World War Two changed lives dramatically

The photo is a "famous" one in our family. It was when Mom Martha, last name Ohlson at the time, was "brave enough," as she put it, to ask Ralph E. Williams to pose for a photo when Ralph directed the Brainerd High choir. Mom was a student musician, one of three children of Andrew and Hilda Ohlson. Brainerd was a company town and Andrew worked for the railroad. Hilda was happy as mom and homemaker and she spent the last couple years of her life here in Morris. She experienced a stroke at home and died at the hospital. Her body was taken back to Brainerd for burial at Evergreen Cemetery.
 
The best-attended author event I can recall at our Morris Public Library, was for a book about the home front in WWII. The author ended up focusing on Brainerd.
Optimism was high in that railroad town as spring began in 1942. Months earlier the Empire of Japan pulled its surprise attack. I appreciate the author coming here and stimulating so much interest. I have in front of me the March 20, 1942, front page of the Brainerd Daily Dispatch. We see a headline about General MacArthur "pledging victory." Oh, and there's a delightful photo of the Brainerd High School a cappella choir. We see the announcement of a Sunday afternoon concert "in dedication to all Brainerd men in the Philippines."
How fateful that assignment was to be, for those Brainerd young men. A free will donation was taken for the concert with proceeds going to the Brainerd Red Cross. The soldiers at that point were carrying out their mission as planned. The choir put together a program appropriate for the occasion. Lenten music would stand out. The song "O Blest Are They" would be sung in special honor of Brainerd soldiers. The choir's director was Ralph E. Williams. That's my father!
Ralph is remembered here in Morris as founder of the UMM music department. You'll see that noted on our family monument at Summit Cemetery. Dad passed away in 2013. My mother Martha who was a 1942 graduate of Brainerd High School (!) passed away this past April. Both my parents reached their 90s. Both stayed home with me until their passing. Mom was an active student musician and she performed with groups in ceremonies for the star-crossed Brainerd National Guard unit.
Civil War General Sherman said "war is hell" and it hits home regarding the Brainerd soldiers. The unit was Federalized (put into the regular U.S. Army) and sent off to hold off the increasingly threatening Japanese aggression in the Pacific. The Japanese launched a ground invasion of the Philippine Islands just a few days after the Pearl Harbor surprise attack. The unit was tasked with holding off the invaders as long as possible. They fought a long, desperate delaying action at the Bataan Peninsula of the island of Luzon. They used their tanks to cover the infantry.
But efforts proved futile and retreat inevitable. Supplies evaporated. Upon surrender on April 9, 1942, the Brainerd men were force-marched 60-plus miles north with almost no food or water. They ended up in prison camps. The Brainerd folks tried to cope with the news that Bataan had fallen. News of the actual death march didn't get back here until several months later.
The normal lives of Americans were interrupted. My father had quite the musical career established. I have had more time to sift through scrapbooks since Mom's passing. I already knew Dad had an impressive portfolio of accomplishments. What I have learned more recently is even more humbling for me. I think he expected me to follow a similar path. I remember shaking hands with Art Hesse, one of my Morris teachers, when we were on the St. Cloud State campus the day I graduated in spring of 1978. The first thing he said was "oh, you aren't following in your father's footsteps with music?" I was majoring in mass communications.
 
