When the WWII generation let it all hang out

Helping usher in television

Ah, it's New Year's Eve Day. We have seen a change in how the New Year's is celebrated. I was young when the idea was to celebrate right at midnight. And this was done with a lot of foolishness going on. You know what I mean, with alcohol. 

Back in the days when we relied on "DVDs," I had one of a mid-1950s Jack Benny TV special. So I'd play it on the Eve, enjoy the singing of Dennis Day etc. Jack had his "troupe." Remember Don Wilson? No, not the baseball pitcher with the Houston Astros (1960s). 

In the TV special we saw the classic New Year's Eve celebration of the type enjoyed so robustly by my elders' generation, i.e. the WWII generation. They were very social and "joiners" by nature. So here's a nightclub of boisterous people crowded around tables. Midnight was nigh. It's understood the alcohol was flowing. There's live music. There's noisemakers, confetti and you get the idea. Men wore ties.

As the years passed through my midlife when I was with the Morris newspaper, I noticed changes. The bar scene was no longer such a magnet due to you-know-what: the DWI crackdown. People modified their habits. A big change was that it had become totally accepted to celebrate "New Year's Eve" earlier in the day. It even seemed to become the norm. 

So as a newspaper person I'd stop by a couple of the more high-profile gatherings like at the RFC. Most of us would be tucked into bed for when midnight arrived. Jack Benny was home at midnight due to a depressing aspect of his evening: a hoped-for date with a female that fell through. He was comforted at home by his valet "Rochester." 

Oh I don't need the DVD anymore because the episode is on YouTube. There's another Benny New Year's Eve special that has Jayne Mansfield as a guest but I don't think this one is quite as good. 

In my favorite episode which I think is for the 1957 New Year - TV really still in its infancy - Dennis Day does a bang-up job singing about "being an Irishman." He's accompanied by the other Benny troupe members including Wilson. Wilson plays tuba for a State Farm commercial!

As Benny winds down his evening, he takes a listen to the loud revelry from outside as midnight arrives. Yes, the idea was to celebrate with such unbridled enthusiasm right at 12:00. Today we wake up the next morning and we can acknowledge that indeed the New Year is reality, just as if we'd partied "the old way." 

The WWII generation I'm sure woke up hungover in many instances. The image of that was fodder for humor in the bygone time. We had to love the WWII generation even with some of the weaknesses and vices they exhibited. Such a gregarious lot. Perhaps the drinking helped obscure their thoughts about the adversity-filled times of their lives. The Great Depression and WWII. 

One of their faults was to cling to a belief that war was a largely virtuous way to keep the U.S. predominant in world affairs. So they weren't so wise in reacting to new U.S. military adventures. 

We had quite the WWII generation of folks here in Morris. Such stalwarts with their veterans service organizations and "ladies auxiliaries." Think Helen Kill, bless her memory. Darlene Olen too, and with the masculine sex how about Willie Martin? I suppose the memories of Willie fade just like they do for anyone. The Willie's grocery store bears his name. We're more likely to think of Paul today. I remember when Paul was just an up-and-comer. 

I vividly remember Willie. He always spoke at the cemetery portion of the Memorial Day observance. And after the doings of that day, well why not retreat to a place like the Legion Club where "refreshments" would flow? Cigarette smoke too? I seem to remember that. New generations came along that saw drawbacks with a lot of that behavior. Times surely change. 

Perhaps we can feel fondness for the WWII generation style with the expression "eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die." Our veterans had escaped death in WWII itself. That was no routine hurdle to get past. I wish they had joined their own children more to object to the Vietnam war, to just say "let's get our boys out of there." 

I have never really understood what the Korean war was all about. America's supposedly overwhelming military might could not prevent Korea from being divided in two. We fought in Vietnam when there were two halves with the "South" being the good guys or so we were told. We poured $ into that, much of it lost through getting absorbed in corruption. 

And somehow the American people had trouble seeing through the folly of it all. You had to really "stick your neck out" to come out and say "bring the boys home." Would get stigmatized. Remember the "Smothers Brothers" TV show? Its controversy? All because of a general sentiment of wanting the U,S. servicemen to come home. 

And then the young people of America became cynical not just about the war but about a lot of other things as well. You might call the latter category "collateral damage" of the tragedy. 

With time we stood up straight. Drinking in public became increasingly discouraged. Smoking really came under attack. New Year's Eve parties became gentle and restrained affairs held largely in late afternoon. 

Let's not forget when the idea was to crowd into some "night club" to sit shoulder-to-shoulder around tables, blow noisemakers and toss confetti. Because there was something to be said for that really, the harmony of people all together. 

But then, maybe a need for a hot water bottle on top of the head in the morning! That's old imagery from the days when excess drinking was rather the norm. We'd see the guy in "The Better Half" comic strip with a hot water bottle on his head. He'd be sitting there in his sleeveless white T-shirt looking miserable as a consequence of his activities the night before. His wife stood behind him. 

Bless the WWII generation but all phases do come to an end. So I'll say "Happy New Year" on the morning of New Year's Eve Day 2024. Bring on 2025 without alcohol of course.

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

'Waska Lakers, U of M women looking real good

'Waska girls basketball came down the home stretch of the 2024 calendar year most impressively. Take a look at the two most recent scores. The Lakers took it to Paynesville in a 57-17 final on December 17 at home. Then came the year-ending success versus Minneota on Dec. 27. The Lakers took control in the game played two days after Christmas: score of 70-41. That game was played at Southwest State University of Marshall. 

So how are the Lakers situated now? Well, with a 6-2 overall record, 3-1 section, 1-1 conference, 1-2 away from home, 1-0 neutral and a sterling 4-0 for the home fans of Laker country. The team will start the new year with a contest versus West Central Area. 

