public meal? For at least a portion of its history, definitely not. That can be said with an exclamation point, and I can document: One year, the Zion Lutheran pastor was among the many volunteers and he joked as he went by our table, that there were so many volunteers, he had the very narrow specialty of just filling water glasses! So there, all you naysayers. 

The naysayers are starting to get to me, the people who say with total resignation that we cannot have the Thanksgiving public event any more, and we cannot have Prairie Pioneer Days. While we're on the topic, how can Appleton sustain a wonderful summer concert series in the park, while we cannot do anything like that? Can't this Morris community of ours admit shortcomings or failure sometimes? We're too apathetic to even think about it? Is it really that bad? I'm rather like the boy who said the emperor has no clothes: I see failure and describe it as such. 

People get defensive when I engage them in conversations about the shortcomings. Another tactic they display is to try to put me on the defensive: "Well, why don't you do something?" I am over the hill now, soon to be age 67. The critics of my work at the newspaper will say I'm no good for anything. Actually their language can be a lot worse than that. 

Coarseness seems to have taken over among us. How times change. When I was a kid, people who were Republicans or conservatives were classy with their personal standards. A perfect example was my late uncle Howard of Glenwood, the banker. (He was always coy in talking about his actual role at the bank!) Howard had "Goldwater cigars" in 1964. He would not recognize the conservatives/Republicans of today. Today these people chant "let's go Brandon" which is code for "fuck Joe Biden," and it's happening in church sanctuaries now. 

A suggestion for you pea brains: why not skip the code? Be bold and just start chanting "fuck Joe Biden." Do it in the church sanctuary, right out there at Good Shepherd. Show us what you're really made of. Don't wimp out. Then there's the residence across from East Side Park, which has displayed the sign "Biden, stick your unity up your (blank)." Yes there was a blank, at least. 

Biden seeks to be a devout Catholic. The church largely does not return this devotion - there are priests who feel Biden should not receive communion. This is because he won't use the power of his office to fight abortion, to outlaw it I guess. In my dreams, I see President Biden departing from the Catholic Church and joining the ELCA of the Lutheran faith. It's only in my dreams. 

Trump wanted the Federal Reserve to initiate negative interest rates. As it stands, interest rates are basically zero. You know what that does? It pushes up inflation. This bother you? The cost of a hard roll from the Willie's bakery jumped from 45 cents to 75 cents in the last couple weeks. 

Is this the price you want to pay in order to see the stock market remain stable? Low interest rates are good for stocks, good for your 401K I guess, and that's all Trump cared about. He wanted to go on CNBC with Joe Kernen. Congratulations. But when you notice that you're paying double or triple the price for things at Willie's, will you still be good with that? I write more about local inflation on my November 20 post on "Morris of Course." I invite you to read:

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2021/11/hard-rolls-at-willies-bakery-45-cents.html 

 

My lead-in post for the Thanksgiving weekend was put up Wednesday. I invite you to read this "Morris of Course" post also. In there, I recall the "legend" of Coborn's wanting a liquor license to stay in Morris and to build a nice new store. No license, no store. Coborn's left. In these times of surging inflation - will prices ever come back down? - don't you think two viable grocery stores would be nice? Some competition? Here's the link for this post, and thanks: 

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2021/11/prices-jump-upward-as-thanksgiving.html 

 

Addendum: Presidents are supposed to leave the Federal Reserve alone.

 

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

High school football alive with WC Area-Ashby

(image from Facebook)

Are high school kids still playing football? "Aye" is the answer as Thanksgiving weekend creeps up on us. 

Our weather to date has been pretty standard. Remember the Halloween blizzard of 30 years ago? Hard to believe it was that long ago. We're well past Halloween now. So it's Thanksgiving-time including "Black Friday." 

Have you ever liked the "Black Friday" term? I was writing about this several years ago and groping to find the words to express my dislike. To the rescue came John Stone, the newspaper guy from Minnewaska territory. Stone wrote a column in which he described "Black Friday" as having a "somber" tone, not in line with an occasion that is supposed to be bright. 

But why the hoopla for "Black Friday" in the first place? Common sense has always suggested that the day after Thanksgiving is a convenient time to get out and about, make purchases. The Viking Plaza in Alexandria would be abuzz, for sure. I wonder how the mall has come out of the pandemic year. It went through some hard times even before that. Of course we're not out of the pandemic anyway. 

The Thanksgiving weekend is the time for Minnesota high school football to reach its apex. Realistically, I think many people need reminding it's still going on. If your own team had a brief playoff appearance, it's easy to put football aside and then, if you wish, start thinking about the winter stuff. That's if you're attuned to high school sports at all. Of course, many of us are not. 

