Even the Electoral Count Act is contentious

Oh why not? Why not a fight over the Electoral Count Act? We learn this morning that "a battle is brewing" among Republicans. You have to follow the bouncing ball and sing along, I guess. Seems almost like "Groundhog Day" now with news cycles following one after another, with Republicans behaving nothing like the Republicans I remember from my youth and younger adult years. How many years back am I talking about? Let's not get into that. 

I will again state that on many mornings as I peruse headlines for news and commentary, I am wondering if I'm like the character in the "Twilight Zone" episode, as it dawns on him that he's the only normal person left amidst a sea of deluded or insane folks. So now the Republicans want to federalize elections. Enough apparently do, so we will see a "fight." 

An upshot of that is more fighting that will allow familiar faces to get on the media news shows. It's a must for these people, in their own minds, to keep their profile high. A high profile conforms with human vanity plus the need to get a few extra campaign dollars from gullible, pathetic supporters, those folks from the "Twilight Zone." 

So, why not a fight over the Electoral Count Act? Something I would actually come to expect. 

So let's roll through another news cycle and see Ted Cruz, the worst, display histrionics. Or Marjorie Taylor Greene who we learn this morning is being divorced by her husband. Someday I feel we'll learn that M.T. Greene is smarter than she has let on. She had to testify not long ago to protect herself from literal insurrection charges - she struck me as not stupid at all. But then she'll say something like "peach tree dishes" instead of "petri dishes." Chris Hayes of MSNBC wondered "is she doing this deliberately?" 

If so, it of course is anti-intellectualism on steroids. And a significant portion of the public buys into it. 

I remember in the 2020 election campaign, a local Apostolic driving around with "Trump" flags flying from in back of pickup. There is often a pickup parked at DeToy's Restaurant with a literal profile of Trump painted onto the side. For a while I had my little "Kamala" sticker on back of my vehicle, then I decided it was best to cover it up. I did the job with some gray tape. I did not want to risk having my vehicle vandalized. 

I am frustrated by the local Apostolics because on a personal level, I have always found them to be very likable. If you grew up non-Apostolic, you always heard stories about them. Sinful to watch TV. I'll bet they had to accept computers though, because their drive in business would be shattered without them. So while I like the local Apostolics in many ways, they frustrate me because I think they latch onto someone like Trump in too reflexive a fashion. 

I could understand this with Ronald Reagan and not point fingers too much. Reagan was a class act and a gentleman. He understood you can't get your way all the time on everything. He had been active with a union once. He reflected true conservatism. I have never had much of a problem with conservatism as a philosophy. But along comes a grifter and con man like Donald Trump and he sees the mass of guppies across the USA who will just buy what he is selling. 

And it worked in 2016, thanks to the electoral college. Is it really wise to cheapen the votes of so many people because they live in the more populous states? Something about that makes them stupid? 

The stupid ones are actually on the other side, you knaves. It is taking us forever to wake up from this - perhaps we never will. Or maybe the USA as we've known it will just come crashing down. We are closer to that scenario that you might think. Hyper-inflation is what drew Germany into a hell hole in the mid-20th Century. 

At present in America, we have this thing called the Federal Reserve which is under enormous pressure to prevent a stock market crash. No one roots for a market crash but what about the other side of the coin? Hyper-inflation? Caused by "the Fed" coming under such tremendous pressure from the beast known as the "financial news media?" The financial news media is underwritten by interests whose scope is narrow. 

If the well-off people of this country, like so many of the Apostolics, stand idly by while the big city folks and poor people in general get hammered by our economic circumstances, do you know what might happen? When desperation spreads and people look for answers, they won't just be more inclined to vote for Democratic politicians. History shows us that drastic things can happen, violent things. 

I am not encouraging that, I'm just saying we must practice prudence based on history. We must open the door and let some left wing ideas through now and then. The Apostolics and others like them would scoff at that. 

Thom Hartman talks about when "people will rise up with pitchforks." Well, should give you pause. 

We need to hope and pray the worst scenario will not come about. The German people are not stupid. But they got sucked into a hell hole many years ago. And they were told they were winning right up to the end. Just like our "financial news media" of today will obfuscate to try to argue that quantitative easing needs to go on forever. Yes, until a loaf of bread at the grocery store goes up to $30. Inflation is happening. 

Here's an email I sent to a friend yesterday, Wednesday. Let's all say a prayer, but I do not pray to the same God as Ted Cruz.

 

I occasionally get a large Hershey bar and Mountain Dew at Willie's as late afternoon snack, often in place of supper. I have gotten used to cost of 5.07 and so I bring exact amount. I always have some extra in case price goes up, because we can expect that anywhere now. So today the cost is $5.28. The McDonald's prices steadily go up. I pay attention to these things. How much longer can public absorb this before we see real changes in behavior? What if Stone's Throw has to raise prices even more? Can Prairie Inn open their old dining place?

 

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

Orange and black at the finish line No. 1!

Hailey Werk has been a headlining student athlete for MACA this fall. We're in the midst of a terrific time of year for the outdoor running. Even though the temperature is expected to plummet tonight (Tuesday), the daytime conditions are wholly conducive to being outside. That's especially if the sun is out. And not being overwhelmed by wind. 

So on Thursday, Sept. 22, the running Tigers made the trip to Eden Valley. Werk was primed with another top-notch effort. She covered the course in 20:19 which got her No. 1. Six seconds later came the runner-up - that's Madi Wenlandt of Paynesville. You know it's Paynesville when you see the color green. The MACA girls were No. 3 as a team among six teams. 

The host EV-W girls were the top team. In second was Hinckley-Finlayson. 

Kendal Fischer of the Tigers arrived at the finish chute eighth. Hanna Schutz was 14th. 

The MACA boys were led by Gavin Stallman in fifth place. He was joined in the MACA effort by Matthew Giese (ninth), Grady Stallman (16th) and Truett Richards (17th). Sauk Centre garnered No. 1, led by individual champion Brandon Kampsen. The orange and black was second.

 

Tennis: Tigers 4, MACCRAY 3

MACA-WCA tennis accomplished a win for Senior Day on September 22. The Tigers are coached by my neighbor Britney House. She was Britney Greenwaldt when I typed about her generation of students in Tiger country. I have never forgotten the spelling of her fist name - it gets ingrained. And of course I had a lot of contact with Britney's father Jim Greenwaldt. 

So on Senior Day 2022, the Tigers worked to a 4-3 win over MACCRAY. Parents were in the recognition spotlight with the seniors. Let's say the whole Tiger team was in the spotlight. 

