Four hits by Sanasack in 17-0 win

The Tigers owned the day in their softball doubleheader against Benson. Action was here at the softball complex. It was a futile day for the visiting Braves. Coach Mary Holmberg's Tigers took care of business with wins by scores of 17-0 and 12-1. 

Haley Kill twirled four hitless innings in the 17-0 romp. She set down eight Brave batters on strikes. The one-sidedness caused the game to be abbreviated to four innings. 

The offensive standout for MACA was Kortney Sanasack. Sanasack had a four-for-five line in the boxscore. Her RBI total was a robust five. She crossed home plate three times. She nearly achieved hitting for the cycle. All she needed was a home run, Brett Miller reports. 

Kill for her part drove in three runs. Then we see Lauren Hottovy and Kenzie Anderson each achieving two ribbies and two runs scored. Brianna Marty joined these two in the two-RBI circle. Fans cheered often as the orange and black racked up 15 hits, seven of them for extra bases. 

Benson had to try to regroup for game 2. They could not establish greater competitiveness. The Tigers picked up where they left off in their 12-1 win. Nora Boyle was showcased in pitching. She struck out seven batters in her five innings. The one run she allowed was unearned. 

Brianna Marty came to the fore offensively, rapping three hits and driving in two runs. Our hit total this time: 13. The boxscore showed seven of the orange and black with an RBI. The day's success elevated our won-lost to 4-0. More to come. 

Four games seems not very many for this time on the calendar. Yes the spring has been rather uncooperative. Imagine being an athletic director through all this. Well, our AD has had to pressure our music department to make adjustments. I personally disapprove of that, quite strongly actually. You can read my thoughts on this by clicking on link below, for a post on my "Morris of Course" companion blog. 

Am I complainer? I'm just trying to be an advocate for music. Hope that's OK.

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2023/04/music-vs-sports-and-who-do-you-suppose.html 

 

Tigers 8, Sauk Centre 7

This game was quite in contrast to the doubleheader reviewed above. (Sorry but I cannot be specific reporting the days when these games were played, because the "Minnesota Scores" site is not being updated. I rely on that site a lot to be absolutely certain of the dates and locations of games. It is sometimes hard to rely on your memory because all the sports can become a blur! - BW) 

The Tigers had to fight at the end to vanquish the Streeters of Sauk Centre. We needed a six-run rally in the bottom of the seventh to grab victory from the possible jaws of defeat. What excitement at the softball complex! The orange and black ended up prevailing 8-7 over those Streeters of Sauk Centre. 

The Streeters added to an already decent lead in the top of the seventh. They scored twice - potential "insurance" runs - but that insurance proved insufficient. The scoreboard showed a 7-2 score with MACA now having its back to the wall. The bottom of the seventh would be the conclusion. 

Brett Miller noted what was at stake: The Tigers had a 38-game conference win skein going! Coach Holmberg had her squad bear down and the result was a rally with a bunch of hits. A hit batsman helped too. Sauk Centre was hampered by fielding miscues. The result of it all was the 8-7 win in what Miller called a "miraculous comeback." 

The score was tied at seven-all when Brianna Marty bunted successfully for a hit. This loaded 'em up. Sauk Centre committed a throwing error that allowed the game-winner to score! Nora Boyle scored the run. I didn't have to be there to know there was a celebration! 

Scanning the boxscore, we see Lauren Hottovy with a three-for-four line including a double. She drove in three runs and scored one. Amaya Raths went two-for-four with an RBI and two runs scored. 

Our winning pitcher was Haley Kill with a stint of 3.1 innings of relief. Sauk's Addison Hoffman had two hits and drove in two runs. Sauk came out of the day winless at 0-4.

 

Baseball: Tigers 8, Benson 1

Drew Storck looked mighty sharp in the baseball Tigers' 8-1 win over Benson. Chizek Field was the site for the Tigers' second triumph of the season. Pitcher Storck set down eleven Benson Brave batters in his five innings of work. The one run he allowed was unearned. 

The Tigers got a cushion on the scoreboard in the sixth inning. This was with a six-run outburst. Johnny Kleindl had impact at bat with two hits, two RBIs. Ashdon Hacker picked up two RBIs.

 

Sauk Centre 6, Tigers 5

The Tigers could not keep Sauk Centre's offense contained. Prospects for victory looked good for a time. But the Streeters found the tools to escape a four-run deficit. Their surging was good enough to get them a 6-5 win over MACA at our Chizek Field. 

Our Riley Asmus looked strong on the mound through three innings. Then he encountered a rough spell. The Streeters got to him over the fourth and fifth frames. He did strike out nine but otherwise saw rough waters. Kyle Fehr and Trevor Buss each posted a pair of RBIs in the boxscore. Sauk's attack featured Eli Fletcher driving in three runs.

 

Tigers 13, Ashby 3

MACA baseball and softball have been blessed by lots of home field action thus far, in this trying spring of 2023. So the baseball Tigers sprang onto their home field to take on Ashby. Little suspense in this contest. Fans enjoyed the 13-3 MACA triumph. Lots of fuel for this win coming in the second inning. To the tune of eight runs. We were on our way. 

In all we socked 16 hits. Riley Asmus had three hits in four at-bats. The freshman crossed home plate three times, plus he drove in a run. Tigers posting two RBIs were Trevor Buss, Tyler Berlinger, Ozzy Jerome, Kyle Fehr and Johnny Kleindl. Dan Travis put his pitching arm to work in a relief role and got the win. MACA came out of the day at 3-2.