There were no playoffs for football when I was in high school. Teams just played for their conference championship. I know that when the playoff format began, former Tiger coach Stan Kent was not approving: He thought that playing for your conference title was meaningful enough. I had Stan as a teacher in school. Nice guy, thoughtful, relaxed. 

At present in the fall of 2021, we should be aware that the Knights of West Central Area-Ashby remain in action. Let's all cheer for the Knights as they prepare for their final challenge: a November 26 game against Chatfield for all the AA marbles! 

Game will be played at the "big-time" site of U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. It's the home of the Minnesota Vikings.

Let's review the 2021 WC Area road. The coach is Nate Wood. The Knights reeled off win after win beginning with the Barnesville game. After that they disposed of Staples-Motley, Pillager, Hawley, Crookston and Breckenridge. Then came the Knights' lone loss which was to the Silverstreaks of Osakis. The Knights polished off their regular season with a win over Underwood. 

Next: the section playoffs. So the Knights took care of business with a 20-7 win over Sauk Centre, then a 19-14 triumph over Osakis at the Fargodome. Moving on from sections, the Knights took care of business by beating Moose Lake-Willow River 14-6, and then Maple River 8-7. The Maple River game was at U.S. Bank Stadium. 

Kickoff-time this Friday is 1 p.m. Let's cross fingers to have a pleasant weather day. 

 

Downing Maple River

As the 8-7 score suggests, defense was big for the Knights in the Maple River game. Maple River is known as the "Eagles." The Eagles' first possession was critical: they threatened, driving to the West Central Area five yard line. The stout defense then took over for the Knights. No dice for the Eagles as they tried on fourth-and-two. 

The Knights were hampered with failures on fourth down plays early-on. But that pattern was broken nicely midway in quarter No. 2. Facing fourth-and-one, a halfback pass netted success. The thrower was Anthony Sykora. The catcher was Cole Anderson. This success was to the tune of a touchdown. It went into the books as a 16-yard touchdown pass. How precious that TD would end up being. 

The Knights certainly had mixed success with the halfback pass on this day. Rather an exotic play, it backfired on the Knights in later attempts. Throws got intercepted, and one of those pickoffs set the stage for Maple River's only touchdown. Boden Simon carried the football into the end zone for the Eagles from the two. Simon was effective with his ballcarrying as he tallied 96 yards on 20 carries. 

I made no mention of the conversion play in connection with WC Area's touchdown. Was it a two-point conversion play? The Knights did not tack on two that way, rather this came with a subsequent two-point safety, quite essential as it turned out. 

The WCA defense was stubborn as the Eagles sought to convert fourth down situations. It was linebacker Hunter Norby who gets credit for the safety which happened in the third quarter. Norby racked up seven tackles and two sacks in addition to the safety. Mattson Hoff came through with five tackles and an interception. Colten Lindquist bore down to get a sack. Carson Spangler broke up two passes. 

Sykora carried the football 17 times for 88 yards. Evan Paulson completed two passes for 42 yards. 

The Knights own an 11-1 record as they prepare for Friday's big championship game vs. Chatfield in Minneapolis.

 

The Chatfield story

Chatfield goes by the "Gophers" name. They had to survive a potentially costly player ejection on their way to the title game. 

Thursday in the AA semis, star Gopher Sam Backer was ejected in the third quarter. But the Gophers were able to rally to defeat Barnesville 22-18. Backer is the junior quarterback. My, what happened? This talented young man was ejected early in the third quarter after he got his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty of the game. 

Things got worse before they got better for the Gophers. The Gophers fumbled on a punt attempt. Barnesville then executed just one play to net six points. This put Barnesville up 18-8. 

The defensive unit for Chatfield became resolved. 

The quarterback reins were taken by Parker Delaney, sophomore. Delaney put the ball in the air with confidence. And the Gophers scored two consecutive touchdowns. The Rochester Post-Bulletin termed this a "wild victory." Post-game, Chatfield players were quoted saying they had become tired of hearing about how dependent they were on Backer. 

Sophomore Delaney threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Erding with 4:29 left in the third quarter. Delaney would throw an even longer TD strike to Luke Carrier, 47 yards, with 2:26 left in the game. Delaney finished with 7-for-17 passing stats, 175 yards and two touchdowns. 

The Post-Bulletin tells us that the game-winning TD was on a play not even in Chatfield's playbook! It was an out-and-up play. Chatfield coaches "noticed that Barnesville defenders were jumping short routes, so they tweaked the play and it worked to perfection." The Chatfield head coach is Jeff Johnson.

Chatfield had its back to the wall when trailing 18-14, as they fumbled and Barnesville recovered and had an apparent return to the five. However, Barnesville lost the handle on the football and Chatfield recovered. 

