We haven't even gotten to "snirt" season

First, from an email I received this morning (Thursday):

 

KMRS botched the Truman obit twice this AM – during the 7:00 news, they said the service was at the church, then during the 8:00 Brett said that the service was yesterday (it’s next Wednesday at Pedersen FH).

 

"Slippage," Edwin Newman would say of the error. "Slippage." 

I was distressed to see in the current Morris newspaper, the plot synopsis for the MAHS play "Arsenic and Old Lace." I guess this is a well-known play so it must pass muster. Pass muster in terms of taste? Well I really have to wonder. I am not a theater devotee so maybe I just don't pick up the right vibes. Maybe we're all supposed to be amused by the idea of guys literally being poisoned. I find no amusement. 

I asked a friend if we were really literally talking poisonings or if it was "a Bill Cosby thing." 

"No" on the Cosby suggestion, I was told. It was literal poisonings which I guess was supposed to come across as a thigh-slapper. Not for me. Could I be persuaded if I actually watched the play? I doubt it. 

Of course it's great to see the talent and energy of MAHS kids being put on full display. I'm acquainted with one of them, Thea Kolden from Don's Cafe. That's TAY-ah. 

The paper's coverage seemed a little strange for after-the-fact, almost as if they were trying to make up for inferior promo beforehand. Pure speculation I admit. My strategy for pre-play coverage back in my halcyon days in the community press, was to emphasize rehearsal photos in issue prior. Nothing gets attention more than photos. If my wisdom were desired at the paper, I'd still be there. 

Lacking excitement in my life, generally speaking, the current malaise with the weather really wears on me. As much as we're all conditioned to expect nearly anything with the weather, it really has crossed the line now. Normally we're encouraged in the month of January to look forward to moderation in conditions with March. I mean, enough to get out on the biking/walking trail and meet up with Sharon Martin and her dog "Goldy." I'll guess our month of March has been very trying even for intrepid souls like Sharon and Goldy. Or, her other canine friends "Jack" and "Midge." 

There appears no hope in getting out there in the immediate future. Not unless you have the true explorer's spirit. The whole idea with getting out there, IMHO, is to celebrate the moderating weather conditions. Why, we have not even gotten into "snirt" season yet. You probably know that snirt is the combination of snow and dirt that begins to stand out when the snow retreats. Del Sarlette has suggested we might have a "snirt festival" in Morris complete with a "snirt queen." 

Amusing and totally impractical because this community could not even keep our old cherished Prairie Pioneer Days going. And that would not seem to be a heavy lift at all. Gone with the wind now. The museum should solicit photos from people of PPD at the park from the event's heyday. And then put up a nice exhibit. "Morris MN used to be able to do this." 

What has changed to make it impracticable now? 

Del suggests that efforts toward any new community event would be handicapped. He jokes we ought to have an "apathy festival." Funny thing, starting in my young years I began hearing the word "apathy" attached to Morris. People are so eager to escape to their lake places in summer. Is that it? The movers and shakers tend to be the wealthy folks who can have lake places. They're happy to be doing well financially here but apparently not as eager to give a lot back. 

Well, the rest of us can find our ways to get by. 

Del says the planning meeting for an "apathy festival" would not work out because "no one would show up." A rim shot, please. 

This morning there's news of a train derailment out in this neck of the woods. East Palestine redux you might say. When it rains it pours. When you give the Republican Party power, a Pandora's box gets opened because they slash regulations all over the place. And when the consequences affect you in your own backyard, you truly begin to think twice about voting for Republicans. All of a sudden, abortion won't seem so important to you. Or gay rights or drag shows. 

You need to take care of yourself and your family. And then you'll rue the day you voted Republican. 

A little buyer's remorse is creeping up, like in North Dakota where people are questioning how Republicans stood in the way of government-supported school meals. Minnesota has gone with universal school meals but we have a lot of Democrats here. There is discomfort in North Dakota now. 

A conservative friend of mine even says he has no problem with government-supported meals for kids who after all are required to be in school. I am inclined to agree 100 percent but with one reservation. I'm reminded of the old Mike McFeely radio show where callers brought up this concern. I am afraid it is a valid concern: Many kids for whatever reason will choose not to eat, would in fact chuck their food. Defies credulity but true. Will it become necessary to actually discipline kids who choose to do this? That could get dicey. 

I was not eager to consume my cafeteria food myself. I do regret that. There must have been some dark psychological obstacle. Maybe fear of the cafeteria where I'd have to choose who to sit close to? I'm afraid that figured in. Alas. . . 

But let's give all the kids the opportunity to eat. Republicans would rather we kept giving tax breaks to multi-national corporations. If you keep voting for these people, it's your funeral. 

I should report that the current train derailment episode is not that far away from here, in Raymond MN, hometown of Lyle Rambow. So I touched base with ol' Lyle this morning. 

"I talked to some friends in Raymond," Lyle reported to me. "It seems all are safe." 

Wonderful news of course but I'm still bothered by the possibility of environmental contamination. 

So what's the deal? CNN tells us "a train carrying highly flammable ethanol derails in Minnesota, sparking an hours-long fire. Now four more cars with ethanol could spill." 

Katy bar the door, let's get more Democrats elected to public office. Before it's too late, unless it's already too late. 

