The joy of music with war drums still distant

Enjoy this photo from 1940. America was nervously watching things happening abroad, wondering if a conflagration of war would erupt. Well, it did. My late father Ralph E. Williams is the musician at left. The big band sound was becoming a thing in America. It would be wonderful to have a recording of the group pictured. Tech for such things was limited then. I wish I could share the names of all the band members. The only writing that accompanies this photo is: "Ralph Williams, Glacier Park Orchestra, 1940 summer." 

 

Dad shared about this chapter in his life in an interview with Liz Morrison. The interview produced a "Sunspots" feature in the Morris newspaper. Thanks Liz for your efforts. 

Dad's story is of interest to the UMM-oriented folks because of course Dad brought his musical commitment here in 1960. He established one of the building blocks for the U of M-Morris. He was the only music faculty in the institution's first year. He directed the first-ever music concert at the Morris Armory for a big county 4-H gathering. How appropriate for cementing the relationship between the institution and the broader community. The armory was located where the public library is now. 

But let's get back to Dad's adventurous days when he honed much of his music ability. So I shall quote from Liz Morrison's writing.

 

Playing with Swifty: My father died of cancer when I was 16 years old, so I earned my way through college by playing trumpet in dance bands. During the school year, I played with Swifty Ellickson, a well-known Twin Cities band leader in the 1930s. At one of our dance jobs, Glenn Miller stopped by, and I had a chance to visit with him. His band was playing at the old Nicollet Hotel in Minneapolis.

 

Montana musician: During the summers I worked in dance bands at hotels in Glacier Park, Montana. I played trumpet and doubled on saxophone, clarinet, and violin. During dinner, I played piano concerts.

I performed at Glacier for four years. In the summer of 1940, I led the band.

 

The picture you see with this post suggests that Dad could have incorporated some jazz with early UMM music. One big problem: The broad public would not have been ready for it. It was a cultural thing. "Jazz" could be a touchy word and concept. Suggested lowlife or lowbrow in some ways, I guess. Seems strange to look back on now. 

I'm reminded of Michael J. Fox performing "Johnny B. Goode" in one of the "Back to the Future" movies. "I guess you guys aren't ready for that yet, but your kids are going to love it."

Morris High School had a band director in the 1970s who did in fact lay the foundation for jazz, however he avoided the term "jazz band." He called it "stage band." With a wink, I guess. That director was John Woell. 

Jazz burst forward with no inhibitions when a former student of my father's, Jim Carlson, made his triumphant return to UMM in 1979. So triumphant that within a few years (if not right away), the UMM Jazz Festival might have been the biggest annual event on the UMM calendar. 

So it's bittersweet looking at the 1940 picture of Dad and the other "cats," as I realize he had the creds to do much the same kind of thing. He did everything else in UMM's first year, all sorts of ensembles. 

Talk about bittersweet: Dad's biggest claim to fame was his UMM men's chorus. Such a gender-specific group came across as palatable for a time. But you know what happened: women's liberation with the old rules and expectations being deconstructed. And let me say, that was a good thing. It was overdue. Women got serious varsity sports opportunities. Imagine a world without that.

I don't think my father was sexist at all, it's just that he grew up in a different world. I do fear that a small part of him never left the 1930s. But that happens to a lot of us, being imbued with established norms from an earlier time. I am imbued with the cynicism that came from following the Vietnam war and other concerning issues from the 1960s and into the '70s. Electing Ronald Reagan was a good thing. What a classy human being. Today we see Republicans of an entirely different stripe. 

Bill Stewart

My father never held any racial prejudice. The estimable Bill Stewart of UMM told me on several occasions how he appreciated my father's work with certain students of color like Roland Wilson. At the retirement reception for my mother at UMM's Oyate, Bill sat with my parents and my uncle and aunt from Glenwood, Howard and Vi Williams. 

Other quotes from Liz's article:

 

Trail guide, too: In addition to performing every night at Glacier Park, during the day I guided horseback trips in the Rocky Mountains. I had practically grown up on horseback.

Clothes make the man: The real Montana cowboys used to give me their castoff riding clothes and boots, so I really did look like a cowboy. Then every night, I would get all dressed up in a tuxedo. I didn't usually tell people I guided up the mountain that I was also in the orchestra, and vice versa.

 

America on the cusp

Ah, 1940. "America First" was an influential organization. Charles Lindbergh was a prominent spokesperson. But the organization went down like a flaming wreckage when one thing happened: Pearl Harbor. So my father got into the Navy as lieutenant, headed to the Pacific. So unfortunate the world fell into the conflagration of war. 

The big band sound was quite the thing in the war years. Glenn Miller hit his peak, then his plane vanished over the English Channel. My father was blessed to survive and to end up here in Morris with the start of our U of M branch in the 1960s. I was five years old. 

We previously lived in the Twin Cities. I was baptized at Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, in 1955. I share reflections on that in my current "Morris of Course" post where you'll see a picture that I consider especially precious. I invite y'all to look:

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2022/07/aunt-irene-projected-loving-glow-back.html 

 

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

Has it really been 50 years?

A member of the MHS Class of '72 approached to talk with me at the diner this morning. It's nice to be recognized and to talk with someone with whom I share memories from pretty far back. The friend told me his '72 Class had its 50-year reunion the night before, Saturday. The gathering was at the bowling alley. Did the bowling alley really have the roof blown off in the derecho? 

My, I got my bill from the tree specialist a few days ago. Homeowners insurance help is nil when it comes to trees only. So this is one of those annoying unexpected bills. Is there any other way to describe them? I must say, the tree professionals in this community do great work. 

