Family at the core of who we are

From left: Martha, mother Hilda, Edwin and Mildred

The phone rang one evening about three days after my mother died. "Brian? This is Debbie."
It seemed surreal because this was someone with whom I had not communicated since the mid-1960s. She's my first cousin, daughter of my late aunt Mildred who was Mom's sister. The story of Debbie's family was, shall we say, complicated. The marital relationship of her parents got severed. Even though Mildred seemed stable in all respects, no dysfunction or vices that I know of, the kids ended up going with the father.
I could try to venture an explanation but there's no point in going there, not after all this time, and after all I was just a naive kid when all this happened. There's nothing more boring than to read an attempted explanation of a marriage breakup, n'est-ce pas? So forget it.
Let's just say that in the year 2018 A.D., I'm delighted to have some renewed contact with my cousin Debbie. She lives in Hawaii. Yes, seems enviable, but that state has been ravaged by acts of God, e.g. a volcano. During a period of duress there, my cousin Kenny told me Debbie was at a Red Cross shelter. Kenny told me he suspects Debbie really has a subsistence lifestyle in Hawaii, although that would still be the envy of most people, sans crisis.
Kenny is the brother of Debbie. They are among five total children born to Mildred and Albert Dueis. Mildred eventually got re-married to a very nice man who was a native of Hawley, Ray Riedberger. They settled out in Oregon.
 
A memory that endears
Mildred occupies a unique place in my heart because she was the only person outside my parents to remember my birthday through every year. My birthday is January 28 which is today (Monday). She sent a card every year with a warm message. Mildred and Ray lived for a long time at a remote place in Oregon called "The Dalles." We communicated by phone every 3-4 months. Ray and I often chatted about the Portland Trailblazers basketball team. He had a trademark remark, "oh for garsh sake."

The Ohlson children: Martha, Edwin,Mildred

I was surprised when Mildred stopped calling Ray to the phone. She claimed it was because Ray was getting hard of hearing. This was a little white lie because Ray was coming down with symptoms of dementia. What a scythe our Lord wields with this malady. God created us so that our bodies and minds can break down so badly in our advanced years. Medical science seems to make this worse, in a sense, because yes it keeps us alive longer, much longer in many cases, but then we develop serious chronic issues as time rolls on. I talked with a local minister who said he once went through archives of another church in his synod, and he was struck by how so many people died of natural causes when relatively young.

The problem caught up with my aunt Mildred. She was living at the Dorchester House in Lincoln City OR after Ray's death. She came down with esophageal cancer. She ended up in home hospice at the residence of her step daughter Jan and Jan's husband, the Killpacks. The last time Mom and I called her, we were informed she could not take the phone. I left a message with Mr. Killpack, "tell Mildred we love her very much," and it was shortly after that that she died.
I am not aware of any obituary ever having been prepared for her. I imagine that would have been uncomfortable due to how her first marriage should be acknowledged and reported on. Whatever else you want to say about that marriage, it produced five children.
After many years of no contact between the children and my family, Dianne showed up at our front door one day during the '70s. Kenny has been the one seeking the most outreach to us. He and wife Susan came to Morris for my father's funeral. They got seated in the sanctuary just before the service, whereupon I tapped Kenny on the shoulder and told him they should join family in the Fireside Room! Kenny has indicated he wants to learn more about his mother's side of the family.
David visited us once in the 1980s. There is a photo of Kenny, David and yours truly that might amuse you, because we're all wearing the kind of tight-fitting shorts that were once fashionable for men! I might have that photo scanned and share it sometime.
If you're counting, I have now accounted for four of the Dueis children. There's Karl too, who we have not seen and about whom I know nothing. Their father Bert was a very talented artist who did some noteworthy Old West-themed paintings. How to describe his personality? I think volatile would be a word. Many highly creative people can have idiosyncrasies that are not helpful to them. There, have I phrased all that gently enough?
 
No hoopla at time of death
There was no funeral service held for my Aunt Mildred. Arrangements were simply with cremation. Actually this is what I had in mind for my mother when she died in April. I initially shared this with the funeral home representative, but then a mass email was sent out from UMM saying "funeral services pending." We did do cremation. I see no justification for the open casket reviewal. A service was held for Mom at First Lutheran, obviously very nice. I told the funeral home to increase the estimate for food needed, and I turned out to be right! God bless.

Mildred at our house for Christmas in 1965!