I wonder if this rash of derailments will diminish the popularly of the model train hobby? 

 

Let's touch on religion 

The side-by-side advances of Republican conservative thinking and Christian spirituality gets my attention on my companion blog. So on "Morris of Course" I share further with this concern. It's a concern because I have felt all along that so many devoted local Christians have been hoodwinked by the political right. The right has said to them "we'll give you the cultural issues if you give us the tax cuts and slashing of regulations." 

We reap what we sow. In my "Morris of Course" blog post I give special attention to the Good Shepherd Church of rural Morris. I might cite them as exhibit 'A' of the conundrum. You may read with this link and thanks.

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2023/03/good-shepherd-has-defied-predictions-of.html 

 

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

Truman Carlson was steadying influence

Truman as Tigers' coach, 1960, relishing success with his kids! Does it get any better than this?

I'm not sure that my high school lesson of dissecting a crayfish really made me a better person. But who knows, maybe it did. The lesson was led by Truman Carlson at MHS. It wasn't "MAHS" yet and we did not have "MACA" athletics. 

We're looking in the rear view mirror today as we reflect on ol' Truman, a rock as biology teacher and also a rock in community and church. Think back and you'll appreciate how he was always the same. Clean-cut with a steady and temperate demeanor, professional of course, courteous and a whole of other positive attributes. 

We're thinking of him today because he has gone on to the next life. I got re-acquainted with him when he started coming to the senior center for lunch. I was there because my parents had reached the age where they needed me with them more. 

Truman Carlson

Truman and I went a little back and forth on politics toward the end. Let's not say any more about that. He adjusted churches toward the end of his life as a reflection of his conservative principles. Would I dare disagree with him on anything? Disagree with a man who stood above us as all-knowing educator once? It's tough thinking how you can ever approach someone like that as a peer. I don't think I ever could. 

The gap between student and teacher was pretty wide when my generation went through. We could find it hard to get the desired 'A' and 'B' grades. The 'A' honor roll list might be as short as three or four kids. And it seemed to be the same three or four every time. Including for example the daughter of the high school principal. Ahem. 

Were those kids able to secure the "teachers' edition" of textbooks? Those would be like the Holy Grail: books that gave you the answers for everything. Imagine sneaking through algebra that way. 

I sense today the gap between teachers and students is far less, that kids need not feel as intimidated as we could be. A friend of mine puts it bluntly: "The kids today walk all over the teachers." And look how long the honor roll lists are. My eyes bug out. A better system now? That's a matter of opinion but I'd say yes. 

As I try to find the words to describe the old way, I'm inclined to think it was a lot like the military. The two systems had parallels: a big government monopoly with a stifling bureaucracy. I sense this began changing in the mid to late 1980s. At that point, perhaps as a reflection of thinning student numbers, we saw parents wanting to be treated like paying customers. You might say accountability shot up. 

Teachers could no longer rule the roost with their sometimes harsh and arbitrary judgments. Kids who struggled would get put into categories for special treatment. Whereas previously, the teachers could ride herd over them as if harsh punishment could solve everything. 

Today we hear of "autistic" and "bipolar," two terms I don't recall ever hearing when I was young. 

Truman Carlson had a system of rules and discipline but he was not at all menacing in how he applied it. 

A little anecdote enters my head. A classmate and I were talking in the hallway one day. I don't remember if it was between classes. My friend was a model citizen: the basketball superstar Gary Lembcke. We felt our talking was OK but Truman, who was standing momentarily outside his classroom, felt we needed to be hushed up. I mentioned with surprise to Gary a major league baseball trade that had just been made: Frank Robinson for Doyle Alexander. 

Robinson was the famous outfielder/hitter whose prime was with the Baltimore Orioles. Alexander was a wily pitcher but relatively obscure. On the face of it, seemed like a one-sided trade. I made note of this with Gary as I exuded incredulity, then Mr. Carlson felt he needed to tell us to cool it. He was serious. However, three or four seconds later he adjusted his demeanor and said "Yeah I know, Frank Robinson for Doyle Alexander." 

Carlson could put a gentle face on anything. I could cite other teachers from that era about whom I could not say that. The teachers put up with me well enough that I got my diploma in 1973. Kids today would have a hard time understanding those times. The worst of the Vietnam War was over for our youth, still the U.S. was anything but extricated from that mess. Would that we had left the way Joe Biden got us out of Afghanistan. Of course it was messy and unfortunately there were fatalities, but we got out, got it over with. 

Vietnam was this terrible storm cloud hovering over my growing-up years. 

I dissected crayfish for Truman as part of a lab threesome that also included Art Cruze and Ted Schmidt. Anyone who has a background with Art will not forget it. Went on to a career in radio advertising sales. He was from a large (Catholic) family of outgoing and fun-loving kids. He and Ted got carried away with talking about NHL hockey when they were supposed to be focusing on the lab project at hand. I'd get frustrated and they'd respond with bemusement. We must have gotten passing grades. 

Without a doubt Art and Ted would have warm memories of Truman just like yours truly. Truman could apply discipline but he also let us have our space to be ourselves. 

Truman coached Morris Tigers basketball in a time when we didn't have to differentiate between boys and girls. Basketball was for boys. The secondary sport during winter was wrestling. And Truman coached in the old building that has since gone under the wrecking ball. I remember watching a handful of games there. The gym was used until 1968 if I'm recalling things correctly. The old building once housed grades K-12. 