Barnesville had another fumble on the kickoff following Chatfield's go-ahead score. Delaney then broke loose for a 47-yard run, coming within an eyelash of scoring. But he fumbled at the Barnesville one yard line. The Trojans of Barnesville thus got one last chance. This was snuffed out when Eli Hopp made an interception.

What a game! It was at U.S. Bank Stadium.

You might be curious: Will Backer be back in action Friday? Maybe not. The situation sounds unsure and an appeal could be involved. Both of the unsportsmanlike calls on him were when he was advancing the football. Coach Johnson said the officials did not supply an explanation. Reportedly, defenders were "wrapping up" Backer's leg.

(Photo of WC Area-Ashby football team from Ashby school site)

 

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

Devolution of MAGA continues

The chant of "let's go Brandon" has now resonated within church walls in the U.S. We could have seen this coming. Is the cult of Trump snowballing into an ever-bigger menace? The talk among such folks is ever more toxic. It's a race to the bottom where ignorance, paranoia and venomous hatred reign. This is MAGA of the year 2021. 

A substantial amount of that sentiment would appear to exist in Stevens County. This I glean in a general way as I try to make normal rounds within our pandemic-limited world. Many of these people have been avoiding the vaccine at their peril. They of course don't want the government telling them what to do. They listened seriously as Donald Trump talked about injecting bleach or using UV light. 

I wondered in an email to John Zeigler what would have happened, if Deborah Birx, she of the scarves, had risen to her feet and literally tried shoving Trump aside so she could speak. Our instinct is so strong to defer to the president. Years from now as we may be surveying the wreckage of what MAGA wrought, people like Dr. Birx will undoubtedly say they saw the nonsense all along. They'll just say they had to be careful and step lightly. 

It's human nature: to protect your own interests in the present as best you can. And to protect your interests later with hindsight. Didn't Albert Speer become known, in a way, as "the good Nazi?" Well, he certainly could not show his Nazi stripes any more, not if he knew what was good for him. Does anyone say in the year 2021 that the Vietnam war was a good policy for the U.S.? I don't remember the precise year when the worm turned on that, but there was a period when you had to watch your back when you criticized the war.

More recently, Phil Donahue got kicked off the Bill O'Reilly show for not being jingoistic enough. This was during our incursions in the Middle East. Well, we had Operation Iraqi Freedom. How could anyone be against freedom? And then, because we "just had to do something" after 9/11, we launched a similar effort with Afghanistan. Never mind that Afghanistan had a sinkhole reputation for such things. 

Again it was a case of "let Daddy do his work," the line from the "Austin Powers" movie, where Dr. Evil needs a retort for his son. Of course the son was the person who saw things clearly and logically, as a child might. The evil father allowed an "inept guard," to use son "Scott's" term, to escort prisoner Powers away. But sometimes certain things just have to be done like in a movie script. 

So Republican president George W. Bush launched the Afghanistan venture. Which cost how much? And now Republicans are wringing hands over elements in the Democrats' (actually bipartisan) infrastructure package? When in fact, the package has direct benefits for all Americans, clear and unmistakable? But 20 years in the sinkhole of Afghanistan? As vengeance? 

The 9/11 hijackers were killed on the day of the terrorist act. 

So, neocons like Dick Cheney, father of current Republican pariah Liz - what an odd world - scratched their heads and decided we needed to roll into Iraq. Ah, "weapons of mass destruction" which were then found not to exist. The cost of all that? And Republicans won't make a major issue out of it? At the same time they nit-pick something like the infrastructure package? 

"Let Daddy do his work." It's all in the name of partisan bravado. 

So now we have the "let's go Brandon" phrase entering our churches. Shall we assume the Texas incident will lead to more of same? It was precipitated at the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio TX. 

Fess Parker

Yes, San Antonio, home of the Alamo, the inspiration for Anglo myth-making. Walt Disney created that final scene out of whole cloth: Fess Parker as Davy Crockett swinging the butt of his rifle (rifle named "Betsy," because why not?) to influence kids about good vs. evil. 

The main reason the Mexicans attacked was their opposition to slavery. Well, now, that clouds the question, doesn't it? Or maybe not, because the Walt Disney types who "hate communism" also hate "critical race theory." So let's not teach kids some of the ugly facts about U.S. and world history, the oppression based on race. 

Crockett was actually executed. 

We've seen similar Anglo myth-making about Custer and his "stand." Following a wildfire at the Little Bighorn in the early 1980s, ground was cleared that allowed research based on things like shell casings. And what was discovered was: It was really just chaos at the end. And wouldn't that make sense? Just like with the Alamo, when a group of people (OK, men) realize they are absolutely doomed, they aren't going to just sit there and keep shooting bullets at their attackers. That would just get the attackers more teed off, naturally. 