Mom's ashes are buried at our family plot at Summit Cemetery. Mom like Mildred had cancer at the end. Also like Mildred, Mom was under the care of home hospice. Mom was at risk for being placed in a nursing home permanently. I'm thankful she could spend her final days at her precious residence on Northridge Drive, Morris. She is with Mildred in heaven now along with her brother Edwin who lived a long and rich life out in California. Their parents were Andrew and Hilda Ohlson who were very devoted to Brainerd MN.
Hilda passed away at our residence in Morris in 1963, and her body was transported back to Brainerd for burial. I suspect the cost for that sort of thing is much higher now than in 1963!
I discovered the website for Evergreen Cemetery in Brainerd. I discovered an "Ohlson" who was unfamiliar to me. The "h" makes the spelling unusual so I immediately wondered if this person was somehow family. Well yes, she was. Her first name was "Johanek." Mom in a subdued manner told me that Johanek was my grandfather's first wife. The cemetery website informed me that Johanek passed away in 1920 at the age of 46. Andrew re-married Hilda who was much younger than him. In fact, my father was eight years older than my mother.
I will try to get more information about Johanek. Did she have children with Andrew? I just don't know.
 
Three children including Edwin
Andrew and Hilda began their family of three children: Martha, Mildred and Edwin. Edwin and his wife Doris had twin sons, Allan and Norman. Norman left us too soon for heaven, perhaps because of health issues he brought back from the Vietnam war. He was a decorated veteran and served in the Army with the C. D, 65th Eng Bn, 25th Inf. Div. He received the Bronze Star Medal of Heroism in 1968 for saving many lives of fellow wounded soldiers following an attack on the company.

My cousins, Mom's nephews: twins Norman and Allan, in 2004

Norman and Allen would be 71 years old today. Allan is still with us, as is mother Doris who is quite elderly but still seems lucid as shown in the correspondence we shared after Mom's death. I indicated to her what a disaster I felt the Vietnam war was. She readily agreed. My father always said Norman "probably had to kill some people" in Vietnam. Allan is caregiver for Doris just like I was with Mom.
There you have it: I have now accounted for all seven of my cousins on my mom's side of the family. I sent a Christmas email to my cousin Debbie in Hawaii and she warmly answered. She's my age. I sent her the link to my annual Christmas song! She said she was emotionally moved by the song. I was touched by how she signed the email: "Your cousin, Debbie."
Kenny says maybe someday the three of us can get together, most likely here in Morris. I don't plan on traveling much in the future.
I have never felt close to cousins on my father's side of the family, likely due to social distance caused by me being younger. The one with whom I keep the most contact is Bob Williams, formerly of Carlton MN ("bear country" up north) and now in the Twin Cities. We share warm correspondence about 2-3 times a year. His wife Marilyn has been through treatment recently for breast cancer, the same malady my mother Martha had.

Aunt Mildred at age 12

My mother had an assortment of health issues over the last few years of her life. I will never forget the details of how we dealt with all those. I will never forget the details of our day-to-day life over the last couple years, a time of challenges but also love. God intends for us to learn from all this.
 
Mom was exemplary w/ religion
My mother was very religious. She was religious in the healthiest way with no politics intruding. The latter has put a stain on Christianity, I feel. So bad, I have a hard time continuing to go to church. My mother was unruffled by the gay ordination issue in the ELCA. She would say it's appropriate for gay people to be accorded basic rights. The whole issue seems passe. How ridiculous for a whole new church in Morris, Good Shepherd, to be formed as a result of this issue. I hope it fades away.

My mother could not have related at all to the right wing religious politics of the likes of Franklin Graham and Robert Jeffress. She would be disgusted by it.
My parents voted Democratic but were not at all difficult or assertive in how they expressed politics. They were temperate and gentle people. Rest in peace, Mom and Mildred and other departed members of our families. Is my mom with her siblings or her parents, or with Ralph in heaven? Who knows but it's probably all of them.
I will be age 64 on Monday, January 28. I have already collected Social Security for two years! In a year I'll get my much-coveted Medicare card. Eureka!
My birthday will never be the same without getting the birthday greeting from Mildred.
Mildred Riedberger, RIP.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
 
Addendum: One day when I was on the phone with Mildred, a Dorchester House worker named Julio came into her room to change a light bulb. After that I'd always conclude our conversation by saying "say hello to Julio from Minnesota."

