MACA falls to Ellie Danielson, Lakers

Minnewaska 3, Tigers 1
Thursday volleyball action wasn't kind for the MACA Tigers as they were dealt a 3-1 loss. On the winning end was Minnewaska Area.
The match was a draw after two games, after which 'Waska momentum took hold. This WCC action was at Minnewaska. Game 2 was our highlight as we prevailed 25-20. 'Waska took the other three games by scores of 27-25, 25-17 and 25-17.
Ellie Danielson was phenomenal at the net for the Lakers. She accounted for much of their winning "mo" as she pounded 25 kills. Alexis Piekarski made her presence felt at the net with 13 kills. Emma Thorfinnson was next on the list with her seven, and then we have Avery Hoeper (4), Sara Geiser (2) and Makena Panizke (1). Danielson was a Laker to watch in blocking too as here she produced the team-best five aces. Piekarski had 1 1/2 ace blocks and Thorfinnson had 1/2.
Danielson shared team-best honors in ace serves where her total was two. Hoeper and Kristen Glover also achieved two ace serves. Thorfinnson and Geiser each had one. Geiser was the cog in setting where she picked up 37 assists. Other Lakers handy to produce assists were Hoeper (3), Danielson (2) and  Thorfinnson (1).
Here's the Minnewaska digs list: Thorfinnson 21, Hoeper 19, Danielson (17), Glover 12, Panizke 10, Geiser 10 and Brecklyn Beyer 6.
The visiting Tigers saw their won-lost mark fall to 3-7. We had two players in double figures in kills Thursday: Emma Berlinger (12) and Sophia Carlsen (10). Emma Bowman and Lexi Pew each had seven kills. Kenzie Hockel and LaRae Kram each pounded down four kills and Jaden Ross pounded one. Pew and Carlsen each executed two ace blocks, while Hockel and Kram each performed one.
In digs it was Pew setting the pace with her 23. Macee Libbesmeier and Courtney Lehman each performed 15 digs. Hockel had 13 and Ross 10. In ace serves we see Hockel with the team-best four. Lehman and Pew each batted one ace serve at the Lakers.
Our cog in setting was Kram who picked up 36 assists. Libbesmeier got in position for one assist.
 
Sauk Centre 3, Tigers 0
The September 10 action had MACA getting outperformed by the Streeters of Sauk Centre at Sauk. The Streeters were victorious 25-8, 25-13 and 25-18. About five minutes of video from this match are on YouTube and here's a link to watch: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPe1Z9En8bs

 

Football: Tigers 14, Montevideo 12
I listened to a portion of the MACA football game on radio last night, long enough to realize there was an unsportsmanlike call on the MACA bench, a call that could have determined the game's outcome. Montevideo rallied for a time after that, marching down the field as if they were wearing us down. They scored but then failed on a critical two-point conversion attempt.
I retired for the evening thinking Monte would likely win this game played at Monte. It appeared our defense was wearing down because of having to spend so much time on the field, a state of affairs caused by our turnovers. But the situation brightened for our Tiger crew. We prevailed 14-12.
So, we can forget about the unsportsmanlike call on the MACA bench. Who was the guilty party and what was said? Anything about army boots LOL? In my younger days I might try to ferret out this information. My pace is slowed now. So, let's just get on to a game review. A win is a win. Congrats to the orange and black. Monte came into the game winless.
The Tigers gained a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. We scored our other touchdown in the second quarter, then we held on the rest of the way. Monte scored six points each in the second and fourth quarters.
Jackson Loge scored our first quarter TD on a pass from Zach Bruns. It was a ten-yard hookup. Our conversions made the difference as Eli Grove kicked. Kenny Soderberg passed the end zone stripe in the second quarter. This score came on a 22-yard pass from Bruns, and again Grove kicked the conversion.
Monte got on the board with a nine-yard pass from Tyler Blue to Cade Weber. The PAT kick try was blocked. The Thunder Hawks got their second TD on a one-yard run that had Francis O'Malley carrying the ball. The conversion play was no-go.
Four Tigers were handed the football: Jack Riley (nine carries, 38 yards), Zach Bruns (10-36), Colten Scheldorf (6-36) and Will Breuer (2-12). Bruns completed 14 of his 23 pass attempts for 160 yards and had one picked off.
Soderberg, who I gather was injured as the game wore on, had five catches for 74 yards. Loge hauled in three aerials for 46 yards. Riley advanced the ball 14 yards on two catches. Austin Berlinger had two receptions for 13 yards. Scheldorf and Brandon Jergenson each had one catch.
Let's look at the defensive side of the ball where Christopher Just had eleven solo tackles. Tristan Raths came through with eight solos, Jack Riley with seven and Josh Rohloff with five. Under quarterback sacks we see "Just 2" and that does not mean we "only" had two, it means that a hard-charging Christopher Just sacked the QB twice!
Francis O'Malley was Monte's top ballcarrier with 66 yards on 12 carries. Blue was six for 17 in passing for 51 yards. These T-Hawks had receptions: Jonah Sulflow, Cade Weber, Kadin Huntley and James Golden. (Remember Golden Richards of the Dallas Cowboys?) Monte recovered three fumbles and had an interception, and these breaks almost spelled victory for them. Almost.  
  
Tennis: Montevideo 5, Tigers 2
MACA had highlights in doubles but came up empty in the singles phase on September 10. The doubles highlights included our No. 1 team of Greta Hentges and Kassidy Girard defeating Kristin DeJong and Tyra Sandven 6-0, 5-7 and 6-4. Our No. 2 doubles team of Hannah Watzke and Lakia Manska came on strong to beat Kaylee Pavling and Kylie Cobb, 3-6, 6-3 and 7-5.
Our No. 3 team of Ireland Winter and Breanna Schmidgall fell to the Monte pair of Nina Fitzkappes and Mathea Jorgenson 7-5, 3-6 and 10-12. We had Abbigail Athey vying at first singles and this Tiger fell to Kori Douglas 1-6 and 3-6. Katelyn Wehking was our No. 2 player and she bowed vs. Emily Brace 6-1, 4-6 and 0-6. Ryanne Long occupied the No. 3 singles spot and she fell to Lauren Kluver 4-6 and 2-6. Kate Messner was defeated by Cami Myers of the Thunder Hawks 0-6 and 1-6.
Orange and black pride is burgeoning with Homecoming getting near! The parade is already on my calendar for September 27.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Minnesota Supreme Court & sports parents

They can be wild

The Minnesota Supreme Court rarely makes the news in a high-profile way. For a long time its public visibility seemed limited to having former Minnesota Viking Alan Page as a member.
I have not read any accounts suggesting that Page showed signs of cognitive issues as a result of playing football, as a lineman for many years. So, that was a blessing. He played at Notre Dame before becoming a Viking.
Years ago the MN Supreme Court tread into the news in an awkward way, due to an unusual back and forth with Dean Johnson. The court did what I deemed unusual: issue a public statement to the media as it tried to extricate itself from some spilled milk, as it were.
The matter began as the surreptitious tape recording of comments made by Johnson, then an important state lawmaker, to a group of ministers. Johnson appeared to get nicked politically. He was able to "parachute" just like political VIP predecessor Wendell Anderson, onto the U of M board of regents.
 