An instinct takes over to flee, however futile, or surrender, also futile, but the odds are better than to just sit there trying to look "brave." 

Political conservatives have so much bravado these days and would celebrate the Anglo heroic narrative of the Alamo and Custer's Last Stand. General Custer had been involved in the Washita massacre in which women and children were killed. I suppose the "CRT" opponents would not want that taught. Such messy little details, just like slavery. 

So conservatives and Republicans today try to at least pretend to have bravado by gathering in our churches and chanting "let's go Brandon." Which means, and I sincerely apologize, "fuck Joe Biden." This is how Republicans talk these days. What about our local Apostolics in the Morris area? Are they talking that way? They most assuredly got on the Trump train, even displaying flags on the backs of pickups. One flag wasn't enough, so why not two "Keep America great" flags, eh?

Where can I find refuge now, if not within my mother's Christian faith? She wouldn't recognize the Christianity of today. Heaven help us all? We may be past that point.

 

Addendum: I'm listening to WDAY Radio, Fargo, this morning, and it is so outwardly pro-Trump. There's an on-air personality who has such a fake laugh, it grates on me and makes me want to switch stations. Sickening. So much of AM radio is not only pro-Trump, it mocks and pokes fun at Democratic office-holders. Is this what our Founding Fathers had in mind? 

If T. Denny Sanford of South Dakota had a record of giving $ to Democrats, rather than to Trump, AM radio would explode with vitriol vs. Sanford around the clock, based on a messy bit of recent news you may have heard about. Sanford supports Trump and not the current office-holder. Therefore the talking heads of radio ignore the matter. And let's face it, the more educated listeners have moved on to satellite radio. (What if I wrote "nattering nabobs" instead of "talking heads?")

 

Addendum No. 2: Custer was found dead "with an arrow shoved up his manhood."

 

Addendum No. 3: A sign in front of Cornerstone Church, San Antonio, included the name of John Hagee. Can you place him? John McCain had to reject Hagee's endorsement for president in 2008. Ahem: McCain learned of Hagee's comment that Adolf Hitler had been fulfilling God's will by hastening the desire of Jews to return to Israel in accordance with Biblical prophecy. McCain is posthumously declared persona non grata by the GOP today. This is on direction from Trump.

Cornerstone Church, San Antonio TX, with Pastor John Hagee

 

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

Truman Carlson, fixture for school history, is 95

Man of the hour in 1960

A friend emailed Wednesday evening to say Truman Carlson had marked his 95th birthday that day. Well, that's quite the milestone. We can be confident there is more fuel left in the tank. Generations come and go, and so I suppose few current school parents are familiar with the name. 

The photo above makes abundantly clear that Truman was once a high-profile fixture. It doesn't get more high-profile than a basketball championship. How many of us are blessed by being the focus of such a triumphant scene, as what you see above? Words cannot describe the satisfaction that accrues. 

The photo was taken in 1960. How many of us have personal memories of the basketball venue in use by the Tigers at that time? A dwindling circle to be sure. It was at the place that came to be known, in its declining years, as the "elementary auditorium." I always had some trouble with the term because I remembered the place in its heyday when grades K-12 were handled in one place. An asterisk there, because Longfellow Elementary School in west Morris was a supplementary resource. 

The old auditorium or auditorium/gym was art deco in its design. Therefore it had distinction, was a shame it had to come under the wrecking ball. We were told it could not be maintained all by itself. It was part of a complex that had been expanded upon in erector set style. Not the most ideal way to develop a place. Some people in the community held out hope for "re-use." I thought those people were seeing unicorns. 

It was sad to see the place go to ruin rather than to be torn down expeditiously. I was in there once when the deterioration was quite advanced. A Morris police officer opened the doors one day for yours truly and some friends from out of town, one of whom was a high-ranking law enforcement person. Ah, "connections." But it was a depressing little visit. 

Local authorities I'm sure would not have been pleased about me visiting, what with my reputation of being a journalist. But there I was watching the pigeons flap around inside the old auditorium. A place where so many unique memories had been made. You could close your eyes and imagine Truman Carlson's basketball team bringing waves of cheers back around 1960. The year was a turning point one for this community, as the longstanding WCSA was being phased out. We would welcome the University of  Minnesota as a real miracle for keeping the community viable. 

In 1960 we also saw the presidential race between JFK and Richard Nixon. Within a couple years we had to lose sleep over the Cuban missile crisis, part of the Cold War that really colored our whole culture. The notion became pervasive that we had to "beat the Russians." Were we really justified in having such a sense of conflict? Or was it a case of the military industrial complex? 