With warmth of fireplace at our home: Raymond and Mildred Riedberger

Insurance will plow through pretensions of football

The fate of the sport of football is being determined away from emotions, thank goodness. Emotions shower the sport. The players themselves cater to that, accommodating the media interviewers with the gratuitous, empty comments, ad nauseam, but there's another side.
I wondered recently what was going on the heads of a couple New York Jets players as they were interviewed pre-game, back in a bygone time. So bygone, it's Joe Namath playing quarterback. Namath was interviewed along with linebacker Al Atkinson. Behind their carefree disposition, there was an anxiety lurking, I sensed. It would be unspoken. The masculine sport of football disallows feelings of fear and weakness coming forth. Certainly in Namath's time this was the case. It was long before the clarion call we all began hearing about the sport's dangers.

(image of Joe Namath from pinterest)

I think the players knew full well what awaited them as they began clashing on the field. Problem is, their talents had gotten them so rewarded with glory and opened doors as with college scholarships and pro contracts, it was the goose that laid the golden egg.
We heard about all sorts of injuries in the old days. Jim Otto of the Raiders was put forward as a textbook example. But these were the kind of injuries a reasonable man might be expected to live with. You might seem semi-handicapped with limitations in your post-football life. But guys were encouraged to think this was like a badge of honor. An "old football injury" might be a conversation starter where smiles take over and we hear those gratuitous, empty comments. "How'd the game turn out?" one might ask.

Because the sport had the imprimatur of education institutions and because masses of fans showed interest at such events, it was encouraged to wax positive on such things. It was a cultural expectation. But the players deep in their own minds were conflicted, I think. I sensed it in the facial expressions or body language of the two Jets players. The players gave the usual cliche answers to the interviewer who happened to be Howard Cosell. (I watched this on YouTube.) They followed the expected routine. These guys were doing what they figured society had ordained them to do. A pox on all of us.
Our perspective is indeed different in the year 2018. We are watching a slow conversion of the masses. One can argue it's way too slow, as surely we ought to be hearing the death knell for football itself. Logic commands it. But holy cow, how can we let go of something that over time has grown into an absolute opiate?
I have finally done it. Had I made this claim a couple years ago, it would have seemed a little white lie. Football still commanded too much of my curiosity. I am not misleading anyone now. I hardly have the curiosity to learn the scores, not even for the U of M Gophers. The U is having a hard time getting students to come to the games. Well, congratulations students. Keep up the enlightenment.
 
A white knight, like it or not
Where emotions fail in causing change, we have one very reliable fall-back: insurance! How often do we feel like cheering for this industry? We can't live with it and we can't live without it, to paraphrase an old misogynistic joke. A banker friend of mine shared the following with me in a spirit of levity recently: Insurance is something we spend a lot of money on, with the idea that we don't want to use it!
There is nothing like the insurance industry for peeling away pretension, emotions and lies and simply garnering truth. So, that's why the sport of football could be on the cusp of a rapid descent. Forget the preening high school sports parents with their flippant comments on how the game is fun and exciting etc. These are otherwise intelligent people, n'est-ce pas? Where they fail in seeing the light, where they fail miserably in true caring for their sons - the abomination of it - the insurance industry will come riding in like a white knight.
I gnash teeth a little in complimenting the insurance industry. I'm reminded of a syndicated cartoon I saw once, in which a woman realizes "I've never been so offended in all my life," and this was upon learning that her new boyfriend was a private investigator working for an insurance company!
Accountability is what holds insurance companies, and casinos, together. Remember the woman who claimed her dentist gave her AIDs? An insurance industry lawyer peeled her like a banana, as I recall. Reminds me of Bernard Goldberg's important book "Bias" in which (the windbag) said, precise in this case: "People are notorious for lying about their sex life." After the "Bias" book, Goldberg became an annoying caricature of himself.
Just so you all know what's happening with football and insurance, lest there's any doubt, I'll quote from an ABC News article: "From the NFL to rec leagues, football is facing a stark, new threat: an evaporating insurance market that is fundamentally altering the economics of the sport, squeezing and even killing off programs faced with higher costs and a scarcity of available coverage, an Outside the Lines investigation has found."
Football can only go downhill now. As the process accelerates, you might find there isn't even much general talk about it. Slowly we'll adjust our entertainment consumption habits. We'll begin acting like it's no big deal. We'll find it silly to remember the days when we salivated over those "Super Bowl TV commercials." What idiocy. We will discover life after football. We will raise our sons more responsibly.
If the battered Namath were given a choice to re-live his whole life without football, I think he would.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

