Hitler's generals were not all that loyal

Sometimes I get up in the morning thinking that things cannot get any stranger. They do, and somehow life goes on anyway, for now at least. "For now." 

If Donald Trump could get indicted for anything, anything at all, it would drop his stature way down. I predict that it would quiet and humble many of his supporters. You thought that wasn't possible? I pray that it can happen. 

Yes, I try to call myself a Christian even though I have always been a skeptic of this person named Donald Trump. Trump complained about the "deep state." I pray for what the deep state does. The deep state exists not necessarily to hold up everything that is virtuous and honorable, it exists literally to keep this country going, to keep it together. Would you really want it to fragment, all you red state people? Do you really want to withdraw? 

Could all you fat cat retirees, who are living so well now, keep on getting the same kind of benefits through government? So ironic that our older citizens appear to be the loudest complainers. 

There's a cottage industry in the media of simply coming forward with sensational headlines every day about the purely outrageous aspects of Trump's presidency and his cult-like followers. I see the phenomenon around our Stevens County a lot, have had friends drift away from me because of this. I feel isolated and with a growing fear about my future and even personal safety. 

Our little cottage industry spit out yesterday the news that Trump wanted his national security team to be loyal to him, "the way he thought German soldiers were loyal to Adolf Hitler." 

What gives, when so many around us in our placid Stevens County and a majority of its churches show fealty to Donald Trump? He's merely a man with the talent of a demagogue who got trained in the media and entertainment. 

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I see the local Apostolic Christian guys sitting around on Sunday morning, and if I were to approach them with my thoughts, they'd smile with mere amusement at me. They lock out any rational thought on this. Don't a lot of these people have German blood? 

So Trump would want his generals to have loyalty like Hitler's generals? He has called one of his own generals, Mark Milley, a "fucking idiot." 

Can you imagine if a quote like this came from a president in an earlier time, like Ronald Reagan? Or if the news came out that Trump shopped around to have sex with his favorite pornstars or models, then tried paying them to keep it quiet? Can you imagine such news being dispensed in Ronald Reagan's time? 

But today the MAGA people here and elsewhere just have eyes glazed over. This includes a certain retired Morris schoolteacher who I know would have been revulsed and fainting maybe if someone like Trump had come along in the 1970s. 

What is so cotton pickin' different today? The nature of the media is certainly different. Does that explain it all? What kind of road is this "media" leading us down? But can't intelligent people show discretion? What were all these people taught in school? I'm sure I get called all sorts of names because of my views, but I am smart and well-educated enough to know that Hitler had many of his generals executed. I looked it up: it was 84! 

So much for the cohesive and loyal army. Trump asked his chief of staff John Kelly, "Why can't you be like the German generals?" Kelly asked for more specificity. "The German generals in World War II," Trump responded. 

Because I have some education, I can add this from my storehouse of knowledge: Hitler had problems with his own "Wermacht," the war-making machine. You do know there were three assassination attempts? So Hitler dealt with this with his Secret Service (SS). The SS was dispatched to extinguish dissent, and of course this was achieved with brutal means. Would Trump, if given the chance, establish his own SS? Would such a force come and visit me at my door? Based on all the revelations about this crazed man named Donald Trump, can you answer "no" to that? Of course not. 

Trump altered the Supreme Court to where women are now denied choice. Can't you see the real world consequences of electing someone like Trump? It goes beyond the entertainment value he projects on TV, to the amusement of so many. He had real political power. 

Of course he tried engineering a coup in January of 2021. And you all don't care? And you wouldn't care even if the consequences came to your own front door? Give Republicans power and they'll strip Medicare and Social Security. Look at Senator Ron Johnson's statements. Or worse, Rick Scott's. This is the path you all want to choose? 

I belong to an ELCA Lutheran church and we are in a losing battle. Increasingly we are a stigmatized, maybe even threatened minority. I am personally choosing not to attend church any more. 

 

Getting lighter

If y'all would like to see a picture of me being baptized at Central Lutheran Church of Minneapolis, 1955, it's with a post on my "Morris of Course" blog. I publish the photo to share a fond remembrance of my aunt Irene, who looks so radiant in photo. Bless her memory. Irene and Andy Williams were my sponsors for baptism. "Ike" Eisenhower was president then, with 100 percent more class than our most recent Republican president. To view the photo and my blog post, please click below.

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2022/07/aunt-irene-projected-loving-glow-back.html 

 

Also on "Morris of Course," I have a post about the tragic and strange Apple River tubing incident in which an altercation grew that had a young person killed, others wounded. Here is a link to that post, and thanks:

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-apple-river-stabbings-less-than.html 

 

Another "Morris of Course" post looks into the traffic accident in Indiana that took the lives of Congressperson Jackie Walorski and three others. Looks like distracted driving. We need more measures against distracted driving. The tragic end for the four reminded me of the ending of the 1974 movie "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry." You may click below to read, and thanks:

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2022/08/walorski-3-others-done-in-by-distracted.html 

 

Any more I need add today? The investment of religious thought in Trump and MAGA is stupefying. Some among us seem to suggest that Trump may be greater than God, greater than Jesus, maybe greater than God and Jesus combined. It's hard for me to come up with words any more. I just have to plead "why can't you all just think for yourselves."  

How do you think Stormy Daniels or others brought Trump to ejaculation? Let's think about that. Try to get a visual.