An issue with layers
At present the state supreme court is in the news again. I consider it a troubling matter. On a knee-jerk level it is easy to sympathize with what the Court did. We might think "way to go" regarding a decision that appears to rein in those pestering high school sports parents.
High school sports parents! They can drive coaches nuts, right? They can affect coaches' "job security," right? The whole issue is of course more complicated and has multiple aspects for sober consideration.
We can peel this apart in several ways. Let's consider that coaches do their work in a fishbowl. They wouldn't be compensated for coaching kids if their "product" wasn't out there for public consumption. It is the essence of "public" events. I had a friend in Hoffman once who said of the home football games "this is Friday night in Hoffman." The school has no problem taking in revenue from excited spectators.
The price paid for this is that coaches and athletic directors can in fact be on the hot seat. There is pressure to be felt managing any product that is out there for public consumption. Is the Minnesota Supreme Court catering to the base impulse to get upset with sports parents/fans who may "hector" too much? The people who wear the robes need to be more cautious.
I remember when the old Roy Firestone show on ESPN had a leading baseball umpire as a guest. Firestone kept prodding the guy on whether a World Series game caused any special emotions to be felt by an umpire. "Aren't you thrilled" or "aren't you in awe?" etc. The umpire didn't budge and finally, after a pause, he said to Roy "you'd make a terrible umpire."
The message: be dispassionate.
Our Stevens County has a history of sports-based grievances or even rumors becoming known. You are probably thinking that a line must be drawn between common sports chatter re. coaches, and the more hurtful, let's say salacious rumors. But our county has a history where truly salacious rumors circulated and they were not off base. The Hancock girls basketball coach of many years ago is the example here.
We can discuss this openly because he did end up in prison. So propriety is moot. A couple young people had to speak out about his wrongdoing. A long-time teacher friend of mine who worked there, informed me that nothing short of a student coming forward would have caused any action to be taken. So finally it happened and it was a good thing.
The Star Tribune gave the conviction some coverage. And I remember a headline, actually a sub-head, that read as follows and I'm pretty sure this is word-for-word: "Rumors of misconduct had been circulating for years."
When you analyze the Minnesota Supreme Court's recent ruling, you'd have to wonder if the coach, minus any legal charges, could have taken action against anyone known to speak the "rumors."
The Strib describes the Minnesota Supreme Court decision as a "game changer." The court ruled that high school coaches are not "public figures." People familiar with mass communications law know this is a huge deal for allowing defamation actions. The body of the article further describes the court action as "groundbreaking."
Let's tamp down any impulse to applaud this on a gut level. "Oh, those pesky sports parents." We need to be more like the umpire on Firestone's show who was incredulous about suggestions that we cave to base feelings.
The Strib article reported that "parents and others" don't have legal protection to "make false claims" about high school coaches. Can I suggest we could drive a truck through that? First off, why is a line being drawn for any reason between "parents and others?" Some of the most emotionally involved fans can be non-parents. To specify "parents" is to suggest they are a unique organism in this. On a subtle level, it perhaps suggests that parents ought to be stigmatized as a special creature known to be gadflies for coaches, which I'm sure they can be.
So, is there an impulse here to sort of quarantine the parents, to suggest to them to just "shut up?" Shall we applaud? However, we cannot lump all contrary sentiment toward sports parents in the same way. The "rumors" about the Hancock coach ended up being true. The fact they were circulating might have been a factor in ultimately influencing certain kids to speak up.
Would we have wanted members of the public to be intimidated, out of fear of legal action, into taking the hush-hush approach?
Do coaches want their cake and to eat it too? Sports events are by definition public. Sports is not a necessary part of our civic life, or of the education of our young people really. It's frosting. It's a way to combat boredom or the toll of a long and dreary winter.
 
Re. the high school in Morris
Stevens County history also includes a movement that publicly dissed the Morris athletic director (actually "activities director") in the late 1980s. A document was formally presented to the Morris school board. It was called a "statement of concern" although the AD's friends and supporters called it a "petition" because that word suggested something petty.
It's fine if you wanted to consider that document "petty." That's your opinion. A great many Morris people had signed it. It was easy to interpret the document as being skeptical of the person's basic qualities because it asserted "the athletic director should be a positive and enthusiastic person." A jab at the person's character? Well yes, it would seem.
People on the other side of the fence from the "statement of concern" reportedly alleged factual misstatements in the document. If such alleged misstatements could be argued formally, there you have a mix that could cause a legal action to be taken, right?
Of course I think all this is preposterous. Surely the incidents in Morris and Hancock were unpleasant. So, what am I concluding? Really, that leaders in sports programs are in fact "public figures," yes on a micro level but that's the world in which we live in Morris MN. The public often swarms to high school sports events. I worked around sports parents in my years with the Morris newspaper, could write a book about the petty concerns and gossip. This is simply part of the human condition.
Former columnist Doug Grow of the Strib described sports as "the toy department." Within newspapers that is.
Nothing in our democracy is at stake with how kids' sports programs are managed. Coaches and athletic directors work "in the arena." Surely they know this reality when they enter the field.
 