Is there any doubt we are seeing inflation with regard to all contractors? And shouldn't inflation be getting our attention more? The news reminds us, without a doubt. The issue seems not to have crossed a line yet, for getting people real nervous. I assure you that the time most likely will come. 

In the meantime, maybe you're wearing out your credit cards? Good luck with whatever your approach is. Me, I have never had a credit card. I have never had a female significant other either. I can suppress my expenses better? It would seem obvious. One of my dear friends with my own MHS Class of '73 once said to me: "Brian, I think you're the kind of person who likes having his own time and his own money." There are things to be said for those qualities. 

My mother may have instilled in me a distrust of women. She felt they were always up to something. God rest her soul. She was no doubt imbued with caution because of having grown up in the Depression. Dad too. It has been broadly commented that these people developed traits that stayed fixed, and to an extent got passed on to their own children. So, I don't use credit cards. 

The increased cost of dining out does not seem to be bothering people yet. The official inflation rate is a disturbing 9.1 percent and since the announcement of that, the Federal Reserve has done nothing. So the Fed just sits there as prices swell. Seems a rather odd stance. 

The Fed ought to be a major story unto itself. Its influence is extending beyond the original boundaries, to where it might be argued that it is the real government of America. Its accountability to the people is very thin. The Fed acts like it is the caretaker for us all. So when the pandemic broke, it called an emergency meeting and lowered interest rates by a full point. It acted out of sense of emergency. But about the current inflation of 9.1 percent? Might that be seen as an emergency too? To over-use a cliche, it's "crickets." ( I actually hate that term.) 

We may all someday wonder why the events of Jan. 6 were not seen as an immediate obvious emergency. I mean, to feel alarmed and just assume that the highest law enforcement powers of America would immediately get to work, roll up their sleeves. 

A normal and rational person might think the Republicans would have been embarrassed and wanting to send a message that the day's events were abysmal. Republican leaders instead went to visit Trump, not the other way around, to "make nice" and make clear that the Republicans were not going to be hostile or questioning of this dangerous man-child. 

Daily I continue to be astounded at how so many of us cannot see the obvious. Do we become zombies as the headlines get rolled out in front of us? 

I'm looking at the "Mediaite" home page for today, Sunday. Let's look at how Fox News is situated for today. Let's look at Bret Baier, considered the last bastion of reason and objectivity on that network. Isn't that sad? Ah, you don't want to agree with me on that. Maybe you attended a fanatically evangelical type of church this morning. News reporting comes out all the time about how America's young people are slipping away from churches including the "evangelical" ones, though I am pressed to define "evangelical." In the media it's shorthand - because the media likes shorthand - for a certain type of  Christian who is a know-nothing. 

Bret Baier

Here's the top headline on Mediaite today: "Fox News' Bret Baier outlines devastating impact of hearings for Trump: He looks 'horrific' not acting for 187 minutes on Jan. 6." 

Oh, please. We have known about the sheer absurdity of Donald Trump for so long now. It has all been right in front of us. And this man has a serious flirtation with getting power back? He is written about as such. He'll take a sledgehammer to the whole Federal government if he gets back, and a chief priority will be sheer vengeance. People lined up to be killed? Congressman Jim Jordan has approved or forwarded along such thoughts. Outrageous to think this? We might have felt it was outrageous to elect Trump and still take him seriously for so long. 

The insane revelations about Jan. 6 just keep rolling out. So much of the testimony has come from his own people. Almost all of it, really. What does it take for us all to gain realization? 

Most Morris area residents might have reservations about Trump and his clan seizing power again. However, there is one thing these people will not do: support Democrats. Their demonization of Democrats has become one of the most alarming elements. So if Democrats are off the table, we'll have a red wave promoted by all the people of America's so-called heartland, and that means us in Stevens County. 

They glibly look me in the eye and attack "liberals." So let's have an all-out autocracy? Outrageous? All along we've been witnessing outrageous things - bleach and UV light, the "Access Hollywood" tape - and cannot act to try to push it aside in favor of the normal sanity. "Sanity" would mean Hillary Clinton. Yes, eight years of Hillary Clinton, and just saying that would make my glib friends have a conniption. "Hillary!" Well, she would govern like Bill, one can presume. And I thought the eight years of Bill were pretty decent for America. 

We have already lost the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is careening down its own narrow right wing path, to have gutted women's reproductive health rights. Could not we just have left Roe vs. Wade alone? Just saying.

The Class of '72

So, the Morris High School Class of '72 marked the milestone of 50 years since graduation. I remember being at the graduation. From my own memory I call up the following words from the podium: "The future is ours, how shall we decide?" Oh, it's rather unoriginal and boilerplate, I guess. But so what? 

How are the Class of '72 members deciding in these Trump times? Are they part of the problem? I'm afraid my generation has been sitting on its hands too much. 

My 50-year reunion will be next year. These are always bittersweet affairs. We notice classmates or their spouses with health limitations. We notice the empty chairs of friends who have left this life. We regret some of the stupid things that happened in high school. We probably look back on high school as having been too demanding and too unpleasant. High school should have done more to lift us up, not discourage us with a stupid grading system. Teachers had to give out a certain percentage of the lower grades. They had to find a way, to scheme against us. 

Today there is great enlightenment in our schools - many more of the higher grades are given out, many more kids on the A and B honor rolls - no comparison. 