So at first singles the Tiger with the racket was Claire Stark. Claire turned back her MACCRAY opponent Tayte Nokelby, 6-2 and 6-1. Then at second singles it was Kristen Mueller of the Tigers showing winning form over Hannah DeLong, 4-6, 6-3 and 7-5. Wolverine Greta Meyer had the advantage over the Tiger at No. 3. Greta defeated Elizabeth Pollard 6-4 and 6-2. The Wolverine at No. 4 prevailed also: Erika Pieper over Chloe Zimmel, 7-6 and 6-2. 

The singles phase was a 2-2 stalemate. So it would be up to the doubles tandems of MACA-WCA to carve out the difference. It was mission accomplished. Ashley Koehl and Karlie Bruns did the work at No. 1 doubles. This pair disposed of Malinda Peterson and Alex Dirksen 6-4 and 6-4. Then at No. 2, the MACA-WCA pair of Nora Meek and Izabell Hoffman notched the win over Iris Donner and Mackenna Burnett, 6-4 and 6-1. MACCRAY got the win at No. 3 doubles: Kienitz Ella and Mia Shubert over Ellen Reed and Grace Hauglie.

The five MACA-WCA seniors: Claire Stark, Lydia Fynboh, Liz Pollard, Kristen Muller and Carmen Figueroa.

 

Izayah Boss

Football: Cougars 49, Lawrence University 19

Lots of points and a UMM win: that's what fans were treated to on Saturday at our Big Cat Stadium. The Cougars got their first win as they closed out the non-conference portion of the schedule. So the success built optimism as the conference slate beckons. We rolled up 512 total yards. Of that, 387 were on the ground. 

Lawrence University got the lead first, then UMM answered with a 50-yard run that featured Izayah Boss. Our touchdown was on our first snap from scrimmage. Alex Happ kicked the PAT to make the score 7-7. 

Lawrence made another early statement as their quarterback, Jack Sweeney, scrambled for a 16-yard running TD. The Cougars had more scoring business to take care of in the first quarter. Keyton Johnson advanced the ball to midfield with an 11-yard run. The Cougars' "mo" continued and it culminated with a passing TD: Marcus Reeb to Boss. Sophomore Boss was boss on this play - only a matter of time before I'd use that - and covered 30 yards for the score. 

The UMM defense made a statement at the end of the first quarter: a sack executed by Chayce Meyer and Austin Sterling. Then the Cougars drove for six in their third drive. Reeb passed to Cameron Whitney, 32 yards. So now the Cougars own a 21-13 lead. The Vikings closed the gap some on a 43-yard scoring drive in seven plays. Sweeney ran in from the two. 

As halftime approached, the Cougars took advantage of penalties on Lawrence. This momentum helped us ultimately score on a 16-yard run by Johnson. UMM is now up 28-19. A fumble recovery set the stage for the next Cougar score. Carter Maurice gained control of the football, setting up QB Reeb for his carry that had the refs signalling "score." So it's 35-19 with UMM in seeming command. 

The sense of command grew as Johnson carried for 15 yards and Boss broke through for a 49-yard sprint that resulted in UMM up 42-19. 

Johnson showed again he's a money player as he covered 54 yards with a run, nearly scoring on the play. The ball was at the one. What could be more logical than to hand the ball to Johnson again? That's what happened and again Johnson was a money player. So the score is 49-19 which stood as the final. The game was a nice recovery from the frustrating game the week before against Carleton. 

Boss was boss with his rushing stats of 180 yards on 15 carries. Johnson's numbers: 155 yards on 19 carries. Reeb's passing day was with eight completions in 13 attempts, 125 yards and two touchdowns. Gavin Paulson supplied defensive punch with ten tackles, one solo and a fumble recovery. Hunter Infanger came through with nine tackles (four solo) and three pass break-ups.

 

Public gatherings therapeutic

We used to take for granted regular public gatherings, then along came the health crisis. Church congregations could not even gather for a time. I remember when six of us showed up in the church parking lot on a day that was 50/50 for having an outdoor service. Rain threatened but did not materialize. The pastor turned thumbs-down for outside. 

So, what to do? No one was meeting inside at that time. But I figured that since there were only six of us, why not venture in, and we could practice "separation" at our discretion? There were two married couples who sat together. The other guy and I sat in an isolated way, and on the whole we felt good being there. The service was presented on YouTube naturally. I remember the pastor interviewed a guest. They wore masks. 

The very next day, signs were slapped on the doors "do not enter" or something like that. I had led the group into perdition, I guess. But I'm thankful we did it. It may well have been the last-ever service in the sanctuary to be attended by Dennis Johnson. Dennis was a pillar of the community. Remember how he and Carole had starring roles on television?! 

Fast-forward to the present and we are getting slowly more accustomed to people getting together. But it seems to be a less-than-total recovery. That's based on what we saw at First Lutheran Church Monday night. A public supper and not only that, it was free! A free meal! 

Made me remember the late Allen Anderson. I am still troubled as I reflect on Allen's life. God gives all of us some special challenges but Allen was burdened. In the end he had to be banished from certain places. Nevertheless, through all my life I sensed a strain of real goodness in him. There but for the grace of God go us. Never forget that. 

So the Monday supper was free but the turnout was pretty minor. I was there for quite a while, it did not remind me of similar events at Faith Lutheran in the past. We're just not bouncing back from the pandemic sufficiently. The pandemic does continue to hover, of course. I have had four "jabs" to date. How about you? Did Jeff Backer ever get vaccinated?

Doug Ehlers (left) and your blog host at the public supper, First Lutheran Church. You might say I was showing my "Michael Nesmith look." Michael of the "Monkees" has passed away. Photo by Del Sarlette

 

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

The media and school activities

Take a look at the forecast low for Tuesday: 33 degrees! Of course the weather tends to fluctuate this time of year. Wind has become our companion. It's like that today, Sunday. So it's 12:45 on the Lord's Day and I'm at least able to find the score of the Friday Tigers football game. Very pleasing outcome. We were on top of the Dutchmen of Melrose, 34-21. 

Nice to have the "Minnesota Scores" website as a handy tool for knowing how the game turned out. Outside of that? Well doggone it, there's essentially nothing. Somehow I got into the West Central Tribune site last night - I don't pay to use it - and found no reporting on the MACA game. That did not surprise me. Even back when we were in the official WCT coverage territory, the Tigers at times got only sporadic attention. 