MACA girls win at Montevideo, improve to 9-5

Tigers 63, Montevideo 52
Malory Anderson gave lots of fuel to the MACA offense in the second half of the Tigers' Friday (1/18) win. The WCC hoops action was in Thunder Hawk country of Montevideo. Anderson came on strong to score 14 points in the second half. The burst helped lift coach Dale Henrich's squad to a 63-52 win.
Junior post Anderson scored 18 total points and completed a double-double with ten rebounds. The orange and black built a 32-23 lead at halftime. The success lifted our season record to 9-5. Monte fell to 2-9.
Three-point shooting was a strong suit for the winning Tigers. That onslaught was topped by Maddie Carrington and Riley Decker who each made three long-rangers. Emma Bowman sank two from beyond the 3-point stripe. Meredith Carrington added a '3' to the mix. The scoring list was topped by Anderson and her 18 points, then we see the names of: Maddie Carrington (15), Decker (9), Bowman (6), Kylie Swanson (4), Sophia Carlsen (4), Meredith Carrington (3), Jordann Baier (2) and Liz Dietz (2).
Anderson's ten rebounds made her tops there. Decker led in assists with five followed by Dietz with four. Anderson complemented her other stats with the team-best five steals, and Maddie Carrington had four.
The Tigers had to overcome some sharp 3-point shooting by Tenley Epema of the T-Hawks. She sank four long-rangers. Maddie Kilibarda made two 3-pointers and Livia Gades made one. Epema vaulted to the top of the Monte scoring list with 17 points. Jasmyn Kronback was their other double figures scorer with ten. Kilibarda, Avery Koenen and Sydney Zindel each put in six. Livia Gades added five points and Kori Douglas two. Koenen and Kronback led the T-Hawks in rebounds with seven and five respectively. Gades led in assists with four followed by Epema and Koenen each with three. Gades and Kronback each had three steals.
The Tigers' success upped our W/L to 9-5. Monte's record: 2-9.
 
Boys: BOLD 61, Tigers 55
A balanced offense was not enough to lift the MACA boys over BOLD in January 17 home action. The Tigers were up against a Warrior team that likewise showed balance. Indeed, this was an undefeated Warrior team. Even though we led at halftime by six, BOLD had assets that eventually overcame us.
Those assets were led by Jordan Sagedahl with 16 points, but he had solid contributors complementing him too. Carter Henry scored 14 points, Drew Sagedahl 13 and Gavin Vosika 11, as BOLD worked to a 61-55 win over the orange and black. Just five Warriors scored. The one left to report here is Matt Moorse whose output was seven.
Drew Sagedahl, Vosika and Moorse each made a three-pointer. Henry topped BOLD's rebounding with ten while Jordan Sagedahl grabbed five. Vosika and Jordan Sagedahl led in assists with four and three, respectively. Gavin Vosika and Moorse each had three steals.
On to the Tigers' details: Here we see a generous amount of three-point shot success as Jackson Loge and Durgin Decker each made two. Joseph Kleinwolterink, Jaden Maanum and Jaret Johnson each made one. It was Loge topping the scoring list with 14 points. Johnson was second high with his eleven points while Camden Arndt and Decker each scored ten. Other points were added by Kleinwolterink (5), Maanum (3) and Eli Grove (2).
Loge attacked the boards for 16 rebounds. Arndt came through with eight boards. Arndt and Loge each recorded five assists, and Arndt stole the ball twice. Our W/L dropped below .500 to 6-7. BOLD retained its unbeaten status and sported 16-0 numbers.
 