We cannot re-write the past, alas. We remember teachers gruffly saying "take out a sheet of paper" (for a pop quiz) as if they were on the attack against us. Is that how our parents really wanted things? 

I have great affection for the Morris High School Class of '72. My date of birth might suggest I could have been a member, but maybe my parents could see I was too dumb to start school that early. Maybe I was too dumb even a year later. 

Based on my Christmas greeting list for sending my original Christmas songs, it appears I have greater affinity with the Class of '72 than with '73. 

We greatly miss deceased members like Skip Sherstad and Becky Felstul-Burnett. Eventually we'll all be together in the school hallways in the sky. But hopefully not to take any pop quizzes. Congratulations Class of '72, Morris High School. Oh, I'll name-drop the '72 member who befriended me at Don's this morning: it was Steve Schmidgall.

The Morris police

A fellow '73 MHS grad answered an email I sent him re. the big news of Morris ending its city police department. This friend has worked as a rent-a-cop himself. He's pretty well-versed on these things.  His brother had a career with a sheriff's department. Here's what my friend wrote. Shall I name-drop again? He's Art Cruze.

 

Wow what a story. The Morris police department being disbanded! You're right about departments being disbanded and turned over to the sheriffs departments. I think for two reasons: lack of police candidates (you can’t find anyone) and tighter budgets. Think about it - why would anyone want to be a policeman today? You’re one misstep  from going to prison yourself. Plus so much pressure for officers from drug calls to mental health emergencies. It’s terrible. Although I’ve heard very positive comments about Jason Dingman as your Sheriff. I’ll try to make it over to Morris for lunch soon.

 

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

Language out of Howard Mohr's tome

(image from Goodreads)

Perfect day for the Minnesota conversation-starter: "Did you hear how much rain we got last night?" This might be cited from Howard Mohr's book. 

Such an innocent quote, no risk attached. Doesn't involve any expression of feelings. Scandinavians can be averse to that. 

So a Scandinavian might say, regarding the current big deal about the Morris police, "That's a heckuva deal, isn't it?" I know Mohr wrote about that. It's a safe statement because you are expressing no opinion. You are just showing that you know what's going on. 

The January 6 hearings? Not sure if "heckuva deal" is so practical for that. That topic gets so infused with political bias. Saying it's "a heckuva deal" would presume we should be concerned with the behavior of Trump supporters on January 6. So, Pence's security people were actually calling home to say their "goodbyes" to family, as the mob closed in? Really? 

And yet the Trump crowd still cries about how the Jan. 6 committee is "illegitimate." That it's "politically motivated." Politicians tend to do things that are politically motivated. 

My feeling now is that the Justice Department is going to charge Hunter Biden, as a way of disarming people like Jim Jordan who would otherwise scream and pound the table endlessly if Trump's people get their tit in a wringer first. Just wait, the Jim Jordans will cry out fanatically anyway. 

And here in Morris, there remains a large percentage of the folks who go along with the Jim Jordans. The "evangelicals" aren't backing off from Trump support or Trump worship yet, are they? You would want to enter one of our "conservative" churches this Sunday and say to someone at coffee: "Those Jan. 6 hearings, that's a heckuva deal, isn't it?" 

Better off to say "did you hear how much rain we got?" Maybe some of the old rain fixation has faded away - that would be because farmers don't deal in much risk any more. Frankly, things are set up for them so that there is no risk. There is no risk in farming? An offensive statement? Not meant as such, as I congratulate any and all people who have a lifestyle minus substantial risk. 

In one's personal life, well that's another matter entirely. Risk is with us. 

 

The police matter

The "heckuva deal" with local law enforcement deserves some attention, n'est-ce pas? My sources tell me the problem was this: the city manager kept the consolidation talks under wraps for so long. Then there was shock value when the whole thing was unveiled. We didn't have enough time to pack it all up, I infer. 

You see, the whole headline regarding "cutting the police" has a bad smell to it. You add kerosene to that when you consider the whole flap about "defunding the police." Oh my. People had their pants in a bundle over PR concerns. 

Maybe too, here in Morris we are susceptible to buying into allegedly "liberal causes" because of having UMM. The suspicion is that we have a disproportionate number of liberals because of the UMM element. The notion appeared to bear truth at one time, but now it's probably just a lingering stereotype. 

College people everywhere have been getting humbled. They have been drawn into the same world of insecurities and humility as the rest of us, all of us who live lives of "quiet desperation." That's from the Henry David Thoreau quote, you might be aware. 

I sit at the cafe area at Willie's sometimes, facing the parking lot, watching people come and go, and I think "the majority of people lead lives of quiet desperation." And while I'm free of the stress of having a marital partner, I get my share of concerns too. The recent "derecho" put me in a funk, which I have not totally escaped. 

I hear this morning we've had large hail in the area again. The waitress at Don's showed me a picture on her phone. All this "extreme weather" due to climate change, which our president from 2016 to 2020 described as a "hoax." You are such lemmings, all you Trump fanatics. You just won't tone down. 

We might conclude that the law enforcement thing just was not rolled out very well. The Star Tribune seized on the matter and got us on page 1. Amazing accomplishment for the denizens of the Morris area, to make the "front page" in late July of all times. We're in the time of year when the denizens seek to get to the lake as much as possible. It's slow time. 

We lost the old Prairie Pioneer Days as a way of telling the world we try to be vigorous. So, we just aren't vigorous, I guess. But we made the front page of the Strib. Let's "defund the police." 

Well, those aren't the facts really. We're just letting the sheriff's department take over. 

