Slings and arrows with steps and stairs

I navigated the wooden bleachers at the UMM P.E. Center successfully once again on Saturday. (The new chancellor says it's OK to keep using "UMM" instead of "UMN-Morris.") 

It was another day of a doubleheader of college basketball. I must say, very enjoyable and entertaining. As a young person I thought nothing of going up and down those wooden bleachers. It has taken 20 years since leaving the Morris paper to realize I ought to attend games as a "fan." But this winter with the dismal weather hanging on, I got the bright idea. 

I have memories of some of the past coaches leading the Cougar teams. Nearly all the student-athletes of today weren't even born when I left the Morris newspaper. I have had just scant contact with UMM's current coaches. 

I have noticed some of the older fans, like people who are using canes, sitting at the very top of the bleachers. Is this really the vantage point they'd prefer? I would guess not. They must recognize the hazard of trying to keep from falling when going up/down the bleachers. Has anyone talked much about this? 

I had an experience at our Catholic church where I lost my footing going downstairs and ended up on my knees on the floor. People close by expressed some concern but I was fine. Frankly the good Lord created my body pretty resilient. Long-time residents will remember when I did a lot of distance running. For my size I was pretty good at it. A minimal weight is so important for that pastime, like over 90 percent of the battle. 

I weighed under 150 pounds in the fall of my senior year of high school. Then what happened? 

After years of rather intense running, you'd think my knees would have deteriorated. Perhaps I'd be a candidate for knee surgery which some of my acquaintances have been through. Maybe it's less risky than it used to be, like so many other medical procedures. I know there was once risk. 

I'm 71 years old and thank God that my body is as resilient as it has been. None of us lives forever of course. 

Rob Eul RIP

The community has now lost Rob Eul. Another end of an era with an important local person who had his idiosyncrasies as we all do. Rolling his own cigarettes! 

We will miss Rob. This will be the third funeral at the Catholic Church I have attended recently. It's getting to be too much of a habit. I can go up for communion if I just cross my arms and accept a "blessing." I'm not Catholic but I have always felt an affinity with that church. The Pope has led the way with showing some resistance to the kind of conservative/Republican politics that has asserted itself so much in America. 

The current Pope and his predecessor have been exemplary. I told the guys at the Willie's Cafe this morning (Sunday) that if I go to still another Catholic funeral in such a short time frame, people might start whispering about how I'm just coming for the free meal. Oh I attended a funeral at Faith Lutheran recently too. Of course if I attended it was because of reverence and caring for the departed and that person's family. 

With everyone expressing concern about grocery prices these days, I'm wondering if there's whispering among the church or funeral home folks about people coming to funerals for the free meal. And of course upon broaching the subject, so many of us locally bring up the memory of Allen Anderson. He was a disturbing individual in some ways - need I elaborate? - but I grew up with him and he had a good streak. I always think "there but for the grace of God go I." 

I went to high school with Rob Eul's brother Mike. Mike was the Eul boy who did not stay in Morris. He was the eldest of the children, right? BTW Allen Anderson was in our Class of '73. So was Edith Martin the eldest of the Martin children of the grocery store "dynasty." Edith like Mike did not stay in Morris. Otherwise those families remained quite attached to Morris. 

Time rolls on and we cannot prevent one generation from giving way to the next. This morning "the guys" at the Willie's Cafe got into one of those discussions about health issues. And I imagine your typical young person would get bored listening in. We start talking about our acquaintances and what they're going through. There can be a litany of issues of course. 

And God bless the young folks who are largely relieved of such concerns. Ah, "we were there once!" But time progresses in its inexorable way. 

 

Taking life in your hands?

There was a time when I took for granted hopping up and down the bleachers at the P.E. Center. Now I sense "hazard" all the time and I'm careful. A doctor would call it "situational awareness." 

First Lutheran Church (B.W. photo)

First Lutheran Church is a prime example of the risks posed by a multi-story building. There are steps leading up to the front entrance. Then you go inside and it's "split level" - you must either go up or down. I nearly lost my balance going down the stairs once in the last couple years. 

First Lutheran has a reputation of having a lot of older members. So what a hazard it is, with all the steps and stairs. The elevator is on the far side of the building. Frankly a person feels a little stigmatized using it. We are reminded of our need for special accommodations. You might think it's no big deal. Well, walk a mile in an old person's moccasins sometime. 

 

The fall of FLC 

Does First Lutheran even exist as a true church anymore? It is truly shocking how far this church has fallen. It has fallen to where it no longer has a regular Sunday service in its own building. So I consider it dead. I discontinued my membership. I am churchless. 

I am gravely concerned about the state of the Christian church in America. It seems you have to be a hard-edged Republican to be truly welcome. 

So where do I go now? I will not be an atheist. But I will not linger with people who would deride me as a "liberal." I have lost friends over this. Our congressperson is 100 percent pro-Trump, wouldn't utter a word of doubt about him. 

I assure you I'm not the only older person for whom the steps and stairs thing is top-of-mind. Here's from an email I got last week. This is about First Lutheran Church or "the former First Lutheran." These matters are serious.

 

Deb (Mahoney) was supposed to play, but she fell on the front steps coming in & smacked her head, with a 1 1/2” gash. Someone took her up to the ER, someone else went and got her husband out of mass at Assumption (he was ushering) and got him up to the hospital. 

 

Deb Mahoney! She has been a rock at First Lutheran Church. She came to Morris as a senior in high school but has acted like a "lifer" ever since!

 

Addendum: On Saturday I watched the UMM women's basketball team defeat Martin Luther. The real Martin Luther from history was one of the most intense anti-Semites ever. His words contributed to the Holocaust. But his name is on churches. The "Martin Luther" college is part of the Wisconsin Synod of the Lutheran faith. The Wisconsin Synod considers the Pope to be the antichrist. And you wonder why young people get alienated from religion?

Mood of celebration at UMM for Senior Day, Saturday (UMM photo)

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