Try to keep in mind about the Nazis: they were not Fascists, they were a death cult. Be careful about associating yourself with Nazi rhetoric or imagery, please. But my words may fall on deaf ears. I can plead to our Lord, that's all.

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

John Wayne once held torch for certain crowd

You might remember the Cheech and Chong song "Born in East L.A." It's from a number of years ago. It got humor from the subject of illegal immigration. Society appears much more humorless about that today. Come to think of it, we're so much more humorless across the board. 

It sounds cliche-ish to describe a previous time period as more "innocent." In regard to the Cheech and Chong song, I think the spirit is in fact much more innocent. More relaxed. 

Actually I think it was just one of the two - Cheech or Chong - behind this particular song and video. Like everything else we can recall from our past, there it is on YouTube. 

"Born in East L.A." is '80s nostalgia. We might have expected this "MTV" channel to be a resource for music videos forever. But we were steadily progressing into a time that would put so much in flux, mostly for the better. So YouTube was born. No need to ever again spend money to consume music! A true miracle. 

It is part of the human condition to always find some fault with the way things are. The "East L.A." song showed how we could live with some non-exemplary things like smoking and sexism. The guy in song - Cheech or Chong - ogles over a couple "shapely" women. Such behavior and imagery were in our face a lot. 

Women's rights were steadily carving a new path on the legal front. Entertainment and culture lagged behind. Most of us did not want to let go of certain notions. We were a more relaxed society because we put up with cigarette smoking? Interesting: cigarettes were/are a sedative. Well, any pluses from such behavior are negated as if with a sledgehammer. 

There are other such exhibits, e.g. sexism or misogyny. We have gotten mighty serious on that front too. Does anyone use the term "beauty pageants" any more? Ah, the "swimsuit" division. You grimace. Well of course. "Miss Congeniality" rewards the female most disarming with her personality. Not sure what message this award really conveys. 

The chief character in the "East L.A." song gets confronted by an immigration officer who pops out of a truck. The officer has a way of testing to see who might be suspicious. The U.S. president at the time was Ronald Reagan, former movie actor. So the officer asks the dude, "who is president of the United States?" And the dude, after first saying "that's easy," says "John Wayne." 

John Wayne

Well, Wayne was the hugely iconic movie actor. You mention his name today and it prompts warm thoughts. We can forget that Wayne was a lightning rod politically. He attracted the same type of supporters as Donald Trump in our recent past. OK so now I have to describe. Maybe I can expect y'all to just arrive at the proper assumption? 

You know what I'm talking about. Anti-intellectualism? Such people can be hard to generalize about. At times they flail away, seeming more interested in projecting a certain image or matching the prevailing views of "their crowd." Wayne emerged as a sympathizer with the Vietnam war - how about his movie "The Green Berets?" - and he was a pointed skeptic of the young agitators. 

The memories ought to be crystal clear. Remember the term "hard hats?" I have to wince writing that. But such was the milieu as I grew up. It was right in front of our faces. 

By the same token we saw the Jan. 6 travesty of 2021: a lashing out by the know-nothings. "Keep America great" etc. 

For sure we will remember the rioters in the same way we remember the "hard hats" who wanted to beat up war protesters. All these people are just gravitating to a certain attitude of the moment among their crowd. Certain celebrity leaders set the tone. 

This crowd has some reconciling to do now: their man Trump has come out against foreign wars and even attacks Liz Cheney as a war monger. But the Cheneys with George Bush certainly drew the affections of the Michele Bachmanns of the world. Remember how Bachmann strained to go extend a physical greeting to George W. Bush as Bush entered for the State of the Union? She wanted to slobber all over him. 

But now? The Cheneys who were an extension of Bush have become persona non grata. 

Didn't Bachmann have to leave her Wisconsin Synod church? Is that because the Wisconsin Synod views the Pope as the antichrist? So silly to have such theological divisions. It's reasonable to put aside Christianity altogether. Young people are paying attention. I believe Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin is still in the Wisconsin Synod. 

Because of religion, we now have Roe vs. Wade overturned. This morning I read that doctors are having to call lawyers when dealing with a complicated pregnancy. We have the evangelical Christians to thank for this. Over the long slope of history, the evangelicals are tied in with John Wayne, seriously. My generation of the boomers has largely forgiven Wayne, like we have forgiven so much including our own parents in many cases. 

It has been so long since young American men had to live in fear over getting a military conscription notice. Time heals all wounds? Maybe. I guess in my case, I have not forgotten. The U.S. sacrificed something like 60,000 young men to the Vietnam conflict. Just thought I'd mention it. 

Wayne spent much of his movie career fighting "the other" on the big screen. He fought Indians, he fought the Japanese and he fought Mexicans. He fluffed up the total myth of "The Alamo." 

There is a book out called "Jesus and John Wayne" by Kristin Kobes Du Mez. The book reveals how "evangelicals have worked to replace the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalism - or in the words of one modern chaplain, with 'a spiritual badass.' "

Pay attention to this as you notice the numbers getting thinner in the pews. The real Christianity is gentle, caring, empathetic and charitable. It embraces minorities (the "other") and people who are disaffected for various reasons. 

We ignore the background of "Jesus and John Wayne" at our peril. The damage may have already been done. We have neglected climate change for too long. Trump has told us climate change is a "hoax."