What does the sheriff's dept. know about law enforcement in the city of Morris, that our former Morris Police did not? There has simply got to be a story between the lines here. And naturally, we cannot depend on our Morris newspaper to go out and get that story. Anything but. This while the paper harangues us constantly about how we need the local press to keep an eye on government. 

In reality the paper just strives to avoid an uncomfortable topic or question. Too risky for them. 

I was at the library yesterday and looked at the Morris paper's front page. The headline about law enforcement only said "a decision had been made" (to paraphrase). So that was the story? A decision has been made? Of course the story was the decision itself. 

The headline might have taken the course of stating that a consolidation move was afoot. Doesn't sound real negative, does it? But the paper apparently felt uncomfortable even trumpeting that. "Consolidation" might be interpreted as downsizing. 

The paper isn't supposed to care how it's "interpreted." Give us the news: the Morris police department will be no more. The headline should have been direct, cogent

 

A new tack?

What will the sheriff's department do differently? Well, I fervently hope the sheriff will exercise his gray matter and decide we don't need cops positioned in various places to catch people with no seat belt. Truth be told, I don't think the Morris Police themselves were ever comfortable with that. They would nail anyone, anywhere, like an elderly couple on their way to church Sunday morning. 

The seat belt law started out as a secondary offense. Surveys showed that's the way people wanted it. But the public sentiment got vetoed, by the bureaucrats I guess. Maybe now there will be backtracking. 

My annoyance with all the "trivial" law enforcement has left me in a mood where I don't even wish to smile or say hello to officers when I see them in places like the restaurant. And honest to God, I think that's a real shame. That's not the real me. 

Some people might blare at me "well, follow the law." My retort might be to take the January 6 committee seriously and do some re-thinking about Trump and MAGA. That won't happen in our Stevens County. I guess people really did want Mike Pence "hanged." What about his wife Karen? Her too? Think about that when you go to church on Sunday, you rubes. You may be destroying Christianity. And where will that leave us?

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

You might say it's just pathos, but. . .

From an email I received from a friend this afternoon. I did some light editing to remove some inside humor I have with this person.

 

The absence of Marshall Hoffman is becoming more evident at KMRS. At 7 and 8 AM, the format has  been National news headlines from the ABC network, then about 10 minutes of regional news, followed by 7 or 8 minutes of local news, then the obituaries. Today, Brett read the regional news, but then said “there is no local news today” and went right into the obits. No local news? A day after Morris made national news because of the police thing? A day after a county commissioners meeting that had lots of topics? Hmm. At least Bill did an interview with Rebecca Young about the meeting in a separate piece.

 

The radio station manager shouldn't be discouraged by such talk. After all, it means we're listening and interested. So, Morris makes huge news splash at the time of year that tends to be the slowest. I used to describe the time of year as "between Prairie Pioneer Days and the county fair." Well, Prairie Pioneer Days is no more, I mean the "real" PPD. 

On the subject of being discouraged, we might consider political sentiment. It's not just sentiment now, it's actions as with the reversal of Roe vs. Wade. More of same to come? Oh my goodness, most certainly. 

I overheard talk at a place of business yesterday that further confirmed a suspicion: today's Republicans consider Democrats as being rather sub-human. The talk is going over the edge. I surmise that these people, who for the purpose of convenience I will describe as "Neanderthals," are influenced by the cultural issues. 

Donald Trump is crazy. Headlines reaffirm that almost daily. "Investigations" roll on that reaffirm that. Many of us who are interested in politics find that we are "marinating" in the whole thing. The most tiresome thing is to read a news account of a new "investigation." We don't need more investigations, we need our Justice Department which is built upon the Judeo-Christian ethic to clamp down on certain things, to force accountability. 

The investigations linger and get stuck in mud. Really sharp lawyers get involved to create a haze. These things just go on and on. You can tune in to MSNBC on any given day and get another dose. And while it's nice to know there is a beacon of truth and wisdom out there, e.g. Lawrence O'Donnell, those of us with sense have a quite understandable level of exasperation. 

The people assigned to do the investigations: do they work weekends? Doesn't a sense of urgency compel them to move faster? It took six months before the January 6 committee was even formed. 

Now we get the news that the Justice Department would be hesitant to push any action vs. an active presidential candidate. This amidst the rumors that Trump could announce for 2024 at any time. 

Today (Wednesday) is just another day so we might expect another nugget of absurdity to go with all the other sludge that has built up.

We wouldn't have believed this if it had come from Richard Nixon. Questionable as Nixon was with his actions, he operated in a world far more sane, with an admission (ultimately) that the rule of law be respected. The burglary was a sordid little affair of course. Well, there were others. But Nixon eventually saw the writing on the wall. He realized as an American patriot what he had to do. And in the end, despite his significant blemishes, he was just that: a patriot. He had been vice president under "Ike" Eisenhower for eight years. 

Nixon was more interested in power than in ideology. It's hard to even compare Donald Trump. Is Trump interested in ideology? Not really, except that his Republican Party of today uses ideology. It goes this way: the GOP tells rural America "we're with you on all the cultural stuff." In return, the GOP has the people of Flyoverland quite loyal to them. 

And with the use of the electoral college, this becomes the ticket to power, and the power is used to lift up the richest Americans. The richest Americans really couldn't care less about LGBTQ, except to the extent that they are probably fine with it, deep down. 

I grew up when "conservatives" were fundamentally good and straight-laced people who felt that order in society was just as important as pure principle. "Conservative" meant you wanted minimal boat-rocking. When "Ike" sent troops to push desegregation in the South, he came right out and said it was for the purpose of order. In his essence he was not a beacon of racial enlightenment. And when a military man like Eisenhower talks about "order," we know he means it. 