I never really felt comfortable calling the auditorium the "elementary auditorium" because I remember when it was for high school. You should know the auditorium blended in with the gym. Fans watched games from the auditorium seats. Harriet Stevenson recalled how the bleachers on the opposite side weren't even there when she was in high school. "There was just a wall," she said. 

The old complex never lost its charms but my goodness it sure got out of date. "Holy not meeting codes, Batman!" So the old had to give way to the new. 

If the old walls could only talk. They'd tell us about the basketball success when Mr. Carlson held the coaching reins. Just look at the photo at the top of this blog post. It doesn't get any better than that, Truman, even if you were to be a millionaire. I'm sure Truman appreciated the values. He was in education for the right reasons. Truman Carlson RIP.

Addendum: I was proud to tell Truman once that I learned the term "rhesus monkey" from his class. He thanked me but corrected my pronunciation!

Addendum #2: I neglected to mention in the above material that Truman had a tenure as athletic director. Based on conversations I overheard, from people within the system, Truman walked a tightrope. He had to listen to certain parents or fans who shall we say could get disgruntled with things. And I'm sure he listened with respect as well he should. But this could rankle some of his colleagues - let's call it an insulated clique - that wanted the public to butt out at all times. I think he was relieved when he left the AD role. 

Addendum #3: My Morris High School Class of 1973 will have its 50th reunion this summer. We have been saying goodbye to our parents and now our teachers. Russ Anderson is recently deceased. I hope my blog post/reflection piece on Carlson today serves to complement the obituary! Carlson's son Dave played the trombone under director John Woell. What a marching band we had! You'd get goosebumps as we came down the street, guaranteed. That experience is consigned to mothballs now.

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

We value "books" but aren't they tedious?

A presidential debate in the 1980s had the candidates asked about the last good book they'd read. I sometimes reflect on this. I reflect as I wonder why we should be expected to read books. A preposterous or stupid question? 

Actually I think a lot of us think highly of books as a pretense. So many books appear interesting in theory or on paper. It's laudable that we are so interested. But are literal "books" the only way to get proper enrichment? Or, even the most desirable way? No! There's my unequivocal answer. 

Even in pre-Internet times I would have exuded such sentiment, as I would have argued that magazine and newspaper articles were advantageous. Why? Brevity, i.e. "getting to the point" about something. Condense, man, condense! 

So why are books still weighed as being such a valued medium, an indispensable one even. C'mon, man, it's a business. My more cynical side would suggest it's a racket. The material in books must be "padded" to get this final product we call "books." 

Books are not inherently ideal for dispensing information - they are a product. They must be designed with marketing in mind. Does that not cross your mind? 

I can elaborate further. You no doubt come across radio and TV interviews of book authors. Jon Stewart is the total outlier who at least claims to read these authors' material in their entirety. That's a huge lift, obviously. If he really does this, congratulations. 99 percent of media interviewers are provided with a "synopsis." Amen and hallelujah. The synopsis is probably a 100 percent acceptable substitute for the book itself. The synopsis "tells you what you need to know." Well thank you very much. 

So I'm thinking back to the presidential debate of the 1980s. Each candidate was able to cite a particular book. Maybe they knew about the question in advance. They observed protocol so appropriately. Donald Trump would have been so ahead of his time. I'd guess Trump does not read "books." Neither do I. 

On very rare occasions in my life I have actually gotten into a book to where I finish it. Here's two examples: "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara - a book I have recommended to friends as often as I can - and "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer. 

My old college friend Brad from the Iron Range joked about how we sometimes buy books that just end up "lying around." A faddish author for us at the time was B.F. Skinner. So Skinner came out with a new book, "Beyond Freedom and Dignity." Sounds like a deep and thought-provoking book, i.e. a book that seemed appealing in theory. And Brad said "that's the kind of book you buy and then a few months later you see it with the receipt still in it." 

I think that little anecdote capsulizes what I'm trying to say here. Not that I can't expound further just like a book author would. Sigh. So let me quote another old friend, the now-deceased Mike Miller of UMM. The Native American, remember? A sage and frank person, RIP. I often saw him at McDonald's in the morning. He said that a problem with UMM was "too many classes that assign too many books." 

This was a number of years ago. I am going to guess that this problem has faded away. Colleges everywhere need students so badly, they can't risk getting carried away assigning "books." Oh, but the idea of reading books is so virtuous, right? That's the stereotype, shall we say the stereotype in academia. 

Remember "speed-reading?" Kind of a fad when I was young. I gathered that a key part of the technique was to identify the most germane parts of a book without reading slavishly all the way through. Ugh, word by word. Only a fool would do that, right? 

So why have "books" been forced on young people through time? The publishers and their marketing? And then think of the silly inflation that developed with books assigned in college. Man, I could walk away from that so easily. 

Had I been on the debate stage in the 1980s, I'd be unflappable: I'd say "I don't read books," probably to a smattering of laughter from the audience. Such shallow people to laugh, because I am in fact a quite devoted reader. I read from media. I read from my laptop screen. And of course I can discern things of value. I might call up Dana Milbank's current column. Or an in-depth piece in "The Daily Beast" or from "The Atlantic." 