Coaches have to call in late to get info in the WCT. Seems like they're not always up to it. Can't really blame them. The WCT tries to monetize the coverage on its website. That has to be dodgy now. Paywalls seem fairly rare. The papers ought to just rely on advertising. The problem is that some papers aren't satisfied with that. But they risk alienating people with the paywall IMHO. 

It's not as if the paywall is standard practice. So how would Morris people feel if they "signed up" to read WCT sports, then their favorite team gets missed a lot? I can only wonder - as a matter of principle I will not pay to read anything online. When it comes to national news and commentary, there are endless resources that are free access. 

Sometimes the "incognito" system can get you past a paywall. This used to work with the Willmar paper but not now. 

I will repeat that our kmrs radio station does fine with its website-based sports reporting. Brief yes but worth the visits there. Nothing on Melrose game as I sit here. So I cannot think of anywhere else to look to digest some highlights, and there must have been considerable MACA highlights. I'd love writing about the game here. I'd prefer doing that over what I'm doing now, which is in effect to "vamp": I air some feelings about online local news/sports coverage. I can always do that. 

But I'd rather be typing names and stats for MACA football after such a pleasing win. Notice that I haven't even mentioned the Morris newspaper website. Wonder why. 

The waves of change in the media may someday just plain leave me behind. So what I am contemplating right now is whether the MAHS "YouTube geniuses" will take another step forward, maybe with video podcasts. In other words, a sort of "anchorman" could be sitting at a table and reciting highlights from Tiger sports of the last few days. In lieu of the kind of text-based coverage we have always taken for granted. 

I was judged on my "writing" all through the years. Maybe the wave of the future will include two elements, both web-based: the fantastic YouTube "broadcasts" of Tiger games, and the video podcast news that I just suggested. You can activate your Internet device and consume everything you need. 

  

What's down the road?

I'm just trying to be a futurist. I guess futurism isn't really a science. We literally cannot know what directions the future will take. When people are pressed to be futuristic, the picture they paint is usually just a jazzed-up version of the present. We saw this with the "Back to the Future" movies. Flying skateboard, yes, but no Facebook. 

The World's Fairs of the early and mid 20th Century imagined cars that were just "streamlined," as if that would be such a breakthrough. My family attended the 1964 New York World's Fair where the Ford Mustang was introduced. That wasn't futurism though because the car was being made in reality and in real time. 

The New York Fair presented computers as big and bulky and in back rooms! No one then could have envisioned the computer-driven society of today with such compact "miracle" equipment. And to think the young people take it for granted! Well, my generation took TV for granted. We took "Gilligan's Island" for granted! 

Let me emphasize here that the concept of video podcasts is quite well along. Not sure I should get on board: I have a face for radio and a voice for TV! So are podcasts being developed for high school sports coverage? Maybe not on a widespread basis, but there is an intrepid soul not far from here. Hey, it's my old acquaintance Randy Olson of Bonanza Valley! Leave it to Randy! He presents his BBE sports blog as the oldest such blog in Minnesota.

Remember how, many moons ago, "bloggers" were victims of an unflattering stereotype? The big commercial media pushed the stereotype because they felt threatened by the new platforms and their empowerment. Those were the days of "websites" and "email" and not of things to come like "Facebook, Instagram and Twitter." 

We spoke in terms of the first online building blocks and we were fascinated enough with those. And hey, we never assumed it would progress any further. 

The legacy media people tried presenting bloggers as shiftless types with nothing better to do. They'd always scream "you can't believe what you read on the Internet," remember? Of course the Internet developed into a pretty reliable meritocracy. The wheat gets separated from the chaff pretty well. 

When YouTube began, no one could have foreseen that there would be billions of everything on it. My jaw drops sometimes. 

The worst insult that could be directed at "bloggers" was that "they live in their mother's basement!" So one day on the Drudge Report, the big headline at the top was "Philadelphia's most popular blogger lives in his mother's basement." 

Of course, Drudge itself was a major iteration away from old media. Matt Drudge is the most exemplary journalist ever - that's why even though he got a "conservative" reputation, he totally broke away from the Breitbart types. Broke away to what? Broke way to total honesty, that's what. That's why Rush Limbaugh eventually got pissed at Drudge - Drudge disembarked off Trump's path. Not to be anti-Trump per se, but just to be objective and recognize all the sheep dip, which Limbaugh couldn't or wouldn't do. 

 

Take a look here!

You want to see what Randy Olson does with his new video podcast on BBE Jaguar athletics? I'm happy to share here. Here's a link to a blog post where Randy has his podcast featured. Just scroll down to where you see the image headlined "Jaguar sports extended coverage." Click on arrow on screen. You'll see Randy himself.

http://bbejaguars.blogspot.com/2022/09/friday-night-lights-ii-jaguars-right.html 

 

Would you like to see this kind of service here for Motown? Might the "YouTube geniuses" give us this along with their other gifts? 

I am considering sending a check to the Morris Area School Foundation before the end of the year. Maybe I could specify that some of the $ go to the YouTube geniuses if they in fact could use an infusion. 

 

One thing at a time

Of more immediate concern to me is making a financial gesture to help MAHS band. We're working on a project to acquire jazz band stands or banners. I'll whisper to you here that I'd really like the stands, but looks as though banners will be the thing. The banners would be hung on the regular music stands, would have graphics on them. 

Wanda is so darn busy, now it's with the "pit band." We'll see how all this works out. 

All I saw on the stage last spring for the jazz concert were the plain-jane music stands, and I thought "this just has to go." 

Maybe I can solve the issue by just thinking about it, the way Donald Trump says he declassified top-secret documents.

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

Werk achieves runner-up behind Kuehne

Tiger cross country got on the Interstate headed to Melrose on Tuesday. The running challenge there was a large invite. Amidst all the runners our Hailey Werk, a junior, took second place. She arrived at the finish chute with a time of 20:08. The only faster runner was Caroline Kuehne of LP-GE, five seconds ahead of Werk. 

And in third place was a Minnewaska Area Laker: Laura Ankeny. Ankeny trailed Werk by 28 seconds. 

Thirteen teams spells a pretty big invite. Amidst the sea of runners the Tigers placed ninth in the girls division. The Lakers of 'Waska fared well as a team as they had three individuals in the top 15. 'Waska took second to Wadena-Deer Creek. 

The MACA boys' story had Gavin Stallman arrive at the chute No. 17. We were tenth in the boys division. This time of year before the cold sets in, is a joyous time to walk across a golf course and observe the high school running action.