Yesterday I heard one of the local fanatical GOP supporters call out Adam Kinzinger. Not exactly a household name but he's one of the two Republicans on the Jan. 6 committee. The person who I overheard had quite non-generous thoughts about Mr. Kinzinger. But does any rational person think the committee is doing anything other than objective fact-finding? Weren't you comfortable seeing Cassidy Hutchinson testify? 

The local Trump cultists would say the committee has no credibility - too many Democrats. The America in which I grew up had respect for both political parties. A party could readily acknowledge when it lost. All hell would not break loose. 

 

Something new? Of course

So what's the headline about Trump today? Well, he thinks the 2020 election is still a "thing" for us. Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said on Tuesday that Trump called him last week. Trump asked Vos to overturn the 2020 election results. Trump actually lost the state to Biden by over 20,000 votes. 

Trump has attacked Vos on an online platform as being a RINO (Republican in Name Only). People who use the RINO term believe Democrats should in effect be treated as non-persons. No middle ground to be sought with them, ever. So now John Cornyn gets booed at GOP events. 

Haven't we always wanted our political officeholders to work together to solve problems? Arnold Schwarzenegger has made an impassioned plea about this. What concerns me is that reasonable people like Schwarzenegger are getting suppressed, drowned out. They are becoming losers. 

Hell, Richard Nixon actually created the EPA. Can you believe that? 

The Republicans of today just want to burn everything down. To hell with climate change theory. 

Democrats are being crushed by a defector within their own ranks: Joe Manchin. 

My theory is that Republicans of today love getting people fired up on the cultural issues: so easy to feed the emotions. Look at all the obsequious folks out and around just in our Stevens County. They are sold a total bill of goods. They have made a Supreme Court possible that has wiped out Roe vs. Wade. The Court is primed to undertake other such severe disruptions. While I'm sure a majority of Stevens County churches applaud all this. The more the better to build up MAGA. 

These "investigations" from in Georgia and Washington D.C. become absolutely turgid. Like I said: do these people consider working on weekends? The ultimate absurdity is how lil' ol' me, as an employee of a little newspaper in Western Minnesota, felt tremendous pressure to get certain sports coverage done by a certain time or I'd be thrown to the wolves. But when it comes to investigations designed to ensure we have a stable and respected America - wrongdoing ferreted out and people held accountable - well those investigations just go on interminably. Lawyers amass more riches. 

Even the critics from the media come back for work on Monday and have more material to mine. Well, is Matt Gaetz guilty of child sex trafficking or not? Will Chief Justice John Roberts actually get to the bottom of the big "leak?" He announced an "investigation." There's an IRS "investigation" into the selection of Trump critics for especially intrusive audits. The weeks roll by. 

Will all this end with the end of America itself? With an "autocracy?" Oh yes, "it can happen here," just like Sinclair Lewis reminded us. In the meantime maybe the Neanderthals will get their way with gay marriage, just like with abortion. Contraceptives? 

All this while the super rich just keep lining their pockets more and more? Until there is a revolution. And it will not come from the political right, it will come from the political left. This is what history has taught us. It will be borne of desperation among the common folk, who no longer will care what the "Dow" is doing on a particular day.

On the local police matter

From an email I sent to a friend yesterday: 

Listen, there have been calls all over the U.S. to "consolidate police departments." I follow the news 100 percent more than most people, so I know this. We have a Byzantine system now, something has to be done. Blaine's idea is probably good but people who are ignorant will think "defund the police" etc. and maybe Blaine will be hoisted out on his petard. Or, maybe he'll be able to move up to a bigger city, which is what the softener guy said could be the case. Blaine has scored points with the state by getting the water plant here.

 

From a different email I sent:

 

Morris is really in the Upper Midwest news, maybe even national. There has been a trend toward police consolidation, but did we have to become the "poster child" for this? We sure are now. There's the dissenter Kevin Wohlers. Well Kevin, we have to be able to find guys to come here and take the jobs. I have no problem with the council's decision.

I wonder if cops are stressed watching for people not wearing seat belts. I simply think that is difficult to do. People get ticked off at cops for pulling them over for "small stuff." Cops are human beings, they don't want to be resented. If the cops didn't get buried in so much small stuff, I might say a friendly "hello" when I walk past them at Don's. I ignore them.

Was going to go to the Glenwood State Bank customer appreciation supper 2nite. After researching, I found the best route to "Rolling Forks Vineyard" is the mill dam road, six miles beyond Starbuck where you just take a left and go a few miles. I was going to enjoy this outing, but about three miles out of town, I became upset at the condition of the road. Very bumpy. Was concerned about wear and tear on car, so I came home. I then called up the online map again and saw that the route from the north to that place is more complicated. Maybe the bank scheduled it out there to discourage freeloaders. 

Maybe next year. That was my uncle's bank.

 

Gone, not forgotten

I don't know why Marshall Hoffman left the radio station. A friend and I refer to him as "Marshall Tucker." He gets kudos for supporting the high school band program. I used to think he attended concerts with his mother but I'm told it's his mom-in-law. Bless both of them. They were at the spring ice cream social for band too.

I can speculate on why he left the station. Was it the "stealth" question he asked Rep. Jeff Backer? Backer's appeal is to the "Neanderthals" I reference, IMHO. He rather fits the textbook profile. 