Not so close to the tree
You can't blame my father for trying to see me in his image. He was human with the attendant limitations. The absolute truth about my music inclinations is: I had a purely intuitive gift within a narrow range, and if permitted to stay within that range and be judged on conditions to my liking, I was capable of making a good or even brilliant impression. This is not self-flattery because the range was restricted. My talent was hardly a scintilla of a fraction of my father's capabilities. There, haven't you always wanted to know that (LOL)?
I would have led a better life if expectations had been held down for me when young. Life is a box of chocolates, I guess.
Here's a press clipping with a headline that reads: "Brainerd choir wins four 'A' ratings in state contest." The article says "this was the largest number of 'A' ratings earned by any choir at the festival. Duluth Denfield was awarded the next largest number of 'A' ratings."
Director Ralph E. Williams is of course acknowledged in the article. Here's a headline that reads "Ralph Williams has splendid choir." Let's check out the lead sentence: "Mr. Ralph Williams, who is music instructor in the Brainerd High School, just returned with his choir from the national music contest where his choir received the top rating. Sunday evening they were requested to sing over the Duluth station on the program 'Minnesota sings.' This is Ralph's first year as an instructor and he deserves much credit for the fine showing he has made."
No, yours truly could not have touched musical accomplishments like this. When I auditioned for all-state band in 1971, although I had a good day, I may have gotten in because of a conspiracy. I have always harbored that suspicion. I auditioned on trumpet because I just grabbed that instrument - it was the instrument I played in marching band. My concert band instrument was French horn, which for some incomprehensible reason was considered a girls instrument.
I went to Bemidji State University, home of the Beavers (and Dave Holman country), for all-state band in the summer of 1971, and I remember the name of my dorm floor R.A.: Ed Holder. My roommate was Mark Wolfram. On my floor was Dave Fedderly who went on to be principal tuba player with the Baltimore Symphony. (Hey Dave, remember the "sperm floats" joke?)
The following summer, 1972 when Watergate was percolating, saw yours truly travel abroad extensively with America's Youth in Concert. So I feel no pressing need to see the world today. Those memories are preserved in a special place. Mom had her 30-year class reunion that summer. I smile as I know she loved telling everyone about what I was doing!
Morris MN is fine for me today. Do I appreciate those chapters with my musical life? I appreciate those who meant well in guiding me. But no, I could have foregone all that and steered into a more normal and realistic life. I would have appreciated it. I could have done more work as a "stringer" for the Morris newspaper under the unforgettable Arnold Thompson who had his own typewriter keystroking system - I well remember. He had a photo or two of scantily-clad "go-go girls" under the glass of his office desk, as I recall. (Howard Moser would say "you would remember that.")
Let's get back to a more serious history. Dad's Brainerd involvement ended because of the war. Lives changed everywhere. Here's the headline from Dad's hometown paper, Glenwood: "Ralph Williams heads Naval gun crew." The dateline says New Orleans, October 22.
 
Ensign Ralph E. Williams, USNR, son of Mrs. Carrie Williams of Glenwood, Minn., has reported for sea duty at the New Orleans Armed Guard Center, according to word received from Eighth Naval district headquarters, today. He awaits assignment as commanding officer of the naval gun crew on a merchant ship and will be charged with the defense of the vessel in case of attack.
Before entering the Navy, Ensign Williams was choir director at the Brainerd high school, Brainerd, Minn. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, and the Glenwood high school.
 

"Lieutenant Ralph Williams," USN

Dad would go on to serve on the USS Appalachian. We got invitations to Appalachian reunions through the years but never attended. I think Dad was one of those guys who, when he got home from the war, didn't want to dwell on that stuff any more. He saw lots of suffering in Tokyo in the immediate aftermath of hostilities - homeless families etc. Dad was never in the VFW or Legion and I wish he had been. I wish he had done that rather than spend so much time hunting and fishing, endeavors in which he often took me along. Those doggone cold-as-heck duck sloughs!
When acquiring a monument at the Morris cemetery - get your checkbook ready - I was unaware of those little cement stars with the hole for inserting a flag for Memorial Day. So I have pushed my own little flag into the ground each spring.  
Update: I talked with Erv Krosch this morning at DeToy's and he's going to try to see this gets done.
Our family has a commemorative ashtray - now there's a dated memento - for the USS Appalachian in our home. It was just mailed to us one year. Thank you.
 
Grandparents departed too soon
My grandma Carrie lived until 1949 when she died too young, age 63, my age now. Her husband Martin died several years earlier, way too young of course, from cancer. Grandma's death seems not cut and dried because I have heard two stories: a stroke or a household accident. Never mind, she led a wonderful life and raised five sons, Dad being the youngest, who all went on to live long and successful lives. I must work hard to try to get into heaven because I'd like to meet her!
Those five sons all went through confirmation at Glenwood Lutheran Church. I plan to travel over there sometime to try to keep the Williams name current. My uncle Howard was a banker in Glenwood for many years. Family legend has it that he was excused from military service because his bank supervisor considered him indispensable. Mom always told me "don't bring this up" around Howard. I found his "4-F" card in a box of memorabilia passed on to us after his death. It advises that he keep the card on his person at all times.
 
The past is always present
I perhaps have too much time to reflect these days. I plan on visiting Glenwood Lutheran Cemetery in the spring. I'm not sure the graves of my grandparents have been decorated in a long time.
God bless the memory of Martin and Carrie, along with Andrew and Hilda of Brainerd. What value they gave to the world!
Click on the link below to read a recent post I did for my companion website, a post headlined "If I could only talk to Grandma Carrie." Of special interest is the photo I have of my father posing with Carrie and Howard on the day of Dad's graduation from the University of Minnesota in 1939. Thanks so much for reading.
http://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2018/10/if-i-could-only-talk-to-grandma-carrie.html

My mother Martha, at left, with brother Edwin and sister Mildred along with their mom, Hilda Ohlson.