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

Our media softens the Morris police matter

Lego police officer

Some background first: The names "Trout" and "Bugbaum" probably don't register with you. These were made-up names for reporters with a fictional and satirical newspaper. The recently-deceased P.J. O'Rourke had a lot to do with it. This faux newspaper has been described as the "Rosetta Stone of newspaper satires." 

It came out at the height of the monopoly distribution model of the metro newspaper. We assumed papers to have a central role in our lives. Adding to that feeling was that we were flush from Watergate. 

Seems strange, really, but newspaper writers emerged as the heroes of Watergate. Strange I suggest, because you'd think that lawyers had their sleeves rolled up for all of that. But no it was newspaper writers, and lest there be any doubt on that, Hollywood rolled its sleeves up. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman no less. 

Hollywood can pile on with stereotypes and popular notions, n'est-ce pas? Newspaper writers surely were at the forefront. Pat Buchanan described the Washington Post pair as "stenographers." Buchanan's comment came after we learned Mark Felt's role. Do we have to remind of Felt's nickname in the whole Byzantine matter? "Deep Throat," of course. You probably remember the notorious porn movie that was the basis for the name. Ah, the days when porn was scarce and stigmatized. 

Buchanan's "stenographer" assertion was to diminish the supposedly intrepid reporters. The reporters worked hard and had adrenaline pumping, to be sure. But let's tear down the myth a little: the reporters were conduits for powerful people who are human like the rest of us, and like to settle scores. Scheme to get certain facts out in public, and presto: your agenda can be served. 

Felt was an FBI big shot. I have published a review of the movie about him. What was the movie called? Can't remember now. 

"The press was riding high" with the aftermath of all the Watergate stuff, so P.J. O'Rourke sensed a parody opportunity, as O'Rourke would always do. His newspaper satire was called "Dacron Republican-Democrat." Every Page 1 had a photo of a smashed-up vehicle "above the fold." Inside was a column by a pair of reporters who were presented much like Woodward and Bernstein. So their names were "Trout" and "Bugbaum." There was a little photo of the two clicking cocktail glasses in a toast to themselves! They smiled triumphantly. 

But what did they do? The re-occurring gag went like this: the start of the column laid out sordid rumors of corruption in some high place, pretty detailed actually. So what did the reporters do? They went to the alleged wrongdoers and then got cowed every time. The two would "look into the matter" and then come away with the total company line of how everything was just fine. 

I find it funny because it truly is hard to confront people who appear to be associated with dirty linen. They can deflect, deny and intimidate in so many ways. They have the advantage of inside knowledge. They can come at you with info that seems too complicated, precisely what Bill Clinton's strategy was with "Whitewater." A meek reporter who wishes to keep his job might want to stay out of the whole mess. 

"Trout and Bugbaum" seemed in denial about their own weakness, I guess. So they paraded along just buying the party line of various folks. Just having the column in the newspaper made them celebrities. Sometimes that's kind of a rush. Would I know? Hell yes. 

Woodward and Bernstein did not go to Richard Nixon or his prime henchmen. And let's make clear, these were not sympathetic people. Don't let time draw a misty curtain. 

So, Woodward and Bernstein didn't have so much of an uphill battle with sources, because they found this FBI person - what could suggest more power? - who had a motive as old as the hills: he had been passed over for promotion! As they say, "the rest is history." 

On the Morris police

Why am I reviewing all this today? I'm thinking of our quite "micro" situation here in Morris MN. I'm looking at our newspaper and its disingenuous nature with matters like these. My goodness, the Anfinsons pound away, practically ad nauseam, on how we need newspapers to keep an eye on government. 

But it's like "Trout and Bugbaum": beneath the veneer of their righteous proclamations, they gloss over anything that might bring unease to the power structure. A huge example just this week: the update on the police department matter. As in, no more Morris police department. Would seem to qualify as rather a bombshell item: no more city police. 

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Well, the big boys at the Star Tribune put this news on Page 1. As for the little boys and girls here in Morris, we run into, well, obfuscation. 

We get a big front page article this week. This news development reeks of a person or persons having dropped the ball at some point. Forget the embarrassment, let's peel through the veneer to see what culpable parties might be identified. We can give them the opportunity to defend themselves in quotes. Let the finger-pointing begin. 

But it's theoretical here.

If no one dropped the ball at any level, why is the matter on front page of the Gotham newspaper? Think of all the police issues in Minneapolis. And now the Morris police issue is "above the fold?" 

Surely the readers around Stevens County would appreciate knowing "the story behind the story." My sources had told me the problem was the city manager keeping the talks under wraps for too long, the talks about dissolving the city police and merging with the sheriff. Then the matter got "sprung" on others in a disconcerting way, it was reported to me. 

Could more up-front communication have caused the plans to be intercepted for re-consideration? I mean, a chance to learn about the unraveling of the city police to where it was vestigial? Could things have been patched up? Just seems very strange: why is it untenable for Morris to have a police department while at the same time the county can sweep in and do the work? I could ask any number of questions. 

I am left just trying to ferret out the background by talking to people "on the street." But hey, we have a newspaper: that's the whole idea, I mean for the newspaper to follow up on the grand (pretentious) talk coming from Reed Anfinson on the editorial page. Let's see it in practice? 

What the hell to we get? We get "Trout and Bugbaum," in effect. Hear no evil, see no evil. 