The Lakers could go on cruise control in their game against Minneota, as they sprinted out to a 48-23 lead in the first half. The venue at Southwest is called the "R/A Facility." Southwest State becomes a hub for high-level post-season action each year. 

'Waska's offense was share-the-wealth. Ten players had points. 

48-23 was the halftime score. Then the Lakers went to work to outscore Minneota 22-18 in the second half. 

Three Lakers finished in double figures with Sydney Dahl leading the way with her 12 points. Olivia Danielson and Jayda Kolstoe each put in ten. Addyson Kath had a total of nine and Alia Randt and Lauryn Ankeny contributed eight each. Here's the rest of the list: Megan Thorfinnson 7, Berlynn Green 2, Norah VanZee 2 and Carly Jergenson 2. 

Three Lakers each succeeded with a 3-pointer: Kath, Randt and Thorfinnson. Ankeny with her six rebounds led in that department. It was Danielson leading in assists with four. Ankeny is known as a steals whiz and she co-led here with her six. Danielson also had six steals. 

Kath, Danielson and Dahl each blocked a shot.

U of M women dazzle

Move over, U of Iowa Hawkeyes! Iowa may have mesmerized us all through last season. But right now our U of M Gophers are really excelling. I have maintained my interest in Iowa from last year. So I know all about their transfer standout Lucy Olsen. Plus some holdovers from the Caitlin Clark era like Sydney Affolter. 

The Hawkeyes continue to be quite good. However, you can sure tell that things aren't quite the same without Clark, Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall. Gabbie had her own signature pizza! She isn't quite big enough to play in the WNBA, and I don't think it would matter how much pizza she eats! 

But look at our U of M Gopher women now! I'm ready to shift some of my fan attention from Iowa to our Gophers. Most appropriate. I can't even tell you the name of our coach. I think that is a good sign. No controversy there. The Lindsay Whalen era did not work out. Looks like the U just rolled up its sleeves and hired a very good coach. 

Well, our Gophers are coming off a Big 10 win by a score of 90-54! Hurrah! It's the biggest margin of victory in a conference win since 2016. I am going to start looking for livestream of Gophers games now. Last night (Sunday) I found livestream for the Iowa women's win over Purdue. 

Iowa will always have an entrancing quality for me from the "CC" era. My, what last year's team did for women's basketball! Of course it was South Carolina that won the national title. But CC of Iowa was such a distinctive superstar all season long, and she also grew into a fabulous ambassador for women's sports. Oh my she still is! And I'll never forget Gabbie's pizza. Kate is working real hard to "stick" in the WNBA. 

Good luck all. 

Tori McKinney

Penn State came here with a 9-3 record so they were a team to reckon with. Our success was on Saturday afternoon with everyone still in the holiday spirit. 

Tori McKinney stood out with 25 points, four assists and three steals. Amaya Battle put in 17 points, and Annika Steward came off the bench to supply 15. We were deadly from long range: nine 3-pointers in 22 attempts. Mallory Heyer connected three times from 3-point land. 

Now, bring on the 2025 calendar year! Man, I can't wait for the Gophers to go head-to-head with Iowa!

  

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

Shades of 1973 at Christmas Day lunch

The MHS Class of '73 shows its spirit in photo. The master of ceremonies is Edith Martin, the eldest child of the late Willie and Rachel Martin of grocery store distinction in Morris. I think the event in photo had to do with pie-eating! We knew our priorities. Thanks to Del Sarlette for scanning the photos with this post.

 

It so often happens at Christmastime that we can renew old contacts and friendships. So I went to First Lutheran Church for the Christmas Day lunch and had just such an opportunity. This wasn't just any old contact, it was a fellow Class of '73 member! Yes, "Morris High School" from the days before the "Area" term got wedged in. And, before our teams came to include Chokio-Alberta. It appears to be a wonderful partnership now. 

But in 1973 we were "Morris High School" and the school song could be performed as written. So we'd chant "M-H-S," something that became unacceptable years later. Are the fans singing a "bastardized" version of the song now? Too harsh a word I guess. The composer Bob Schaefer wrote it to be sung a certain way. 

I'm not even sure of the precise way the song starts out now. Is it with the initials "MAHS" or "MACA?" I think it would have to be. The only events for which I am present are football games. I head over to Big Cat on game night and stay around long enough to at least get a feel of things, make note of the fan turnout. After halftime you can enter for free. 

I did get lucky once or twice last fall and found I could traipse in at an unattended entry - probably a mistake. That was nice for me because the burger baskets were still available. And I had some great conversations with people including the mom of the quarterback who talked about how much she enjoyed my newspaper coverage from when she was a Chokio-Alberta student! Many press clippings of my work are stored all over Stevens County and elsewhere, I'm sure. 

I do not observe well enough to know how exactly the school song is sung now. I will say it's nice we have our own school song rather than to use a recycled college fight song. The worst would be the "Minnesota Rouser" not because it's bad but because it has been done to death. UMM chooses to uses it. I'm told that choice was made to impress on everyone that we really truly are part of the U of M. 

The original head of the school thought it important that UMM establish its own distinct identity. A different attitude later took over. It doesn't matter much, I guess. 

In the days before UMM had its own website, yours truly generated a lot of sports coverage for the Morris paper. It was never as consistent as it should have been. I didn't pretend it should be consistent. Jim Morrison just kind of let me make my own way. So when I developed rapport with Perry Ford, the result was some pretty generous coverage of UMM men's basketball. 

A colorful guy, Ford was, and he has gone on to the next life. He would absolutely not have been comfortable with UMM shifting to a lower-caliber conference. These days the Cougars play the likes of - it pains me to say - Oak Hills Christian from way up north. 