The military industrial complex is a beast that demands we be ever-vigilant against new enemies or boogeymen. Such as, the feared "domino effect" of communism in Southeast Asia. What a price we paid for that. 

Such "macro" distractions were worrisome. The "micro" life here in Morris could be quite joyous. You might need reminding that the old basketball gym was rather like what you saw in the movie "Hoosiers." People sat in the auditorium seats to watch, as well as from bleachers on the opposite side of the gym, remember? Harriet Stevenson told me the bleachers weren't even there when she was in high school. She said "there was just a wall." The band room was down the hall from the gym - just go down some steps. Steps/stairs were all over the place.

Basketball and wrestling were the winter sports and basketball was boys-only until, I believe, 1972. The '72-73 year was when I was a senior. 

It was in 1968 that basketball found its new home in the present-day school complex. Strange how that gym seemed like a quantum leap when it opened, yet today it seems essentially forgotten. We have the much newer, far more spacious varsity gym which is a part of what is basically the elementary school. We voted for the "new elementary school" but heavens to Betsy, we got a whole lot more than that. 

I remember the late Tony O'Keefe being puzzled about what we ended up getting, because it seemed like "a new high school too." I mean, with new band and choir rooms. Was there even a pressing need for the new band and choir rooms? I remember taking photos there when the place opened, to impress on the public just how far-reaching the new resources were going to be. The public seemed quite happy with it all. 

But gone are the days when the '68 gym would be "the place to be" on Friday night in winter, the ear-popping strains of a pep band tune coming forth. And hey, Truman Carlson was so often the one helping make sure a rope was put up right after game's end to ensure people would not walk on the gym floor. A little assistance from Wally Behm. 

Behm was a cornerstone for the growing-up experiences of the Morris baby boom population. He had a rather ignoble exit and that was unfortunate. Education eras come and go and they can present adjustment challenges for administrators. What a different world we had then with girls sports in their awkward fledgling state. It had to be that way because the girls had no prior background for development. I remember Dave Leuthard the ref saying "you have to call traveling every time or they'll never learn." 

Oh, forget hockey as a prep sport, it was a ragtag "sandlot" type of sport for years. I covered it for the paper at that level. Then the sea change came with the indoor arena. Do we all take this for granted now?

No high school swimming or gymnastics. Advocates for these programs forged ahead. We congratulate them but with a big note of caution too: sports is not everything. A little pushback has to come with advocacy for music and theater. It's a battle sometimes I'm sure. Is there any sort of organized music program for high school age kids in summer? We sure have sports and sports camps.

I drop a comment occasionally on behalf of music but I get the typical Morris response, which amounts to a shrug of shoulders. The sports advocates sure aren't shrugging shoulders. 

Truman Carlson was also the one on whose shoulders it fell to inform fans at the 1968 gym that they could not leave to use the bathroom until halftime! Can you believe it? You know, that gym should have been designed just a few feet wider. I once heard that the bleachers in the '68 gym were the cheapest available. This ought to register. 

So, a belated happy birthday to Truman Carlson. I'm quite sure I know who he voted for in 1960. And in all subsequent elections! I have had a few conversations with him. 

We got JFK in '60. He lasted only three years as president. I was a third grade student at Longfellow School when word of the assassination came out. My teacher, Lillian Pederson (later Ehlers, who lived to over 100) was called into the commons area, then she returned with a grave demeanor and informed us what had happened in Dallas TX. I can't remember if we were excused early. What an unforgettable day. And then we watched continuously on TV. I remember where Dad and I were sitting when we watched live as Lee Harvey Oswald was shot and killed. 

Final notes: The friend who emailed me about Truman's birthday also informed that Truman lives at Legacy in Morris now. There he joins Helen Jane Morrison who has reached her 100th birthday. What a treasure trove of background these two individuals have in connection to Morris! Helen Jane's passion is the U of M-Morris. Did I mention that Truman's academic teaching area was biology? He was athletic director for a time. So much ground to cover here. Because of him, I know what a "Rhesus monkey" is! 

We miss Truman's late wife Edna. I knew his son Dave fairly well, trombone player, Class of '71. I remember him playing trombone on "El Cumbanchero!"

 

Two posts today (Friday)

I am also posting on my companion blog site, "Morris of Course," on this very lousy weather day (Friday). So this is politics: a critical appraisal of our congressperson Michelle Fischbach. She has been an affront to good sense on at least two fronts. I don't think Truman Carlson would agree with me, but I do invite you to read my post. Thanks a lot. Here's the permalink:

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2021/11/representative-fischbach-defies-our.html 

   

The Pylin! What a gem of a memory from back when the high school was at its former location. The Pylin was your classic drive-in restaurant. Complete with car-hops. Right out of "American Graffiti." It was along East 7th Street, as was the Dairy Queen and Stark's Grocery. I bought my baseball cards at Stark's, nickel a pack!