 

Volleyball: 'Waska 3, Tigers 0

Tuesday was not an uplifting day for the orange and black on the volleyball court. Minnewaska Area impressed on their home court. It was a sweep night for the host Lakers as they prevailed 25-17, 25-16 and 25-18. 

Brianna Marty supplied some up notes for the Tigers with her 13 kills. Maddy Grove pounded down ten. Whitney Bruns got around the court in the setting department and put up 23 assists. The Tigers came out of the night at .500, 4-4. 

These players set the pace for 'Waska as the Lakers "made quick work of Morris Area-Chokio-Alberta," according to the Echo-Press: Avery Fier, Brooklyn Meyer, Dacia Fleury, Dreya Barsness, Hallie Schultz, Haley Shea and Miaya Guggisberg.

 

West Central Tribune issues

It seemed not many years ago when the Willmar newspaper published six days a week. The paper had a reputation for covering a lot of ground with sports. I'd often go to our Morris Public Library to check it out. I would often take notes for my own blog posts. 

The West Central Tribune went into a retrenchment or cutting-back mode. Hardly surprising, because this has been the state of newspapers for quite some time. 

So can newspapers hold our attention? It has been slipping, even if you haven't noticed much. 

So the WCT has been trying to achieve a migration from print to online. It has to be daunting. That's largely because newspapers have no special grip on online communications. It's not at all like the old days when their access to a printing plant made them thump their chest like King Kong. I actually rode along with that for a long time in my days with the Morris newspaper. My halcyon days, you might say. 

A lot of us in the field took our position for granted. Radical change entered the picture. So today, fans get super enrichment re. high school sports through YouTube. In Morris it's with the "YouTube geniuses," and this effort has no connection whatsoever with legacy media. There's no reason all the media coverage efforts couldn't take root on online platforms that have no connection with legacy media. 

People in the legacy media must be scratching heads over the transformation. They are fighting to try to retain what they have. And so we see the notorious West Central Tribune "paywall" which this year is reinforced from before. 

Have you noticed? I know they don't ask for a lot of money but it is a hassle, isn't it? Just seems to clutter your life a little more. You'd no doubt get spam emails from Forum Communications and its advertisers - just an educated guess. "They've got you." So I won't do it. 

Prior to this year I used the "incognito" trick to gain access when the paywall was up. But like I observed, the paywall is now reinforced. They're saying "pay up, sucker." 

I learned "incognito" just by doing a basic Google search with words like "get past newspaper paywall." It's easy and I really mean that. Sometimes people will say of an online technique "it's easy," and then I find it's anything but. I am 67 years old. 

I shared in the last few days with my Bonanza Valley friend who continues to be in the newspaper field. He and I are keeping watch on the WCT and how sports fans might still get free access, if you get into the weeds about how this might be done. Here's an email I got from him on September 21:

 

I found it interesting that on one of my devices I can't even access the homepage for the West Central Tribune. It's very strange because the website loads up and automatically puts up the paywall. I can't even view headlines because of that.

Yet on a different device I can load up the homepage and see the story headlines.  I have another trick I learned that I'll tell you about another time where I can read their full stories without paying. Top to bottom.

 

I responded to my old friend thusly. BTW he has a background that includes Morris.

 

There's a neat Nebraska football podcast called "Corn Nation." Fun character to listen to.

OK, the West Central Tribune. Let's keep observing that situation. I'll probably write about it again. I'll wonder why coaches take the considerable trouble to call in the info - don't tell me that isn't a hassle - and then it's the WCT that tries to make money off it. I like you have noticed that we cannot even call up the headlines, so I can't even do a check when looking for a game outcome. Also, I can't even confirm if the WCT has covered a particular MACA game. If I had signed up to subscribe and then discovered that games weren't covered, well I might complain. Knowing the Forum, I know they would start sending you spam promo emails or emails representing their major advertisers.

And would you believe, the last time I tried using "incognito" (the old trick), a panel came up on the screen stating that they were aware I was trying "incognito!" Pretty funky. I wonder if it costs them a fair amount to have a system like that installed. There was probably a time when papers investigated if someone could be charged with theft if using a trick to get around a paywall! I'm sure it was explored. There was a company called "Righthaven" that tried representing papers in efforts like this, like to go after bloggers who might lift a few paragraphs, but the company was wiped out of existence. It didn't win a single case that went to trial. Mostly they got money through extortion-type communications with people, and they were upbraided by the Bar Ass'n in their home state. Interesting story.

It took the law a while to catch up to the Internet. But the law always makes haste to catch up. So quaint: I remember many years ago reading that "you cannot put a song cover on YouTube." (Expletive) there are a billion song covers on YouTube now, just like there's a billion of everything. I have used the analogy "mobs breaking through the palace gate." The legal system has to give up sometimes. Quaint? I remember Rick Santorum once saying "we need to get all pornography off the Internet!"

I predict that the West Central Tribune will continually get stressed. Their sports dept. depends on coaches calling in. Coaches might increasingly suggest that their game reviews be on an online platform outside of any newspaper website. Newspapers once thought they could make hay by shooting their own videos. Hell, the kids figured out they could go right to YouTube. The Morris paper hasn't done this in ages. And my God, the Stevens County Times website is insulting with how poor it is!

It is far from assumed that the WCT site includes a fair amount of MACA game coverage. As of last year we were no longer in their official coverage territory (like for the all-area team, Ranweiler award). MACA people might have felt offended by that. And as for the coaches, maybe they'd be less likely to call in. I think the coaches who call into the WCT are suckers. Jeez, go home after a game and get to bed.

I exchanged emails with Mark Torgerson recently. I asked him if an athletic director could instruct a coach to make calls to the WCT. He did not respond to that. I have always been curious.

The print edition of the WCT that comes to Morris now does not include any game reviews at all, it's just Twins/Gophers stuff and features. I see it at the library, and of course it's only twice a week, a far cry from before. I used to take my spiral notebook to the library and write some game reviews right there.

When you get time, you might share with me this system you have to get past the paywall. If I find out, I won't hesitate to share about it on my blogs.

 

Well, here we are. Speak of the devil as it were. So my friend followed through and shared his technique which I personally found "involved." Congrats if you can wrap your arms around it.

 

Hello Brian and thank you for that thoughtful reply and the notes on Nebraska. For college sports lately I've been following UM-Crookston sports. They are a huge underdog and I do love underdogs. So from a distance I root for UMM and UMC teams.