Nothing against private colleges or even colleges with a religious theme. But Oak Hills Christian is notorious as a totally gay-bashing place, totally beyond reason. I'm no gay activist but I have to almost laugh at the irony here: an absolutely gay crusading institution like UMM, waving the flag for all that stuff as it were, playing the arch enemy of gay rights in Oak Hills Christian. We have had a game against them this season right here at the UMM gym. 

I remember when Ford really put his heart into the "Midnight Madness" event that officially began hoops season. Close to Halloween - some fans availed themselves of wearing costumes! Great opportunities for photos naturally. I remember a nice little "gremlin" posing with Chuck Grussing for me!

The Christmas lunch

I was so delighted to join the party of the Larson family of Donnelly on Christmas afternoon. We're talking Jane Larson who just happened to be queen of the 1972 Homecoming for '72-73 year! I had the pleasure of sitting next to Jane's mom Gloria. Back in the day they were quite associated with Donnelly. Jane and I discussed how the Donnelly kids had a real group identity then. We can easily reel off their names now. 

I reminded Jane that the Donnelly elementary basketball team had cheerleaders! Their home venue was the Donnelly town hall. Donnelly has gotten so much mileage out of that building. Was a WPA project during the Depression. Thank God we had Roosevelt as president. 

Jane's married name today is "Sassenfeld." She's the same old Jane. And me? She and others can judge. 

I began my writing for the Morris Sun Tribune newspaper when I was in high school. I left the paper in 2006 which was premature. Some things in life are out of your control. 

Our Morris school went through a real rough period in the 1980s. It was hard to steer clear of all that at the newspaper. I am delighted to report today that our Morris school seems quite happy and top-notch. 

I am happy to be an occasional financial benefactor for the instrumental music program. And my days as a journalist are not over! Today I write online and when I get the opportunity, I can do a pretty good job for MAHS and MACA activities. Give me access to the raw material and I can deliver. 

My high school class of '73 will fade with time as all generations do. We all go through the same phases. I'm not sure we can characterize any one generation as having special qualities. The parents of Jane and I were in the celebrated "Greatest Generation." Well, they got through the Depression and won World War II. But frankly I think any generation would have reacted the same way to the same circumstances. Heck, the men of the Greatest Generation got drafted into military service, a great many of them anyway. They did what they had to. 

My generation suffered greatly through the calamitous Vietnam war. 

But on Christmas Day of 2024 it was best to focus on the present, to celebrate the present. We cannot repeat the past although we can learn from it. Now we guide the next generation along. In the meantime it's "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead." Hey, that was the official motto for the 1973 graduating class of MHS! It was not routine getting that motto to pass muster with school administration! 

My class was said to be a little quirky. Truth be told, every class is the same and every generation the same. We are just called upon to react to different stimuli. 

Now let's say Happy New Year!

Addendum: Seeing Jane's mother was such a blessing because I'm sure the numbers of Class of '73 parents are greatly thinned. Do the math. It was a delight for me to sit next to Gloria at the Christmas Day lunch! Jane, myself and Craig Murphy used to argue about whether there was such a thing as "moose meatloaf!" I really think Jane and Craig were goading me. These discussions happened in junior high in a class taught by Grace Zeiher. 

Grace would pass away not long after we had her. We can remember her so well. Junior high: that can be a mortifying experience for many! Perhaps I'm hinting that it was for me. We had Bill Coombe as a teacher, for whom our football field would later be named. Oh, let's not forget Marilyn Syverson who most definitely is extant! 

RIP Craig Murphy's spouse Joanie.

Enjoying chess in high school. From left we see my Class of '73 mates Rick Van Horn, Don Schmidt and Tom Watzke engaging in chess. Is Rick giving some advice? His mom is LaVonne Watson.

Kindergarten scene! The cute kids in photo had "Miss Feigum" as their teacher. Would this be 1960? Would have to be close. The school was called "East Elementary" then to distinguish it from Longfellow Elementary of west Morris. I attended Longfellow in grades 1-3. That was where my teacher reported to us that JFK had just been shot. Yours truly is bottom-left in photo. Sorry I cannot recite everyone's name. But certain individuals are unmistakable like Gary Lembcke, Dan Haugen, Jerry Jost, Dan Larson and Pat Kaye. The girl standing in back is Sally Bedel who left us early-on. It's interesting how when we plan class reunions, we'll invite everyone even those who for some reason did not graduate with us! Such an inclusive and affectionate spirit.

Gary wore an ankle brace in kindergarten. He would go on to become one of the most noteworthy athletes ever for Morris. He "disappeared" for a few years while he attended St. Mary's!

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

The cotton pickin' wind for Christmas 2024

The Williams family celebrates Christmas in late 1950s. Your blog host is the little tyke. God bless the memory of my parents Ralph and Martha Williams. We were in St. Paul where Dad was the music man for the U of M-St. Paul School of Agriculture. Those were especially blessed years for me. We had wonderful neighbors like the Woodwards. We got our groceries at Applebaum's. Our campus in Morris was still the West Central School of Agriculture, on its last legs.

 

Nighttime has arrived for this Christmas Day of 2024. A dreary last few days as the wind howls and the sky is overcast. Deeper snow would actually be nice if it was crisp, dry snow. Plus, if we were to get a string of days with blue sky and negligible wind. The wind can really blot out any other weather factors. The earliest settlers in these parts were shocked by how strong the wind could be. You nod your head at that. 

Where I live on Northridge Drive is susceptible to the northwest wind which howls down across the incline of farm land to the north of us. People talk about our harsh winters of the late 1960s. That was before the trees and windbreaks were very well developed in my neighborhood. It probably was not good for our house to have such huge snowdrifts develop right next to it. 