MN Supreme Court vs. Johnson
When the Minnesota Supreme Court is in the news, most likely it's because there is something contentious or questionable. Or at least embarrassing? In the case of Dean Johnson, it all seemed rather amusing in the end. The court may have been caught with their pants down. Maybe a justice did say something in a private conversation that wasn't according to Hoyle.
When the court came forward with a very rare public statement, saying in effect that Johnson was full of bullcrap, it was strange. Why? I would argue that when a party is innocent, the inclination is to just say nothing. Let other parties flail away. When the dust cleared I was inclined to believe Johnson's version, not that I thought it was a hugely big deal.
The suggestion was that the court was "tipping its hand" on how a ruling would likely be made, a faux pas which I guess in legal circles should cause the transgressors to be struck by lightning. However, I could trust the supreme court to ultimately rule in a proper manner.
Johnson would later claim, as I recall, he "had witnesses."
I'm sure the court means no harm in its current judgment to allow coaches to sue parents/fans for defamation. But did they really pause in a sober way to peel through the various levels of this decision, its total ramifications? "Salacious rumors" might have helped put the Hancock coach in prison. Sometimes there is more to these things than meets the eye.
Don't be like Roy Firestone, whose claim to fame as entertainer, I'll remind you, was his impression of Keith Jackson. I remember Arsenio Hall practically falling off the couch with laughter at this.
I hope Alan Page is continuing to do OK, not showing signs of CTE.
We cannot strip away the Hancock coach's wrongdoing as we remember him, but wasn't it something how his teams could fill the UMM P.E. Center, to the tune of something like 2000 fans? Wasn't it rather a phenomenon? I remember standing along the concourse with Skip Sherstad and we noted how committed the small schools were to such activities. Our museum could do an exhibit. Hancock principal Roger Clarke's son would play the electric guitar as the Owl mascot dashed to center court to lead a cheer.
 
Addendum: I remember after the whole Hancock coach thing had blown over, I was talking with a Morris main street businessperson about this, someone with ties to Hancock. I asked why things took so long to reach a head. The answer: "He won." And to think I once helped to feed the sports monster with my media work. Oh, the new Morris paper is out today! Free copies were available at the entry to DeToy's. Yes, free, unless that was a mistake. I was told I could take one. The pages are bigger. I notice some of the Alexandria ad circular stuff is still in there. The content looks encouraging although we're just at the start of this transition to new ownership. I would suggest it will still be an uphill battle, due to the forces that continue to work against the print media. It is great to see the Morris paper published at Quinco Press in Lowry again. It's sad to think that Forum Communications never behaved like they had their heart in being here. I tried giving them the benefit of the doubt. Foolish me.
 
Addendum #2: Just got a look at today's Strib and saw item about how High School League is facing financial issues. So here's an alert: Be aware that the MSHSL will pull any and all strings to extract money from you. They'll grab you by the ankles and hold you upside down, I guess. I didn't know the state cross country meet was free to watch. And yet we're expected to pay to see a junior high band concert. BTW I have heard about an alleged "trick" some people use to get into those concerts free: they'll present a $100 bill, and of course the school doesn't want to deal with change, so the easiest course is to just wave the people in. Oh, I would never get in like that, not that I have a drawerful of $100 bills. Concerts were free when I was school-age. One factor in rising costs: concussion insurance. Well, I guess we can deduce a pretty logical suggestion from that: no more football. My parents were so incredibly wise - they said don't even consider football.
 
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Three ace blocks by Sophia Carlsen in win

Tigers 3, ACGC 0
The Tuesday chapter of MACA volleyball action was fantastic: a 3-0 win in front of the home crowd. The orange and black prevailed over ACGC by these scores: 25-18, 25-15 and 25-9.
Lexi Pew showed command at the service line as she fired four ace serves at the Falcons. Kenzie Hockel and Macee Libbesmeier each had one serving ace. LaRae Kram was all over the court in setting and finished with 23 assists. Libbesmeier filled in with two assists.
Hockel topped the kills list with her seven, trailed closely by Emma Berlinger and Pew each with six. Emma Bowman and Kram each batted four kills at the Falcons. Sophia Carlsen had three kills and Libbesmeier had one. Ace blocks were produced by Carlsen (3), Kram (2) and Pew (1).
Libbesmeier was in her typical position excelling in digs where her total was 19. Hockel came through with eight digs while Pew and MacKenna Kehoe each had seven. Kram concludes the list with her six.
The top ACGC hitter was Myli Naragon with four kills. Erin Roemeling had three serving aces for the Falcons. Their leader in set assists was Noelle Dilley with eight. Naragon had two ace blocks, and Jeana Denton had seven digs.
  
Melrose 3, Tigers 0
The MACA volleyball Tigers were humbled in front of the home crowd Thursday. The opponent was Melrose and the outcome was 0-3.
Lexi Pew was sharp at the net as she executed eleven kills. But the Dutchmen came at the Tigers with a well-honed attack that produced the sweep by scores of 25-14, 25-21 and 25-21.
Pew was joined in the hitting category by Kenzie Hockel (five kills), Sophia Carlsen (5), LaRae Kram (4), Emma Berlinger (3) and Emma Bowman (2). Kram and Bowman each went up to execute two ace blocks. Berlinger and Carlsen each had one ace block. Macee Libbesmeier, the senior "libero," was a bright spot with her 21 digs. Hockel had nine, Jaden Ross eight, Pew seven and Kram five.
Kram facilitated the offense with her 21 set assists. Three Tigers each batted a serving ace across the net: Ross, Hockel and Pew.
 
Cross country showcase
LQPV/DB hosts its Early Bird meet but this comes after our own cross country spectacle in Morris. You might say we have the true "early bird." We attract plenty of fans to the local golf course. I was disappointed to learn recently from our city manager that our grant attempt for an extension of the biking/walking trail to the golf course, was unsuccessful. Hopefully that can be re-booted. Morris does not have lakes recreation. An extensive biking/walking path helps make up for that. Let's go for it in the future.
The Lac qui Parle cross country meet was on Thursday, Aug. 29. The Carrington sisters excelled in a big way as Maddie was No. 1 and Meredith No. 4. Maddie covered the course in 16:46.69. Meredith's time was 17:30.20. The runner-up was Anika Fernholz of host LQPV/DB, time of 17:07.58. Also in the top five were Kyle Knollenberg of YME (third, 17:14.54) and Reegan Duininck of CMCS (fifth, 17:38.52).
Our Tigers were the champion team among the eight total. The Carringtons were joined in the MACA effort by Hailey Werk (tenth, 18:11.43), Katya Lackey (11th, 18:22.24) and Malory Anderson (14th, 18:46.65).
The MACA boys had a fourth place showing among six teams. The host LQPV/DB squad was No. 1. Zeke Sather of LQPV/DB was individual champion with his time of 17:26.68. The second through fourth place runners were also from LQPV/DB: Mikey Kvaal, Griffin Johnson and Mason Brehmer. Will Magaard of Benson-KMS was fifth.
Our top runner was Bradley Rohloff, 13th with a time of 19:41.32. Thomas Tiernan placed 17th, time of 20:11.77. Jared Boots arrived at the finish chute 19th, 20:14.19. Reid Tolifson was clocked at 21:27.51, and Cole Hawks at 22:15.66.
 