Marshall (Tucker) asked Backer if he'd been vaccinated yet. Given the type of Republican Backer is, the answer would be "no." But I think the question made him squirm. He seemed to fumble for an answer. He said he thought he already had had the virus, well maybe. He said he had been "tired" for a couple days. He further said he wanted people more vulnerable to move up in line ahead of him. But at that time, I don't think there was an issue with the vaccine's scarcity. 

I complimented Marshall in an email for his "stealth" question. I would have gone further to "push" Backer but that's just me. Backer may have subsequently complained about the interview. Given the leverage the people of this political stripe have now, it's risky to cross them. Oh hell, I do.

Backer's biggest local supporter reportedly died of pneumonia. Impressionable as this person was, I'm sure he didn't get the vaccine.

 

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

The "drive-in" as opposed to "drive-through"

Whether it's "pile-up" or "smash-up," this type of photo has always had appeal for marketing newspapers. Note the "Pylin" term in the heading. How many of you remember that establishment in our Morris? An ever-dwindling number to be sure. The Pylin was a classic drive-in restaurant. Let's emphasize drive-in and not "drive-through," the latter having become rather a scourge of our modern age IMHO. 

 

Drive-throughs! They did not exist when I was a kid. Did they begin with banks? Seemed like an odd system at first. What is so inconveniencing about simply walking in to a place of business to be waited on? I personally do not take to the now-established custom of using drive-through. However, it appears most of us do. To each his own. (To each their own?) 

I have occasionally walked up to the drive-through at Bremer Bank here. I do get waited on that way. Reportedly there are fast food restaurants that turn away customers who are on foot. 

I'm thinking about this partly because of watching a video posted by one of my favorite economic commentators. He goes by "Jeremiah Babe." He walked along a seemingly endless line of cars at a Chick-fil-A. I found it incredulous that so many people would wait for so long in their idling cars. They're burning up gas, aren't they? They need their air conditioners on? 

"Jeremiah" lives in the "Palm desert" area of the Southwestern U.S. 

I thought about our fast food restaurants here in Morris, where drive-through seems rather burgeoning. Last night (Sunday) I stopped by the Dairy Queen. The lobby was open and people were inside. But the line of cars was getting pretty substantial, by my standard of judging. Again, "to each their own." I am just having trouble grasping the custom. 

I bring it up here chiefly for this reason: what happens if the trend continues to grow, and we might see the lineup of cars start "snaking" out to along the curb of Atlantic Avenue? Might local public officials have to start dealing with the matter? I mean, just for the sake of orderliness or public safety? It would seem rather jarring. Let's look at the congestion or even pedestrian safety issues. 

McDonald's is popular for drive-through too. McDonald's appears to actually discourage ordering at the inside counter. I would feel guilty if I were to even try. 

I did not submit an order at the DQ last night. I felt uncomfortable as I noticed a "team" of young employees working very harriedly. I admire them but I didn't want to augment their burden. I sense that they, like at McDonald's, prioritize the drive-through customers. There were about three people ahead of me at the counter. I waited a while and then just left, not mad at all - I certainly feel for the employees who seem quite sharp. 

I guess this new environment for fast food places is disconcerting for me. 

On the other side of Atlantic Avenue we have DeToy's which has no drive-through at all. You go in and get waited on promptly and reliably. Increasingly I appreciate this business. I told a friend the other day that DeToy's should get some sort of award for having gone through the pandemic and beyond in such a reliable way. Again: no drive-through. Just go in, take a seat and relax. 

Seems preferable, for me anyway, to sitting a long time in an idling car with the air conditioner on. 

"To each their own." 

Don't rule out one of these days seeing excess congestion of vehicles at the DQ, much like what "Jeremiah Babe" showed us. BTW he's rather a contrarian or skeptic on economic matters. He says "buy gold." Get it? But he's an interesting person to listen to. That's one thing about the "gold bugs" - they can draw you in with their perspective. But I will never feel the need to stock up on freeze-dried food!

 

That was then

The old Pylin drive-in in Morris was along East 7th Street. It was across from the now-razed public school. That part of town was once a "hub" of activity because of the school being there, up through grade 12 until the late '60s. A hub also, because East 7th was the main entry to Morris from the east. 

I have suggested that if Prairie Pioneer Days ever gets going again here - I mean the "real" PPD in summer - it be re-named "Pylin Days," the idea being to "pile in" to Morris. 

Let me add here that the smashed-up car thing with newspaper photos was once satirized by the "Dacron Republican-Democrat," a satirical newspaper. Each front page had a photo above the fold that showed a "smashed-up" vehicle. 

I remember I once took a few photos like this, when I was with the Morris paper. And on at least one occasion, I photographed a "smashed-up" car that had been in a fatal accident. And at least once, the paper didn't publish the photo due to that fact. And in those situations I could be excoriated by some co-workers who were offended that I would even go out (to Sharstrom's place) and take the photo. 

I was also excoriated internally once for photographing the line for the reviewal for Leonard Wulf when he passed on. Poor taste, it was suggested. Shortly after I left the Morris paper, I was looking at the front page of the Willmar paper at Casey's and saw a big photo of a reviewal line at a funeral home. Was the Willmar paper photographer called names, like I was?

 

Church at the park

My church is First Lutheran. We held Sunday service at East Side Park. The online stuff is on-again, off-again, alas. An email from a friend later in the day:

 

Don’t know if you attended the service in the park today, but I tried watching a little on the live stream. The video was good quality and the sound was good, BUT . . . it was broadcast 90° sideways, and reversed image. One had to lie down to watch it (and then through a mirror), and I couldn’t, so didn’t stay with it. Screenshot:

ELCA hangs in there

I called up the online service for St. Martin's Lutheran in Sugar Land, Texas, last night. It's an ELCA church like mine. Seems we are treading rough water these days, what with politics. The St. Martin's pastor noted at the start that the church building had been vandalized with a spray-painted offensive message. 