We certainly don't have that kind of snow accumulation problem now. And last year we had the famous "snowless" winter. Nice, I suppose, but if it's a harbinger of climate change problems? And we'll have an incoming president who thinks we should buck the rest of the world when it comes to confronting climate change? If the effects of climate change get worse and the U.S. is seen as an outlier in terms of not dealing with it, might we incur some wrath? If the survival of Planet Earth is at stake? 

Of more immediacy, what about the wrath we might incur if the new president follows up on his threats for the U.S. to acquire, presumably by force if necessary, places like Greenland, Panama and even Canada! The latter shocks me: Canada. Would DJT have the U.S. follow the pattern of Germany in the late 1930s? Really it sounds like that is the intent. 

So can we the American people stop him? We'd have to persuade our Republican lawmakers to start breaking away from DJT. And since so many of them show a cultish sort of fealty - even going to the NYC courthouse dressed like Trump (with his favorite tie) - well what's in the offing, really? Can this be overcome? 

We have set a horrible example here in western Minnesota by electing Michelle Fischbach. I take no joy in bashing Ms. Fischbach because after all it's Christmas. But look at what a cotton pickin' blind sycophant she is. Cannot be enlightened on anything. 

We know what the attitude of the Democrats is going to be. So all eyes are on the Republicans. Can they be awakened from their stupor? Why couldn't the very reasonable border compromise bill be passed? The one with Rep. Lankford as an engineer along with conservative Democrat Krysten Sinema? (I know my old Sun Tribune co-worker Howard Moser would have been fascinated to learn that Sinema of Arizona was "the first openly bisexual member of the Senate!") 

More inflation is coming if Trump is serious about his proposals, and if he can lead Republicans along on a leash. It would be like the law of gravity: more inflation. Are you ready? And what if Trump takes over the Federal Reserve? Do you realize how catastrophic that would be? 

"Scrooge McDuck"

And look at his recent insistence on eliminating the debt ceiling. He would want to do that why? Well to give massive new tax cuts for billionaires and all "Scrooge McDucks" so that the debt would swell. The common citizens be damned. 

If you all don't care about these things on Christmas 2024, there is nothing more I can do for you. DJT wanted to nominate Matt Gaetz for attorney general. Look at the tawdry-beyond-words report about Gaetz that just came out. On the day before Christmas Eve. Compare the tone of that to what Ronald Reagan or his wife Nancy would have said to Americans on the threshold of Christmas. 

I will take the Reagan style. But who am I? But a grain of sand on a vast beach. Or as I am more fond of saying: "Mongo just pawn in game of life." (That's from the movie "Blazing Saddles.") 

We must try to be optimistic in spite of all that is going on. 

The Gaetz report inspires my newest post on my companion blog "Morris of Course." I invite you to read with the link below. Thanks and Merry Christmas, really, even to all the MAGA people. And to that they'd probably give me the middle finger.

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2024/12/republicans-hate-pornhub-but-they-sure.html 

 

Addendum: It's too cotton pickin' windy for me to even turn on my Christmas lights in the front yard tonight. The strings of lights hang in some places. One residence in my neighborhood takes the prize for lights and other such stuff, and I'm afraid it is not me! My old friend Jim Greenwaldt once advised "don't try to keep up with the House family." That's who lives in the former Rambow residence now. Or you might say the former Ahern residence. The original resident was Olga Flaten. Our neighborhood has its merits.

 

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

Faith Lutheran reveals major non-surprise

It's Sunday as Christmas is nigh. Some weariness I'm sure as we have been through the ordeal of a week where Donald Trump has been in our faces yet again through the news media. Are we numb to this? Is it affecting our collective psyche? And does it really have to happen as we are entering the heart of the Christmas season? 

Christmas Eve Day is Tuesday and Christmas Day is Wednesday. Can we put Trump on the back-burner, get away from his constant anger and insults? Like what he said about Rep. Chip Roy of Texas a few days ago? Can't the incoming president at least be a little more respectful? Can't he do it with Christmas Eve just a few days away? 

Shouldn't we rise up and demand a change in tone? Rep. Roy was elected by the people in his district. This might not matter though for Trump who acts like he doesn't want to be bothered by the legislative branch of government. Yours truly can already see this, clearly understand it. Am I that smart? That perceptive? There is an element in Morris obviously that would say "no" to that. 

 

The Lord's day

So it's Sunday and it's a day of regular church services for our peaceful little burg. My church's coffee hour goes from 10 to 11. I arrived at 10:20 at First Lutheran and just one table was occupied. Such a contrast with the grand heyday of First Lutheran. It was a prime church in the county and considered most mainstream. We had a pastor for many years including my youth who was a Nixon Republican. 

So many people came through our doors who just wanted to seem "normal." Then the gay rights issue bubbled up. Our UMM stuck its neck out on that, got a reputation. I have always argued that UMM's zeal was misplaced and hurt the institution's reputation locally. 

So am I for gay rights? I think a large majority of our population has come around to accepting gay rights. Many of us have family or relatives who are gay, would want them to be treated fairly and with love. In the short term the gay rights push was highly disruptive as it developed. I never thought it was necessary for ELCA pastors to even mention it much, to put it before us. 

We're willing to accept the rights as a matter of fair policy and fair attitude. But we don't want it dragged before us. We don't want to see church officials like in the bureaucracy become "activists" on the matter. The short-term damage was hard on my church of First Lutheran. 

 

A "transient" nature here

We had one table of people present for church coffee at about 10:20. A few more came later. We have an interim pastor who has his heart in his work. That's terrific but he is "interim." Morris is such a town of "transients." I once remarked to Sharon Ehlers at the library that we had been through several recent "goodbye" celebrations for people around the community. Too many of these, I suggested to her. And she agreed. It would be better to say "hello" more often. 

UMM has historically had a problem with hiring because of a lack of job opportunities for spouses in the community. 