The first sentence of this week's coverage: "There are many forms of government in our cities." Oh sheesh, is this the actual "Dacron Republican-Democrat?" The civics lesson continues like weak tea. 

The article claims that it was the city manager, with the council, that got "blind-sided." Something was awry, then? But heaven forbid the newspaper getting into that. Stuff just "happens," I guess. 

Oh no it doesn't. But we are left to speculate. How was the city manager "blind-sided?" Well, the article says it was by "what was going on." 

OK, "it is what it is." 

So the police department eroded down to two officers. And at that point, what action? Well, to "look into it more deeply." Or as Edwin Newman once wrote in a fun-poking way re. evasive public officials, "evaluate and make a judgment in terms of a response." 

We'd just like to know "what was going on." We get no elucidation, just this follow-up by the paper: "No one is able to put a finger on one specific reason for the loss of employees. However, the dissolution of the Morris Police Department was the result." 

So the scenario was this: "stuff happens." And to learn this we have to pay for a newspaper? Stuff does not just happen. 

 

Disagreement

Council member Kevin Wohlers voted against dissolution. He recited a statement at the July 26 council meeting in which he suggested there was a "communication problem within the organization," to quote the newspaper. What organization was he talking about? Law enforcement? City government as a whole? 

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Wohlers stressed that he wanted his suggestion to be "positive." We bend over backwards in small towns to be positive, don't we? 

Talking about "communications" strikes me as a way of whitewashing all of this. We could all benefit from better communications, all the time. Such a generalization. Perfect for small town consumption. When all else fails, just talk about needing better communication. 

But the bottom line of what happened is that Morris ended up on the Star Tribune's front page, above the fold, with the shocking story of eliminating the police department. Ah, "defund the police." It could be interpreted that way, albeit wrongly (I guess). 

I think everyone would end up happier if law enforcement would go back to treating seat belt as a secondary offense. 

I reached the end of the Morris newspaper's coverage with the realization that I'd still have to "work the streets" to try to get "the real story." And that contradicts the grandiose (sanctimonious) statements by Reed Anfinson on the editorial page. 

Oh, the current front page headline: "Morris City Council works to create better communications." 

Because everything is always fine here in Lake Wobegon. Where all the kids are above average.

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

We've turned a corner, regressively

August has finally arrived. Someone told me the temperature tomorrow is going to be around 100. I told this friend that since I live alone, it's no real concern for me. And if I had to, I could find relief in the basement. But I won't be doing that. 

Checking the news headlines this morning makes me wonder if we have turned a corner. And by that, I do not mean in a positive way. I thought the recent behavior of the Supreme Court might make more of us have second thoughts about our direction. Here and there you'll hear concern expressed, naturally. Sadly, there is no full-blown "moving on" from the Trump phenomenon. It remains powerful despite any developments. 

So is it time to give up hoping for a collective awakening? On this first day of August, I'm prepared to say "yes." From now on, just have fingers crossed that we won't turn into a full-blown autocracy or fascist state. Alas, my hopes are becoming steadily dimmer on that front. 

I belong to a church that has sought to be an outlier, or at least not to get fully on board with Trumpism. And my fear is that my church synod will continue in decline. And if that's what is happening on the macro scale, then will it be reflected here in Morris? 

I did not attend the Sunday service. A friend emailed me later in the day with whom I share notes on these matters. Not good news. The friend had watched the service on YouTube and besides noticing my absence - I always sit in the same place - he observed a quite small turnout. This is a church that through most of my life had two services every Sunday. The first adjustment was to go to one service in summer. Morris has historically gone awfully quiet in summer. 

I could see the writing on the wall: no doubt we would shift to one service year-around. And that's exactly what happened. And now the one service may not be cutting it. Maybe there's no room in the USA brand of Christianity for this synod now. We have been crowded out by the Trump chest-thumping folks. 

I have had friendships damaged by this. The separation might just start with some joking. I might get teased because I'm inclined to support Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. The friendship is preserved for a time. But then things get more serious. A friend with whom I now communicate far less often, felt that the investigation into Trump's ties with Russia was akin to a "Banana Republic." He was most earnest and serious about this. 

You remember the whole "Mueller" thing, right? Where the Trump-supporting William Barr prevented the public from learning the most accurate view from the investigation? Barr shielded Trump. What was so dangerous about the analysis or conclusions? Couldn't we at least learn them? 

Barr says he would vote for Trump again? 

Robert Mueller

Do I need to keep rolling out these disturbing memories? Mueller had his reputation tarnished at the end, as it was strongly suggested he was slipping into some age-related confusion. I think he was just driven nuts realizing the maelstrom he had been driving into, with the nation's capitol having taken on a different complexion. It was the complexion of a rising autocracy or dictatorship. 

This has happened through world history. I guess I had hoped that all of this would end up a "passing phase" for America. Maybe a "teachable moment." 

I don't know why I'm trying to rail against the bad stuff now, because it does no good, I may be hurting myself, and more of my friendships are becoming strained or obliterated. 

A friend took offense to a line of lyrics in my Christmas song of two years ago, a line that hinted that Biden would help us deal with the pandemic better. Such a thought ought to be within the boundaries of reasonable political discourse. We can have valid disagreements. Conservatism? Hell, I may not be conservative but through most of my life, I have respected the philosophy. There are times when it is needed. 