I can get drained reading such material, really, so imagine if I put myself in position to read a whole friggin' book. Like I said, only on rare occasions and only with a book that was totally compelling. 

So, I am anything but an ignorant person even though I eschew "books." But would the debate audience take me seriously, find my statement credible? In the present day I think they might. I don't even want to speculate how Donald Trump would answer the question because I'm simply tired of writing about him, of giving attention to him. He is now an existential threat to this nation. I digress. 

Thinking about books reminds me of a famous episode of TV's "Twilight Zone." The one with Burgess Meredith, perhaps you recall. His life is saved because he's in a bank vault when Armageddon happens. He relishes being free and alone to read a stack of books he has assembled from a library. He's in heaven, you might say. Then he drops his glasses and breaks them. 

I am also reminded of a Mag Magazine feature from when I was young: the "Thick and Thin" books. Need I describe? "Robert Redford, Sex Symbol." And then the thin book: "Merv Griffin, Sex Symbol." Quite a hoot. And on that note I'll close out these thoughts, because I do not wish to get too long-winded as a book author would.

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

Sex throws people's lives off the rails

Sexual impulses can have such life-changing consequences in a whole assortment of ways. Is sex more trouble than it's worth? Sounds like a question that would be suitable for that New York Mills "great American think-off." Does that still exist? 

We're supposed to laugh because why would something as intellectual-sounding as "great American think-off" be associated with a rural Minnesota town? Well, that's how the intelligentsia in our culture sees things. 

Peter Schickele in his "PDQ Bach" comedic persona had his "New York Mills Philharmonic." The town has its niche in Minnesota history for producing the first real superstar in girls basketball: Janet Karvonen.

(Schickele also gave us "the University of Southern North Dakota at Hoople.)

But what about sex? We don't think enough, I feel, about how base sexual impulses change the course of lives, in many cases ruining lives. So why did God instill in us this curious thing called sexual attraction?

My late mother would say the only purpose of such impulses is to promote procreation. Period and end of thought. So recreational sex is off the table? The kind of sex that Donald Trump sought with the famous porn star just months after his son Barron was born? The kind of sex for which Trump's dazed supporters give a pass, because their man has a divinely-blessed entitlement to power? Such a USA culture we have in the year 2023, n'est-ce pas? 

We see it all around us: how sex profoundly affects the course of people's lives. It is in the news so often. Like I was listening to KFGO-Fargo just a couple days ago: a former Fargo South band director developed a "thing" for one of his students. What would make him cross a line, a line that most surely he was aware of, to where his life would be destroyed? Why? 

He must have received intense higher education training to become a band teacher at a vital high school. So privileged, his position was. He should have thanked the good Lord for having gotten such training, gotten such a nice appointment. He could have had an exemplary life and career, basked in the satisfaction of it all in retirement. 

But no. He felt sexual impulses and headed down a trail of perdition. All the education and training he received is on the scrap heap. 

Band directors are very important to yours truly. I was blessed in my high school career in that activity. My interest has been keen ever since. So it is a tragedy that the virtuous endeavor gets a black eye as in Fargo South. 

A teacher that cannot control his sexual feelings in an educational environment is a scoundrel. But I also have to wonder: to what extent is sexual misconduct, at least in many cases, due to a compulsion that God instilled in such offenders? I have wondered about this with Bill Cosby and others. Why did General Petraeus choose to engage in the type of dalliance that he did? Did he not know the consequences if caught? People can seem so overwhelmed by a sexual attraction. 

These thoughts are relevant when it comes to adultery also. A person chooses to get married at one point in their life. Fine, it's based on love. How could it not be? Some people must have a gene that allows them to become attracted to someone else, to violate marriage. I definitely do not have that gene, would never consider doing such a thing. But it happens with fair frequency. 

I absolutely cannot understand this adulterous relationship of T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach from the TV world. You no doubt have heard about it. These are the kind of people that are completely alien to me. 

I had the very ugly experience once of working around a notorious adulterous relationship at the old Morris Sun Tribune newspaper. The violating couple ended up so open about it, they announced their intent to get married right in the newspaper. It was on occasion of their leaving the paper. I wonder if their departure was a coincidence. 

I was flabbergasted and offended by this. But once this train starts running, I guess you can't stop it. So these two left the paper. They later got divorced. 

So maybe I have been wise to avoid amorous relationships completely. Do you think? 

Stevens County history includes the Hancock teacher/coach who got in trouble and served prison time. What a coach he was: his Hancock girls basketball team could fill the UMM P.E. Center. A girl testified that she could "feel he had an erection." I don't wish to review any further. The only way I might feel sympathy for the coach is to realize his background of serving in Vietnam. Those poor guys came back with such profound psychological scars. But of course it is not a sufficient excuse. 

So let me review in full the story of this former Fargo South band director. This is depressing: from the KFGO website: "A state district judge has sentenced a former Fargo South High School band teacher to 2 1/2 years in prison for having an ongoing sexual relationship with a student." 

I'm amused by the word "ongoing." As if a one-time thing would get a pass. 

I have asked the question about Bill Cosby: "What kind of sex education did he get when he was growing up?" It can be scandalous when we neglect this kind of instruction, due I guess to "Victorian values." So we allow our boys to just learn stuff from the school playground. And we wonder how they can end up with such aberrant behavior. 