Pastor Emmy

So what am I leading up to with these thoughts? Ahem. Well, I got a news flash from someone at my one table for coffee hour. Let's say it was the biggest non-surprise you could imagine. It was just a matter of time for this to happen: Pastor Emmy is leaving Faith Lutheran. 

The CW of late is that Emmy has been the greatest thing since sliced bread over there at Faith Lutheran "across the tracks" in west Morris. It's a fine church building but holy cow, the area immediately around the building is shall we say "run down." It has reminded me of war-torn Europe at the end of WWII. Remember the town in "Saving Private Ryan?" And BTW couldn't the military unit have waited for the tank-busting planes to come along before engaging the Germans? The unit could have re-deployed outside the town. 

Pastor Emmy is leaving. Someone showed me the program from the Faith services this morning. The announcement was there so I'm not just sharing rumor. She's leaving. Of course she'll stick around for Christmas. 

This is my opinion: she should have shown a commitment to stay longer. I think this would have been the ethical thing to do as a professional. She wasn't here long enough. IMHO a pastor should commit for about ten years. You can make it work. But in Emmy's case we see the old Morris problem re-surface. That of limited job opportunities for spouses of important people. 

We could sort of see the writing on the wall when Emmy's husband accepted a job that would be based in Minot ND. That's a fur piece from here. 

I feel sorry for some of my Faith Lutheran friends who argued for a while that the husband could keep this commitment without spending a lot of time in Minot. Hey, he could work from home, online-based! I listened respectively to such talk but I never stopped shaking my head about it. "No way." And so now it looks like my senses are intact. 

And so now after a period of time where Faith Lutheran had big advantages over my First Lutheran, Faith might have to struggle. Well, both churches may have to struggle, mightily in fact. Leading to what? Well as they say, that's above my pay grade. 

 

No mystery

All the adversity began developing when a major portion of Stevens County got revulsed over the issue of gay rights and gay ordination. The drifting-away started. A canary in the coal mine was the now-deceased Truman Carlson. A whole new church was put up north of Morris as a visceral reaction if that's the right way to describe it. A whole new church! Thanks UMM, I think you had a role in inspiring this. It got to be too much. 

Today UMM is stressed, so much so, I don't think it is going to want to stick its neck out on anything political. We're not seeing the oddball and oft-offensive student behavior any more. "Gay devil worshipers." Looks like UMM students are just getting down to business with their priorities. Perhaps this could have been forced sooner. 

But in the meantime the once-proud ELCA churches - the churches that do NOT stand for supporting Donald Trump - have been thrown on their heels. 

If I were a Faith Luth. parishioner, I would not go out of my way to praise or honor Emmy at all. Just say "goodbye" and then attend to the daunting task of keeping things going. It won't be easy. It will be very difficult. 

The salad days of my First Lutheran are in the rear view mirror. But it's Christmas. Let us try to feel love.

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

Have we really learned about misogyny?

The days of the "Big 3" TV networks gave us celebrities that grew into bigger-than-life figures. Today we have such a wide range of well-known entertainers across the infinitely wide spectrum of media. And following human nature, we have come to take our present state of affairs for granted. 

I have never let the long-ago times drift far from me. Understanding the past gives us great perspective for understanding our world. 

To understand the significant cultural changes, we need to put the past in front of us for its case studies. It has been said - and it's true - that our culture once tolerated a certain level of misogyny. Heck, there was a time when no one was heard using the term "misogyny," I doubt even college professors. Remember when "Professor Irwin Corey" created his whole comedic character which was a parody of college professors? 

There's another cultural change I might note: the decline of the truly pretentious, effete and out-of-touch professor with their "tenure." Am I correct in concluding that this has receded? And, that everyone employed by public colleges today (like our U in Morris) should be mainly thankful to be employed? No more people carrying picket signs on the outskirts of our campus? Am I correct in assuming that this annoying behavior has been laid to rest? 

Feel free to straighten me out on my conclusions. My idea of a brainy college professor today is my friend Michael Lackey who is totally engaged with reality. I'm sure the two of us would laugh at "Professor Irwin Corey." 

Cultural change is most noted in connection to gender relationships. People my age can get a shock about this. For example, to realize that in the workplace, to even say offhand that you have a "crush" on an opposite-sex person can be problematic. Why should I even specify  "opposite sex" for that matter? 

The "Big 3" TV networks of my young years had bigger-than-life celebrities who were talented to be sure - well, many of them were - but they had breaks also, connections, to get them into the truly rarefied air of "celebrity." So look at Bob Hope, Dean Martin, Perry Como, Andy Williams. We viewed them as bigger than life. 

Their TV Christmas specials were "appointment viewing." You had to tune in at the scheduled time to enjoy such shows - no thoughts of "re-runs" in any way, shape or form. Imagine trying to explain "YouTube" to the people back then. "YouTube" is but a small part of the entertainment world today. You can engage it at any time of the day or night. That would blow the mind of people in the bygone time. 

The mega-entertainers that I cited could clearly get away with misogyny. I would suggest not just mild misogyny, either. Am I correct in explaining misogyny as the objectification of women? That would be close, I assume. 

George Stephanopoulos

Today we condemn predatory behavior toward women, heavens. So, did our incoming president actually "rape" E. Jean Carroll? Was the very claim grounds for a successful effort to sue ABC and George Stephanopoulos? I guess this is a case where you cannot conclude as fact that Trump won. The legal people would upbraid you and say there was an out-of-court settlement. 

The regular people know what such settlements really mean. Trump won, George S. lost. But us regular people are left with the very germane question: Was Stephanopoulos wrong or not? 

An aside: I want to take the name of my Lord in vain every time I type the guy's last name.

Is this a classic case of a legal technicality? Well I'd suggest that is a rhetorical question. 