My friend who reacted to my song accused me of being "political." Being "political" these days, in a disruptive way, equates with agreeing with Democrats. I guess that's the new zeitgeist. You can be a cheerleader for Trump and his sordid group of acolytes - Rudy Giuliani - and you're not being "political." I guess you are being patriotic. 

Women are learning that the new conservatives consider them essentially as incubators for having babies. That's all that matters. We now see Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito making a highly untoward political type of speech in which he attacks people. We almost should faint at such news. It is not the place for Justices to do this. But maybe nothing should surprise us now. 

So to repeat a prime thought of this piece on the first day of August, maybe it is pointless to continue arguing on the matter. I am going to be dragged along by this wave that continues sweeping over the country. Maybe my only concern should be my personal survival. 

Now we'll get months more news coverage of the Jan. 6 committee and all things related. Had we elected Hillary Clinton, none of this would be happening. Our elected leaders would be having arcane discussions about tax policy etc. 

Trump is so obviously a grifter, a liar and an opportunist, but his celebrity marches on to the delight of so many of us. We're stuck. Now Lindsay Graham is challenging a subpoena. What's wrong with just sitting down and answering some questions honestly? Maybe you could alleviate some concerns. But Trump has taught his followers to defy subpoenas all over the place. 

 

County fair is near

August is the month of the Stevens County Fair in Morris. A day at our fair is turned over to the 800-pound gorilla of a local company that is associated with a particular non-mainstream church. We're talking the Apostolics. They have appeared all along to be very much on the Trump train. And I think it has just become knee-jerk for them. 

They aren't thinking about what the Trump element is really doing to this country. They aren't thinking about what an actual scumbag Trump is on a personal level. It's just become part of their "thing," so we see them in their pickups with Trump flags, or with Trump flags up on poles on their property. There's no fighting them locally. 

I'm accomplishing nothing by writing this. But someday if the U.S. disintegrates as a result of the negative forces, my writing will be evidence that we were not all on the Trump train. 

The Apostolics are also associated with the new Homestead Store in Morris. Nice "Crazy Days special," guys: a sandwich on a hamburger-type bun with a handful of chips and a soft drink, for $7.99. Plus tax. I felt offended by the tax. But it got worse: I took a sip of the pop and it was not Coke, as I had ordered, it was DIET COKE. I can't think of anything worse in the whole world. I do not seek to be a pain so I did not complain, did not seek a replacement. 

I had thought this "special" would include a small sack of chips. This "special" would be a ripoff on any day of the year, but this was Crazy Days. The "Crazy Days special." The Diet Coke may have put me in a mood for writing this whole post today. Just kidding, of course. There won't be any room for kidding if the Trump forces succeed in their next coup attempt, which will almost certainly happen. 

The Germans got sucked in in the 1930s. History repeats itself, you knaves.

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

The joy of music with war drums still distant

Enjoy this photo from 1940. America was nervously watching things happening abroad, wondering if a conflagration of war would erupt. Well, it did. My late father Ralph E. Williams is the musician at left. The big band sound was becoming a thing in America. It would be wonderful to have a recording of the group pictured. Tech for such things was limited then. I wish I could share the names of all the band members. The only writing that accompanies this photo is: "Ralph Williams, Glacier Park Orchestra, 1940 summer." 

 

Dad shared about this chapter in his life in an interview with Liz Morrison. The interview produced a "Sunspots" feature in the Morris newspaper. Thanks Liz for your efforts. 

Dad's story is of interest to the UMM-oriented folks because of course Dad brought his musical commitment here in 1960. He established one of the building blocks for the U of M-Morris. He was the only music faculty in the institution's first year. He directed the first-ever music concert at the Morris Armory for a big county 4-H gathering. How appropriate for cementing the relationship between the institution and the broader community. The armory was located where the public library is now. 

But let's get back to Dad's adventurous days when he honed much of his music ability. So I shall quote from Liz Morrison's writing.

 

Playing with Swifty: My father died of cancer when I was 16 years old, so I earned my way through college by playing trumpet in dance bands. During the school year, I played with Swifty Ellickson, a well-known Twin Cities band leader in the 1930s. At one of our dance jobs, Glenn Miller stopped by, and I had a chance to visit with him. His band was playing at the old Nicollet Hotel in Minneapolis.

 

Montana musician: During the summers I worked in dance bands at hotels in Glacier Park, Montana. I played trumpet and doubled on saxophone, clarinet, and violin. During dinner, I played piano concerts.

I performed at Glacier for four years. In the summer of 1940, I led the band.

 

The picture you see with this post suggests that Dad could have incorporated some jazz with early UMM music. One big problem: The broad public would not have been ready for it. It was a cultural thing. "Jazz" could be a touchy word and concept. Suggested lowlife or lowbrow in some ways, I guess. Seems strange to look back on now. 

I'm reminded of Michael J. Fox performing "Johnny B. Goode" in one of the "Back to the Future" movies. "I guess you guys aren't ready for that yet, but your kids are going to love it."

Morris High School had a band director in the 1970s who did in fact lay the foundation for jazz, however he avoided the term "jazz band." He called it "stage band." With a wink, I guess. That director was John Woell. 