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

Spring sports will turn into a madhouse

What drama in the Tuesday MACA softball game! Action has been slow getting underway in this atypical April of 2023. 

We in Minnesota must henceforth be prepared for six full months of winter, it seems. 

Climate change? Who knows? Don't ask Republicans about that. They'll just say "climate has always been changing." Marco Rubio of Florida follows the script nicely. I am not tribal in my political beliefs, really, but I'll assert that Rubio and others like him are very likely wrong. And then, "have a nice day." 

I'm guessing that the weather was not exactly pleasant on Tuesday here. I was not of a mood for taking a walk. Athletes are probably trying to be in denial about the weather. Just a few days ago, I saw some young women - not sure if they were high school or college - shoveling snow from a corner of one of the fields at the softball complex. So don't tell me our transition into spring is going seamlessly. It is anything but seamless. 

And how much remains of the high school sports season now? We're in the last week of April. Then comes May when all things related to school begin winding down in anticipation of graduation. And softball plays right through Memorial Day weekend, which I sort of see as sacrilege. But I always lose arguments on this sort of thing. As the late school board member Laura Carrington once said to me: "Brian, you should know you aren't the only person who Mary Holmberg has yelled at." 

 

BTW, music too

I will insert here that there is an instrumental music event coming up on Monday, May 1, at the concert hall of course. You should know that this is two concerts bunched together. I strongly object to that. Can people at least respectfully listen to my opinion? There was supposed to be a big junior high band concert tomorrow, Thursday. It was officially announced as part of the instrumental music calendar which I saved in my drafts folder. 

Then a friend told me the Thursday event had to be scrubbed. Or re-scheduled. So it was moved to the same night as the jazz concert, Monday. Problem fixed? Only superficially, I'd say. Now the school administration doesn't have to "sweat" two band events on two different dates. And why would they "sweat" it? Well, because of the need to accommodate the sacred cow of sports, according to what I have heard, and this sounds most credible. 

Anyone can see based on our weather this month that tons of sports has had to be postponed or re-scheduled. Hank Stram would call it a "Chinese fire drill" but that's a politically incorrect expression now. Sports is the almighty priority. 

A friend told me there's a junior high track meet on Thursday. So band has to adjust, it's not the other way around. It's just the natural order of things, no use really protesting, except that I have this online platform and so I'll say something. It's very unfortunate. 

Junior high band (grades 5-8) is a very special activity, should not even take a back seat to senior high band. But the school administration had to pull some levers, I guess. So the school will "survive" with getting sports events in. 

Band concerts are not held very often at all. Sports is ubiquitous on the calendar. And it is the sacred cow. Maybe you know what it is like to tangle with sports parents when they get all emotional. You can't even reason with them. They should attend the band concerts and appreciate them. 

 

Congestion maybe?

Having two concerts in one night on May 1 presents the problem of whether the available seating will fill up. I haven't even been to a choir concert since the Barb Wilts retirement concert when I had a terrible time finding a seat. If I remember correctly the concert was grades 5-12. There was no call for that. There should have been two separate concerts. 

I tried to sit down 3-4 times but was told "those seats are saved." Really? Finally an acquaintance of mine from higher up waved to me and indicated there was an available seat in his section. I am not going through that again. I'll probably skip the Monday concert and I'm sure no one will care if I do. I only write this blog because it costs me nothing. I'd have a laptop anyway. 

I alluded to softball at the start of today's post. It's nice to report that MACA beat  Sauk Centre 8-7 with a six-run rally in the bottom of the seventh! I wonder how many fans were there. Holmberg Field was designed with ZERO consideration for the fans. And how do you feel about your property taxes? Easy for the school board to spend OPM, other people's money. 

A friend emailed to me a poster image announcing the Monday band concert. I wanted to share the image below but there's a tech glitch: "jfif" vs. "jpeg" if that means anything to you. Sorry. If you attend the Monday concert, I hope y'all enjoy yourselves.

 

Addendum: Wait a cotton pickin' minute: The poster only identifies sixth grade jazz and jazz II. But wasn't jazz originally going to have a stand-alone event on Monday? If that schedule had held, instead of being shot to hell by sports, I assume it would have included more than sixth grade jazz and jazz II. So music is truly being compromised, and it is unjust. 

The athletes have enough of their own events cluttering the calendar. Best solution is to try no schedule of outdoor sports at all in early spring. It's ridiculous. But Holmberg would want to yell at me if I asserted that. I am an unapologetic advocate for music activities. Crucify me. 

I'd like to tell a lot of sports parents to go sit under a cow.

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

Music getting pushed aside for sports?

I have an official MAHS music schedule saved in my drafts folder. It's a breeze to call it up and stay informed. So I made a note the other day that a junior high band concert was coming up for this coming Thursday. That's April 27. To be held at the concert hall of course. Technically it's grades 5-8. Concert to begin at 7:30. 

It's nice for the public to pay attention to these grade levels, sort of the "unsung kids." They can perform at a high level too. So, come one, come all to the Thursday concert? Not so fast. I mentioned the upcoming concert, in passing, to a similarly music-attuned friend. It's a good thing I brought it up. The concert has been taken off the calendar for its original date. 