Setback in tennis
MACA was on the short end in September 3 tennis action. It was a humbling day with a 0-7 outcome against LQPV/DB. The Eagles were to be congratulated on their dominating air. Most likely they play a lot over the summer. This summary will give the names of the LQPV/DB players first.
So it was Anna Hacker at first singles winning over Abbigail Athey 6-2 and 6-4. The second singles Eagle, Addi Oie, was on the winning end 6-4 and 7-5 over Katelyn Wehking. The Eagles had their own Katelyn, last name of Wittnebel, prevailing over Ryanne Long 6-4, 3-6 and 7-6. Long's second set success was the Tigers' lone bright spot. Then at fourth singles, Madi Matthies downed Katie Messner 6-1 and 6-4.
At doubles the LQPV/DB tandem of Jessica Sigdahl and Rachel Halvorson defeated Greta Hentges and Kassidy Girard 6-3 and 7-5. The second singles LQPV/DB team of Bree Kallhoff and Veda Maharaj defeated Hannah Watzke and Lakia Manska 6-1 and 6-1. And then at No. 3, Eagles Sarah Halvorson and Kylie Wendinger defeated the Tiger tandem of Ireland Winter and Breanna Schmidgall, 7-6 and 6-3.
 
Football: home opener loss
My summary of the MACA vs. BOLD football game, a loss for our Tigers, is on my companion website "Morris of Course." Please click on the link below, and thanks for reading like always.

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2019/09/bold-scores-six-touchdowns-in-win-at.html

 
I guess the football game was a nice experience even if the outcome wasn't favorable. Here's an email I got from a fellow musically-inclined friend this morning. (We pay attention to things like pep band.)
 
We went to the game last night. It was a beautiful evening, great to sit out in the air. The game was pretty bad from a Tiger standpoint, but that’s to be expected against BOLD. We left in the 3rd quarter, but were able to do the tailgate thing before the game (very good foot-long hot dogs), got our popcorn at halftime. I looked for you up on the “cheapskates can watch for free” walkway by the RFC, but didn’t see you. Wanda (Dagen) didn’t have the pep band play - she didn’t feel that they could do well with only a couple days of prep. She said she had the kids vote on whether or not to play - can you imagine John Woell putting a possible performance up for student vote? Of course, one of her points regarding pep band is that she isn’t compensated monetarily for directing the pep band - she has a set stipend for “after school performances," which includes pep band, concerts, going to band festivals etc. And all of the teachers in the music dept. get the same stipend, so she feels short-changed. 
 
Yours truly visits newspaper office
OK there was some stress and that was foolish of course, but I stopped by the Morris newspaper office one day last week, just to say welcome and hello. Shelly was there, part of the new husband/wife tag team owners. I enjoyed talking to her and do hope they appreciate my sincere "welcome."
I was in the neighborhood because I like to shoot baskets on many afternoons at Wells Park. It isn't often that the general public drifts into west Morris. I did not like it when the newspaper office moved from its "hub" location in east Morris, to "across the tracks" to the industrial Pacific Avenue. Man, the industrial noise is a factor over there, as one readily appreciates when shooting buckets at the park.
I would like to encourage my fellow Morrissites to simply stop by the newspaper office and say "hello and welcome." Shelly is mighty busy of course and would have to deal with the distractions, but I think she'd appreciate. She and Reed should get the "key to the city!"
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Mickey Lolich, fat-shaming & objectification