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

Is tipping on the way out, like smoking?

Sometimes things just change and we accept the new normal. We cease thinking much about the way things were. It's entirely practical of course because we must accept the new reality.
It's interesting how society reacts to pressures for change. Often the voices for change seem muted. There is a fear of stepping on toes. And yet the sentiment for change seeps into our political and legal thickets.
My young adult years were spent in a world where consuming alcohol and smoking cigarettes were quite the norm. Society did my generation a "favor," at least for a time, by lowering the drinking age. This happened just as I graduated from high school. Society later put the brakes on its approval of public drinking. Most likely it was MADD leading the way with that or at least setting the tone, or at least discouraging the popular perception of drinking as being amusing. As serious as the penalties now are for DWI, we must wonder if society should give another shot at making alcohol consumption illegal. Mike McFeely has seriously weighed this on WDAY Radio.
It can't happen? Oh, anything can happen. The prohibition on smoking gets ever more intense, going much further than anything I could have envisioned in my middle adult years. Only occasionally would I hear a complaint about cigarette smoke in public. Those complaints never rose to the level where I'd think any real prohibition was coming. There must have been a subtle undercurrent though. It's hard to know how this permeates our political system. Efforts began with designated non-smoking sections (or designated smoking sections, however you want to view it). I remember a St. Cloud newspaper columnist writing about visiting a restaurant that had a non-smoking section but that section happened to be "closed" at the time! With time, this excuse would clearly have been no-go.
But the law seemed unusual at the start, given we had lived so long with the public smoking norm. Hollywood put its imprimatur on smoking. Legend has it that our GIs got free cigarettes in wartime - clever way to get guys hooked. Our beloved WWII generation loved visiting their VFW and Legion clubs on weekends, there to socialize with no small amount of "booze" and cigarettes. It was a cultural norm.
 
Whither the tipping custom?
I write all this as a way of introducing how another significant change in our habits may be coming. Hints indeed are afoot about this. Something is in the air, figuratively though not literally as with cigarette smoke. Could it be that the custom of tipping is approaching its end times?
Complaints about the practice have been sporadic and transitory - Andy Rooney famously vented at one point. Few people would have argued with Mr. Rooney, he of "60 Minutes" fame. Few people would have argued with the complaints lodged about public smoking. But these things take time.
Gee, shouldn't we be considerate of restaurant waitresses and the like, helping their lot in life a little? Restaurant workers perform a necessary service. They should be compensated appropriately, n'est-ce pas? Regular wages should handle that. Many speak of this in terms of a minimum wage. A $15 per hour minimum wage would handle things.
We learn that tipping originated in the feudal economies of the Middle Ages. It might never have taken hold in the U.S. were it not for the Great Depression. And today we face the reality that we're in the minority, worldwide, engaging in the practice. Organized labor in the U.S. - granted, it has been sent on its heels generally speaking - has sought to discourage the custom. Unions at one time sought a ban on it. Outside the U.S., efforts of scaling back the custom were more successful.
In my young adult years I could leave mere coins on the table as a sufficient tip, perhaps as little as a quarter! I remember toward the end of my tenure with the paper, a local businessman (whose name I won't type here) joined me for breakfast at Don's occasionally and would leave a quarter! A throwback or an old habit, and I'm sure he meant well.
I was genuinely chagrined the first time I felt I should leave a whole paper dollar as a tip! Now with breakfast coming to a little over 10 bucks sometimes, I allocate two dollars. Which brings up the problem of having to have the right denominations available all the time. We have probably all had to "break a ten" now and then for no other reason than to get a proper tipping amount. We don't complain about this, just as we weren't inclined in an earlier time to complain about smokers in restaurants. The sentiment eventually nudges the lawmakers.
 