I thought the school liked to stick to its schedules. Seems rather off-putting to see a change from that. My friend emailed: 

 

FYI, the MAHS 5-8 concert scheduled for next Thursday has been moved to the following Monday (May 1st), will be a “double-header” with the Jazz Bands concert.

I responded: 

It's a good thing you told me or I would have shown up in error. I wonder why the change? Not enough support for a jazz-alone concert any more? Fading of the jazz concept here?

 

Not good, perhaps, for me to grope for a theory. Can bring out the cynicism in me. I most definitely want the jazz genre to be preserved at MAHS. On a broad scale I sometimes think jazz has lost some of its previous luster. Maybe it's partly cultural? Perhaps the same factors in play that stood in the way of jazz in our schools before about the mid-1970s? 

UMM could not have sold a jazz program at the very start of its existence. Society was not even ready for girls sports. The issue with jazz? Well, maybe there's a perception that it comes from sort of a low-class backwater in the arts. Heavens, rock 'n' roll got pigeon-holed for a long time that way too. 

My late father Ralph would have had the credentials to set up a jazz group at UMM. He played in jazz-oriented dance groups when he was younger like at the U of M. Also most notably at the Glacier Park lodge where he led a group in 1940. After one academic year teaching at Brainerd High School, he got swept up in World War II, going to the Pacific Ocean. He was a lieutenant. 

My late mother Martha was a native of Brainerd. Hmmm. 

Strange: I never inquired about the nature of their initial personal bond. But Mom did have a photo she took of my dad before they had become close. She told me that she "finally got brave enough" to ask Dad to pose for a moment for a photo. I have that photo saved online. 

No, the world was not ready for jazz in college when UMM began its journey. It was up to Jim Carlson, who had sung under my father in the UMM men's chorus, to inaugurate jazz in a spectacular way. No more inhibitions about the genre! Sweep all that aside! Make way for the UMM Jazz Festival which in short order became a true highlight on UMM's academic calendar. 

We knew the Fest was on when we saw orange school buses out and about in the community. Kids came to learn and to be in awe of top-caliber talent. The Jazz Fest was revived for the current UMM calendar. It was held recently. Friends have indicated to me that the details might have been handled better. But it's great that the event is a "go" once again. 

Is it permanent? I have to wonder how solid UMM's footings are, frankly. If the institution makes no changes, can we really expect enrollment to arrest itself from its notable drop-off since 2017? We have to wonder. 

And so much instability in administrative leadership now. Morris has an interim person who is capable enough - really, why look for a new one? - and at the Twin Cities U, it appears all hell has broken loose with a departing president, here only a short time in the scheme of things, and that person has been raked over the coals in media commentary. She's not going back to South Carolina, rather it's Pittsburgh. So that is clearly where her heart is now, home of the Steelers. 

And to think I took the trouble to meet her at two different events here. I'll pass on these events in the future. Even the Star Tribune has been most un-generous in assessing her. 

I have implied the state legislature is to blame. Upon further reflection, I guess it's the Regents who have authority delegated to them by the legislature. Well, maybe skip that level in the future. Perhaps a committee of legislators could just take charge? Jesse Ventura when he was governor said "for the amount of money we (the state) gives to the University, maybe I should run it." 

If the notion seemed a little absurd at the time, it is not any more. Ventura was dealing with that Yudof fellow as president. Yudof was like a magnet for wanting more money.

The junior high concert

Now that I have taken the long way around the barn in today's post, I'll follow up on how MAHS music has adjusted its schedule. So we cannot trust an advance public schedule coming from the school? That is unfortunate. Also very unfortunate is how two concerts are going to be wedged together. And don't tell me for a moment that each concert will be just as enriching as if the original schedule had been followed. 

The April 27 concert was supposed to be special for the junior high parents. Don't ever sniff at junior high activities. When yours truly was in junior high band here, we played my father's composition "Born to Be Free." That was at the old school auditorium (the razed school). We would not have seen ourselves as back seat to the high school band. 

Today the junior high concert gets shifted from its original date and gets added on to a jazz concert. Two in one night. That night will be May 1, Monday. I wonder if spring will have arrived by then. You see, that's the whole problem: the belated nature of spring. 

I got filled in on the likely explanation for it all. Can you guess? Do you suspect it has something to do with the needs of sports? We don't need a rocket scientist to come up with that one. A friend communicated with me:

 

Regarding the moving of the 5-8 concert –  I see that there’s a 7/8 track meet scheduled for that late afternoon, but I don’t know if that was on the calendar earlier.

Spring sports must now be deemed a nightmare. Is this the worst ever? It has happened before but to this degree? I find it literally depressing. Games and meets scrubbed or postponed all over the place. Then I assume a frantic effort to get things re-scheduled. Will we see baseball and softball with doubleheaders every day of the week including Wednesday? Wednesday is church night but God (or Donald Trump) can wait. 

Games are going to be played now even if conditions remain uncomfortable. A waitress told me "as long as there's no lightning." 

Why do we go through this? Again I'll state we should have an indoor sports schedule of some kind, up until May 1. Intramural maybe? Wouldn't it be wonderful to count on the schedule just like we do in fall and winter? Why does the spring have to be so different? At the very least it's anticlimactic. All the excitement of fall and winter sports could continue into spring if we just planned better. 