Mickey Lolich: not "fat" at all

Mickey Lolich was a major league baseball pitcher considered "fat" in his time. "In his time" is a necessary afterthought in that sentence. Lolich was the No. 2 pitcher on the world champion 1968 Detroit Tigers. He was their No. 1 in the World Series.
The memories float back as one listens to the "No Filter Sports" podcast out of Michigan. The hosts include Denny McLain who was the No. 1 pitcher in the season as he won 31 games. McLain pitched right-handed while Lolich was the masterful lefty. I doubt that anyone would even comment on Lolich being "fat" today.
Today we only pay attention to someone being overweight if that situation impedes a normal quality of life. If it does, the person might need some special accommodation. But as a purely aesthetic matter, it seems to have almost disappeared.
You might say that fat-shaming amounts to "objectifying" people. We hear much about the inappropriate objectification of women. Such a welcome re-do in our thinking. One wonders how our previous standards got created. Some of my friends wonder why I even ask questions like this. They'd say all that matters is how we behave and think today. If we are in a better place today, let's just feel good about it. Who cares how things "used to be?"
Maybe I feel it's important to remember past traits in order to establish perspective, maybe to better understand the human condition.
Our Morris Area High School discontinued cheerleaders long ago. I have written about how girls were objectified when it came to this. It was unspoken, of course. We all just knew that girls who had a certain "cute" look would be cheerleaders. Girls not in that category "need not apply."
The basketball cheerleaders seemed like the "first string" and they met the criteria most sharply.
What were the criteria? I suppose I should define the terms of what I'm talking about. This would be rather unpleasant. It would make me seem sexist myself, even though I'm just trying to explain societal norms of a previous time. Maybe I can do this in a backhand way by just referring to the famous "rat pack" that included Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra.
The rat pack reflected a lot about our culture at the time. If you remember how they objectified women, how they determined what women to salivate over as it were, then I need not explain any more.
At the very serious risk of offending some people, I'll suggest that the easy availability of porn in the Internet age has served to de-sensitize men to a large degree. I will suggest this is a huge blessing. Several years ago on the "Morning Joe" program, MSNBC, Joe and a panelist remembered their adolescence and how they might not see an image of the naked female body until they were maybe 15. The idea of getting sexually aroused at all was taboo. The taboo was enforced by our elders who I'm sure had ways, legitimate or not, of dealing with their own sexual impulses.
Adolescent boys would go to Annette Funicello beach movies and wonder why their body would react in a certain way. It could be troubling. Porn today can feed young males' curiosity about such things, to the point where we see de-sensitization and an actual diminishing of interest.
So, to the extent sex can be a prodding distraction, it can thus dissipate, allowing more constructive thoughts to enter one's head. Boys were once taught nothing about such things. How were we supposed to react when watching TV shows where a host like Dean Martin spelled out very clear standards for identifying "attractive" women. The hosts made insinuations about such things. They promoted a set of norms. Women had to have "good measurements." Us boys learned to joke about  "36-24-36."
How unconscionable that we learned to make judgments like this. Yes, we "learned."
Here's one more very blunt assertion, and I'll suggest you turn away if you suspect being affronted: In our contemporary age where it's so easy finding naked bodies to look at, I don't think female breast size means a damn anymore. Why did it ever mean anything? Well here's a theory: In the age where boys got scarcely a look at naked female bodies, it took large breasts for feminine traits to really stand out. Today one can be "satisfied" to see the whole body, no mystery and no prodding of the imagination.
Remember the Tom Cruise character in "Born on the Fourth of July?" There was a classic scene where his mom discovers a hidden Playboy magazine. Is there any more horrifying memory that a man my age can have? And why? Isn't such shame stultifying? My generation probably reached puberty earlier than our predecessors. Perhaps our parents didn't understand certain things about us.
Instead of inducing boys to develop a "complex" about such things, we should in effect shrug and let boys see images in an uninhibited way. I strongly suspect our parents had the x-rated thoughts themselves. How did we all get born?
I don't wish to conclude this post with sex so I'll get back to pitcher Mickey Lolich of the Detroit Tigers. "Fat." Or, so was the CW (conventional wisdom). Jim Bouton wrote about how our Minnesota hero Harmon Killebrew was called "the Fat Kid" around the league. Killebrew wasn't really fat at all. He just had a full physique.
Lolich's manager Mayo Smith described the premier hurler as "my sway-backed left-hander." Lolich himself said of his ample belly that it was "all muscle." Today he wouldn't be forced into any defensiveness.
McLain lost game 1 of the 1968 Series. Lolich came on to win the second game vs. the vaunted St. Louis Cardinals, 8-1 with a six-hitter. He even hit a home run in that game, surprising given his reputation as bad-hitting even for a pitcher. Then in game 5, with the Tigers having their backs to the wall down 3-1 in games, Lolich again out-dueled Nelson Briles. Detroit and Lolich won 5-3.
Detroit won game 6 in a romp, then we got the deciding game 7 where the rotund Lolich strode out to the mound as starter. Detroit rallied for three runs in the seventh to win 4-1 over the Cardinals and Bob Gibson. Lolich picked off two runners in the bottom of the sixth. Lolich was named MVP of the Series.
Why would anyone care how he tipped the scale?
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Lexi Pew's 25 kills helps spell 3-2 win

Tigers 3, BOLD 2
Tiger volleyball prevailed in a five-game battle at BOLD High School. The action was on Thursday, Aug. 29. An even complexion developed in this West Central Conference action. BOLD treated their home fans to a 31-29 win in the first game. The orange and black evened things up with a 25-22 win in game 2.
The pivotal game 3 went the way of the Tigers: a 25-21 score. But BOLD bore down to extend the match, as they took game 4 in a 25-18 final. The stage was set for the deciding game 5, and MACA rose to the occasion to prevail 15-12.
The spiking of Lexi Pew contributed much to our victory. Pew pounded down 25 kills. Emma Berlinger had a kill total in double digits too - 10 - and then we have Kenzie Hockel producing seven. LaRae Kram and Sophia Carlsen each had five, and the list concludes with Emma Bowman's three.
The go-to setter was Kram who achieved 17 assists. Pew, Macee Libbesmeier and Hockel also helped out in this department. Pew sent six serving aces over the net. Jaden Ross came through with four, while Hockel and Libbesmeier each had one. Pew was a force at the net in multiple ways as this Tiger had five ace blocks. Emma  Bowman and Carlsen each went up to perform two blocks, and Hockel and Berlinger each had one.
Libbesmeier was the go-to in digs with her 34, then we have Hockel with 25, Ross with 21, Pew with 16 and Kram with 15.
BOLD's top spiker was Ashley Trongard with 13 kills. She was sharp in all phases as she produced three ace blocks and four serving aces. Makayla Snow was the setting bulwark with 38 assists. Snow likewise excelled in digs with her 16. Brenna Weis had 14 digs and Mari Ryberg 13.
 
New London-Spicer 3, Tigers 0
The story wasn't so rosy for MACA volleyball in the August 27 home match that had New London-Spicer as the opponent. Fans knew the night would spell a difficult challenge. NL-Spicer rolled here with four wins under their belt. It was No. 5 for the Wildcats by night's end, via sweep. They downed our Tigers 25-21, 25-18 and 25-10.
NL-Spicer often has formidable girls teams.
Lexi Pew and Emma Bowman each sent four kills at the Wildcats. Emma Berlinger and Sophia Carlsen each had three, while Kenzie Hockel and LaRae Kram had two and one, respectively. Carlsen and Pew each executed two ace blocks - Bowman and Berlinger each had one.
Kram and Macee Libbesmeier had eight and seven digs, respectively. Let's look at serving where we had Pew achieve two aces followed by Hockel and Libbesmeier each with one. Kram was busy in setting where she put up 14 assists. Some help in setting came from Libbesmeier, Carlsen, Berlinger and Pew.
 
Cross country hosts invite
The Morris Area Chokio Alberta cross country invitational is always a big and colorful spectacle at the start of fall sports. You know it's on when you drive close to the golf course and see cars parked all over the place. I have often thought it dangerous for strings of cars to be parked on the highway shoulder, with people perhaps darting out from between them. Just exercise caution.
The invite had its 2019 edition on Monday, Aug. 26. The MACA girls team placed second among ten teams, trailing only Rocori. And my, the Rocori girls sure showed a dominating air. Their uniforms were clustered at the front of the pack. (I remember when Marshall came here for this event, the Tigers, and it was confusing because their orange and black could be confused with us!)
Rocori swept the top five with Ava Larsen taking No. 1 with her 21:20.0 time. Meredith Theis was second (21:29.0), Carley Kremer third (21:30.0), Laina Viere fourth (21:36.0) and Selma Dingmann fifth (21:37.0). Rocori sure knows how to spoil everyone's fun. Just kidding! We congratulate them. They're from Cold Spring where my good friend Greg Cruze lives.
Our Maddie Carrington was in good form with her seventh place finish, achieved with a time of 22:09.0. Meredith Carrington covered the course in 22:40.0, good for ninth. Hailey Werk was No. 17, timed at 23:40.0. Then it was Katya Lackey arriving at the finish chute 21st with her 23:59.0 time. Malory Anderson was No. 31 at 25:12.0.
The MACA boys placed fifth among 12 teams. The champion team was Lac qui Parle Valley. Jacob Bright of West Central Area was the individual champion with his 16:22.0 time. His teammate Jack Van Kempen - son of Morris native John? - was second at 17:19.0. Noah Stewart led the MACA effort as he placed eighth with his time of 18:02.0. He was joined in the MACA effort by: Thomas Tiernan (19:51.0), Jared Boots (20:54.0), Reid Tolifson (22:13.0) and Cole Hawks (22:48.0).