What's the point?
Aren't you annoyed that tipping doesn't really seem to be connected to quality of service? In theory, tipping is supposed to reflect this, so, lousy service might get you to "stiff" the server. But you have probably been places were a gratuity fee is automatically put on your check! Isn't that abhorrent? We had this pulled on us when our churches - First and Faith Lutheran - held our Wednesday night thing at a particular hospitality establishment in town, the name of which I won't type because they wouldn't want me speaking harshly about this. It's a popular place actually.
The irony is that the establishment didn't exactly seem delighted about us being there. They sent us downstairs a lot for no real obvious reason. Apparently the staff didn't want to be troubled with clearing away the desired area upstairs. Nothing was going on there. So, the food would come and then we found we'd have to ask for things like napkins, condiments and silverware. And then after a few weeks we got a real hint about what a hassle we were for them to accommodate, because there was a forced gratuity on our tickets.
I could say "what assholes" but that would be uncivil. That church group is now back to the Met Lounge side room. I don't go partly because I'm ambivalent about religion.
I dine out alone and that makes me feel a little awkward. Those who do this are a minority. Now that I live alone, I find it impractical to engage in meal preparation at home. I try to tip appropriately, probably a little more because I'm a party of one. But I'd rather see the restaurant servers just get paid a good wage. I wonder if the law will eventually come around to this via the minimum wage mechanism. Pass a law and make it clear: no more tipping. Smokers had to adjust to no longer being able to stink up the air in restaurants! We can adjust to a no-tipping norm, I'm sure.
Buffets in restaurants are now covered with a plastic panel so you won't breathe over the food. Could make us all germaphobes. Years ago it became clear you could no longer take a "used" plate back to a buffet line. Oh, but when I was young things were quite different. People kid my generation about "how did you survive, I mean without child safety seats, playing lawn darts etc." Heh heh.
Restaurants probably like the way things are now with tipping. The current norm is about deceiving the customer while also outsourcing labor costs. I think restaurants today have come around to the smoking ban. We are less likely to go into a diner at 3 in the afternoon and see a couple clusters of guys just drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. I used to go in Floyd Schmidgall's old restaurant in Morris (today called DeToy's) and almost feel embarrassed if I was actually there to order a meal! Amazing.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Cheerleaders and other dated things

Morris High School cheerleaders from about 1970

It was humiliating the first time I was pulled over for no seat belt. Why such a rigid standard today, when for most of my life it was considered no big deal to not wear a seat belt? So many people speaking from today's perspective would say "well, seat belts are obviously necessary to ensure safety and reduce injuries." If true, why hasn't this standard been applied for a longer period of time? We were not Neanderthal back in my young and middle adult years. Maybe you'll argue we were.
When our current Morris Public Library first opened - a really big deal - I'd go there to read magazines like Time, Newsweek and U.S. News and World Report. That was the thing to do if you fancied yourself an erudite sort of person. We would have considered VHS tapes a miracle from God. My point is that times change drastically.
I wish I had gotten a warning ticket my first time with no seat belt. My father thought it was ridiculous for such a big deal to be made of this. It was punishment enough for me to be pulled over and to have that squad car behind me with lights flashing. Once the officer determined I had essentially a clean record, I should have gotten a warning ticket and then if I got pulled over again, I'd have only myself to blame. Regulations are tight today. Mailing a package at the Post Office suddenly stopped being real routine.
 
Cheerleaders in age of #MeToo
We have the changed complexion of society today due to #MeToo. And in principle it's wonderful. But again we must reflect on changed or evolved attitudes over a not very long period of time. I went to high school when we had cheerleaders. Let's be frank as we assess this: Cheerleaders were once "eye candy" meant to complement the real, serious competition of male sports.
We all knew that a certain type of girl would be chosen as cheerleader. Certainly not on the heavy side. If you were to ask a cheerleading advisor or school administrator on whether cheerleaders were chosen on some sort of "glamor" criterion, they would be embarrassed to say yes and would probably say "no." But the truth was 100 percent yes. The basketball cheerleaders had the highest status when I was in high school. There was another group of cheerleaders for football and wrestling but these seemed like the second string. Administrators would deny that but we could develop a pretty strong sense about this.
The basketball cheerleaders were the candidates for being asked to Prom by the sports superstars - we all knew that. We reflect on this the way we reflect on a lot of outdated concepts. It is wonderful to see we have evolved. We must be gentle though with the people my age who might have stumbled a bit getting to where we are today. It is fascinating to think how cigarette smokers had license to light up almost anywhere. Remember Robert Redford as Bob Woodward saying to Dustin Hoffman as Carl Bernstein, as they got on an elevator: "Is there any place you don't smoke?" Oh, we laughed about that then.
Today the idea of secondhand cigarette smoke is no laughing matter. And again, so many from today's perspective say it's elementary, completely understood, that smoking is this horrible habit that needs to be pushed to the periphery as much as possible, hopefully out of existence at some point. And yet it wasn't long ago in the scheme of things that cigarette smoke was reality in places like main street diners. Oh the days of the rotary telephone. And, of reading "Time" magazine at our beloved library.
I am disappointed that we never got to know the cheerleaders as real kids in the movie "Hoosiers" (Gene Hackman). We really didn't get to know them at all. Remember the cheerleaders for the opposing team in the championship game? All those cheerleaders just jumped up and down when their team scored. Sometimes they'd hug each other. We were supposed to care about the male gladiators on a personal level.
Football is the worst offender because only males actually play the game. The cheerleaders are truly just eye candy. It has gotten so dated and pathetic.
Our local high school no longer has cheerleaders. The photo at the top of this post shows cheerleaders from back around 1970. I'm sure the girls as women today are wonderful and multi-dimensional human beings, but can they deny they were rather exploited for cosmetic purposes when they were cheerleaders?
 