The "softball complex" has been sitting there with water, snow and mud prevalent. Our property taxes contributed to that. I have campaigned vigorously for an "inflatable cover" for the Big Cat playing field. I have gotten no meaningful feedback on that. St. Cloud State can swing this so why not us? We were able to get Big Cat Stadium in the first place. 

But look at the pathetic "softball complex." So much less that what we were led to believe it would be. Just saying. 

I am keeping the faith with the MAHS instrumental music program. I will remind y'all that I have committed to seeing that the jazz program will have decorative banners to be hung on their music stands. I'm paying for it. I wish this could be done quicker. But oh well. A photo of an early sample is seen below. If you know Wanda, maybe prod her.

Addendum: If the upcoming jazz concert is grades 6-12, then I'm sure admission will be charged. A grades 5-8 concert would be free, n'est-ce pas? A 5-8 concert is a showcase for director Andrea DeNardo. I'm a supporter of DeNardo because we are fellow customers of Caribou Coffee at 7-8 a.m. weekdays. A suggestion: order the bacon, egg and cheese bagels!

 

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

When "people contact" was more important

"I Had the Craziest Dream." It was the title of Helen Forrest's life story. The late Howard Moser of Morris had a copy of the book. You might recall that Howard and I worked together at the old Morris Sun Tribune newspaper. Fewer and fewer will remember, of course. That's the way of the world. 

Howard was a big fan of the Golden Age of Hollywood. He told me about how he might sit through the same movie twice in one night. I have only done that once in my life, for the movie "All the President's Men" when I was in St. Cloud. The movie was the story of Watergate. 

Will we soon see movies that reveal the truly dark side of having Donald Trump as a national leader for such a long time? First we have to make sure we survive it all. We're not there yet. 

Helen Forrest

Somehow I think of the Helen Forrest book title as I reflect on my newspaper years. Did I really do that? My critics might suggest I didn't, really. But the historical record will show that I did, not only for the Morris paper but the Hancock Record. 

Have people begun forgetting about the Hancock Record? All the work I did for that publication in a 15-year period, and now the publication is gone. In the dustbin. People have acquired other means of getting the benefits of that product. That's exactly how our economy works as it coincides with free enterprise. "Creative destruction" happens. 

So how do I deal with all the memories, to reconcile them with the reality of our new media world? Everyone can join the media today. I was most certainly seeing the effects of change toward the end of my 27-year total tenure in the Stevens County commercial media. Was it all a dream? Seriously, the book title bounces back into my head from time to time. Ah yes, "I had the craziest dream." 

Helen Forrest was a well-known singer in the big band era. "I Had the Craziest Dream" was a song introduced by the trumpet man Harry James and his orchestra. Forrest enhanced it all with her singing. World War II was raging as it became current. The song was introduced in the 1942 film "Springtime in the Rockies." 

The big band era would flame out fairly fast. All those musicians to manage and to compensate. The tech of sound amplification would guarantee the descent of the genre. Not that it ever vanished, of course. Naturally, sound amplification would allow very small groups to really impress with their sound, to fill big places with sound. Remember in the "Back to the Future" movie series, Michael J. Fox performing "Johnny B. Goode" ahead of his time? 

My involvement in newspapers seems rather a past life in my mind. And I spent those years in a different social climate. Wow, can I explain that? Covid slowed down our social contacts a lot. Even before that, yours truly had become more isolated by simply having been away from newspaper work. I left the Morris paper in June of 2006. 

Sometimes I'll encounter someone downtown, briefly, good enough for a token greeting or a nod of the head. Recently this happened and I thought my old friend had a little glimmer in the eye as if he was happy to see me. This sensation returned for me the other day as I sat down with a local bank branch manager with whom I was acquainted from "the old days." Were my memories a mere dream? 

It was ditto with an eye exam a few months back where I was dealing with a similar old acquaintance. Not really "friends," I grant, but people like me who circulated in a particular circle. The people were not averse to being in the public eye. They were community leaders, though not (necessarily) vain in their motives. Mostly they are salt of the earth people. 

My main point here is that on those rare occasions when I renew my contact with them, I sense a renewed affection, as if we had shared a part of our lives when society was more open, more relaxed, and people assumed that "people contact" was a daily reality. We all needed each other. We got through our little dust-ups. 

So how am I comparing that to today? The younger generation is more brass tacks and much more guarded about personal contact. They feel if they fulfill their narrowest obligations to get their job done, everything is satisfactory. Go home and guard your privacy I guess. 

I used to show up at people's front doors to get identification of people in photos that I had just processed. I might be staring at "deadline" of the next morning. I felt I had rapport with these people, like they'd be happy to see me. We'd engage in some small talk, perhaps. All is right with the world. Even though our jobs could be like sausage-making sometimes, we sought enjoyment at the most fundamental level. "People contact" was part of what kept us going. And I think we took it for granted. The younger generation can seem sullen by comparison. 

And have you checked the headlines recently? Wow, you can get shot just because you showed up at someone's doorstep. You can get shot if you accidentally drive into the wrong driveway. You can get shot if you step into the wrong car. Someone pointed out to me "so many cars look alike today." Valid point. But why do we suddenly have to fear being shot and maybe killed because of making our rounds in the way I've described? 

Makes me wonder if the Jehovah's Witnesses still do their thing with showing up at strangers' residences. Wouldn't surprise me if they've aborted that. They once came to the Williams place. 