Never in my life has anyone sat down with me to discuss sex. Mom sat me down once but went quite afield, as she talked about stuff like bees pollinating flowers. For her to get more "real" would have been too traumatic for her. So she had to hold off, and in the meantime I was "on my own" like a majority of boys in my generation. Just "winging it." Some of us could navigate through the shoals, as I guess I have - I have had no legal consequences for my ignorance - but others have had life-changing bad things happen to them. 

Seems like many boys of my generation got married too young. In other words, they acted out of impulse. You might insert "sexual" before "impulse." What's the old saying: sex doesn't last, cooking does." I don't find that funny now, I find it true. 

What's to become of this poor Fargo South band director in the rest of his life? All that talent for leading kids in music, which he surely had, and he just crashes and burns because of sexual impulses. He ends up on a scrap heap. So tragic. What kind of sex education did he receive when young? 

Some of us just cannot be level-headed when dealing with sex. Is it because of inhibitions? The Victorian values? We are past due in putting all that behind us.

A mugshot of the fallen Fargo South band director, Sebastian Tackling. (KFGO image)

 

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

BBE girls win for third place in Class A!

Whew! Everyone associated with BBE Jaguars girls basketball is floating back down to earth from the rapid-pace thrills of state. There is nothing like it. Games played on successive days, each one carrying so much weight. And then it ends so abruptly. I can relate as I've been a long-time press person with involvement in the routine. 

My print media background was with the Stevens County sports teams. That includes Chokio-Alberta which no longer has its "Spartan" teams. We must never forget the Spartans! 

Today we have MACA which stands for "Morris Area Chokio Alberta." The Willmar paper does not respect that, opting instead to apply its own judgment for "Morris/Chokio-Alberta." I have implored them on my blogs to no avail. Why would they listen to me? The Willmar paper is owned by Forum Communications which was once in Morris. Then they just took off. 

You all know that "BBE" stands for Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa. The BBE girls basketball team just put on quite the show in state. They got to state by overpowering their Section 5A foes. The dominance continued through the quarter-final state game when BBE handled Underwood. The next game was a different story: a loss at the hands of eventual state champion Mountain Iron-Buhl. The Rangers of MIB would go on to manhandle their state championship game opponent, BOLD. 

So maybe BBE finds some consolation in knowing that the Rangers were world-beaters. 

BBE bounced back from its setback. They took to the court at Gangelhoff Center of Concordia-St. Paul Saturday. Their task: to take on the Vikings of Hayfield. The result: a 65-54 win for BBE: third place in state Class A! 

The Jags were in good shape at halftime, up 35-27. Named to the All-Tournament Team were Abby Berge and Tiyana Schwinghammer. Berge was team-best in scoring Saturday with her 17 points. Schwinghammer put in 16. Brooklyn Fischer scored 11 and Bree Thieschafer 10. 

Hayfield's top scorers were Kristin Watson with 21 points and Natalie Beaver 13. Hayfield finishes fourth for the second straight year. They were seeded No. 2 for state, BBE fifth. Hayfield has gone 61-7 over the last two seasons. BBE had the firepower and focus Saturday to turn them back! 

I'm sure my old newspaper compatriot Randy Olson is among those who are drained and also satisfied on this Sunday afternoon as I write this. Randy is the Bonanza Valley newspaper person and he does a lot of dynamic things online to complement his basic work. You might say he's a pioneer. No one at our Morris newspaper could be mistaken for a pioneer. 

The Morris newspaper did not have much to cover in our basketball post-season. Our girls team lost its only game. Our boys team had a "gimme" win vs. Minnewaska before being upset by New London-Spicer. What happened? In the old days I'd be in position to gain some background, when I wrote for the paper. Today I have distance from it all. But that does not mean I don't relish sinking my teeth into covering a state-qualifying prep sports team. 

I have loved writing about BBE. I did this last fall too when BBE volleyball made state. It's a part of who I am: covering youth sports with a spark. 

I have three posts prior to this one on the BBE girls' rise in state. These are on my "Morris of Course" companion blog. Here's the link to my post about the Jags' rise through Section 5A:

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2023/03/bbe-girls-dominate-5a-play-climb-to.html 

 

Here's the link to my post about the win over Underwood:

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2023/03/bbe-girls-find-groove-in-second-half.html 

 

And here's the link to my post about the loss to "buzzsaw" Mountain Iron-Buhl:

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2023/03/semis-bbe-fails-to-hold-lead-vs-mib.html

 

And today I'm wrapping things up here on my "I Love Morris" site. Let's note that the final won-lost record of the BBE Jaguars is 27-5. It's the most wins in school history. Let's extend congrats to Mountain Iron-Buhl. This rugged squad dominated the BOLD Warriors in the Class A title game, score of 52-21. Wow! 

The Class A consolation championship game had Underwood beating Badger-Greenbush-Middle River 47-32. The Rockets thus finished fifth. 

Again, it is a pleasure for yours truly to sort of feel a part of it all. I hope a few of the BBE faithful discover my posts. If not, I'm happy to do it anyway.

(image from BBE Schools social media)

 

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

How can we fathom spring sports now?

Happy St. Urho's Day! It comes on the day before St. Patrick's Day. A way of irritating the Irish? Perhaps. Instead of talking about snakes, we're talking grasshoppers. The idea is to save the grape crop. Are grapes even grown in Finland? Finland does not seem to get its due among the Scandinavian countries. 