Addendum: I think I can rattle off the names of the cheerleaders in the photo. Let's just go with first names, from left: Kathy, Connie, Jane, Robin and Jackie. Jane and Jackie were in my graduating class.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Urgent appeal: vote Dem to check Trump

Policy differences between the two parties don't even matter in tomorrow's (November 6) election. We are voting with existential considerations in mind about the U.S. as we've known it.
Strident Republicans will say the Democrats will lead us down a path of disaster. How? The eight years of Bill Clinton were pretty good. How ironic that so many in the left wing now have a generous opinion toward George W. Bush. Remember how Keith Olbermann used to lambaste Bush? Today we have right wing Fox Business firebrand Lou Dobbs referring to Bush as a "liberal."
What a strange stew of political rhetoric we have in our country now.
It is essential in the election to vote for everyone with a "D" next to their names, and this is because we need to check Donald Trump. Without that check, heaven help us all. Many have been assuming the Democrats will take the House. The odds may seem good but it's not a slam dunk. It was unconscionable for the Star Tribune to endorse any Republicans for Congress. Arguments over "who would represent the district better" are secondary now. They are secondary to the totally primary aim of electing Democrats so Trump's feet might be held to the fire some (if not a lot).
The reputation of the Christian religion is at stake. Will this faith become pigeon-holed with the likes of Pat Robertson, Liberty University and all that? Mike Huckabee said on Fox News that "people of faith" must turn out for the mid-terms and vote Republican. I think of all the Morris area Apostolic Christian types, along with fellow soldiers of Evangelical-Free Church, Hosanna and others, and wonder if these people will exercise even one brain cell in making a decision. Will they just follow their tribal senses and vote straight GOP, 100 percent of them, or can they think more independently and reflect more on what Jesus Christ really stood for?
Back during the 2016 campaign I wrote some rather light, amusing song lyrics about Trump as if he was a benign novelty. What hath God wrought? I now have new song lyrics penned with a melancholy tone, reflecting where we're at.
Could GOP dominance in all arms of government - this now includes the Supreme Court - send us down a path like 1930s Germany? It will slowly start to sink in, until it's too late. There is hope if the American people show wisdom (not a slam dunk) and ensure there are checks and balances.
We hear Trump clearly imply now that if a migrant girl age 9 picks up a rock to throw in order to vent at the border, our military will shoot and kill her. What would Jesus say?
Here are my song lyrics to "Trump, Trump, Trump." The chorus melody is something I wrote some time ago for a song I called "Laid Back Lady." Thank you for reading and vote Democrat.
  
"Trump, Trump, Trump"
by Brian Williams
 
It started as amusement
Each day on "Morning Joe"
A man from entertainment
Who sought to get our votes
It seemed a passing fancy
When he was on the screen
Was it all a dream?
 
We need our better angels
To sort out what we hear
So we can know the angles
And keep our vision clear
And yet we bought the snake oil
Direct from Mr. Trump
You can't make this up
 
CHORUS:
Trump, Trump, Trump is on our minds
We can't turn it off
Even though we know better
Trump, Trump, Trump could steal us blind
And we couldn't care
'Cause he's on the TV
  
 
We did not see it coming
We had to pinch ourselves
And though it might seem funny
We had to say "hell's bells"
A man with no experience
Who had a gift of gab
Would it end up bad?
 
He spent some time with Stormy
'Cause she had quite the curves
By now you know the story
By now you know each verse
And though he called her Horseface
She must have cast a spell
We know all too well
 
(repeat chorus)
 
He acts like he's your best friend
As long as you are white
His base is such a dead end
It fills us full of fright
And so he leans on Fox News
A propaganda feast
It's so make believe
 
Melania is a beauty
We love her just because
Ivanka is a cutie
I don't know what she does
It all could be a movie
A piece of fantasy
But it's all too real
 
(repeat chorus)
 
He puts us in a panic
When he sends out a tweet
It makes us all feel manic
And bugs us in our sleep
We read it in the papers
And then we sing the blues
No it's not fake news
 
He says look out for migrants
Along their caravan
The right wing is compliant
Agreeing with his stands
He says we'll open fire
If someone throws a stone
How can we condone?
 