We seem to be so skittish and scared in our contemporary America. People contact seems only done by necessity. There is no by-product of simply getting to know someone, sharing your life experience just a little with that person. Just a little. 

By contrast, "What do you want from me?" 

Well, nothing tangible, really. 

So I'm remembering a past lifestyle where I represented the Stevens County "press" and had myriad personal contacts. It was never "all business." But it probably would be today. Tech has created efficiencies. That makes interpersonal contact much less necessary. 

Remember how a bank lobby might be full of people - customers and employees? More efficient systems have surely been created. I told my bank manager friend that there are times nowadays when, if I call his bank, the person picking up the phone might be in Lake Elmo. Nothing should surprise us now. 

I see my old contacts out and around sometimes - maybe in the parking lot of Willie's - and I swear there's a little glimmer of affection going both ways. We remember how things used to be. We all weren't so scared as to think of pulling a gun when someone shows up on our property. People today will actually invoke "stand your ground." I think back to when we all circulated in a manner that was more accepting. 

"I Had the Craziest Dream." Yes, those times were quite real, just like my 27-year tenure in the local print media. No one can ever take that away from me.

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

Do kids miss their high school games?

We are halfway into April now. A baby step past halfway in fact. Let history record that April 16 was like a day out of mid-winter. 

I told a friend recently that I'd rather re-live the months of December and January than March. And now we have winter in April. A little blast of this can never be ruled out in April. It's supposed to be "little." 

Spring has not made a statement yet. 

Can we now conclude that this is the last year where high schools should be offering the standard spring sports? Can we now conclude that a new approach is needed? Should I assume that the kids really miss the competition? Maybe they don't, or at least not as much as we might think. I think I'll assume they like it. 

So why would we want to persist with our status quo? Nothing like this happens to afflict fall and winter sports. Those seasons follow script. Football is outdoors but it begins in late summer. That is nothing like early spring. 

I'd like to hear some school representatives echo me on how we need a new spring approach. Don't bet on it. They look outside now and try to exercise denial. 

Why such a strong pull for the status quo? 

From an email I received from a friend on Saturday:

 

Brett was interviewing Mary Holmberg on the radio a couple of days ago, she said that her softball teams and fields would be ready to play home games by the end of next week. Hmmm, drove by the Mary Holmberg Softball Multiplex Compound last night on the way to Jazz Fest, glanced at the snow-covered diamonds, and I thought, “Nope.”

 

Hope springs eternal, indeed. 

When I was little we were so anxious about the Minnesota Twins this time of year. We had emotions invested in the Twins. Today the whole landscape for pro sports is different. Yours truly needs a reminder that we're even getting close to the season. As I sit here I don't even know if it has begun. And really wouldn't care. 

I like talking "retro" baseball with friends. And I would enjoy writing more about the '60s phase. Only problem is that I have exhausted nearly every "retro" angle I can think of with my previous writing. 

Those days were quite pre-Bill James and "analytics." I suppose the finely-tuned analysis was inevitable. It does get exhausting trying to keep up with it now. So I haven't made much of an effort. 

"The Onion" humor site came up with some analytics to determine how long it would take for a fan to withdraw from baseball because of weariness with analytics. Rimshot. In the pre-Bill James days we got all excited about batting average, home runs and RBIs. It was short-sighted, we later learned (or were told). Well fine. 

My main concern with all big-time athletes now is that they just stay healthy, avoid life-changing injuries. Football being the worst offender of course. But baseball most certainly poses risks with its "missile" of that little ball. And, remember when Pete Rose pile-drove right through Ray Fosse in the All-Star game? You probably remember Pete Rose's name, not so likely with Fosse. 

Getting back to the subject of high school activities, we of course support these with tax dollars. We're certainly delighted to make that commitment to our kids! But of course there's the "value" angle. What of the canceled events? I have seen the word "canceled" with track meets on the MAHS calendar thus far. If "canceled," then it's a missed experience for our kids. If it's more than sporadic, then it should really concern us. This does not happen for fall or winter. Spring is the real outlier when we have to hope for luck: pleasant, accommodative weather. 

("Canceled" is correct with one "l" or two.)

What does the "softball complex" look like today, Sunday, as I write this? Doesn't take much imagination. Is Prairie Lane showing wear and tear because of the crush of parking that has happened along there so often? What government entity is responsible for that road? Might it face maintenance expenses sooner because of the wear and tear? Stands to reason. Public facilities get used and then there's wear and tear. 

And I imagine the prices charged by contractors only go up? Because inflation is a constant? And up until now we haven't been properly concerned about inflation? In other words, "panicked?" 

 

Personal priority

As always I pay special attention to music at the school. I make suggestions for sports but that is probably futile. Can I offer something re. music? Here I'll state again my concern about PSEO. Please y'all, become aware of this and start asking questions about the effect on our cherished public school. The band director told me at the start of the school year that she was losing four kids to PSEO. 

PSEO is where kids exit high school to take college classes. The kids will say they are eager to do this because they can get college credits accomplished ahead of the normal timetable, thus save money. 

I will assume that any kids in PSEO would be among the better band performers. Administration seems to be aware of the concern that I and others might have. Reportedly they try to calm the waters by saying that a very high academic performance is needed to get into PSEO. But a friend of mine said the high school is quite generous in grading. 

In past times we heard the term "grade inflation" with a suggestion that it was a bad thing. I disagree, as I think it's great the teachers are being generous with the kids. What I don't like is to see some of the most motivated students drift away from regular high school. 