This trick is only available on a desktop computer or laptop. In a nutshell, so I click on a "sports story" on my computer. It loads up, and for a span of about 1 second, the entire story is loaded. It takes about 1 second for the "paywall" to hit.

You have to do "Apple-A" and then "Apple-C" on the keyboard in a fraction of a second. This selects all the text on the page and then copies all the text of the page before the paywall hits. I open a Wordpad document and "Apple-V" is the quick command there to paste the whole thing in a simple Word Doc.

Then I have to glean out photo captions and the usual "Spammy" stuff that's on the bottom of website pages. This whole thing selects all words, and many words are hyperlinked as you know.

Try it out sometime. This has allowed me to read full stats / game recaps on Friday nights and other times for area volleyball results. It's certainly cheating the paywall. But when they block out even the ability to view a webpage, something is amiss on their end and not on my end!!!

 

Synthesizing our thoughts

Sports reviews should be free access online. You can look up score and schedule information on the very reliable "Minnesota Scores" site. The Internet evolved slowly with this. Sites would be set up that in theory would be useful - alas they often were not updated reliably. The Internet always plunges forward. It's a meritocracy. 

I encourage coaches to ask themselves if they really wish to continue to be burdened with calling the WCT on game nights. I'm sure they are tired by the time they pick up the phone. They must feel pressure to have all categories of info ready and reliable. So they call it in, and then it's the WCT that gets some money from it, not them. 

Coaches are not contractually required to do this. I have wondered if an athletic director could even direct a coach to do it. Has this been tested? Anyway, good luck to the MACA teams in the rest of the fall season. Note that I'm not even commenting about the Stevens County Times website. It warrants no comments whatsoever except complete dismissal.

 

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

A grain of wisdom in the cacophony

Asa Hutchinson

Asa Hutchinson seems like a warm-hearted Republican. I simply have an intuitive sense about this. Not that I'd vote for him, but he seems to see through the nasty stuff. He calls a spade a spade. He is too rare a creature in this regard. He made some recent remarks that might have seemed unremarkable, but included was this: "Let's wrap this up." 

He was referring to the documents issue with Trump, the FBI "raid" etc. We know with Trump that everything gets drawn out. As a deliberate strategy of course. It's a mirror to our legal system where white collar stuff gets lost so often in a fog. The common folks in their day-to-day wanderings get no such slack. So the suits on behalf of Donald Trump gum things up. So the end of another week arrives, then everyone goes home for the weekend. 

The media which ought to be pouncing on the sheer absurdity of this, bathes instead in far more eyeballs than they would ever get with boring government headed by the likes of Hillary Clinton. Or Jeb Bush on the other side. Bush vs. Clinton would have been a nightmare for the media in 2016. So the standard political campaign was replaced by a circus, no hyperbole intended. 

Trump complained about the big bad media while all the while bathing in its glow. He grew into this bigger-than-life figure as he spouted rhetoric from the political right. He attacks the so-called RINOs with the same ferocity as he might direct at anyone. So compromise is impossible. 

I began to wonder as Trump escaped one after another of his ridiculous situations, will this end anywhere? Can we "wrap this up," as Hutchinson of Arkansas might say? Asa might have been talking about the Mar-a-Lago thing, but I sensed a wider application. I felt he was stating the most obvious sentiment in the world: "Let's wrap up the whole Trump thing." 

So, enough already, which I felt way back during 2016. "Access Hollywood." That's just one of the countless absurdities. Maybe such stuff entertained us to a degree. We demand that our media deliver us entertainment. But I saw such a dark side to the Trump phenomenon, I closed my eyes and began to wonder if we might see bona fide "Nazi salutes" burgeoning at Trump rallies. I thought: "Is this really far-fetched?" 

For a time I really could not see it happening. Time has always been Trump's friend. Because nothing ever catches up to him. Is this talent on his part? Is it a dark intuitive sense about how to make people get out of the way? Is it unconscious? Talent can be a strange and inscrutable thing. Look how Hitler rose in Germany. 

So now in the last few days, we've seen crowds at Trump rallies in Pennsylvania make a gesture nearly identical to the "Sieg Heil." Such folks are rooting for Doug Mastriano, candidate for governor. Crowd members raised their right hands. So I thought "it's happening," just as I once feared in thoughts that were admittedly "out there." 

Would I have ruled it out? Well, no. But I, like so many others have felt the Trump phenomenon might just die for logical reasons. One after another those reasons have called for our attention. It's crazy how the media report that Trump faces so many legal threats. They seem all over the place. But he plods forward with lawyers and even judges who are prepared to do his bidding. 

And why? Why do these people wish to go down in history with such notoriety? They do know how history will portray them, don't they? Lindsay Graham will be remembered as literally crazy. We hear about this Gableman guy in Wisconsin. And Lara Logan who once was a host of "60 Minutes." It's as if a bizarre disease has infected so many people. It circulates like it's covid. Rudy Giuliani. 

 

Not like Nixon

We never would have seen such a thing in past times. My generation learned to ridicule Richard Nixon. But Nixon ultimately recognized that he had to behave within certain norms or parameters. He ultimately respected the framework of law. Barry Goldwater and others told Nixon what he had to do. 

Nixon did not man the barricades with lawyers as Trump would do. Obfuscating, confusing, appealing, using media acolytes to confuse things further. Nixon resigned. So the pleas to "Wrap this up" were heeded in Nixon's case. America as we've known it held together. There was an underlying conscience. 

So is that what is gone now? Now that we see the salute which to the unrefined eye looks exactly like the Nazi salute? The phenomenon that I once could only imagine, is here! It actually has arrived! 

There stands Trump as a wannabe Hitler who has actually spoken about how Hitler's generals were loyal to him. He actually invokes Hitler. Of course it wasn't really the generals who did that, it was the SS. The SS was brainwashed. Hitler had a great many of his own generals killed. So, I know world history better than Trump who just happens to be a former president. 

If Trump could get indicted for just one little thing, I predict his stature would immediately start to diminish. We'd be able to "wrap this up" as Hutchinson articulated, even though he was speaking specifically about the Mar-a-Lago thing. 

Hutchinson showed heart in another instance where he showed an understanding view about gay marriage. He said there were "generational differences" on the matter, a far more generous attitude than most Republicans had. So there's a heart there, there's a soul there. He's still a Republican at heart. I don't think he would outright condemn the RINOs. He simply would want what's best for the people. And to move forward with that objective, we'll have to "wrap this up." 