(repeat chorus)


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

Marshall too much for our MACA Tigers

A suspenseful first game was followed by less suspenseful games 2 and 3. The volleyball Tigers were in Marshall Saturday seeking the section championship. On the other side of the net: the "home" team as it were, as it was the Tigers of Marshall. Yes, two orange and black-themed units were going to do battle on this night.
Our Tigers of MACA were buoyed by having just beaten the No. 1 seed in the North sub-section, Paynesville. Could we parlay that momentum into the title match in section? We put up a strong battle in game 1, where we were edged in the 25-21 score. After that, unfortunately, the curtain seemed to come down for us. Credit the very strong Marshall Tiger team. We dropped games 2 and 3 by scores of 25-13 and 25-6.
Marshall climbs to state buoyed by this 3-0 sweep win at the home of the Mustangs. Marshall carries a 27-5 record into state. Their appearance in state will be the program's 28th since 1977. The storied program has garnered six state titles. They have been runner-up six times. At present they own the No. 4 rank in state. Breaking down their 27 wins to date in 2018, they have lost just nine games.
Our Tigers of Morris Area Chokio Alberta also had a sterling campaign in 2018, accomplishing 19 wins against eight losses.
LeAndra Hormann chalked up a serving ace Saturday. Set assists were infrequent and here it was LaRae Kram producing seven and Liz Dietz five. Kills were a little sparse too unfortunately. Sophie Carlsen executed four kills followed by Lexi Pew (3), Kenzie Hockel (2), Emma Berlinger (2) and Bailey Marty (2). Carlsen went up to perform two ace blocks while Pew and Marty each had one. Riley Decker was sharp in digs with her 20. Marty had impact in this category with her 15. The list wraps up with Hockel and Kram each with six and Macee Libbesmeier with five.
Click on the link below to read about MACA's win over Paynesville in the sub-section championship match. This post is on my companion website, "Morris of Course." Thanks for reading. - B.W

http://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2018/11/tigers-topple-no-1-seed-paynesville-for.html

 
U of M athletics after Illinois game
So, the U of M athletic director gets a big performance bonus? That's what we read recently. Football is of course a big revenue driver for our august institution. On Saturday the Gophers played a game described by The Daily Gopher as "hot garbage."
Going in, I felt this game would hardly be worth listening to. I told friends at the senior center that it would barely be worth following. Illinois seemed a pushover opponent. Illinois does have Lovie Smith who coached in the NFL. We have P.J. Fleck, a big PR back-slapping personality who talks about "rowing the boat."
We got killed by Illinois at Illinois. I don't get the Big 10 Network so I caught some game highlights on the Channel 11 news in the evening. And I thought to myself "my God," as I watched Illinois' big plays against the Gophers. It looked like the Gopher defense just "quit." I was astonished.
Our athletic director gets a big bonus check but should we be surprised the way huge amounts of money just slosh around at the U? Can't the board of regents keep a better eye on things? I will quote again our former governor Jesse Ventura: "For the amount of money we (the state) give to the University of Minnesota, maybe I should run it."
I would love to see the stadium nearly empty for any remaining home games. Maybe in a few years there will be no U of M football program due to the declining cultural relevance of the game (head injuries etc.).
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Dale Henrich coaching cross country success