We can deduce such obvious things from this matter. Number one, I think, is that what sort of satisfaction does Trump really gain from this highly-publicized matter of taking on ABC News? Wouldn't a child conclude that all the attention just shows Trump in a horribly bad light yet again? 

Of course ABC was induced to give up a chunk of money. But if Trump gained no real relief or satisfaction by this outcome, then why should ABC News have been forced to make this move? Our legal system is about punishing or exonerating people. If that is not the point, then what is? 

And wouldn't a child be able to see that Trump looks like the victor anyway because, heavens, he won the election for president of the United States? So why does he even bother? He should be consumed by the awesome responsibility of being president. Correct me if I'm wrong. 

If Trump truly wants to be exonerated and viewed in a favorable light in history annals, he could solve problems and make our lives better. Shall we assume he is not focused on those things at all? How does investigating Liz Cheney and potentially putting this mother in prison further Trump's aims to help the American people? 

Are you all children? And did you not see right on your TV screen what happened on Jan. 6? The Dept. of Justice should have gone after DJT right away. Maybe history will judge that this was one of the great failures in American history: the negligence in this regard. To be bullied by the likes of Jim Jordan, James Comer and Laura Ingraham? Laura Ingraham? Why does she even have a platform? Tucker Carlson? 

You see, in the days of the Big 3 networks, such people would not have gotten the light of day. Along with all the blessings of the new media world come some real dangers. 

In researching the disposition of the E. Jean Carroll case, we run into disclaimers that warn readers "this story contains graphic descriptions of sexual abuse that may be offensive to some readers or painful to survivors of sexual assault." Excuse me but we're talking about behavior by our incoming president of the U.S. He owns our western Minnesota in terms of allegiance gained. Trying to communicate with these people is like trying to communicate with zombies. I have tried. I now find it to be risky for my own welfare. 

So we have a guy moving into our nation's top position who has been found responsible for sexual assault. So I'd like to ask the simple question, "isn't sexual assault the same thing as rape?" And wouldn't it take a clever lawyer to try to distinguish between the two? 

Trump got a huge settlement from ABC because the word "rape" was used. But he surely assaulted E. Jean Carroll in a manner that is commensurate with rape, right? What satisfaction does DJT really get from this settlement? Oh excuse me, it's the money. Our legal system has failed us, again.

 

Emailing out and around

On this blustery Thursday morning it's nice to keep in touch with various friends about matters that may or may not be weighty! I am pleased to share as I often do. Perhaps some of these subjects could be bandied about further.

 

To Del Sarlettte:

Del - I was surprised by the weather this morning. At DeToy's I heard radio announcements of school delays. I didn't think weather was that bad. But, this is from "How to Speak Minnesotan," whenever anyone says anything like I just did, the response is guess what? "It's bad out in the country." Why should the city kids have to be at the mercy of the country kids? I have always asked that.

I haven't seen fishwrap this week. I'm getting less interested in it as time goes by. Dave Lonergan said there's an article about how City wants to build new liquor store out by Grandstay. Is "downtown Morris" slowly getting abandoned? I told Dave that the city had a pretty good "entertainment district" downtown with Old No. 1, Pizza Ranch, Don's for example. Parking gets crowded on weekends.

Also, didn't Coborn's want a liquor license for their new proposed store? City of Morris would not have even had to stay in liquor business.

Also, Dave said there's proposal to get rid of the dam and substitute with a "rock dam." Sounds weird to me.

I observe the old Stone's Throw and I wonder why a new owner couldn't move in there and establish a conventional restaurant rather than a tree-hugging one (for the NPR crowd). Everything is all set up there. Is this a sign that Morris is in economic duress? The "college business" must be much less.

I had a meeting with Erin Christensen the other day and we discussed lots of stuff, even including high school band. This was just a periodic meeting they like to have with donors. So, I can feel a little like a "big shot." I used to think "you know, I could be just like Helen Jane."

- BW

 

To Warrenn Anderson:

Hello Warrenn - The last time I emailed you, I forget to include the main reason I was emailing, it was to report to you that Don's Cafe did not have soup on Friday night. I have settled in there for Friday nights with a simple burger, bowl of soup and can of DIET Mountain Dew. I consider that a pretty conservative supper. On many days I don't even have supper per se.

I saw Larry Anderson later in the week and he told me he was at Don's Friday and inquired about soup also. Actually the business seems slow there Friday, maybe they'll stop being open at nights on weekends. DeToy's closed up for evenings after covid. DeToy's also killed the salad bar and the Sunday chicken buffet. Salad bars were wiped out everywhere. I think this has hurt the health of Americans. At DeToy's you could often get a cup of soup at the salad bar and also some pudding. So you could have a whole meal. No more. If I wanted to fill my salad bowl twice with green salad and French dressing, I could. Or even a third time.

The MACA girls basketball team lost Tuesday to Mayer Lutheran by a score of 86-26. Let's add that the Tigers beat Eden Valley-Watkins the day before, so all is not lost. But for crying out loud, 86-26? Was that necessary? Mayer must be at a considerably higher level than Morris. I think these games were in a tournament but it's hard to find info in the media right now. Media has slowed down for the holidays, except for me of course. Hell I'd write something on Xmas Day.

Did our athletic director know what we were getting into, in a tournament with the likes of Mayer? This was just too much. And could the Mayer coach have found a way to let up? Put the freshmen in for the second half? Make the parents of the freshmen happy, always something to be said for that. Wouldn't it be ugly to watch the video of that game? Morris should have been good enough to do better IMHO.

So the city is considering building a new liquor store out by Grandstay? Didn't Coborn's want a liquor license? That would have solved everything.