Will it happen? Frankly I cannot be optimistic. Let's pray to the same God who Trump thinks he represents. Or maybe Trump thinks he is God himself. His followers seem inclined to think that, as they have their right hands raised in loyalty to the orange one. My God. 

On many mornings there is a vehicle parked at DeToy's Restaurant in Morris with a color profile of Trump literally painted onto the side. You'll see other vehicles there with Trump stickers. Would these vehicle owners be enthused to do the "Sieg Heil" also (a variant of it)? Heaven help us all out here in Stevens County. Heaven help the majority of our churches where we might have heard "lock her up." 

No, let's "wrap this up." We might have to push the Christian faith aside.

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

A night to put Coach Hofland in spotlight

Photos submitted by Del Sarlette, thanks a bunch. - BW 

A wonderful mid-fall morning here on the prairie. Sun has come out to bless the day. Last night (Friday) was a blessed night even though the MACA football Tigers were defeated. It was a night for saluting Neal Hofland. Man, what a fixture this man was to the west of here once. From days of "the Spartans." 

Let us not let the red-themed Spartans fade in our collective memory. Life was more rich here when Morris and C-A each had their own extracurricular. Maybe the combination was done smoothly - that's fine. Seamlessly? That would be better. 

But there had to be some sad feelings with the retiring of the Spartans from local sports. And Neal was the football coach, presiding over so much success at the "nine-man" level. I had my own humble role observing from my media perch. 

I had the good luck of seeing Neal this morning (Saturday) at DeToy's Restaurant. He entered with his daughter who I instantly called "Lynn." Oh my goodness it was actually Beth. I caught the mistake as I said "oh, you're not Lynn." Beth took it all good-naturedly and said "I get called Lynn all the time." Through the years I have known Lynn better than Neal's other children. I remember that Neal called daughter Amy "the tail-ender." 

Before leaving the restaurant I walked over to Neal and Beth and reminded that "when all else fails, use the toss-sweep." I immediately think of the toss-sweep when remembering Neal's time with the C-A Spartans. The toss-sweep seemed like an unstoppable machine so often with the likes of Jon Hallman carrying the football. 

I made several trips to Minneapolis and the Metrodome for Prep Bowl when the Spartans were in it. I remember that the will-call window seemed never to have its act together for the bright and early nine-man game. As early as 8 a.m.? That's what I seem to recall. There was a fan bus that departed from the Old Lumber Yard in Chokio. We all had to set our alarms! 

I wondered if the Morris sports fans got jealous about all the times that C-A had the privilege of playing at the Dome. Such prestige. A big down note was when George Dieter had his health emergency. I remember George with clipboard along the sidelines for C-A games. He had to withdraw from those duties. 

John Mithun was a right-hand man for Neal. I remember John being a very candid guy when I interviewed him for basketball articles. I hope my memory stays accurate for all this stuff. 

Cate Kehoe of MACA is a granddaughter of Neal's. Unfortunately she experienced the all-too-common affliction of a torn ACL for the current school year. The Kehoes and Carringtons are related. The Carrington girls had problems with the same type of injury, so when I mentioned this to good ol' Tom Carrington, he said "not enough Carrington blood." With a sense of levity I presume. 

I remember interviewing C-A coaches like Paul Daly and Jill Willis. Jill was amused at how I sometimes over-dramatized things. Paul frustrated me sometimes because he'd be out ice-fishing at times when I wanted to do a phone interview! I never have seen the appeal of ice fishing. To each their own, I guess. 

And I'd say "to each their own" about parents who even allow their sons to play football. I am hoping and praying for the day when this Neanderthal sport comes to an end. 

Assuming that no one gets hurt in a game, then I would say that nothing would beat seeing the C-A Spartans roll down the field using the "toss seep" under coach Hofland! I am no longer in the corporate media. But no one can ever take those memories away from me!

You can see coach Hofland in front.

Media notes

I would love to type a few paragraphs about the Tiger football game against the opponent from the "Flintstones," Rockford. 

I must rely on info from other media sources. This new academic year is especially daunting. The West Central Tribune as you may have noticed assaults us all with a paywall. It is a more rigid paywall than they have used in the past. Sometimes you can get in for free but then they have this funky system where they count your visits and then they throw up a barrier again. Leave it to Forum Communications to do pissy-ant stuff like this. 

I encourage coaches to contact the Willmar paper and to say "take down the paywall or we aren't going to call in information any more." 

I compliment kmrs-kkok on having decent if minimal Tiger sports updates on its website. That's a helluva lot more than what the Morris newspaper does. My Central Minnesota friend from my (halcyon) newspaper days says "the Stevens County Times website is worse than if they had no website at all." Quite true. I don't know why they bother. 

Both the newspaper and radio station websites are loaded, saturated with links about UMM sports. The sad part about that is that UMM's own website is a one-stop shop for appreciating Cougar sports. It has all the bells and whistles. So let's please emphasize the Tigers and make all the coverage free-access. We are not expected to pay to watch the wonderful YouTube broadcasts about the Tigers. 

The mayor should sign a proclamation honoring the "YouTube geniuses" of Morris Area High School. Let's see, he's not running for re-election. Will the upcoming election be a referendum on the Morris Police? I say to hell with the Morris Police Department. That and good riddance. We don't need to see their guns in holsters at the Morris restaurants any more. 

Have you heard about the new trick by the police? If you use your phone camera to record them doing something, they might shoot and kill you and later claim "we thought the phone was a gun." A guy got roughed up badly recently because of this. And the cops have "qualified immunity." They can get away with almost anything. 

I suppose there is strength in numbers if you are trying to videotape some cops. That's what happened with the George Floyd incident. 

 

Sparse media

As I write this, the radio station site has not yet reported on the MACA vs. Rockford game. I was able to penetrate the West Central Tribune site and could find no coverage there either. To the rescue comes the "Minnesota Scores" site which is free-access - bless them. So the Tigers came out on the short end Friday, score of 28-20. 