High school ought to be a cherished time in one's life, really. A big part of it is simple socialization. So the PSEO kids are denying themselves some of this. But they talk almost entirely about the money savings of starting college early. Well, balderdash. I could cry when I think of some of these kids leaving Wanda Dagen's band experience. 

And here's a huge warning: What if the number of PSEO kids keeps going up? Might the high school band program as we've known it be endangered? You can always get a group of kids together to sing. But band depends on well-defined sections of instruments with section leaders. Retired Hancock band director Ken Grunig said "don't put the preacher's kid on the tuba." Preachers are of course nomadic. See the issues high school band directors deal with? Or lose sleep over? 

I will cite another prime worry connected to PSEO: What if we start to realize that PSEO is a "racket" for colleges to lasso more kids, to get more kids counted in their enrollment, to thus get more state funding? I mean, colleges do seem rather desperate for students. Who says college students have to be a certain age? It's all about numbers. 

So, what if colleges begin to nakedly "raid" our public schools for students? Can someone allay my concerns about this? Do enough people read this deep into my blog posts? Rimshot. 

The takeaway today is 1) we need a fresh start in how we organize spring sports for high school kids, and 2) we need to rein in or maybe abolish "PSEO." Let high school kids be high school kids. Calling them college students does not make them so. 

For the present, let's just look out the window at all the snow, hear the roaring wind on this Sunday. I have implored the community: let's try to get an "inflated cover" for the Big Cat playing field. But do the movers and shakers listen to me? Sigh.

 

Addendum: The late Tom Snyder used to share the anecdote about the weatherman who said "I'll take a leak out the window."

Addendum #2: Hovering over me as I write about MACA sports today is how Mary Holmberg would disagree with me on one or two things. So futile it seemed, being at loggerheads with Ms. Holmberg. I might shudder. She tends not to be, as they say, "amenable."

 

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

Are we short-changing our student-athletes?

The "snirt" season is fully upon us. Rather fleeting, as we know the milder temperatures will take care of that. But how much can we really take for granted with Minnesota weather? Winter should have fully retreated well before now. Take a look at the MAHS school calendar online. Looks like the postponements are extending into next week. 

Even with the best-case scenario, we can expect standing water or wet grounds for a time. Two days ago I saw parts of the outfield fence at the "softball complex" in standing water. There was an actual "lake" on the other side of Prairie Lane. The lake had subsided quite a bit by yesterday. 

The complex is located just down the road from the Pomme de Terre River. So it's low-elevation, a place where we can expect water to collect. 

Yesterday (Thursday) the complex looked hopelessly no-go for being used in the immediate future. Once it gets past that, there is still no guarantee we won't have an obstacle with the occasional rainfall. Chilly conditions and the forceful spring wind can come at us too. The wind can almost seem gale-force. And I have witnessed spring sports activities on such days. It has to be an ordeal. It has to keep the fan turnout minimal. 

I am assuming that fans are an important part of the experience. My assumptions are not always in line with the people who have kids in these activities. I'll venture to say I'm right on this one: spring sports is a challenge to even accomplish, much less enjoy. So I'm wondering why we go through this each year. Yes, sometimes we can be lucky and get accommodative conditions early. My memory tells me this is not too common. 

My goodness, look on the online school calendar and you'll see "cancelled" instead of "postponed" for track and field meets, yes more than one. And the "p" word for postponement is mighty reliable. 

Would the softball team still consider "retreating" to Wells Park as it has done in the past? The team has moved to the quite satisfactory Wells Park facilities of west Morris when the Eagles place was afflicted by mud. 

We don't even dream of these type of obstacles in the fall and winter seasons. The girls play indoors in the fall. Early fall is the same as late summer. Compare that to early spring! Our boys still play football. institutions like St. Cloud State and Ridgewater of Willmar have ended their football programs - hooray for them. So many young males are being spared the oft-terrible health consequences of playing the sport. Someday we'll be puzzled as we think back to how we permitted it. 

 

Think "retro"

Think of how we reminisce now about the days when MAHS athletics had "cheerleaders." Our culture evolves. Cheerleading was a pretty big deal for most of my life. The girls were a staple. They were chosen on the basis of "cuteness" - we all know that. We all knew that some girls "need not apply." This was passable (if kept quiet) in our culture of the time. 

MACA softball might avoid playing at Wells Park today because it would be an admission that the vaunted "softball complex" was failing us. I'll try not going into a spiel on that. But I might fail. 

There are two playing fields at Wells Park, so JV is easily accommodated along with varsity. The accommodations for fans are actually better, and that is because anything would be better than what we see at "Holmberg Field." The fences are too high for fans to see over, at the new place. Of course the pregnant issue there is the "dugouts." They aren't literally dugouts because there is no depression into the ground. 

A player's parent emailed me a year or so ago with the admission that the dugouts - "seeing around them" - was a real issue. In essence the real issue is that the planners just were not thinking about the fans. This is a shocker. 

The previously-existing UMM softball field did not have to be changed at all. You'll recall it had the brick dugouts. As time passed I wondered: "Are they really going to follow through and remove the brick dugouts?" It seemed so senseless. Then one day I saw them knocked over. 