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

Teachers union costs the Dems in Virginia

Have you ever known anyone with the last name "McAuliffe?" You might remember the crew member of the ill-fated "Challenger," the shuttle that had its disaster on my birthday, January 28. She was Christa.

The surname has been in the news recently with the Democratic Party struggles in Virginia. Terry McAuliffe let down the Democratic Party with his stumbles. He was a political veteran and should have known better. 

Politicians can develop a blind spot with their special allegiances. McAuliffe "stepped in it" with a bond that was much too close with the teachers union, of course. Teachers don't like the term, as they would prefer "professional association." 

Terry McAuliffe is seasoned enough as a politician that he once wrote a book, "What a Party!" about his Democratic Party. Any politician can get stale by "being at the dance" too long. Experience in government should not be a detriment. Our leaders simply need wisdom. 

McAuliffe might have felt he was picking up strength by being bonded with the unions or professional associations or whatever you want to call them. I'll call them "professional associations" if that's really what the teachers want. I believe in showing some courtesy to my adversaries. 

I believe in a two-party political system in which there is some mutual respect. No party needs to undertake "scorched earth." Would anyone dispute me, seriously, if I were to suggest that Republicans of our current times are "scorched earth" with their approach? 

We expect politically attuned people to be passionate. The passion for Barry Goldwater never bothered me. Everyone knew he would lose from the get-go. But he soldiered on in the political arena with a healthy zeal. 

Stephanie Miller

Goldwater ran with William Miller whose memory is being kept alive by his lively daughter Stephanie Miller who has a radio show/podcast that is very progressive. The show is entertaining too, because the nice thing about progressives is that we have a sense of humor. It is being tested. 

The laser focus of the GOP on establishing something like an oligarchy - Fascism? - might change the very nature of political discussions in America. Everyone knows this is happening. Maybe in the back of our minds, we see it but don't want to believe it. 

The GOP assertiveness now feeds the news cycle with mountains of preposterous stuff every day. It is an embarrassment of riches for the commercial media, which at one time was highly concentrated, today has fragmented like the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves. Maybe the problem is that we have not fully seen the consequences of this. Where would Stephanie Miller be without the absurdities, growing to a comic level, not only of the Trump presidency but the aftermath of the Trump presidency. Amazingly, the latter has been just as bountiful for the news and entertainment media as the former. 

"SNL" cannot lift its focus from Trump. The danger is when this mother lode for media/entertainment spills over into a real threat to the future of our nation. Or of the world? We laugh. But we fail to seriously reckon with our president from 2016-2020 who pondered: "We have all these nuclear weapons, why don't we use them?" And then our top military people had to deal with the real prospect of this happening. And we countenanced this with our votes in the 2016 election. Oh wait, the Democrat was the winner of the popular vote in 2016. 

If we were to be coming to our senses, we would insist that more Democrats be elected just for the sake of checks and balances. The filibuster in the U.S. Senate prevents the Democrats from exercising their majority. A bipartisan committee on the January 6 disorder was called for. Instead we see the Republican Party get to assert itself way too much. 

And now we see the failure of the Democrats to win a governorship that should have been theirs, in Virginia. The Republican Party had not won a statewide race in Virginia since 2009. 

I remember a letter writer in the Star Tribune expressing exasperation about what the writer felt was one pressing problem within each of the parties. For the Republicans, it was opposing gay rights. For the Democrats, it was too much closeness with teachers unions. I remember the letter because it was so spot-on. The writer was not transfixed by either political party. It was a woman, I recall, and she was not blinded by political allegiance either way. (I must point that out in this age of blinders being so common.) 

A progressive today, I feel the need regularly to remind that I have no problem appreciating the essence of conservative political ideology. I understand its merits at many junctures of our political development. So I seek to weigh in a dispassionate way, the ebb and flow of politics with unreasonableness on both sides sometimes. 

And with the Democrats, this business of being bonded with teachers unions is hair-pulling. 

Do you ever notice re. well-known people, "household names" as it were, as they make missteps, the irony of how you yourself would never make certain missteps? So there's gubernatorial aspirant Terry McAuliffe on his final day of campaigning, and by his side is Randi Weingarten. She's famous too: president of the American Federation of Teachers. 

Ronna McDaniel, once known as Ronna Romney-McDaniel, accused McAuliffe of "wanting parents to shut up and stay at home." And in this case, McDaniel, who "The Onion" humor site has suggested is a "prissy s--thead," is right, in my view. Oh, she excised the Romney part of her name because Mitt Romney had not gone in with full loyalty to Trump. I thought blood was thicker than water. Not for the GOP today. 