So it's St. Urho's Day and take a look outside at the weather. An occasional quick-hit winter storm can be expected this time of year, even into April. But think of the sheer persistence of this year's winter. The drifts have hung on in their mid-winter form. Today (Thursday) it is cloudy and miserable. And the temperature! 

I am thinking of the impact for MACA school activities. The hiatus before spring looks to be especially long this year. I have already cited one big reason: persistence of winter. The other is that our winter teams did not progress very far in post-season. The MACA girls basketball team played just one game. They had a lackluster season overall. I'm not sure we don't need a little coaching shakeup in that program.

Then there's the boys: a really fine regular season but then just two games played in post-season. The first of those was a slam-dunk win over a Minnewaska team that kept 'Waska boys athletics absolutely floundering this year. The Tigers might have approached that game like a scrimmage. 

After that the real competition began. Unfortunately we were not up to it. We played a New London-Spicer team who we had beaten in the regular season. What happened the second time around? In my newspaper days I'd have the contacts to find out the most likely explanation. Was there an excuse like with players injured? I don't think so but I do not have thorough knowledge, not at this stage of my life. 

The MACA boys were seeded No. 1 in sub-section. Holy cow, we lost to NL-Spicer 49-35. A real downer. So they joined the girls for being done with hoops season. So there's a hiatus. 

Look out your window: When do you think we can even start thinking about the spring sports season? Track and field has its opportunities because of fieldhouse meets. Hey, track and field need not have that kind of monopoly! In Big Cat Stadium we have the kind of facility where we could get an "inflatable cover" for the playing field. 

St. Cloud State has a facility just like Big Cat and they do in fact have an inflatable cover. What a stupendous asset! Are you thinking this would just be out of reach for Morris? Well, we got Big Cat Stadium in the first place. Some movers and shakers must think we're well-positioned. 

When weighing this as a proposal, do not for a second confuse the idea with a "domed stadium." That it is assuredly not, and if you mention domed stadium you'll get laughs from those who know it really is a pipe dream for Morris. So we're talking "inflatable cover for the playing field" and then we must ask: Is this within reach somehow? 

Just think what an incredible asset this would be. Our MACA softball team could play a game under totally perfect conditions today! The facility would become like a magnet for other softball teams. 

Don't you get depressed during the early portion of the softball schedule - could be as much as one-half the season - when conditions are just uncomfortable, maybe miserable? Sometimes I get so down over this, I lack incentive for even writing about the teams on my blogs. The spring season is unique for this kind of stress. It makes the spring season anticlimactic on the prep sports calendar, depressing even. 

Let's be honest, the fan turnout can shrivel down to negligible. Why can't spring sports be just as robust for engendering community enthusiasm, just like for fall and winter? 

I am unable to write anything positive about the "softball complex." My skepticism has dimmed not a bit. If the Morris Area school board members had been forced to pony up some of their own personal money, I assure you they'd feel distressed. I'd be embarrassed to have my name on one of those tacky donor list signs out there. Yes they're tacky. In a few years we'll walk past those and start thinking to ourselves: oh there's so-and-so - he's deceased now. 

It's not as if the facility is living up to its billing. The newest of the ballfields is a 100 percent waste of money because there was no need to get rid of the old UMM field (with its brick dugouts). Fans loved it at the old UMM field - I personally was present for some games. But certain glory-seekers always get carried away with grand schemes. It's simple if you use OPM, other people's money. How do you feel about your property taxes? 

I think we'll hear come summer that the newest ballfield out there has the batters facing the sun too much. I'm the kind of person who checks this out by positioning myself appropriately. The old UMM field was positioned perfectly, as if its planners knew exactly what they were doing. 

The ballfield that is closest to the water treatment plant barely qualifies as "sandlot." I thought the whole new "softball complex" would have a classy look and feel to it. I should not assume so much.

Focus on music

Of course I relish the chance to be positive about certain things school-wise. So my attention turns to music! What a facility we have in the concert hall! We have brilliant faculty and brilliant students. 

Wanda Dagen has had to overcome a bump in the road with losing some kids to PSEO. That's the program where kids take a hike from high school and take college classes. My big fear is that PSEO might develop into a way for colleges, which are desperate to get students, to start "raiding" the high schools. I hope people are smart enough to recognize this when it happens, and to try to get something done about it. 

I attended Wanda's band concert on March 13. I could not have been more pleased. Featured were the seventh grade band, eighth grade band, concert band and wind ensemble. I don't remember the "wind" term from when I was in high school. 

Andrea DeNardo directed the younger kids. She and Wanda keep the program at a prime level.

I explored the topic of the inflatable cover for the Big Cat playing field with my Feb. 2 post on my "Morris of Course" companion blog. Here is the link:

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2023/02/inflatable-dome-not-impossible-dream.html 

 

You know, I am surprised that when the "softball complex" idea was first trotted out, with the predictable over-the-top hype, it was not met with the same kind of reaction as the proposed county jail. Remember the big meeting at the armory? Remember how the county commissioners felt they'd get a chance to speak there, but were rebuffed: "You're here to listen to us." I love to see that kind of community activism. Take charge!