I observed some UMM softball action there in the past and I felt that everyone there - players and fans - had a great time. There's a new playing field there now, organized in the opposite direction from before. My, all these cartwheels to accomplish what? Did anyone think that the batters will now be facing the sun too much? Wait 'til the sun gets higher in the sky. No dugouts at present whatsoever. Fan seating? Is that going to be overlooked again? 

Again I'll say: when the plans for the complex were first announced, I thought it might be really something special. That's the impression they seemed to want to give. And my, all the back-patting quotes in the local commercial news media! And if I were still part of that, I'd be expected to go along with it. Either that or I'd be cussed out as negative and biased! I grew up when it would be risky to criticize the Vietnam war. "America, love it or leave it." John Wayne et al. Lose your life before the age of 20. I saw the truth of it all when I was a little kid. I digress. 

 

Question at the heart

So I'm wondering: are we short-changing our kids in the spring of the year? Just consider what a "come-down" there is, from the climax of winter sports to the spring sports. Absolutely no comparison. 

I was able to be journalistically involved with "March Madness" this year, because I wrote extensively about the BBE girls basketball team. I'm well-acquainted with the newspaper guy there, Mr. Olson. Our MACA girls basketball team unfortunately lost right out of the starting gate. That's the way it goes sometimes. 

BBE took third in state (Class A). I think back to the intoxicating excitement of that, and then compare it with the total dearth of excitement in early spring. Or even mid-spring! What are all the student-athletes thinking? "It's crazy to have all this outdoor stuff scheduled so early." Are they relieved of the pressure of competition? I don't think so. I think they take to it. But the weeks pass and nothing happens. 

I walked past the softball complex yesterday and it looks light years from being ready. 

I have personally campaigned very hard for an "inflatable cover" for the Big Cat playing field. Would be a bonanza for softball. Baseball I'm afraid would be another story. I've heard stories about college baseball programs that go to the southern U.S. early in spring, and then when they get back here, they have to wait so long to start playing, they have to start getting in shape again! 

Why do we go through this? Can't we weigh alternatives? C'mon, be enterprising. I have suggested gymnasium-based sports for the first half of spring. Worthy of consideration, wouldn't you say? But I'm sick of the "postponed blues" the school crowd has to sing this time of year. Again, nothing like it in the fall and winter. 

So why do we persist with the system as is? Music and theater plunge forward with no impediments whatsoever. Congrats to the arts crowd. No mud to deal with. I'm looking forward to the spring band concert where ice cream is served. Put it on your calendar, please.

 

Doing my part

I'm pleased to conclude here with a little extra focus on music. It comes at the end of my thoughts today, as sports seems always to trump music in the public consciousness. Make the headline about sports, not the arts. That's what the public expects. I won't complain about the overzealousness of certain parents, as that's a fool's errand. They will be with us forever. Bless their souls, I guess. 

Last year I didn't even see a review of the band/choir Texas trip in the Morris newspaper. But sports must be followed religiously. It's our culture. 

I'll begin wrapping up here by saying I have pledged $ support for getting some banners for the MAHS jazz music program. Originally I suggested actual "jazz band stands." I have some background in this format. The stands are quite common. I was told of some possible logistical problems with them, as in set-up and storage. I might politely dispute that but I'll go along with the band leader. 

So it looks like instead of the stands, we're going with jazz banners to be hung on the conventional music stands. Oh I think they'll be terrific. I wish they had been acquired by now. I'm waiting to hear that the order has been submitted. Then I'll make payment for the whole thing. It's my supreme pleasure. I was able to see the world at age 17 thanks to my band involvement. Perfectly appropriate now to give something back. It's the least I can do. 

There I stood at the Coliseum in Rome, thanks to my band involvement. Also, dining on the rooftop of the then-new Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., year 1972. I graduated from Morris High School in 1973. Hey, that's 50 years ago! Back at our 10-year reunion, we would not have wanted to think of the time coming for the 50. It most surely does for all generations. Unfortunately we have lost some members as all classes do. Rest in peace. 

Our reunion will be in September, I'm told. 

A sample of the music stand banners has been prepared. Thanks to Del Sarlette for photographing it. Keep in mind this is not the total final product, as I believe the length will be shaved down some. But isn't it attractive? I doubt we'll see these before the end of the current academic year. But hopefully they'll be a treat to see for next year. 

I sure hope director Wanda Dagen doesn't keep losing students to "PSEO." I don't believe in that program. Defenders of it will say "college is so expensive." Well then that's the problem: college is too expensive. As are so many other things. Have you considered that maybe our dollars have just been losing value? Maybe you'd pay more attention to what the movers and shakers are really doing, if the news wasn't dominated daily by Donald Trump. Watch the Federal Reserve mainly. 

Below is the photo of the MAHS jazz band banners, in their first iteration. Wanda does such a terrific job with the program. I have kind of a thing for her too.

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo

Harder to justify things shutting down now

A friend shared some background on why our grocery store elects to be closed all day Easter:

 

Bri -

You were grumbling about Willie’s being closed on Easter Sunday. But, if your steel-trap memory recalls, before Paul took over the store was never open on Sundays at all – any Sunday. I recall those radio ads that Willie did himself, which all ended with “and closed on Sunday – the Lord’s day.”

 

I had wondered if maybe Paul just had a hard time finding help on that day. One could not argue with that explanation. But it looks as though a firm religious commitment is at the core. 

Admirable? A part of us wants to say yes. But I don't know, Easter is a purely religious holiday. Christ rose from the dead. For us. A happy ending for us, I guess. But there is less than universal acceptance of the "risen" story. 