Football gets going
Please click on the link below to read my post on "Morris of Course" that includes a review of the MACA football opener which brought victory, 28-20, over the Braves of Benson on Friday. Thanks for reading and God bless.
https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2019/08/curtain-opens-for-2019-football-tigers.html
  
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Exploring further the Morris newspaper sale

I have probably written enough about the upcoming change of ownership of the Morris newspaper. I have spasms of personal memories as I consider what's going on. This would be unavoidable.
I think back to when newspaper people had a more confident and assertive perch in our society, due to their obvious advantages. Today the democratization of media has changed everything. It's for the better. Nevertheless we hear local voices say the quality of a local newspaper is still important.
You should be reminded: it seems unheard-of for a newspaper chain to sell a paper to local-based interests. Because of the novelty, we must wonder what this says about what's going on in Morris MN. Maybe it's not positive.
Certainly we have seen a negative turn with local businesses. And even if we didn't, would our business sector still choose to be as dependent on the newspaper? Or commercial media at all, the entities that feel entitled to reap a profit from simply distributing information?
I can see the Morris newspaper at three public places: the library, my church and the senior center. It is never necessary for me to buy it. I can remember buying it just once, when I wanted to get it early in the morning, so as to get info on the section track meet for a blog post. I got the paper from the laundromat vending machine - five quarters required? How many people have five quarters in their pocket?
The paper should discard vending machines. I remember seeing the Morris newspaper vending machine at the entrance to UMM's Oyate, when an old copy remained under the glass for several weeks before the problem got remedied. How embarrassing. Simple management oversight. One had to wince.
So I got my paper at the laundromat and sure enough, there was a big track and field spread, but it turned out to be coverage of the previous week's sub-section meet! It was not up to date. So I muttered a couple choice expletives and had to modify my plans for the morning.
I generally rely on the Willmar paper for information for my sports blog posts. Anyone who does this over a length of time will discover that the Willmar paper can be quite hit and miss, both in terms of consistency and accuracy. Although, it seems better than a few years ago. Perhaps an internal memo has been shared at Willmar: "Be extra careful writing about Morris sports because there's a blogger over there who will call us out."
The Willmar paper is owned by Forum Communications which is now selling its Morris paper to the Benson/Elbow Lake operation. We really do wish the new owners well. I say that with all sincerity. However, the task of jump-starting a newspaper in the year 2019 will be awfully daunting. Perhaps impossible. A chain is supposed to have a number of natural advantages to help newspapers keep going, even if there are compromises in quality. For a chain to give up on the Morris MN product is thus concerning, as if maybe we're a lost cause.
Was Forum Communications simply incompetent? Could we blame the whole thing on Dennis Winskowski of Detroit Lakes? He was the puppetmaster assigned to the Morris project. A couple employees were laid off here so Dennis could move the ad production work to his Detroit Lakes division. There's an example of "synergy." That leverage is gone now.
Nor will Morris be able to ride piggy-back on the Willmar sports coverage, as so often happened with the Forum.
 
The sports conundrum
Sports! Jim Morrison might say that was a bane of his existence. Actually it was a bane of mine too. As I look back, I am profoundly saddened at how I got trapped in a vise with this. I was trapped on a staff that had some assertive and emotionally-driven sports parents, which might not be a disaster in and of itself. But the problem was that all of these people had their kids in the small schools outside of Morris. Yes, all of them.
It was uncanny. The advertising manager was in that category. This was in a time when the small, Pheasant Conference-size schools had a different philosophy from Morris, seen most visibly in sports but evident in an underlying way. Morris meanwhile had gotten dragged down by what I have always called "the deconstructionist influences in education in the 1970s." Such influences suggested we should question traditional values.
The seeds for this were planted in the 1960s. I attended a state college in the 1970s where I was surrounded with the deconstructionist ideas and influences. I saw all this as rather a nuisance or maybe a fad, not that I would defer entirely to the traditional model. The traditional model might suggest, for example, that girls ought to be just cheerleaders in sports! Heavens! Remember the movie "Hoosiers" with Gene Hackman?
You know, something that bothered me about that movie, was that we didn't get to know the cheerleaders at all. (Secondarily, did Hackman ever "get the girl?")
It is very sad that our Morris school became phlegmatic during the '80s, due to more than one factor actually. It got to the point where a visible insurgency grew that became unpleasant. If you want verification on this, there are still local people around with memories, such as an attorney with the initials W.A., a good friend of mine and fellow UMM advocate.
Yes I am a UMM advocate who has put his money where his mouth is. So it's ironic and actually tragic that UMM was a catalyst for my ultimate downfall with the Morris newspaper: the coverage of the goalpost incident of 2005. I quoted an eyewitness account from the ESPN2 website. We laid out the paper over the weekend, when most of you probably assume you're not working at all. Well, I faced considerable work pressure over many weekends - hope you all appreciate it, though I doubt you do.
 