And to think that Mitt Romney was actually the GOP nominee for president once. Oh, and John McCain! Can you believe it? 

The cacophony of media voices will keep "mining" the dysfunction of today's GOP to get eyeballs. This will maybe keep you amused a while longer. You'll pay attention to it like you'd pay attention to a crazy uncle. Then you'll move on to your own affairs. And this will continue until, maybe, we have a full-fledged Fascist government instituted in 2025. With a president who seriously considers using nuclear weapons. 

The German people as a whole are not stupid. I do not believe them as a whole to be evil. But look what happened in Germany in the mid-20th Century. Sinclair Lewis wrote a book, "It Can't Happen Here," his point being that it can. He was from Sauk Centre in case you need reminding of that. 

So Terry McAuliffe fell on his face. The Republican resurgence has begun, not that they ever lost much traction. The filibuster in the U.S. Senate has guaranteed that, along with recalcitrant Democrats Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Synema who have the reactionary Kool-Aid in their system. 

We have churches all over our Stevens County where people drink the Kool-Aid. Be careful what you wish for? 

Dick McAuliffe

So I ask: Have you ever known anyone with the "McAuliffe" last name? I grew up following the Detroit Tigers who had Dick McAuliffe as an infielder for many years. He was one of those players with an unusual batting stance. Batting stances are actually just cosmetic, maybe even reflecting superstition. Because when a pitch arrives at the plate, proper technique has to take over for all batters. 

Remember how our Tony Oliva would sweep the bat down low just before the pitch was delivered? He learned that "trick" from Vic Power. The idea was to get the pitcher thinking that the batter wanted the pitch down low. Of course the batter didn't want it there at all! They wanted it in their sweet spot for hitting! 

A large majority of churches in Stevens County have congregations that I'm sure voted 100 percent for Donald Trump. Heaven help us all. Some of these people seem to want to put Trump at a level with God and Jesus. Didn't Pat Robertson talk in that vein once? My ELCA is an outlier. It is hard to keep the faith.

 

Addendum: It was a WWII general with last name of McAuliffe who gave the famous reply "Nuts" to a German demand for surrender during the Battle of the Bulge. It was Gen. Anthony McAuliffe. Today as we hear speeches for Veterans Day and likewise for Memorial Day in May, we might forget that WWII had its controversies for Americans. A big one was how we fell into the defensive for the Battle of the Bulge which cost many lives. The Germans surprised us at a time when it seemed they should be on their heels. Today we can be led into the illusion that WWII was all about glory and success, the triumph over evil, those "evil" Germans etc. War is really hell, as General Sherman said.

 

Addendum No. 2: Make no mistake, the Democrats didn't lose in Virginia because of being too "liberal." They lost because of closeness to the teacher unions. That's it - game, set, match. Don't misinterpret the results. 

So, the Dems' proposals are too "expensive?" Really? Well, what did the 20-year war in Afghanistan cost, the war undertaken by Republican president George W. Bush? And if Trump is so smart, why couldn't he hire a general who could win in Afghanistan? He had four years. We lost the war just like we lost in Vietnam. And, the USA used chemical weapons in Vietnam. Today we are friendly with the very people we fought in Vietnam. 

A sensible person might ask: was "winning" ever possible in either Afghanistan or Vietnam? Or was it a case of "let Daddy do his work," the line from "Austin Powers?" In other words, the U.S. must simply undertake a war every so often. We always need a new generation of men who can give sanctimonious speeches at school auditoriums on Veterans Day or Memorial Day.

 

Final addendum: Remember the tasteless "Christa McAuliffe jokes" that made the rounds? "Where did Christa McAuliffe spend her vacation?" Answer: "All over Florida."

 

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

Negligible progress with softball complex

A friend gave me a heads-up yesterday (Wednesday) that there was in fact some activity at the softball complex on east edge of town. The friend had probably read some recent new thoughts I shared online. He pointed out that some tree removal had very recently been done. 

I walked out there. The complex is on my regular walking and bicycling route. I can't help but notice stuff going on there. Or the lack of stuff going on there. 

Sure enough, my friend who is a member of my church, was correct: there was an assortment of tree stumps left over. A major task probably awaits for getting rid of the stumps. 

My friend wondered if the area would be developed for parking. Silly rabbit, the area has already been used for parking. Parking has been like the elephant in the room for this project. Our activities director at the public school, Mark Ekren, has made a statement in a public meeting about this. 

No one should have been surprised that parking was going to be a flashpoint. On the day of the dedication of the place, no one should have been surprised by the spectacle: cars parked in rows along Prairie Lane going way out. Vehicles were parked in a congested way in the notorious grassy area between ball fields. That's where the tree removal was recently done. However, this is not the area that was designated for parking in the map/diagram that was originally drawn up to promote the complex. 

