Donuts could settle our thoughts

Here's a therapeutic story for this early-spring Sunday: "Oklahoma toddler calls 911 to tell police about an 'emergency need for donuts.' " The charm here is therapeutic after the Trump-Zelensky confrontation. And Trump made an issue out of how the Ukraine leader dresses? While DJT and his people all look alike wearing the dark suit, white shirt and tie? All looking the same as if they were communists or something? 

Is there a man anywhere who really likes wearing a tie? We can be certain the answer is "no." So Zelensky was refreshing to see. And now after giving something like $300 billion to Ukraine, our U.S. leader talks and acts like he supports Russia? While behaving rudely toward Zelensky? 

Would DJT ever get in Putin's face about anything? For any reason? Why don't we keep our billions of dollars right here in the U.S.? Oh, you think we have something to fear from Putin? Really? Well, get in touch with DJT and his people and try to straighten them out on this. I grew up during the Vietnam war when we poured untold sums of money into South Vietnam and fought a war that we lost. 

Meanwhile I have to sweat it out getting my Medicare claims approved. For example, I had a much-needed eye exam for which one part had the claim rejected by Medicare. But throwing billions of dollars around on the world stage? Billions? It's just a number in a headline I guess. 

"Let Daddy do his work." That's from an Austin Powers movie and it has to do with just letting authority figures follow their usual habits. "Let Daddy do his work." 

You would think that early-spring would bring so much relief with the weather. I have found through the years it really does not turn out that way. That is because we adjust our standards. We expect the more moderate temperatures now. Even 50 degrees can come off feeling cold. March can have lots of strong winds and gray skies. 

In February we can be so delighted getting a dose of about 35 degrees. Might want to take a walk. But now we may just "endure" March. 

And then in April we cannot even count on spring sports games being played. Again I'll remind people that we ought to push to try to get an "inflatable cover" for Big Cat Stadium. St. Cloud State has had this asset even while that institution shrinks steadily. Their football stadium is just like ours, and oh by the way, St. Cloud State does not have a football team any more. 

 

The SCSU "dome"

Just imagine

Morris would be like a mecca for western Minnesota softball teams in early spring if we had the "dome" or cover for Big Cat. Man, the action could begin right after basketball and it would be under ideal conditions! 

St. Cloud State gets the most un-generous headlines all the time. When it rains it pours. Maybe someone could explain to me how their athletic complex grows and becomes more opulent all the time. It started with a fieldhouse, then they got the tremendous hockey facility followed by the football field in 2004. And then the "inflatable over." 

Just imagine the dome or cover for our Big Cat. 

UMM never got a fieldhouse, you know with a track. Of course, when UMM started it had the "P.E. Annex" for basketball and "P.E. Miller Field" for football. I remember watching some of the football action through a window facing south on the top floor of the original music building which is now the multi-ethnic building. 

"Multi-ethnic." Lord almighty, how much longer can UMM get by having a multi-ethnic building? Our top government leaders are now trying to wipe out all such accommodations for "diversity." 

Diversity has been a buzzword at UMM for years. Gay rights was a big cause here. I probably do not need to inform you that seemingly everything UMM stands for goes against the grain now. 

A Federal judge may have rescued us a couple weeks ago, or at least bought us some time. Our U.S. president gave an executive order in an attempt to end virtually all DEI efforts at educational institutions. 

I wonder if central U of M administration is nervous about this little campus out in western Minnesota that absolutely advertises DEI. 

Am I calling for panic? Heck, all I'm doing is acknowledging the reality. And we here in western Minnesota sure helped elect the new administration into power. We have a congressperson who is probably set for life in the post, who mirrors DJT on everything, would parrot him. 

The P.E. Annex on the UMM campus was where the science building is now. I watched some basketball there. You should be reminded that UMM had only men's basketball in the early years. It wasn't called men's basketball, it was just "basketball." It really is hard to believe that serious women's sports did not exist at all until about 1971. 

 

Hackman as coach

The passing of Gene Hackman should remind us of the past era of hoops, as he of course played the coach in "Hoosiers" which was set in 1952. Girls were cheerleaders. We saw fleeting glimpses of cheerleaders in "Hoosiers"  but these girls did not speak a single line. 

"Hickory" played in a one-class state tournament of the kind we had in Minnesota at the same time. Easy to feel nostalgic about it now. Forget the nostalgia. The system was staggeringly unfair. And of course there was no girls basketball then - didn't exist. But the movie was a paean to those times. 

St. Cloud State had a building just like our P.E. Annex and that was Eastman Hall. I used the sauna there sometimes. I remember stepping in there one evening and joining a quite overweight young man, who said "I'm going to sweat it all off!" These days we don't even judge people as being overweight. People with weight issues (IMHO) are all over the place. Frankly people don't even look that healthy. 

Eastman Hall today

I shouldn't really refer to SCSU's Eastman Hall in the past tense. The building is still there but has been substantially refurbished, so it almost seems like a new building. Again, "let Daddy do his work," because it is a campus that appears to be crashing and burning. 

Our P.E. Annex was not judged worthy for refurbishing. It had the swimming pool in the lower level - maybe you remember. 

Fortunately I am not overweight so I don't need to "sweat it all off," so maybe I could call 911 and express an emergency need for donuts! 

Here's another headline on this Sunday morning: "Gen Z is saying no to college and yes to traditional jobs to avoid student debt." 

Yes, and girls consider the temptation of being "sugar babies." Don't be in denial. The whole purpose of writing online is to state the truth.

 

Worst could happen

Are we looking at the prospect of UMM shutting down? I really think we might be. And this community would go through shock spasms. We would be just another small town. We would no longer mean anything to the U. 

Get that through your head: No more U of M big shots coming here, none at all. 

Remember how Sid Hartman used to talk about "cold Omaha?" We'd be "cold Morris." Complete with coyotes out east of town. 

Maybe we would have a "destination park."

  

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