Weekend of infamy
Once I became aware of the goalpost incident, I began to figure there would be no football game info coming into my possession soon. I figured all the principals at UMM would be hunkered down in silence, or perhaps gone somewhere else.
So, I had several nice photos which I had taken in the first half of the game, in place on page 1B. Very nice. But I needed some text. If I had it to do over again, I would have beaten down doors to try to contact the coach and arrange for him to drop off info. I suspect the coach was walking on eggshells for the rest of the weekend. I suspect he'd be gun shy about the phone ringing or any attempt at communication with him. I "left him alone," what I guess was not prudent.
Communication? My phone at the office rang off the hook for the whole rest of the weekend. I got more than one call from NBC's Today Show. I had to admit I wasn't at the field when the incident happened. Do you realize how many teams our newspaper was responsible for in those days?
An obvious argument to be made here is: where was UMM's own sports information person? It was the now-deceased Brian Curtis (or Brian Brummond), who I guess has a part of Big Cat Stadium named for him. Well, I heard nothing from him. Nevertheless all fingers ended up pointed at me when it was all over.
Keep in mind that the year was 2005, when Internet-based information was not nearly as well-developed as it is now. College sports websites started out as rudimentary things, as nothing more than a promotional billboard in many cases. They could be attractive, as I could see when I checked the Winona State sports site, trying to get some fresh info. But there was no fresh info there - it was just an attractive billboard.
Today, come hell or high water, current sports news is posted in a timely way on college sites everywhere. It is assumed.
I'm sure Jim Morrison would understand the problem I pointed out with certain zealous sports parents on the Sun Tribune staff. He'd describe it as a distraction, a benign one and maybe humorous. Very often I saw it as anything but amusing. I had to deal with the fallout. My reputation was impacted.
Let's acknowledge too that the problems with the Morris school district were not myth, they were fact. Again, some people might reflect on this with amusement, like it couldn't have been that bad or it was simply "no big deal" (a staple of Minnesota vernacular - "no big deal").
So, these unpleasant thoughts are sifting through my mind as I'm forced to notice what is happening with the Morris newspaper now. You might say it induces something akin to PTSD.
Thought: Did the Forum acquire Morris with the idea of setting it up as a "zombie" business? We read about this sort of thing, a consequence of near-zero interest rates I guess. Or, for tax purposes? The details of these things are beyond my range of knowledge.
I live with the fallout of my newspaper career every day. I feel unjustifiably blamed for some things. It seems the Morris newspaper began its drastic descent at the precise time when I left the place. Obviously this could be coincidence. The conventional wisdom is that papers everywhere started feeling stressed at that time.
The great editor Marty Baron has said "newspapers have five years left," and I believe he gave that quote a year or so ago. Baron led the Boston paper at the time it exposed the Catholic Church as a boil on our society.
I should stop writing about the newspaper transition in Morris, because it's unsettling for me. Maybe this post will mark the end.
 
How paper can be gadfly
Sometimes the newspaper publishes stuff that simply embarrasses people, for no constructive end. Take a look at the current issue. You'll see a letter to the editor on the problem of whether or not to tip the carry-out people at Willie's Super Valu. Right away I thought: "Paul Martin is going to hate seeing this letter. It's a no-win for him." I shot off an email to Paul and I invite you to read:
 

Hi Paul! I'll wager that you didn't like seeing that letter to the editor Saturday in local paper, on whether to tip the carry-outs!!! I'll wager you don't even like seeing the discussion get going. There's a nice favor the local paper does for us, eh? Like when they embarrass people by publishing seat belt tickets (happened to me once).

Tipping carry-outs? Well, this is a real conversation-starter. You should know the whole concept of tipping is coming under re-evaluation these days, with momentum behind the idea of phasing it out. There was an article on the Minnpost website about this. Tipping at restaurants came into practice during the Great Depression. When I was young, you'd tip with COINS. Once I realized it had to be paper, there was an issue of wet spots on the table, so, should I just hand it to the server? Oh, and what if her shift ends before I leave? Can I count on her getting it? Sometimes we hear of controversy where tips are shared with the "hostess." Sometimes the tips are shared among all servers, which makes me wonder, what's the point?

At Willie's, what about the employees who AREN'T in carry-out? Will they get jealous of the ones who get the tips? If an employee helps me find something in the aisle, should I feel expected to tip her? On and on and on, until we have to conclude that employees should just get paid fairly by the employer. I think tipping at restaurants is getting more awkward in this age where more people are paying with plastic cards. I find the practice annoying. Employees should be paid fairly.

Remember how Juergensen's had the system where people would drive up to front and sacks would be placed in car? Glen Helberg called that system "partial carry." Glen said grocery stores everywhere are weighing whether to continue carry-out. And you know the big box system where people just push carts out into the lot and then leave them in designated spots. Then you'd have "cart wranglers." Might be a good job for me!

My two cents on another topic: I frankly think you should consider discontinuing the weekly paper ad circular. Given your position in this marketplace, I just don't see where it's needed. People TRUST your store to have reasonable everyday prices on things. I have delivered those big boxes of circulars many times and it's a lot of fuss for what it does. Costs money for you too.

New newspaper owners? Well that is nothing short of amazing, and I'm not sure it says anything good about our local economy. It is UNHEARD OF for a chain newspaper company to sell a property to local-based owners. It is man bites dog.

I missed Prairie Pioneer Days in summer. I thought after the initial announcement, it would be restored.

Nice picnic once again. Hope to see the live music back again next year, with pedal steel!!! I'm amazed at how those guys memorized so many lyrics.
(end of email)

 
Examining the current edition
Another issue with the current Morris paper: the cartoon on the editorial page. It has the possibility of offending people. It suggests there are lots of "grifters" in our midst who simply want to get money from government. People defending the cartoon would say the message is directed at people who do this in an untoward way. But that is not clear.
Stevens County has many aging citizens who are past their productive years. They are going to have to depend on government in various ways. I started getting Social Security two years ago. I'll sign up for Medicare in January. I resent any suggestion or even hint that I'm a grifter. It's just right wing grandstanding to make an issue to point fingers.
The people who are fond of pointing fingers, themselves try using any machinations to get what they can out of government. Like the big farmers who surely know how to "game the system" to get maximum subsidies in the current trade war. (Don't you hate anything that has the word "war" in it?)
So, do we really need to see this finger-pointing cartoon in the Morris newspaper now? Or, the letter about tipping that is only going to cause headaches for our local grocery store owner? Or, the district court news which always embarrasses good local citizens by publishing info about minor traffic tickets? I almost felt I had to stay away from church for a while, after getting a seat belt ticket and being teased. Maybe it was good-natured but it was still annoying.
So, to conclude re. the local newspaper sale: the fact a chain would give up on us, may well be a red flag. Perhaps Reed and Shelly Anfinson got ahold of this enterprise with a fire sale price, eh? Whatever, we might as well hope for the best, even if "newspapers" have five years left.
I will continue to blog as best I can about Tiger sports, using available info from other media. It's simply part of my DNA to do this.
Will Sue Dieter be allowed to write an ax-grinding column for this coming Saturday? Such high drama! She stood by while I was cast adrift by the company, but I wouldn't want to wish the same on her.
A former manager of Quinco Press, Lowry, said he thought Ed Morrison sold the paper because of an employee theft problem (scandal) within the paper. The offending person's initials were D.D. She's deceased now, God rest her soul. We had an inside joke where we'd pout at each other. The word on the street was that the amount taken was substantial.
Odious to be around, to be sure, but more odious for yours truly was an adulterous affair involving two staff members. I had to work within a few feet of that. Later I felt like telling Morris Community Church who moved into the building, that they ought to fumigate the place.
Will the paper still be called the Stevens County Times or might we see it return to the Sun Tribune?
I'm recalling a hint I sensed in December that something might be up with the Morris paper. I could not find the usual staff photo for a "Merry Christmas" greeting. I looked hard. I recall that the previous year, the size of the photo was reduced sharply. When Jim Morrison and I were at the paper, this thing would be a whole page. We often enlisted cartoonist Del Holdgrafer. Del was a throwback: all he asked as compensation was enough money to fill his gas tank.
"Merry Christmas": Is that something that has to hinge on your current business performance? Shouldn't that just be a stand-alone gesture? Well, not in the days of big, impersonal, centralized businesses. Consider Wells Fargo.
  