 

Russia/Ukraine sickening

In high school I heard the refrain "light at the end of the tunnel" for Vietnam. Kids today have no idea what it was like growing up during the Vietnam thing. Boys were susceptible to the draft. Countless lives were changed or extinguished. Today the government wouldn't dare suggest "sending troops." But don't think it hasn't crossed their minds. 

What on Earth could cause so many people in the Russia/Ukraine region to put their very lives on the line? I fail to understand it. So I wrote the song "Why Can't We All Get Along?" with words taken from the late Rodney King of course. Not a model citizen but so what? Words had transcendent wisdom. 

I had my song recorded at a Nashville TN "demo" recording studio. I published the song to YouTube on May 3, 2022. I invite you to listen with the link below. I feel my words are stronger than ever. Thanks to Brent Gulsvig of Gulsvig Producions, Starbuck, for designing the YouTube presentation.

https://youtu.be/7JEC2ot6t2o 

 

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

Some young Willie's customers wearing shorts!

Stardate March 14, 2023. Are we experiencing just the normal surprises of Minnesota weather? Perhaps something bigger than that? Reflecting climate change? Of course I have to be defensive bringing up climate change. The flat-earth Republicans rule out here on the Western Minnesota tundra. But I must seriously weigh climate change. 

Some young guys entered Willie's this morning wearing shorts. A checkout clerk commented in an amused way. I found in my younger years that shorts were really not a big deal when temperatures get cold. I was a distance runner or jogger once. I recall going out on quite frigid days with shorts but with vary warm outerwear on top. 

Running is buried pretty deep in my memory now. I'm sure many people thought I got carried away over a period of time. But by keeping my weight low over several years - so low I was deemed underweight - I think it benefited my heart. As opposed to looking like Kent Hrbek over those years. But God bless Kent Hrbek. It's just that his last name looks like it's missing a vowel. "Buy a vowel, Kent Hrbek." I wrote a song with that title once! It is on YouTube. 

So this morning I was at the Willie's Cafe watching the world go by. Sort of my way of sitting and feeding the pigeons. The young guys came in with their shorts. People waiting for their orders at Caribou look down at their phones. My, if people from my childhood years could have fast-forwarded to see all the contemporary phenomena. 

I remember my family shopping at the old Juergensen's Super Valu before scanning technology at the checkouts. What great skill was required of the employees. And then we'd get our "Green Stamps" or "Gold Bond Stamps." You know how those companies made money? They made it on all the unredeemed stamps. If customers had redeemed every last stamp, the companies would be nowhere. Is this how Curt Carlson got wealthy? 

To each their own I guess, but those stamps have disappeared down the memory hole too.  Juergensen's Super Valu was where Aaron Carlson set up shop. Today the building is warehouse space for Town and Country. Juergensen's had a terrific snack bar with ice cream cones that us kids thought were just as good as the Dairy Queen! And the Morris Dairy Queen had its old home along East 7th Street. Cones for a nickel or a dime. Amazing! 

East 7th Street was once the main entry to Morris from the east. You most certainly know the old school was along there. Today you would never guess that the football field was where it was. 

We're coming up on St. Patrick's Day with weather conditions untypical. Atypical? I know we're supposed to expect variances with Minnesota weather. What we see now is out of bounds. 

On top of the weather anxiety is all this talk about the banks and another supposed "crisis." I had to detach from the media midway through the day yesterday (Monday). All the discussion about the stressed banks (or whatever their problem is) was so confusing and at times contradictory. Is this really a "crisis?" By the end of the day, government leaders were proclaiming that everyone was being "made whole." 

The analysis you hear from media is all over the map. I was surprised yesterday listening to good old terrestrial radio - the Fargo stations - how up in the clouds those guys were getting. Untypical (atypical?) for terrestrial radio which is normally lowest-common-denominator. To be honest, lowest-common-denominator to a degree that could make me barf. The more educated listeners have moved on to satellite radio. 

What's left is the embittered MAGA crowd who clutch to their guy like Linus to his security blanket. 

But on KFGO and WDAY yesterday, my the guys on the air were drifting over my head with some of their analysis of the banking thing. Leading to what conclusion exactly? Ha! You might say they ended up right back where they started from. 

Let me make a comparison: it was like listening to a jazz "scat" singer like Clark Terry. I remember a Clark Terry number where he did the scat thing brilliantly all the way through - just unintelligible syllables of course - and at the very end he recited the only recognizable word/term in the whole thing: "Watergate." OK so the analysis of the banking mess seems to hold up a mirror for that. 

What the hell happened? What the hell is happening now? Why do we need FDIC insurance at all, if the government is going to make sure that no one loses any money? And my, all these free market conservatives who love throwing darts at "government." Isn't it rich that when they notice a "crisis" brewing in their world, where do they turn? Well, who else but the government? Remember the Tarp legislation? Remember Hank Paulson holding those three sheets of paper with his hands trembling? 

So the government offers a safety net for everyone? Is that how we really want it? Evidently yes. So let's call it something like socialism! The robber barons are fine with socialism so long as there's something in it for them, n'est-ce pas? 

We would have more government regulations in place if Hillary had been elected in 2016. But oh no, you all didn't want that, all you ignoramuses who fill the pews at the local "conservative" churches. You people are killing Christianity, I assure you. And I am genuinely concerned. 