The MACA cross country program has four runners in state. A fanfare is called for. All the runners have made quite a commitment. And let's acknowledge coach Dale Henrich who I think is doing just as well as his predecessor Marv Meyer would be doing.
Meyer was the coach when the girls program came into existence. Yes, there was a time when the sport was boys only, hard as it seems to believe. I remember seeing the boys-only team under coach Jerry Miller run out toward the golf course, giving me the impression that this was quite the herculean endeavor.
Sometimes sports was spoken of in terms of promoting "manliness." Tee hee, how quaint. It isn't even necessary to say that girls have achieved as much as legitimacy as boys. Back in the 1980s, this might seem to be a condescending statement. It is a given today. All the progress began with the kind of legislation that we can only count on Democrats to pass. Republicans would bristle at that statement but it's true. Eventually Republicans go long with this sort of thing, just as they eventually went along with Medicare. Don't be fooled. We depend on Democrats for progressive legislation, and the Republicans' own daughters benefit from it now.
Meyer was a capable coach but I have never felt it was necessary to lionize him. He has two annual events named for him in Morris. That's excessive, I feel. We have other retired coaches like Jerry Witt and Lyle Rambow who have contributed much.
The coach names I'm dropping in this post were once aligned with a certain clique in this town. The clique had both friends and skeptics. While the skeptics felt no animosity, I think they viewed this group as an impediment to some remedial actions that needed to be taken. I never felt it was necessary to let the clique guide us in decision-making. If they had kept their relationships fully social, that's fine. But they took on a political tinge. It was really more than a tinge - rather it was, when coupled with their friends, a divisive force in the community.
There are many people who'd read this and know that what I am writing is completely true. But they'd be aghast to see it in print, or to hear the truth articulated at all. My whole journalistic life has been devoted to trying to acknowledge the truth. It cost me dearly at one time. I never really shook the effects of that, and that was sad, not only for me but really for the whole community. In spite of how stupid some of you think I am, I always had a lot to offer.
We had a lightning rod individual in the school system who became disruptive in a way that I would categorize as bureaucratic stubbornness. There was much more of that in our public schools in the 1980s, whereas I think there is a much more positive environment today.
I had associations with clique members even though I ended up with a basic aversion to them. I would like to argue that they were not always the kind of saints as they are painted today. I rode in a car with some of these people to a football game in Montevideo. The discussion turned to the Hancock girls basketball program which at that time was starting to generate success under volatile coach Dennis Courneya, success that started to grate at some Morris-oriented people (jealousy). One of the iconic Morris coaches of that era, whose name I was going to type here but I won't after all, seemed to be bristling at mention of the Owls' success, and he said of those girls that they were "ugly." In the front seat, I turned to stare or glare for a moment. He had a smart-aleck grin on his face, and I could not have humbled him with any sort of rejoinder. I felt those people could be arrogant.
Merlin Beyer knew what made those people tick. Merlin was a salt of the earth person who would hold his ground even when the political winds didn't seem to be blowing favorably for him. He helped lead a faction of insurgents in this community back around 1988. He saw through the facade of self-protection that was evident for the Tiger sports clique and their social friends who passionately went to bat for them.
Merlin and his cohorts held meetings at the old Holiday Cafe, where McDonald's is now. Heck, I remember that location from when the Trailways Cafe was there. Trailways started out very classy but later deteriorated.
The whole teaching staff of the school acted like they were under attack. The sheer extent of the conflict was ridiculous, as we should have instead nurtured a productive discussion. Oh but no, it was just the opposite. The insurgents were not bad people. Many upstanding people from dignified professions put their names on a document that was presented to the school board, I believe by a fellow named Larry Best.
The whole thing was unnecessary. A productive discussion should have evolved wherein maybe some philosophical issues could be addressed, and yes maybe one or two coaching appointments could be changed. But so what? It's just coaching appointments, mere frosting on the cake for the school system.
Don Fellows eventually tried to persuade me that the so-called clique did not really reflect the whole school staff, and that most teachers did not care so much about sports that they would be willing to go to war on such matters. It was not war except that several coaches were eager to try to portray it that way. It's like the reaction from Donald Trump these days if someone criticizes him. Such incredulousness.
It got to the point where the name of the Dairy Queen was cited at the winter sports banquet.
Anyway, good luck to our four cross country runners in the state meet at Northfield. "Turn on the jets" Maddie, Meredith, Solomon and Noah. Let me add that while I consider Henrich to be a member of the clique, I had higher regard for him in terms of his basic personable nature. Let's get something named for him someday. Witt and Rambow too?
Let's not forget that Merlin Beyer won a write-in campaign for Morris mayor even after the mess of the late 1980s.
 
Addendum: Beyer told me at one point, as the stress wore, that he could not trust Mike Martin anymore. Martin has ended up lionized more than anyone else who has ever worked in the Morris school system. But Beyer was upset after he had what he thought was a confidential conversation with Martin. Beyer felt it was just understood that a conversation like that would be private. But no, because Beyer was painted as one of the outliers or rebels, worthy of scorn in certain powerful quarters as it were, he was not accorded this courtesy by Martin. "I'm not going to say anything to him again," the Morris civic leader said. Beyer once cut my hair at his little shop which was part of the old Merchants Hotel.
 
Click on the link below to read about the MACA volleyball team's 3-0 win over Eden Valley-Watkins, here on Tuesday. This post also summarizes the Tiger football team's defeat at Pillager. These reviews are on my companion website, "Morris of Course." It is a pleasure for me to still be following Tiger sports. - B.W.