A friend emailed me about the game this a.m.:

 

We attended the game last night, went mostly to hear the pep band of course, but enjoyed the athletic endeavors as well. I didn’t see you prowling the hill to the North in your usual location. Pastor Dan came and sat right behind us, we pretty much conversed the entire game. Given the superiority of the Bedrock team, the Tiggers did surprisingly well, stayed in it until the 4th quarter. At one point, a MAHS kid picked up a fumble and ran 50+ yards for a score –  we had missed the actual fumble and retrieval as we were yacking with Dan. So, I fired up YouTube on my phone, found the “genius” telecast of the game, backed up the feed until I got to the play in question, and watched it to see what happened. (Almost) instant replay! Ain’t technology wonderful? It was neat to see the pregame tribute to Coach Hofland, he was brought out to the field and surrounded by former players and family. He has coached for 60 years –  as John Davidson would say, that’s incredible. I had wondered if he had been neglected as a coach in recent years and was on the staff strictly as a “token” to the C-A contingent, but it sounds like he’s considered “one of the guys”.

 

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

Football needs to go: more examples

Here's a headline of note. It's from "Bring Me The News." It reads "Brainerd football player hospitalized after suffering serious head injury." 

It's not like we haven't been warned about how this risk hovers for all football players. Anyone who pays attention to the news knows. And yet, we find it hard to give up our grip on this game, or how it grips us. It's fun to watch. The big-time football creates sort of an addiction. I have been through it and then withdrawn from it. 

On the day of the 2022 Super Bowl, I went to check my Yahoo email and found a link to watch the Super Bowl live on my laptop screen. With full-screen feature if I chose. Only out of curiosity did I check this out for a couple minutes. There it was, just as if I were watching on TV. I no longer get TV. 

After satisfying my curiosity, I had no interest in watching any longer. My addiction had been beaten. I want to assure you all: it can be done. 

So next to the headline about the Brainerd boy is a photo of him. There he is in his blue jersey with the number 21 on it. Such pride these young men have in their football. Such pride the parents, fans and community take in this ritualistic activity. Gives us so much to talk about, right? But we are only observers. It is a completely different proposition to be down on the field playing this dangerous game. 

I have a theory now: all this emphasis on "heads-up tackling" and more contact-free practices may be counterproductive. In that, the kids lose their sharpness in execution of the game's skills, perhaps making them vulnerable when they are actually called upon to make the old-fashioned heavy-hitting play. And when the chips are down in a game, wouldn't you expect the standard instincts to take over for these young men? 

It's ridiculous how we continue putting up with this activity for young people. But we knew all this as much as ten years ago. Yes, change can be slow, glacial. But I got over watching football and engaging in the weekly chatter about football. It can be done. 

The Minnesota High School League has come close to approving boys volleyball as an officially sanctioned activity. Once approved, look for football to maybe take a nosedive. We can pray for that. 

Previous to the Brainerd player incident, there was another in the Twin Cities area. Perhaps y'all read about it. The affected player was a mere freshman. Why did he get involved in football? Peer pressure? Pressure from parents, school and community? Ethan Glynn, age 15, was paralyzed from the shoulders down after making "a routine tackle" during his first game of the season. He underwent surgery of more than seven hours on Friday, Sept. 2, to repair the "severe neck and spinal cord injury." 

We learn that the injury came during a "normal play." Heavens. How much more of a wake-up call do we all need? If this poor boy requires a lifetime of special care, what will be the $ cost of that be? The money has to come from somewhere. Of course we're not focused on cost, but my point is that this was avoidable. The young man was not engaged in some sort of inherently rewarding activity. He was just playing the 19th Century sport of football. 

Good God.

 

A better subject: music

Ah, school music! There's an activity with inherent rewards. I'm certain that for schools, keeping music prioritized can be a struggle. A certain core of kids will buy into it, and bless them. But on the whole, we don't see the glamor or peer approval as with sports. Let's call sports the 800-pound gorilla. 

Yours truly is in talks now to make a $ contribution that would provide a nice little embellishment to the band program. Those of us involved are trying to get on the same page for how to do it. Wanda wants my opinion, but at the same time I'm aware that anything that gets done in her program has to meet her approval 100 percent. A quandary? I hope not. 

I visited Wanda personally at the school yesterday (Tuesday). I hadn't been in the band room in years. It is so wonderfully decorated. I gather that the "culture" of the school makes this activity rather uphill at times. So we need to surmount this challenge. 

I recently wrote about how I had reached the 50-year milestone since I began my media activity on behalf of Tiger athletics. We were "MHS" at the start, then evolved to "MAHS." I have written several times how I'd like to see us go back to "MHS," Morris High School. It is understood that we take in students from a considerable radius. 

I believe high schools should be named for the town where the high school is located, as a convenience for everyone for making clear the location. Where is MACCRAY? BOLD? Those perverse names were coined back when small town politics counted for more than they do now. Man, I can tell you stories from times gone by, the awful pettiness of it all. 

We have moved forward. The "mom and pop" model for main street businesses has faded. More businesses have a "manager" and these businesses are part of area-wide ventures. The old owner or bank president with a parochial focus is gone. The "managers" just do their job. In some ways this is nice, but maybe we have lost something too. 

I remember when Cyrus High School phased out: a lot of pointless pettiness and contention. 

So I'm hoping to move forward with a gesture that provides a neat new wrinkle for MAHS music, specifically jazz band.

It was 50 years ago when I began media work on behalf of the Tigers, and it was also a half-century ago, in 1971-72, when I was on the roster of Minnesota All-State Band. I appreciate MHS setting me up for the opportunity to audition for all-state. It has always been a nice little feather in my cap. I have a souvenir record album from the experience. 

Thanks to Del Sarlette for recently photographing the album jacket. You'll see below, the front and back along with a close-up of where my name appears. Representing Morris! How about that? My director was John Woell, not as nice-looking as the current director.

 

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

Cougars play entertaining football in loss

Hamline 34, Cougars 21

A goal line stand lifted enthusiasm among Cougar backers early in the Saturday football action. It was the second game of the young campaign. The UMM defense made a statement on Hamline's first possession. The Pipers began a drive at their own 37. Things were clicking for the Pipers. They were looking at a first-and-goal from the UMM two yard line. Fans might have held breath as the ball was snapped with the Pipers having fourth down at the one. The Cougars held! 

It was an up note on a day when unfortunately the final score would not smile on the Cougars.  Truly it was an entertaining game though. The place is called Norton Field on the Hamline University campus, St. Paul. The Cougars were on the short end in the 34-21 final. It was a non-conference affair. 

The goal line stand was satisfying but it would mean our offense would take over in lousy field position. We escaped that state of affairs thanks to a big 29-yard pass completion: Marcus Reeb to Dylan Naughton. The possession would end on an interception. 

The Pipers seized that turnover to march en route for six. They needed just two plays to cover 55 yards. The score was on a 28-yard aerial: Alejandro Villanueva to Ryder Hutton. 