We need regulations to ensure against train derailments that are catastrophic for places where they happen. Why do you care so much about the shareholders of those companies? Deep down I'm sure you don't. But you lemmings are scared as hell of giving the slightest impression that you might deviate from MAGA. I include the local Apostolic Christians among the "lemmings." They cannot change their spots. 

But it hardly ends there. Take a look out to the north of Morris at the Good Shepherd Church. Same ilk out there. I will speak strongly on this even if there is pushback. Maybe it's too late. Maybe climate change is already starting to get us. I cannot wear shorts yet.

  

Addendum: I use "tundra" as hyperbole, in the same way as the late radio personality Steve Cannon of WCCO used it. Some of my critics might pounce on me for less-than-precise word usage. Go sit under a cow. Once in my newspaper career I used "gendarmes" as synonym for "policemen," the idea being to be a little cute - I assure you that others have done this. Someone wrote a formal letter to the paper. Of course that person's motivations had nothing to do with the issue he sought to point out. I was a pointed adversary of the teachers union through most of my newspaper career. Call up some of Mike Pompeo's recent comments about teacher unions.

 

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

Tigers upended by lower seed in 3AA-North

Another day in paradise out here on the windswept plains, eh? We know we have to be prepared for anything here in Minnesota. But the weather today (Saturday) represents a time to try men's souls, truly. I "blasted" through a drift in my driveway to get out for breakfast this morning. Had the waffle with whipped cream and strawberries at DeToy's. Think I'll stay hunkered down the rest of the day out here on Northridge Drive. 

So it's almost St. Patrick's Day? Really? My younger self once ran the 5K race in St. Paul for St. Patrick's Day. Had shorts on is all. 

My nice little waffle has me set up to resume writing. My recent hiatus was due to a health bump in the road. I had emergency surgery at SCMC. The nurse later told me I was in surgery for four hours. Dr. Sam gets the big pat on the back. Problem was bowel obstruction. I really didn't miss that much MACA basketball. Happy to get back in the swing. 

Well, certainly a letdown for the MACA boys fans at the end. That's the way it goes in sports sometimes. For every group of fans that experiences a letdown, there's a group that feels exhilarated. So congratulations to New London-Spicer. My goodness, the Tigers had defeated NL-Spicer during the regular season. Let's consult "Minnesota Scores." We learn that MACA beat NL-Spicer 77-64 at Tiger Center on Jan. 23. 

So, it's understood why we were seeded higher than the Wildcats for Section 3AA-North play. Not only were the Tigers seeded higher, we were in fact seeded No. 1! Well, that bubble got popped. Did the NL-Spicer coach learn from his earlier defeat and map out some adjustments in tactics? Were the Tigers resting on their laurels? 

Whatever the explanation, the Tigers were disappointing in their March 8 game at the place known as "the big Red Gym," Willmar. It was a North semi-final game. The orange and black failed to score 20 points in each of the two halves. We were defeated 49-35. 

The West Central Trib cited "stingy defensive play" by the victor. That, and dominance of the glass. The NL-Spicer victory was their ninth in a span of 12 games. This highly-focused group outrebounded the orange and black 37-18. Aedan Andresen and Grant Paffrath each nabbed ten boards. 

NL-Spicer was up 23-16 at halftime. They enjoyed a nine-point run leading into halftime. They led throughout the second half. 

Our Charlie Hanson made two 3-pointers. The super freshman Riley Asmus was team-high in scoring, eleven points. Hanson's 3's accounted for his six total points. Tyler Berlinger also scored six points. Drew Huebner scored five, Owen Anderson three, and Drew Storck and Jack Tollefson two each. 

Kyle Fehr led in rebounds with six. Asmus and Berlinger each had an assist. Asmus and Berlinger each had two steals. Huebner and Storck each blocked a shot. 

Now let's credit the victors who had Grant Paffrath leading the way with 24 points. Brycen Christensen was second-high with 13. Aeden Andresen put in nine and Mason Delzer three. Christensen and Paffrath each made a '3'. Andresen and Paffrath led in rebounds, each with ten. Christensen was the pacesetter in steals with four. Paul Meier blocked two shots. 

The Wildcats were seeded No. 5.

Our Tigers supplied lots of excitement through this past season as reflected in the W/L of 20-7.

 

MAHACA wrestling

The state tournament is a huge deal in prep wrestling. Sometimes I almost got intimidated by all the hype back when I wrote for the Morris newspaper. These are just high school student-athletes, so sometimes I think we need to cool it a little. Anyway, the MAHACA crew had impact in the 2023 version of the big event. We vied in Class 2A. 

Three of the orange and black athletes broke through to place. Davin Rose topped the list with his third place heroics at 138 pounds. Grayson Gibson was No. 6 among 120-pounders, and Caden Rose was sixth also at 152. Brock Marty and Hunter Gibson came up shy of placing. Congrats all. 

Aren't we supposed to have spring right after the state wrestling tournament? I'll insert one more plug here for my favorite high school wrestling movie. It is truly the hands-down best. It is called "Win Win." Call up some scenes from YouTube. You'll love it.

The five Tigers who reached state (facebook image)

 

Addendum: MAHS band director Wanda Dagen gave me a call while I was in the hospital. It meant a lot to me, gave me some extra strength I feel.

 

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