I wince as I think of the motivations vs. reality. This is not a drastic conclusion. Project promoters of course wanted to "sell" the place. It's human behavior 101. They were, after all, seeking financial donations. But then the rubber has to hit the road. In a nice honest world, the complex would have been a sparkling place by now, living up to original effusive projections. Government spokespeople have been involved in this. 

How wonderful if everything could have followed the rose-colored script. We never want to rule that out. 

I am sometimes accused of being too skeptical. Jim Morrison had me in his office once and said it's part of the nature of news people to become skeptical, as a fundamental outlook. 

So, how can we demonstrate that promoters of the project are being disingenuous? Let's take a look at a top page available to read on the world wide web. It's part of the UMM athletics website. Maybe it's called "UMN" now. I struggle to keep up with everything. Here is a quote you will find:

 

Completed in the summer of 2021, the Morris Softball Complex will be the new home of Minnesota Morris softball starting with the 2022 season. The complex features four fields and a press box that serves as a hub in the middle of all four, allowing for multiple games to be played and followed simultaneously. The main field that the Cougars will play on -- Holmberg Field -- measures 200 feet down the foul lines and 220 feet to straightaway center.

 

It's all presented as fact. We of course are well past the "summer of 2021." We are on the verge of winter! We all know that winter could descend on us any time now. It is a largely unspoken realization. 

Shouldn't we have assumed that this past fall would have been the ideal time to make strides with the softball thing? I saw no progress outside of some piles of dirt that were dug up for some reason. Nothing. 

Maybe the excuse has to do with the supply chain disruptions/labor shortage that have gotten lots of ink. Well, maybe the Morris school board could have put its financial commitment on hold. Back in June these school board geniuses set aside an additional $223,000 for the effort. The City of Morris had been approached for a new contribution too. The city said "no," although it seemed at a subsequent public meeting that promoters hadn't gotten word about that yet. Perhaps there was a feeling that the city might be shamed into capitulating, to disgorge the money? That hasn't happened, has it? 

The school board vote was not unanimous. It is sometimes risky to take on the local jockocracy. I have heard a belittling, disrespectful comment about the dissenter on the school board - the "no" vote. The tone of the comment had a personal ring which I took as reference to the person's religious affiliation. 

I have seen the jockocracy at work in this community for a long time. It has sometimes seemed schizophrenic - while these people incessantly push on sports issues, they have sometimes reached mystifying conclusions when it comes to coaching appointments. From my perspective it gets down to the interests of a "good old boy network" a lot. Need I elaborate? It comes down to "who is friends with who." 

What? In Morris, MN? Naw. And these people can be ruthless. It's "Walking Tall" (the movie) without the violence. Remember the Joe Dan Baker character? 

I lasted a full 27 years as full-time employee, not only of the Morris paper but the Hancock Record. Forum Communications finally axed the Hancock paper and they made substantial cuts at the Morris paper. Morris is just a weekly now, not good for sharing on sports in a timely way, to be sure. The Morris paper today packs its sports website with UMM, to the point that I actually find it insulting. Don't you? C'mon. 

The newspaper should enthusiastically report on sports in a timely way through its website, user-friendly and free all the time. Should just be a matter of principle. And don't give me this business that "the paper has to make money." No business is simply entitled to make money. A business makes money if it provides a needed service. 

The paper had a far more important and entitled position in pre-digital times. Problem is, those old times have been completely wiped away. We are reminded of this on a number of fronts. Federated Telephone cancels its TV service. Can you imagine it? Adapt or die. My generation could not have imagined anything like high school sports on "YouTube." It would have seemed out of the "Jetsons" cartoon show. But here we are in the year 2021. 

I am not just speculating when I say the softball complex is being scaled back. Supt. Ferguson before he left the role did an interview with Marshall of the radio station. It became perfectly clear there was going to be a "re-design," as Marshall paraphrased it, and that this re-design was simply a subtraction from original plans. "Do we really need so much parking?" I remember Ferguson saying. Well the answer to that is YES. 

I came away suspecting there will be no new paved parking whatsoever out there. Do we have to wait for some sort of traffic congestion tragedy to happen? What about when night softball starts there? I mean, the funeral home has gotten big splashes in the media for paying for lights. So when you pay for a funeral, you're supporting local sports, I guess. I did not see lights surrounding either of the new fields yet. There's a whole lot I don't see yet. Take a look at the diagram below:

Addendum: I feel sorry for someone like Fred Switzer who gave generously for this project. He's our former school supt. from the "boomer" generation time. What would he think if he were to observe that the project has fallen short of the original vision? Might some donors begin to think of taking legal action?

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