- BW

To Jim Morrison: 

Jim - So the stock market is declining over anger about how the Fed will cut rates only twice next year? Why does the market and the broad public always require such a long-time prediction from the Fed? Why can't we just wait and see how circumstances develop? Isn't this why the Fed goes into a "quiet period?" Why bother? So, we can be 100 percent sure that the Fed will be cutting rates over the next year at least? It's just a question of how many cuts? When would the Fed ever considering raising rates? Ever again? And how did we get into the situation where the stock market is entirely dependent on the Fed? It didn't used to be like this, and I think it's suspicious. But the way things have been going, I wouldn't be surprised if the Dow will be back at another all-time high within a week or two. Actually it should only take a week, because we have all been so drunk on how the Dow only shoots upward. It sure didn't do that when we were kids. It all seems too easy now.

Unless Trump is bluffing with his policy proposals, those proposals would have to spark inflation. It's like the law of gravity. If inflation goes up again, first of all it will drive Americans into a panic, and secondly it would force the Fed to change plans. But I'm just an ignorant fool out in Flyoverland, where nearly everyone votes Trump. Now we'll have the whole "government shutdown" thing happening. Will people ever wise up to Trump? Mitt Romney probably would have been the ideal president, like Reagan. A classy guy too.

- BW

 
Jim responds:

Brian,

The Wall Street Journal opined against yesterday’s interest rate cut before it happened. I agreed with that.

I wish the Fed would just do nothing for a while.

I also agree with your assessment of Mitt Romney. He is the only Republican candidate I voted for in the last five presidential elections.

- Jim

 

 

Well, and let me just add here that I'm proud of the Xmas lights out in my front yard. Best I've ever had, and I even have them on for an hour in the morning while I'm at breakfast at DeToy's.

  

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

Gray, windy cloak for December

Gloomy conditions of late. Overcast and windy so much. Is the persistent wind an example of "extreme weather" that the climate change theorists talk about? The wind is the worst of what we have experienced. My strings of Christmas lights get blown from side to side. I have them strung up along tree branches. It's an improvised arrangement, does not reflect any sort of science. Use LED lights and the expense shouldn't be any hassle. Well, "you can't take it with you." 

The Christmas season is supposed to be about being selfless. What a genius Charles Dickens was, to give us his story "A Christmas Carol." Seemingly countless interpretations of that story done through the years. 

Sometimes I wonder about creative people: can they really foresee the impact a particular work will have? I really don't think they can. Creating a work of timeless popularity is what it's all about. "A Christmas Carol" is the epitome. I learned the story through the "Mr. Magoo" cartoon version on TV when I was young. So I learned the term "razzleberry dressing." 

The entertainment community has never been satisfied to sit back and accept one definitive version of "A Christmas Carol." The top creative minds seem always at work wanting to outdo each other again - yet another testament to the spark of creativity that Dickens felt. The 1951 version holds up very well. The Jim Carrey Disney version is top-notch. 

In my mind, though, Ebeneezer Scrooge will always equate with "Mr. Magoo." Alas, the character seems to poke fun at older people with vision problems. But of course in an earlier time we were less sensitive on such matters. We laughed at the Johnny Carson "Aunt Blabby" character. 

Now I have to address misogyny. Man, it is true that misogyny on a certain level was once accepted, could be fodder for entertainment. Top entertainers like Bob Hope and Dean Martin rode the wave of this norm. But who knows what their own personal thoughts were? 

You young people, you really ought to acquaint yourselves with the talent of Dean Martin. He was a natural as a singer and movie actor. He was a stylist as a vocalist. He has receded into the past but should never be forgotten. He did a fair amount of Christmas music. He and Frank Sinatra have a slam-bang version of "It's a Marshmallow World" on YouTube. That's a must to watch each Christmas for yours truly. 

When I was growing up, you had to make sure to catch the annual Christmas "specials" when they were first broadcast. There would be no repeats. 

Andy Williams was a staple for holidaytime TV entertainment. Up through 1963 he'd sing some Chrsistmas songs on his regular variety show. Then in 1964 he unveiled his bona fide "Christmas special" and had a dependable cast accompany him like the Osmonds. Andy's parents would make an early appearance on the show. His star-crossed wife "Claudine" could do a little stylistic singing. I always have to describe her as a stylist because my mom always described her as not really a singer! 

Andy was resilient with his Christmas specials over the years. The most popular holiday specials didn't seem just like TV shows, they seemed like "events." Each one pushed the holiday spirit up a notch. 

The grim side of reflecting on this is that the Vietnam war years were building up. How supremely ironic that we had such wonderful innocent entertainment on "the tube" simultaneous to the Vietnam tragedy that was horrific beyond words. Today nobody disputes the fact that the U.S. lost the war. 

In Korea we were at least able to accomplish the country being split in two. The U.S. must have been puzzled at how we could not re-create our WWII glory. 

We may be missing a big part of the WWII story. Oliver Stone the moviemaker has worked hard to impress this on us. I am surprised he has not gotten more blowback. His point which I fully appreciate is that Russia played a huge part in crushing the Nazis. The U.S. sought not to emphasize this in post-war years because the Soviet Union of course became such an adversary. 

"D-Day" was so horrific for the young men called upon to make their charge onto the beaches. I do not think of "glory" as I reflect on this. And why did we undertake such a bloody venture? The reason was that a western front needed to be opened up, to take some pressure off the Russians and spread out the Germans. I guess it worked. But oh what a cost. 

I did not need to see the movie "Saving Private Ryan" because I was fully aware, as all of us should have been, of what happened with our young men. Did you know that "The Battle of the Bulge" was controversial in the U.S. when it happened? Germany was supposed to be fading at the time. But they surprised us. Was our war effort mismanaged? In contemporary times we do not wish to ponder such questions. 

WWII in our memories becomes this big haze of glory, and the danger with that is that we have succumbed to the temptation of further military misadventure. Once the call for such a thing arises as with Iraq and Afghanistan, it seems a fool's errand to try to encourage restraint. I have observed all of this through the years. 