Peace,
Brian R. Williams, Morris MN

Say hello to the new Morris newspaper owners: Reed and Shelly Anfinson. I use this image on a "fair use" basis. It's from the Stevens County Times. Will they continue with that name?

Toward a full-fledged UMM welcome picnic

We are seeing the UMM campus come to life again. It's a wonderful annual ritual.
Is a "welcome picnic" being planned again? I just made a cursory check and could not find anything. I believe there was a time when it was called the UMM welcome picnic. Last year it was just "welcome" as if there were throngs of other people we'd be talking about. Who are these throngs? All the well-heeled people who can spend considerable time at their "lake place" in summer? Those are the people, I guess the preponderance of whom are why the summer Prairie Pioneer Days (PPD) was canceled.
How unnecessary and unfortunate. And, it wasn't always like this. I covered PPD for many years with the Morris newspaper, back when the paper had 100 percent more vitality that it has now. I assure you there was no doubt, over a very long time, that PPD could be a total source of joy for the community. I pulled out all stops giving it attention when it was first created.
Certain community advocates decided a shift to the fall was necessary. My response has been: we already have a special fall event with the welcome for UMM, even if "UMM" has been taken out of the name. I have suggested that we could make the UMM welcome event even bigger and better. Be creative. It's fun.
Maybe "UMM" was not acknowledged in the event name because of politics. Today we have a "red state" sense among us that seems to be getting increasingly reactionary. The red state folks see UMM as a place that nurtures future political "liberals." I put "liberals" in quotes because this terminology has became rather like cliches. These are shorthand terms promoted by the reactionary side of the aisle, to at least simplify our thinking if not turn it on its head.
If you point fingers at "liberals," then what in fact are "conservatives?" The self-identifying conservatives of today seem like mutant aberrations of what I remember when I was young. Conservatives are supposed to have a good basic sense of values, a sense of basic right and wrong, a sense of continuity with traditional American values even if that means Democrats are elected to power sometimes.
Democrats are patriots. Hillary Clinton was a patriot, and this is not to suggest I had gushing praise for her. She rubbed me the wrong way, going back to how she wouldn't divorce Bill after Bill's ridiculous misadventures in the White House. Our personal feelings about Hillary - I use the first name to differentiate her from her husband - shouldn't matter much. Hillary as president now would have this nation on a comfortable even keel, keeping our bedrock traditions going.
She would be maintaining our traditional alliances. She would have a basic sense of protocol and temperance. This means she would reserve any raw or disrespectful statements to behind-closed-door discussions. We have a president now who comes right out and calls the chairman of the Federal Reserve "clueless." Don't you all realize how totally unacceptable this is, on the most rudimentary level? Don't you? If not, then what exactly is your problem?
 
Trying to understand
One common interpretation that floats out there, is that Republicans go along with Trump so that conservative judges can be appointed - nothing else matters. This means that only Republicans can get justices appointed to the Supreme Court. Mitch McConnell will not allow any Democratic appointees to even come forward for hearings. He stood in the way of Merrick Garland, a perfectly rational, erudite and civilized person.
McConnell is now quoted saying the Republicans would push through any new nominee, regardless of how close we are to an election. So I guess it's all about "winning." Is this the ethos you really honor when you go to church on Sunday? Is it possible that all the "evangelical" Christians out there are praying for Ruth Bader-Ginsburg to die quickly so Trump can get a new nominee in? They will deny that. But it's true.
So, I guess they want abortion to be outlawed. Except even if it is, well-heeled Republican politicians and their allies will no doubt have a back door way to see they can get an abortion for their mistress. And I suspect the evangelical Christians would only shrug about this. They are just wild-eyed about anything Trump wants to do, and it evokes thoughts of 1932 Germany.
 
The underlying reason?
It's hard to know what's up with our society today, how we got to this place. My theory is this: Russian interference in 2016 actually worked! Russia's place in the world in the face of the stressed Western alliances could be enhanced. None of this happens overnight.
Believe me, there are going to be consequences of the sheer immorality and ignorance of Trump and the people around him. There is no need to feel surprised by any of this - we should have seen it coming. I saw it coming.
Russia's interference was in the form of poisoning our political division and to inflame differences so badly. It was like pouring kerosene on the fire started by the Rush Limbaugh crowd. Limbaugh used to get a lot of attention for saying outrageous things. He gets very little now, because it's the president himself who gets attention for saying outrageous things.
Even Republicans behind closed doors are starting to feel a sense of panic, I feel, and I would assert there are wheels turning for what in effect would be a "coup." I will predict: Trump will leave the presidency because his biggest public supporters will find it essential. There will be a cover story of health issues. Would Trump and his family be relieved of legal liability on various fronts, getting preemptive pardons? That is perhaps the biggest problem.
Republicans and conservatives will find it essential to get the ship righted, if it's not too late, before 2020. But it might be too late.
We may all have to hunker down for some unpleasant times. I'm glad I'm not raising a family today.
So, when the present storm subsides, I predict that the reins of power in our government will be held by: Nikki Haley and Mike Pence. Not sure which would be president, but it wouldn't matter much because they will work in tandem. It will be in the spirit of solving an emergency. They might even decide to do some good things. I hope the "evangelical" Christians approve.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com