Is it coming to this now? The ELCA is seen as "liberal" and so now we are under attack? Is it that bad? Maybe it is. One thing about DeToy's restaurant, if you go there in the morning, is that there is a fierce pro-Trump and anti-Democrat element there. I walked past two pickups with Trump stickers this morning as I entered. One read: "Trump - no more bullshit." Such grace in communications. 

This is the nature of living in rural America now, it seems. Will it get worse? Inside the restaurant I overheard a patron attack Adam Kinzinger who is actually a Republican. Yes he is. Liz Cheney would be a like target for that fellow. There was a time not that long ago, when the Cheneys defined the Republican Party. What hath God wrought?

 

Photo of the Pylin

I included a photo of the old Pylin drive-in on my June 23 post on "Morris of Course," my companion blog. In the post I reflect back on times when we appreciated the difference between ten cents and 50 cents, like it meant something. Wow. Here is the permalink for you to enjoy the photo of the "Pylin." Right out of "American Graffiti." Look at the cars!

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2022/06/remember-when-10-cents-vs-50-meant.html 

 

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

Economic forces at work now

Here we are smack-dab in the middle of July. Do you ever mix up June and July in your mind? Both start with 'J' and have four letters. So right now it's the heart of summer. Morris has a history of getting slow in summer. People find places they would rather be, if that's an option they can exercise. 

We got a bad inflation number the other day. People will make a passing mention of this, but it does not appear to be a hot-button issue yet. I remember when it became hot-button in the 1970s. At least then, you could go to a bank and get a certificate of deposit that paid high interest. Today the banks seem to think we all should appreciate that they offer "free checking." Or, "free and easy checking," according to a banner that has been across a bank building on Morris' main street. 

I'd prefer some "easy" interest payments that amount to something. 

Restaurants have been restrained in raising prices. It has happened but to a limited degree. While I was going to McDonald's occasionally, I did notice prices nudging upward with what seemed like fair frequency. McDonald's has become an issue because of their reluctance to take orders at the counter. You can use a "kiosk" but you need kind of a "geek" knack, a generation 'Z' knack. I guess the millennials have moved on up - their digital instincts are pretty good too. The generations that grew up without digital are not "wired" properly. 

I tried using the McDonald's kiosk once and failed to figure it out. I went in with a friend once who I thought was advanced with his skills, and he had no expertise with it. So he went and bugged an employee who, to her great credit, came over to help and gave us each a complimentary pie. So nice, but I still did not pick up the skills. 

Did you see the recent item in the news about a "Good Samaritan" kid at a McDonald's? He noticed another kid being turned away at the drive-through because that kid had approached on foot. That restaurant must have had a closed lobby, a phenomenon that you may have noticed is happening out and around. The boy in a car realized what was happening and gave his own Happy Meal to the other boy - a "happy" outcome to be sure. 

Upon reading this, I wondered with a friend if people who do not drive might only have limited access to fast food the rest of their lives. You might chuckle, as you think maybe your health would be better off anyway. I feel an occasional fast food meal is an acceptable treat. 

What about our Morris Dairy Queen? It seemed like a good option for those frustrated by the McDonald's "kiosk-only" system. When last I checked, McDonald's had "kiosk only" some of the time with a big sign at the counter, making clear you should "get lost" if you couldn't use the kiosk. We have to suspect that McDonald's has an optimal profit margin - what else matters? - by going primarily if not exclusively with drive-through. I think they discovered that during the pandemic. 

But what about the Morris Dairy Queen? I found them to have a closed lobby a couple weeks ago. Don't know if this is permanent. If a customer encounters a closed lobby once, and does not want to drive home in summer with cold treats in the car, that person might not check back any time soon. 

DeToy's Restaurant is a fine place but is no longer open in the evening. I would guess it will never be open again in the evening. Don's Cafe is a wonderful "hometown" beehive of a place - it went from opening at 6 a.m. to 8 a.m., a huge change for many of us to deal with. It takes a major effort by yours truly to "sleep in" so I might have breakfast at Don's now. A positive: they have not raised prices for a while, but hang on to your hat. 

The inflation numbers do not lie. I was out and around in the 1970s, listening to disco music. If our inflation gets really bad, I hope it doesn't mean we'll see more movies like "Smokey and the Bandit" again. Rimshot (maybe). Why did Jackie Gleason degrade himself by taking that role? 

Don's Cafe, Morris MN

I have told Don's I'd greatly appreciate them opening at the "compromise" time of 7 a.m. But the direction of in-person dining seems to be going the other way. 

In-person dining requires that we be willing to pay someone to prepare our meal and another person to bring it to us. We have been able to absorb these costs up until now. Now I'm starting to wonder. I lead a pretty isolated life and it's nice for me to get around people a little by dining out. I don't think I'm alone. But we have to adapt always.

I have never taken to Common Cup. That restaurant's recent history appears, well, checkered. I can't share personal testimony because I don't go there. It's right next to the intersection where the big trucks make a wide turn and force cars to back up for them. IMHO this is ridiculous, primitive. But Mongo just pawn in game of life. A friend has given me an informed update on Common Cup's recent misadventures. You'll find this interesting.