Wrestling: Tigers 56, BOLD 22
MAHACA wrestling put on a solid exhibition in defeating BOLD during the BOLD Triangular. The Tigers prevailed over the host Warriors in the Thursday competition, 56-22. We enjoyed two skeins of success. The lighter weights saw us reel off six straight wins, then there was a sweep of 160 pounds through 195.
It was a winning formula to the delight of the orange and black fans.
The very lightest weight saw BOLD win: Austin Kiecker over Caden Rose by fall at 106. Here come the Tigers: Dylan Rose at 113 pounds pinned Rylan Gass in 1:01. Davin Rose at 120 got Stevie McMath's shoulders pinned to the mat in :12. Then it was Ethan Lebrija (126) coming on strong to win by fall over Matthew Dooner in 1:59. Jed Feuchtenberger charged to an 11-3 major decision over Jesse Manderscheid at 132. Then it was Ben Travis posting an 11-2 major decision over Hunter Ridler at 138.
Dalton Rose had his arm raised via forfeit at 145. Gideon Joos at 152 pounds was on the short end of a 15-5 major decision at the hands of Antony Maher. Then at 160, Brady Cardwell pinned Blake Flann in 1:22. Our Colten Wohlers (170) got Jaden Huebsch's shoulders pinned to the mat in :12. Tristan Raths of the Tigers, 182 pounds, won by fall in 2:38 over Gavin Moudry. Dillon Nelson at 195 was the forfeit winner. The two heaviest weights saw BOLD Warriors get their arms raised via forfeits: Tim Peppel and Brady Ridler.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Anderson scores 22, Carrington 19 in win over WHN

Tigers 66, Wheaton-Herman-Norcross 52
Malory Anderson and Maddie Carrington were a 1-2 punch for MACA girls basketball in its January 15 home win. Home fans cheered as Anderson put in 22 points and Carrington scored 19. Carrington made two 3-pointers while Riley Decker and Liz Dietz each made one.
Here's the rest of the scoring list: Kendra Wevley (8), Emma Bowman (5), Dietz (5), Sophia Carlsen (4) and Decker (3). Anderson and Bowman were top rebounders with 14 and eight respectively. Decker was the assist whiz with seven. Anderson stood out in steals with eight.
The Tigers improved to 8-5 with the 66-52 final score. We were up at halftime 40-25. Wheaton-Herman-Norcross came out of the game at 4-8.
Isabelle Schmidt was WHN's top scorer with 21 points. Maycee Tolifson achieved double figures too with 13. Other Warriors who scored: Brylie Schultz (7), Haley Johnson (4), Mackenzi Stafford (4) and Ellisa Rinke (3). Tolifson, Rinke and Schmidt each made a '3'.
 
Boys: Tigers 57, ACGC 55
The Morris Area Chokio Alberta boys' assignment on Jan. 15 was to visit Falcon country of ACGC. It was hard work but we got our record evened at 6-6. Will the .500 plateau be a jumping-off point for increased success? Orange and black optimism is high at mid-season. The host Falcons fell to 4-9.
Coach Mark Torgerson's Tigers assumed a 31-26 lead at halftime. Camden Arndt was in the groove with his play at the Grove City gym. Arndt came at the Falcons with 26 points. Jackson Loge and Jaret Johnson complemented him with eleven and ten points respectively. It was a night when just five total Tigers scored but they got the job done. Jaden Maanum scored nine points and Joseph Kleinwolterink added one to the mix.
Arndt made two 3-point shots and Maanum connected for one. Arndt showed his prowess in rebounds too with his team-best 13, followed by Loge with nine and Johnson with five. Johnson led in assists and steals with six and three respectively. Arndt stole the ball twice.
The game-high scorer was ACGC's Steven Lawver with 27 points. Like the Tigers, the Falcons showed an "iron man" look with just five players scoring. Here are the other four: Dawson Miller (13), Brayden Hedtke (11), Shelby Shoen (2) and Jordan Schumacher (2). Three Falcons each made a 3-pointer: Hedtke, Lawver and Miller. Lawver snared eleven rebounds while Miller grabbed eight. Schumacher and Lawver led in assists with six and five, respectively. Hedtke led in steals with four while Miller had three.
 
Boys: Tigers 72, Lac qui Parle 68
The winter sports schedule can be pretty intense. Games can appear on the schedule for Saturday. Such was the case this past Saturday, Jan. 12, when the home gym was the site for boys and girls action versus Lac qui Parle Valley.
The boys game was a thriller for the home fans as our team bounced back after a deficit of ten points at halftime. We seemed on the ropes for a time, due in large part to LQPV's Austin Bonn and his sharp long-range shooting. Bonn was a force with 21 points in the first half, a time when he made six 3-pointers among ten total by his squad. Quite an onslaught by the Eagles but not a sign of guaranteed victory, as it turned out.
The Tigers were resolved to change the game's complexion in the second half. The defense was going to have to step things up. And it did! It clamped down on Bonn who was limited to five points in the half. He still finished with the impressive harvest of 26 for the game.
The win got us to 5-6 while LQPV came out of the day at 9-4.
Saturday revived memories of Kevin Loge as Kevin's son Jackson played a big part in the MACA resurgence. Jackson scored 27 points to mirror his rival Bonn. Jackson achieved his seventh double-double of the campaign. His points-per-game is 17.7 and he's making field goal attempts at a 57 percent clip. We have a team shooting percentage of 44.
Loge was joined in the double figures scoring category by three of his mates: Zach Hughes (14), Jaret Johnson (13) and Camden Arndt (10). Eli Grove scored four points while Durgin Decker and Jaden Maanum each put in two. Hughes got bursts of cheers from the partisan home crowd with his four 3-pointers. Loge and Johnson each got the refs to signal '3' once.
Loge completed his double-double with 16 rebounds. Arndt snared five boards. In assists it was Johnson leading the way with eight while Arndt had five. Loge stole the ball twice and he blocked five shots.
 