 

To the present

Here we go with Christmas in 2024 and I guess it's "the Christmas of the drones." What to make of them? After doing a deep dive, I have come away with the suspicion that they are being operated by the government and they are searching for a lost nuclear warhead. Boy, if this doesn't follow the plot of "Sum of All Fears," the movie with Morgan Freeman. 

We can pray that the worst does not happen. Really, just thank the Lord for each standard day in our lives that we can be blessed with. Your day-to-day problems must be viewed as very insignificant. Your money? Just start taking an attitude of Scrooge on the morning after he was visited by the ghosts. 

And wouldn't it be wonderful for Donald Trump to be visited by the ghosts. Imagine his demeanor on the morning after. People would faint.

Drones have been reported around Northfield

 

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

Thunder Hawks come out like houseafire

Fortunes took a turn for the MACA Tigers Thursday. I should write that fortunes turned against the Tigers, at least on this night. So the Tigers learned they may have a few areas of their game to work on, this in spite of the steamrolling way they began their 2024-25 campaign. 

The orange and black lost for the first time. Well it's hard to maintain winning success indefinitely. So the bubble burst in the 70-62 loss that coach Jacob Torgerson's squad was dealt. They were dealt the loss by Montevideo. The Thunder Hawks came here to the Tiger Center for this contest. Prior to this game the orange and black had disposed of three opponents in pretty commanding fashion. 

The T-Hawks were unfazed by that. 

My report on the big 68-45 win over Eden Valley-Watkins is on my companion blog of "Morris of Course." I invite you to read with link below. God bless and happy holidays. - BW

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2024/12/maca-boys-own-night-vs-eden-valley.html 

 

"Minnesota Scores" has the wrong score of 75-62 for the Monte game.

MACA will seek to resume winning ways on Saturday, again at home vs. Dawson-Boyd. 

The Tigers really were staggered early in Thursday's game, I mean right at the outset. Holy cow we were down 31-7 at one point. Shiver me timbers. Monte was up at halftime 40-20. 

Four players finished in double figures scoring for the T-Hawks. That charge was led by Brody Dick who put in 19 points. He further contributed with eight rebounds and three steals. Griffin Epema was right behind with his contribution of 18 points along with five rebounds, four assists and six steals. Adam Binsbergen scored 15 points. Gannon Reidinger put in 12, plus he had ten rebounds and four assists. 

Jackson Koenen scored four and Nels Baukol two.

Really, all was not glum for MACA as we outscored Monte 42-30 in the second half. The first half staggered us. Monte and MACA both entered this game at 3-0. A re-match would be most interesting to watch. 

Our Tyson Grove impressed with his four 3-pointers. Uh-oh, the West Central Tribune has "Asmus" making four 3's also, but which Asmus? We have Riley and Alex to consider, both capable of making waves offensively. 

This is something you always have to watch out for as a sportswriter: siblings on a roster. I remember when the MACA girls had two "Holland" girls on the roster and it wasn't even enough to use first initials to separate them! Both had a first name beginning with "B." I caught the WC Tribune at least once using the "B" initial and of course it was no help. 

Newspapers gravitate to using abbreviations because they have limited space in their print product. It's an old ingrained habit. But, in the age of posting sports news online, there is no need to abbreviate anything! The space is unlimited! But newspaper people have a hard time wrapping their arms around that. They can go ahead and type first names of everyone! 

I saw a commentary about the old ways once, about how newspapers stuck with abbreviations even with classified ads when they're online. So we'd see "frplc" for "fireplace." No need to do that at all! 

The Stevens County Times newspaper has unlimited opportunity and space to put sports material online. Of course they don't do that, certainly not for MACA sports and I think that's a shame. Do you agree? You should know that many newspapers out and around are not behaving like this. When the Tigers play on a Tuesday night, why should we wait a full week for the next print edition of the SCT? 

Why don't the coaches get assertive about this, to demand better? Sometimes the explanation is political. If the newspaper publishers are popular around town, people won't listen to somebody like me. Our Morris has been absolutely notorious for this kind of a dynamic over the years. We're kind of a "Peyton Place." I think a lot of people are hardly aware of it. They just want life to proceed in "Petticoat Junction" in its predictable way. Don't make people think too much.

 

MACA stats

Grove and Mr. Asmus (first name not provided) each made four 3-pointers in the losing cause. Tyler Friesen made two shots from behind the arc. Tiernan made one. And it was Tyson Grove leading us in scoring with 16 points. Alex Asmus put in 14 and Riley Asmus 12. Friesen's contribution was eight. Then we see Jonah Huebner with six points, Tiernan with three and Jack Kehoe and Jorge Alejandro Rodriguez each with two. 

It's nice to see some MACA  numbers in the West Central Tribune report on this Friday in holiday-time.

 

Addendum: As far as rolling over and accepting the SCT policy of making everyone wait to BUY the Tuesday print edition, remember that if you're on the school board, you should observe everything from the standpoint of how it benefits the students. This, as opposed to attitudes of "we like the newspaper publishers so let's just allow them to keep raking in profits." Eventually the public sniffs out what's going on, I'll advise you, and there is precedent here in Morris. I won't name names but we had a superintendent long ago who had a gregarious personality but that didn't save him, as the board came to realize that he was too cozy with the local banks. 

I was filled in on the whole story by the late Harold Luthi. Harold and I would often sit at the counter at Atlantic Avenue Family Restaurant. 

Frankly I think the SCT staff should enjoy putting material online. Would build up good will. They shouldn't be scared of doing this. Instead they allow UMM to monopolize the sports link. How do they respond to people who might make this an issue? I have to believe some have. But remember, this is Morris.

 

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