The Cougars stayed even with the Pipers with a scoring drive of their own. They leaned on the running game. But it was a pass that netted the six: 15 yards to Naughton. Alex Happ kicked the point-after so we're all even, 7-all. The first quarter ended. 

Then it was the Cougars going up on the scoreboard. Cole Mitchell clutched the ball on a reception. This advanced the ball 22 yards. Several plays later, Reeb passed to Ethan Tang, 12 yards to get the "touchdown" signal. Hamline struck back with a drive that required 16 plays. Villanueva carried the ball in from the five. 

The Hamline defense proceeded to stuff the Cougars so there was enough time left before halftime for Hamline's offense to accomplish some more. And accomplish they did. Villanueva connected with Charlie Wilson to make the score 20-14. No extra point this time. 

Hamline was first to score in the second half. Wilson turned on the jets with a 56-yard run up the middle. It was a scoring play that gave Hamline breathing room on the scoreboard. Now it's 27-14. UMM's Reeb put on a show with a scramble that advanced the ball to the six. Alas, a fumble took the wind from UMM's sails. Turnovers will haunt! And another one happened shortly thereafter: an interception. 

And Hamline seized that turnover to widen the breathing room - they drove 59 yards. Villanueva crossed the end zone line. Hamline was in command, up 34-14. The Cougars had a possession that extended into the fourth quarter. There was a big pass completion from Reeb to Tang: 27 yards. It brought the ball to the one, and from there Cameron Whitney scored with a TD reception. So it's 34-21. 

Turnovers kept dogging the Cougars. There was a fumble. Our last possession had a fourth down failure, then Hamline could kneel the ball down to end it. 

No shortage of entertainment value in this game. Look at quarterback Reeb's numbers: 23 completions, 35 attempts, 247 yards and three touchdowns. The running game had Izayah Boss churning out 59 yards on 14 carries. And in receiving, Tang had eight catches for 133 yards. Our defensive leaders included Hunter Infanger and Alex Emmrich. Plus, Carter Maurice and Mondo Calderon each with a sack, and Caden McNabb who blocked a field goal.

Memories

I remember being with a party that traveled to Hamline for a Cougar game in 1981 (give or take a year). Dick Bluth drove the van. The party included Andy Johnson, son of the chancellor. Andy was involved with media duties as was yours truly. I represented the Morris Sun Tribune newspaper of course. 

We pulled in to the stadium and saw the sign "Norton Field." Someone in the party wondered if the field was named for "Norton" of "The Honeymooners" TV series, played by Art Carney. Then someone said "maybe he did the plumbing." I am assuming that UMM won the game. We were riding the crest of some pretty impressive times.

On the way home we stopped in a town along the Interstate and stepped into a hospitality place that served alcoholic drinks. So that's what we consumed - it was a big part of America's lifestyle/culture then. It was expected. 

The culture of the UMM football program was very cock-of-the-walk, like they had life by the tail. These guys were highly misogynistic. Do you want me to elaborate on that? I could, but I think you'd prefer that I don't. 

I wish I had never consumed any booze my entire life. Or smoked cigarettes, or marijuana. I could wince thinking back. Our culture goes through evolution. I don't want to sound negative here, so let me say: I have the impression that the UMM football players of today blend in with the whole student body in a very healthy and seamless way. So, they are civilized. 

Unfortunately the game of football is still (nearly) as dangerous. I have written endlessly about this but my efforts won't change parental attitudes. Football is still a "thing." It's an opiate on weekends. What would we do without the big football stories on weekends, like Nebraska's sudden firing of Scott Frost on Saturday? Are the Nebraska regents upset? Is the administration upset? You'd think so. But I'd assert the answer is "no." Why? Because the whole mess just shows that Nebraska along with fans around the nation are interested, are buzzing about Nebraska football. And hey, that's good news for the state! What's a few million dollars of a buyout? 

Oh, more on my trip to Hamline for the Cougar game in '81: I remember the UMM quarterback was a fellow from Bloomington name of Craig Larson. He was one of a succession of top-notch quarterbacks we had in that period. I remember him as a tall fellow who I felt had that advantage negated by sort of a sidearm throwing motion. But he was quite good. 

I remember using a 200mm lens that day which I eventually became skeptical of, because of the limited depth of field that forced me to focus with total perfection - hard to do with moving players. I got some passable shots though. My, that was 41 years ago. I am delighted to still be doing media stuff on the Cougars today as an unattached journalist. It is really my lifeblood.

 

More memories

My, this gets personal: My late mother Martha Williams attended college at Hamline. She was Martha Ohlson then. Her studies were cut short when her father Andrew died suddenly from a stroke. So Mom had to hurry home and take care of the family. 

While at Hamline, she became a close friend of Coleen Gray who ended up fairly well-known as a Hollywood actress! Gray passed away in 2015, my mom died in 2018. Mom managed the UMM post office over many years. My father Ralph launched the UMM music department in 1960. 

Coleen Gray was best known for her roles in the films "Nightmare Alley" (1947), "Red River" (1948) and Stanley Kubrick's "The Killing" (1956). Gray was comfortable performing in the genre known as "Film Noir." She was a member of the board of directors at her alma mater of Hamline. She was active with several organizations that benefited humanity. 

Coleen Gray RIP. Martha Williams RIP.

Enjoyable picnic by the HFA

I invite you to read my post about attending the UMM staff welcome picnic which was held outside of the HFA. What a pleasant surprise: I was just walking by when a UMM staffer who is a friend invited me over, said I could be a guest with her family. God bless. Here is a link to the post which is on my companion blog "Morris of Course." 

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2022/08/wonderful-picnic-leads-into-new-umm-umn.html 

 

A sad passing

In July I wrote a tribute post to Bill Robb of UMM who had passed away suddenly. I'm blessed to have gotten to know him. Here is the link to that post, and thanks:

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2022/07/bill-robb-enhanced-connections-with-u.html 

  

Refreshing time of year

Kind of a "Goldilocks" season, right? I mean, early fall with a combination of cool and warmth, you might say "just right." So I reflect on that in my current "Morris of Course" post, along with the fact we're also in "road construction season" here in Motown. So I invite you to read this post which is adorned with a sunrise photo that has wind turbine in foreground, a photo I'm proud to have taken several years ago. I still used film camera then! Sorry, I haven't gone digital. You may click on this permalink to see my current "Morris of Course" offering. Thanks again.

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2022/09/at-pinnacle-of-nice-weather-now.html

 

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