Jazz burst forward with no inhibitions when a former student of my father's, Jim Carlson, made his triumphant return to UMM in 1979. So triumphant that within a few years (if not right away), the UMM Jazz Festival might have been the biggest annual event on the UMM calendar. 

So it's bittersweet looking at the 1940 picture of Dad and the other "cats," as I realize he had the creds to do much the same kind of thing. He did everything else in UMM's first year, all sorts of ensembles. 

Talk about bittersweet: Dad's biggest claim to fame was his UMM men's chorus. Such a gender-specific group came across as palatable for a time. But you know what happened: women's liberation with the old rules and expectations being deconstructed. And let me say, that was a good thing. It was overdue. Women got serious varsity sports opportunities. Imagine a world without that.

I don't think my father was sexist at all, it's just that he grew up in a different world. I do fear that a small part of him never left the 1930s. But that happens to a lot of us, being imbued with established norms from an earlier time. I am imbued with the cynicism that came from following the Vietnam war and other concerning issues from the 1960s and into the '70s. Electing Ronald Reagan was a good thing. What a classy human being. Today we see Republicans of an entirely different stripe. 

Bill Stewart

My father never held any racial prejudice. The estimable Bill Stewart of UMM told me on several occasions how he appreciated my father's work with certain students of color like Roland Wilson. At the retirement reception for my mother at UMM's Oyate, Bill sat with my parents and my uncle and aunt from Glenwood, Howard and Vi Williams. 

Other quotes from Liz's article:

 

Trail guide, too: In addition to performing every night at Glacier Park, during the day I guided horseback trips in the Rocky Mountains. I had practically grown up on horseback.

Clothes make the man: The real Montana cowboys used to give me their castoff riding clothes and boots, so I really did look like a cowboy. Then every night, I would get all dressed up in a tuxedo. I didn't usually tell people I guided up the mountain that I was also in the orchestra, and vice versa.

 

America on the cusp

Ah, 1940. "America First" was an influential organization. Charles Lindbergh was a prominent spokesperson. But the organization went down like a flaming wreckage when one thing happened: Pearl Harbor. So my father got into the Navy as lieutenant, headed to the Pacific. So unfortunate the world fell into the conflagration of war. 

The big band sound was quite the thing in the war years. Glenn Miller hit his peak, then his plane vanished over the English Channel. My father was blessed to survive and to end up here in Morris with the start of our U of M branch in the 1960s. I was five years old. 

We previously lived in the Twin Cities. I was baptized at Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, in 1955. I share reflections on that in my current "Morris of Course" post where you'll see a picture that I consider especially precious. I invite y'all to look:

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2022/07/aunt-irene-projected-loving-glow-back.html 

 

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

Has it really been 50 years?

A member of the MHS Class of '72 approached to talk with me at the diner this morning. It's nice to be recognized and to talk with someone with whom I share memories from pretty far back. The friend told me his '72 Class had its 50-year reunion the night before, Saturday. The gathering was at the bowling alley. Did the bowling alley really have the roof blown off in the derecho? 

My, I got my bill from the tree specialist a few days ago. Homeowners insurance help is nil when it comes to trees only. So this is one of those annoying unexpected bills. Is there any other way to describe them? I must say, the tree professionals in this community do great work. 

Is there any doubt we are seeing inflation with regard to all contractors? And shouldn't inflation be getting our attention more? The news reminds us, without a doubt. The issue seems not to have crossed a line yet, for getting people real nervous. I assure you that the time most likely will come. 

In the meantime, maybe you're wearing out your credit cards? Good luck with whatever your approach is. Me, I have never had a credit card. I have never had a female significant other either. I can suppress my expenses better? It would seem obvious. One of my dear friends with my own MHS Class of '73 once said to me: "Brian, I think you're the kind of person who likes having his own time and his own money." There are things to be said for those qualities. 

My mother may have instilled in me a distrust of women. She felt they were always up to something. God rest her soul. She was no doubt imbued with caution because of having grown up in the Depression. Dad too. It has been broadly commented that these people developed traits that stayed fixed, and to an extent got passed on to their own children. So, I don't use credit cards. 

The increased cost of dining out does not seem to be bothering people yet. The official inflation rate is a disturbing 9.1 percent and since the announcement of that, the Federal Reserve has done nothing. So the Fed just sits there as prices swell. Seems a rather odd stance. 

The Fed ought to be a major story unto itself. Its influence is extending beyond the original boundaries, to where it might be argued that it is the real government of America. Its accountability to the people is very thin. The Fed acts like it is the caretaker for us all. So when the pandemic broke, it called an emergency meeting and lowered interest rates by a full point. It acted out of sense of emergency. But about the current inflation of 9.1 percent? Might that be seen as an emergency too? To over-use a cliche, it's "crickets." ( I actually hate that term.) 

We may all someday wonder why the events of Jan. 6 were not seen as an immediate obvious emergency. I mean, to feel alarmed and just assume that the highest law enforcement powers of America would immediately get to work, roll up their sleeves. 

A normal and rational person might think the Republicans would have been embarrassed and wanting to send a message that the day's events were abysmal. Republican leaders instead went to visit Trump, not the other way around, to "make nice" and make clear that the Republicans were not going to be hostile or questioning of this dangerous man-child. 

Daily I continue to be astounded at how so many of us cannot see the obvious. Do we become zombies as the headlines get rolled out in front of us? 