I remember a Christmas Day many years ago when I was "in luck" in a visit to Alexandria. Given that Alexandria is a pretty bustling place, I was fairly confident I could grab a meal before going to the cineplex. I remember the movie on tap for that day; it was Peter Jackson's "King Kong." Interesting how we're attracted to movies where we know the ending. Like "Titanic." Or about Amelia Earhart. 

I got worried as I noticed a lot of the standard eating places closed. Then Eureka! Cars parked around the Chinese restaurant. Nice buffet available. I remember buying my Star Tribune newspaper and going in, rather relieved. In those days I so often sought my own personal copy of the Minneapolis paper. I never do anymore. We have all shifted to seeking online news. Online for everything, really. 

Elena Kagan

The Chinese restaurant reprieve reminds me of when Elena Kagan was questioned for her Supreme Court appointment. She had occasion to share about how she found a Chinese restaurant on a Christian holiday, I forget which one. Kagan is Jewish! We must be respectful of our Jewish brethren. Worldly as I feel I am, I have never understood the basis for anti-Jewish prejudice. 

I belong to a church named for one of the worst anti-Semites ever, Martin Luther. I have a hard time getting that out of my head when I go there. 

We have seen a steady retreat of this notion that our normal activity shuts down on Sundays or certain holidays. Increasingly I think people want a feeling of their normal routine, a feeling that you can obtain the normal services pretty much whenever. Businesses can make sure their employees get enough time off over the long term - "staggered" schedules or whatever. 

"Time off" does not mean what it used to. In the pre-digital age which reflected the industrial age system, "time off" was this golden thing. People had jobs by way of necessity rather than having a passion for what they did. Today kids grow up understanding that whatever you end up doing, you should have a passion for it. There might be stress but you seek to adapt to it - it becomes part of your badge of pride. 

"As opposed to what?" you might ask. Well in "the old days," workers might seek to cut corners just to save themselves the trouble of working. So let's just say there was a feeling of drudgery. Certainly the contrast can be noticed today. 

Am I still not clear? Workers were anxious in previous times to "knock off" on Friday. Then they'd seek escape at a hospitality establishment with alcohol. The sooner you could get there the better. If you were a college student, good luck seeing your advisor on a Friday. They'd likely pull strings to get the hell out of there. Not to mention the office personnel too. 

Smacks of a cynical attitude, right? I think most people my age would know what I'm talking about. 

The nature of the digital age has caused a shift, somehow. Nothing changes overnight of course, as the late local author Doug Rasmusson pointed out with such poignance. Rasmusson described the daily routine on the old classic "family farm." Changes were sure in store. 

So I'm remembering the early days of the Internet - how incredibly quaint - the news reports of disputes over whether workers could be compelled to read their work-related emails in "off" hours. A new attitude was taking root, that your "off" hours were not to be defined as "escape." Put another way, if someone is sending you a work-related email, you are better off reading it now as opposed to later. Get with it, stay on top of things. 

So I did not read any more about such "disputes." 

The attitude of wanting to escape your duties equates with the often popular notion in the industrial age: you'd "hate your job." Remember the Johnny Paycheck song? Take this job and do whatever? But the song was not about literally hating your job. It was about a man wanting to withdraw because his woman had left him! He was drained, hopefully temporarily, of the incentive for being dedicated at work. 

Nevertheless the song became sort of an anthem for the wrong reasons. Such is the power of the "hook" line in a song! This is exhibit 'A'. Another example was how Ronald Reagan misunderstood the message of the song "Born in the U.S.A." It wasn't all that patriotic. 

Ah, the industrial age of "work." Because change happens slowly, we might not think of it all that much. 

I have read about the "done with church" movement. The piece reflected on the various reasons for the trend. This is germane to what I have been suggesting here. I read that in a previous time, "people had dirty jobs." That's pretty profound. Today you go to an automobile maintenance facility and everything is so clean, quite the reversal from the past. 

Tech has enabled many spheres of activity to become more tidy, more palatable to be around. Battery powered devices rather than relying on the old gas and oil system. Dirty! The old Briggs and Stratton motors were a staple for mowers for seemingly time immemorial. Remember the TVs with the big bulky backs to them? How two people might be needed to carry one? 

Today? Heavens, need I explain? So the old TV repairmen either vanished or had to dramatically update their skills. Really, to morph into a new profession in effect. "Adapt or die." 

The industrial age called on workers who'd just show up and put up with it all. Put on your game face, while in the corner of your mind looking forward to the weekend escape to the "bars." And then the very late-night visit to a restaurant for the "bar rush," where people acted loud and stupid. This phenomenon most definitely existed in our Morris MN. It is absolutely gone with the wind now. 

So we move forward. Away from religion? Or to look at it another way, keep religion more in your private thoughts, allow the less-religious or non-religious to have their daily routine without stuff being "closed?" Move over for the Jewish people sometimes - I have no problem with that. 

Did the "dirty jobs" make people seek a salvationist faith?

The Chinese restaurant bailed me out once. No catering to the Christian norms there. And I was most appreciative. I'm sure I opened my Sun Tribune and read Sid Hartman.

 

Addendum: From an email I sent to a friend yesterday: "What does it say about Morris that there was only one Easter buffet and it got way too overcrowded?" Ah, apathy.

 

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