 

There’s been a lot of complaints about Common Cup lately, prices have gone way up and the service and food quality have gone down. So, the church consortium committee that oversees it fired the current manager – this gal had been the manager for only a few months, and wasn’t exactly a “people person." “Financial mismanagement” was the reason. No, not embezzling, just bad management. This is 3rd or 4th hand, but the "shoeshine guy" told me that Sharon Ehlers had to deliver the news to the now former manager. It was said that that was probably the first time in her life that Sharon had been told to “F-off”. Steve Just is also on that committee, and allegedly was sent an email from said former manager resplendent with obscenities and misspelled words.

Ah, a million stories in the naked city. 

Problems arise, but nothing quite like in Freeport along I-94. A camel tried to bite the head off a zoo worker. I didn't even know there was a zoo in Freeport. We associate the town with the "smiley face" water tower or Charlie's Cafe. A friend told me "you should write a song about that - Minnesota head-chomping camels." 

Back when Campbell MN had its own school, didn't they use the "Camels" nickname? A terrific trivia challenge: nicknames/mascots of now-defunct small-town high schools. The Granite Falls "Kilowatts." Neat.

My offer stands

I will repeat: I lead a pretty isolated life. I try to find happiness as best I can. I have found a bond with the University of Minnesota and made a financial gesture toward that. I'm looking at our local public school in the same spirit. This has ended up very tentative. You might say I have gotten to first base but no further. I have a particular proposal which I have previously alluded to in my online writing. Obviously I am "pliable" in all this, if that word applies to a person. Here's from an email I sent to the MAHS band director on June 24:

 

I was able to see the world when I was 17 years old thanks to my involvement in band, so it's appropriate that I "give something back." I remember when we were all dispersed for our "free time" in New York City, I instead got out my trumpet, walked out to the front of the stage at Carnegie Hall, and spent about five minutes just playing - the only music sound in the place at the time. We were told not to move around any chairs or music stands because "the union people" did that!

Someone put my father's composition of "Alleluia" on YouTube. This is a 1952 composition as performed by the 1971 Oregon All-State Choir. The video shows a vinyl record on turntable, so the recording is "archival" but you can still appreciate the quality of the composition of course. My heart is warmed that someone somewhere wanted to share this recording in this way.

Here is the link for that:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7vjqlgFe7Y 

 

Still floating in summer

Enjoy it while it lasts, this summer of 2022, coming on the heels of the unpleasant winter and spring. The "derecho" has demoralized me, drained me of some enthusiasm in a fundamental way. The climate is changing. Joe Manchin may have just doomed us all. He calls himself a Democrat. 

Looks like Trump will run for president again and he could win. This would mean no further action to combat climate change. Will Elise Stafanik be his running mate? She talks like she would be totally subservient to him. We can only pray that the inattention to climate change will not be devastating. But I fear it will be. 

For the very present, just try to enjoy the too-short summer. Pretty soon it will be fair-time and we'll start to get a "nip" in the evening air, alas. 

You cannot try to reason with the local Trump supporters. They are rock-ribbed, prickly, oblivious to any facts that ought to prod their better judgment. I'm sure all the local Apostolics would vote for Trump again. 

Here's a book that I feel is most helpful for understanding what is going on: "Jesus and John Wayne" by Kristin Kobes Du Mez. How did a man like Trump get so intertwined with the Christian faith? Nothing I can do about it. Mongo just pawn in game of life.

 

Emailing with McDonald's

I wrote a post on my companion blog of "Morris of Course" about emailing McDonald's corporate. The bone of contention was the Morris restaurant's "kiosk-only." I got a nice personal response with apparent receptiveness to my concern. I have not been to the restaurant since, so I do not know if their policy has budged. You may read my blog post by clicking here.

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2022/05/mcdonalds-kiosk-only-can-be.html

  

Addendum: It is Friday evening, July 15, and I noticed just now that the door to the Dairy Queen lobby is open. Looks like the lobby was open. I dined at Don's: chocolate shake with grilled cheese sandwich. The fries are getting to be too much for me. I only have three meals between Saturday and Sunday. 

Morris Floral (kmrs-kkok image)

On way home this evening, noticed that the floral shop on main street continues to sit there, reportedly as a hazard. Or so we're told. The city has expressed such urgency for getting the place torn down. A source of mine who was present at Don's told me the city is now waiting for a possible grant. Sheesh. You know how long government stuff takes. Look how long we waited for the old school to be torn down. 

I should note that my source has not always batted a thousand. He's the one who told me several years ago that charges against the then-high school principal had been dropped. Actually that rumor was making the rounds. I reported this news "tip" on this blog and then got an email from the police chief. My post had stirred things up a bit. Well, charges had not been dropped. My guess on what happened: the alleged victim in the case was telling people she wanted charges to be dropped, so people surmised a conclusion. You know what happens when you assume. 

The principal was charged with four counts of criminal sexual conduct, if I remember correctly. Two of them in the first degree? That was a wild ride. A prime news source in Minnesota used the word "assault" instead of "conduct" - not sure if it matters. The charges were eventually dropped. I wrote a post that rather castigated the prosecutor. Was he showboating? Well, who knows? I believe I'm the only local media person who tracked down a photo of the prosecutor. Interesting chapter in Morris history. 

The principal landed on his feet and continued working in education. I do find that rather surprising. I do feel the principal should have been terminated here at the time of the charges, just based on what was known about his behavior on the evening in question. I wouldn't dream of horsing around like that. And I'm not even paid to set an example for the kids.

 

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