I'm looking at the "Mediaite" home page for today, Sunday. Let's look at how Fox News is situated for today. Let's look at Bret Baier, considered the last bastion of reason and objectivity on that network. Isn't that sad? Ah, you don't want to agree with me on that. Maybe you attended a fanatically evangelical type of church this morning. News reporting comes out all the time about how America's young people are slipping away from churches including the "evangelical" ones, though I am pressed to define "evangelical." In the media it's shorthand - because the media likes shorthand - for a certain type of  Christian who is a know-nothing. 

Bret Baier

Here's the top headline on Mediaite today: "Fox News' Bret Baier outlines devastating impact of hearings for Trump: He looks 'horrific' not acting for 187 minutes on Jan. 6." 

Oh, please. We have known about the sheer absurdity of Donald Trump for so long now. It has all been right in front of us. And this man has a serious flirtation with getting power back? He is written about as such. He'll take a sledgehammer to the whole Federal government if he gets back, and a chief priority will be sheer vengeance. People lined up to be killed? Congressman Jim Jordan has approved or forwarded along such thoughts. Outrageous to think this? We might have felt it was outrageous to elect Trump and still take him seriously for so long. 

The insane revelations about Jan. 6 just keep rolling out. So much of the testimony has come from his own people. Almost all of it, really. What does it take for us all to gain realization? 

Most Morris area residents might have reservations about Trump and his clan seizing power again. However, there is one thing these people will not do: support Democrats. Their demonization of Democrats has become one of the most alarming elements. So if Democrats are off the table, we'll have a red wave promoted by all the people of America's so-called heartland, and that means us in Stevens County. 

They glibly look me in the eye and attack "liberals." So let's have an all-out autocracy? Outrageous? All along we've been witnessing outrageous things - bleach and UV light, the "Access Hollywood" tape - and cannot act to try to push it aside in favor of the normal sanity. "Sanity" would mean Hillary Clinton. Yes, eight years of Hillary Clinton, and just saying that would make my glib friends have a conniption. "Hillary!" Well, she would govern like Bill, one can presume. And I thought the eight years of Bill were pretty decent for America. 

We have already lost the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is careening down its own narrow right wing path, to have gutted women's reproductive health rights. Could not we just have left Roe vs. Wade alone? Just saying.

The Class of '72

So, the Morris High School Class of '72 marked the milestone of 50 years since graduation. I remember being at the graduation. From my own memory I call up the following words from the podium: "The future is ours, how shall we decide?" Oh, it's rather unoriginal and boilerplate, I guess. But so what? 

How are the Class of '72 members deciding in these Trump times? Are they part of the problem? I'm afraid my generation has been sitting on its hands too much. 

My 50-year reunion will be next year. These are always bittersweet affairs. We notice classmates or their spouses with health limitations. We notice the empty chairs of friends who have left this life. We regret some of the stupid things that happened in high school. We probably look back on high school as having been too demanding and too unpleasant. High school should have done more to lift us up, not discourage us with a stupid grading system. Teachers had to give out a certain percentage of the lower grades. They had to find a way, to scheme against us. 

Today there is great enlightenment in our schools - many more of the higher grades are given out, many more kids on the A and B honor rolls - no comparison. 

We cannot re-write the past, alas. We remember teachers gruffly saying "take out a sheet of paper" (for a pop quiz) as if they were on the attack against us. Is that how our parents really wanted things? 

I have great affection for the Morris High School Class of '72. My date of birth might suggest I could have been a member, but maybe my parents could see I was too dumb to start school that early. Maybe I was too dumb even a year later. 

Based on my Christmas greeting list for sending my original Christmas songs, it appears I have greater affinity with the Class of '72 than with '73. 

We greatly miss deceased members like Skip Sherstad and Becky Felstul-Burnett. Eventually we'll all be together in the school hallways in the sky. But hopefully not to take any pop quizzes. Congratulations Class of '72, Morris High School. Oh, I'll name-drop the '72 member who befriended me at Don's this morning: it was Steve Schmidgall.

The Morris police

A fellow '73 MHS grad answered an email I sent him re. the big news of Morris ending its city police department. This friend has worked as a rent-a-cop himself. He's pretty well-versed on these things.  His brother had a career with a sheriff's department. Here's what my friend wrote. Shall I name-drop again? He's Art Cruze.

 

Wow what a story. The Morris police department being disbanded! You're right about departments being disbanded and turned over to the sheriffs departments. I think for two reasons: lack of police candidates (you can’t find anyone) and tighter budgets. Think about it - why would anyone want to be a policeman today? You’re one misstep  from going to prison yourself. Plus so much pressure for officers from drug calls to mental health emergencies. It’s terrible. Although I’ve heard very positive comments about Jason Dingman as your Sheriff. I’ll try to make it over to Morris for lunch soon.

 

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

Language out of Howard Mohr's tome

(image from Goodreads)

Perfect day for the Minnesota conversation-starter: "Did you hear how much rain we got last night?" This might be cited from Howard Mohr's book. 

Such an innocent quote, no risk attached. Doesn't involve any expression of feelings. Scandinavians can be averse to that. 

So a Scandinavian might say, regarding the current big deal about the Morris police, "That's a heckuva deal, isn't it?" I know Mohr wrote about that. It's a safe statement because you are expressing no opinion. You are just showing that you know what's going on. 