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2018/11/maca-girls-keep-climbing-with-sweep-of.html

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

Lutherans do not have their hands clean

The Star Tribune had a feature within the last couple years about how many churches are changing their names. Bottom line: they are trying to get rid of denominational references. Churches find that the reference to denomination is a turn-off for millennials. The young, who are always smarter than the rest of us, think it's silly to get into conflicts between the various factions or denominations in the Christian faith.
I wrote a skeptical blog post when the Good Shepherd church got started in Morris (just outside of Morris to the north). Another Lutheran church? Is this really necessary? There are those who assert that Good Shepherd started as (frankly) a rebellion because of the once-hot gay ordination issue in the ELCA. See, this is the type of thing that alienates young people. Such firm opinions on issues that are blown out of proportion.
The purpose of the new inclusive policy was simply to guarantee that gays would not be subject to discrimination, just as a matter of policy. It didn't mean that gays were going to take over the synod. So, we hardly give a thought to this now. In the meantime, ELCA churches did lose some of their members.
Was Good Shepherd really created as a "refuge?" I do believe their members would say they are not a gay-bashing church. I don't wish to get into an argument. A friend of mine who is in the conservative or fundamentalist camp says "hate the sin, love the sinner." His point was to actually defend the exclusionary policy while at the same time professing "love."
I brought my complimentary Lutheran magazine with me to Stone's Throw Cafe in Morris Saturday. Mainly I just wanted something handy to read, or to occupy my attention, because of advice I had gotten that you might have to wait a while for your order there. I found that I didn't want other people to see the name of the magazine I had. I sensed the divisiveness that religion can inevitably cause. And, maybe I should be ashamed having a "Lutheran" magazine.
This is uncomfortable for me to write about because my recently-deceased mother was a most committed Lutheran who didn't have a prejudiced bone in her body about anyone. I remembered hearing over the years that Martin Luther was an anti-Semite. My church of First Lutheran in Morris recently had a Martin Luther impersonator visit, in costume in fact. He sure wasn't going to stand up there and act like an anti-Semite. But upon getting home, I wanted to refresh my memory on the anti-Semitic angle re. Martin Luther. Was it that bad?
Some alleged anti-Semitism falls within vague bounds, like when you question the nation of Israel. Regarding the real anti-Semitism, we know it when we see it. And now we have the horrifying synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh PA. Having a president who seems to fit the description of "white nationalist" is getting more ominous all the time. We sit back and are too passive about it. The Nazis got wiped out because decency prevailed with God's blessing.
What is to become of the U.S. now, a nation with so many older white men willing to wear MAGA caps? Will things get worse before they get better? How bad can it get? Martin Luther whose name inspires countless churches across the nation, was in fact a horrible anti-Semite, the worst kind. It was so bad, it was a leading factor in what developed in Europe in the mid-20th Century.
Luther wrote the treatise called "On the Jews and Their Lies" in 1543. He was more mild earlier in his life but that was only because he held out hope that Jews could be converted. Upon realizing that this was not in the works, rage took over. He openly urged persecution of Jews. His treatise argued that Jewish synagogues and schools be set on fire, their prayer books destroyed, rabbis forbidden to preach, homes burned, and property and money confiscated.
Someone on cable TV wondered last week why Rudy Giuliani seems to have suddenly vanished from the airwaves, after having been a prominent if eccentric (senile?) spokesman for Donald Trump. There should be no mystery here. Giuliani disappeared from public view because he crossed a line. He talked about how the government might "freeze the assets" of George Soros. Why? Was Soros "paying off" the protesters of Kavanaugh? Well, the truth is that Soros financially supports organizations the members of which are the type who might want to protest Kavanaugh. That of course is not the same thing. Logic can end up out in the periphery in the Fox News world.
We will find out soon in the mid-terms whether the crazed Trump world is going to keep making inroads. A simple Republican majority would ensure that.
Freeze the assets? If such anti-Semitic talk gains traction, we are truly on the way toward re-experiencing what happened in 1930s Germany. Martin Luther described the Jews as a "base, whoring people, that is, no people of God, and their boast of lineage, circumcision and law must be accounted as filth." Luther further wrote that the Jews are "full of the devil's feces, which they wallow in like swine." And, "the synagogue is an incorrigible whore and an evil slut."
Do you want me to go on? Research shows us this: "The prevailing scholarly view since the Second World War is that (Luther's) treatise exercised a major and persistent influence on Germany's attitude toward its Jewish citizens in the centuries between the Reformation and the Holocaust."
Luther was a rebel from the Catholic Church. We see the newspaper headlines today abut the abhorrent conduct that has been foisted on youth all over the nation, due to priest misbehavior. And so we wonder why millennials might be disillusioned? Can Christianity re-create itself in a new inclusive and progressive mold that has a little more passivity?
 
Addendum: Can you see Jesus wearing a "MAGA" cap?
 
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com