The January 6 hearings? Not sure if "heckuva deal" is so practical for that. That topic gets so infused with political bias. Saying it's "a heckuva deal" would presume we should be concerned with the behavior of Trump supporters on January 6. So, Pence's security people were actually calling home to say their "goodbyes" to family, as the mob closed in? Really? 

And yet the Trump crowd still cries about how the Jan. 6 committee is "illegitimate." That it's "politically motivated." Politicians tend to do things that are politically motivated. 

My feeling now is that the Justice Department is going to charge Hunter Biden, as a way of disarming people like Jim Jordan who would otherwise scream and pound the table endlessly if Trump's people get their tit in a wringer first. Just wait, the Jim Jordans will cry out fanatically anyway. 

And here in Morris, there remains a large percentage of the folks who go along with the Jim Jordans. The "evangelicals" aren't backing off from Trump support or Trump worship yet, are they? You would want to enter one of our "conservative" churches this Sunday and say to someone at coffee: "Those Jan. 6 hearings, that's a heckuva deal, isn't it?" 

Better off to say "did you hear how much rain we got?" Maybe some of the old rain fixation has faded away - that would be because farmers don't deal in much risk any more. Frankly, things are set up for them so that there is no risk. There is no risk in farming? An offensive statement? Not meant as such, as I congratulate any and all people who have a lifestyle minus substantial risk. 

In one's personal life, well that's another matter entirely. Risk is with us. 

 

The police matter

The "heckuva deal" with local law enforcement deserves some attention, n'est-ce pas? My sources tell me the problem was this: the city manager kept the consolidation talks under wraps for so long. Then there was shock value when the whole thing was unveiled. We didn't have enough time to pack it all up, I infer. 

You see, the whole headline regarding "cutting the police" has a bad smell to it. You add kerosene to that when you consider the whole flap about "defunding the police." Oh my. People had their pants in a bundle over PR concerns. 

Maybe too, here in Morris we are susceptible to buying into allegedly "liberal causes" because of having UMM. The suspicion is that we have a disproportionate number of liberals because of the UMM element. The notion appeared to bear truth at one time, but now it's probably just a lingering stereotype. 

College people everywhere have been getting humbled. They have been drawn into the same world of insecurities and humility as the rest of us, all of us who live lives of "quiet desperation." That's from the Henry David Thoreau quote, you might be aware. 

I sit at the cafe area at Willie's sometimes, facing the parking lot, watching people come and go, and I think "the majority of people lead lives of quiet desperation." And while I'm free of the stress of having a marital partner, I get my share of concerns too. The recent "derecho" put me in a funk, which I have not totally escaped. 

I hear this morning we've had large hail in the area again. The waitress at Don's showed me a picture on her phone. All this "extreme weather" due to climate change, which our president from 2016 to 2020 described as a "hoax." You are such lemmings, all you Trump fanatics. You just won't tone down. 

We might conclude that the law enforcement thing just was not rolled out very well. The Star Tribune seized on the matter and got us on page 1. Amazing accomplishment for the denizens of the Morris area, to make the "front page" in late July of all times. We're in the time of year when the denizens seek to get to the lake as much as possible. It's slow time. 

We lost the old Prairie Pioneer Days as a way of telling the world we try to be vigorous. So, we just aren't vigorous, I guess. But we made the front page of the Strib. Let's "defund the police." 

Well, those aren't the facts really. We're just letting the sheriff's department take over. 

What does the sheriff's dept. know about law enforcement in the city of Morris, that our former Morris Police did not? There has simply got to be a story between the lines here. And naturally, we cannot depend on our Morris newspaper to go out and get that story. Anything but. This while the paper harangues us constantly about how we need the local press to keep an eye on government. 

In reality the paper just strives to avoid an uncomfortable topic or question. Too risky for them. 

I was at the library yesterday and looked at the Morris paper's front page. The headline about law enforcement only said "a decision had been made" (to paraphrase). So that was the story? A decision has been made? Of course the story was the decision itself. 

The headline might have taken the course of stating that a consolidation move was afoot. Doesn't sound real negative, does it? But the paper apparently felt uncomfortable even trumpeting that. "Consolidation" might be interpreted as downsizing. 

The paper isn't supposed to care how it's "interpreted." Give us the news: the Morris police department will be no more. The headline should have been direct, cogent

 

A new tack?

What will the sheriff's department do differently? Well, I fervently hope the sheriff will exercise his gray matter and decide we don't need cops positioned in various places to catch people with no seat belt. Truth be told, I don't think the Morris Police themselves were ever comfortable with that. They would nail anyone, anywhere, like an elderly couple on their way to church Sunday morning. 

The seat belt law started out as a secondary offense. Surveys showed that's the way people wanted it. But the public sentiment got vetoed, by the bureaucrats I guess. Maybe now there will be backtracking. 

My annoyance with all the "trivial" law enforcement has left me in a mood where I don't even wish to smile or say hello to officers when I see them in places like the restaurant. And honest to God, I think that's a real shame. That's not the real me. 

Some people might blare at me "well, follow the law." My retort might be to take the January 6 committee seriously and do some re-thinking about Trump and MAGA. That won't happen in our Stevens County. I guess people really did want Mike Pence "hanged." What about his wife Karen? Her too? Think about that when you go to church on Sunday, you rubes. You may be destroying Christianity. And where will that leave us?

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