Girls: Tigers 55, LQPV 51
The girls got focused for their Saturday assignment, resolved to beat the Eagles of Lac qui Parle Valley. (Where is the "valley" over there?)
It was a showcase day for hoops at our fine local facilities. Our hoops teams showed a superior quality indeed. The orange and black showed a flourish in the girls game by turning back a LQPV Eagle team that came here undefeated! Our 55-51 win finally put a blemish on the Eagles' record. The Eagles left here at 11-1 while our team climbed to 7-5. We led 25-21 at halftime.
Riley Decker put on a 3-point shooting clinic as she succeeded five times beyond the magical line. (I used to write "3-point land" like it was an Oz type of place.) Decker poured in 19 points for the game. Maddie Carrington made one three-pointer and was No. 2 on the scoring list with eleven. Malory Anderson came through with nine points while these other Tigers scored: Kylie Swanson (6), Emma Bowman (5), Sophia Carlsen (3) and Liz Dietz (2).
Anderson was a force on the boards with her 18 rebounds. Carlsen came through with six rebounds. Anderson set the pace in assists with four while Swanson and Decker each had three. Carrington and Anderson each had three steals.
What a day for Tiger hoops! So far the signs seem quite positive in the post-holidays phase of the schedule.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Carrington, Decker each make two 3's in home win

Tigers 62, Melrose 48
The Friday (1/4) story was upbeat for MACA girls basketball: a 62-48 win over Melrose at home. The orange and black pulled up to .500 at 5-5 with this success. Melrose too is having a .500 type season to date (3-4).
We assumed a 31-24 lead at halftime. Would you believe, the second half had identical 31-24 numbers with MACA improving on its advantage?
Maddie Carrington and Riley Decker each made two three-pointers. Malory Anderson was a force all over the court and this Tiger snared eleven rebounds to lead. She and Decker co-led in assists with four each. Anderson led the way in steals with three, and in scoring her impact was with eleven points. But it was Carrington, buoyed by her 3's (always a strong suit for this Tiger), who led in scoring with 13 points.
Anderson's output of eleven was equaled by Decker and Kylie Swanson. So overall it was quite the balanced attack for coach Dale Henrich's crew. Emma Bowman put in five points, and here's the rest of the list: Jordann Baier (4), Sophia Carlsen (3), Kendra Wevley (2) and Liz Dietz (2).
Makiya Luetmer's 20 points for the visitor wasn't enough to help the Dutchmen keep pace. She was truly an impact player. Audrey Welle put in nine points. Other Dutchmen who scored: Kinsey Wensmann (5), Maddie Rosenberger (5), Ashley Revering (3), Ashley Rademacher (3), Molly Kraemer (2) and Madison Dufner (1). Welle made two 3-pointers and Luetmer made one.
 
Boys: Melrose 61, Tigers 58
MACA basketball was upended by Melrose in January 8 home hoops action. This hard-fought boys contest ended with a score of 61-58. The quality Melrose opponent came out of the night at 7-3. Meanwhile our Tigers were languishing at 3-6, hoping for a renewed spurt of momentum as we get into the new year.
Melrose led 27-23 halfway through. We outscored the Dutchmen in the second half 35-34. The loss was not for lack of 3-point scoring. Indeed our long-range shooting eye was pretty sharp. We had Jaret Johnson connecting three times from 3-point range. Camden Arndt got the 3-point signal from refs on two occasions. Joseph Kleinwolterink and Jackson Loge each made one '3', and it was Loge topping our scoring list with 18 points.
Arndt pushed his total up to 15. Johnson climbed up to eleven points with his three 3's. Here's the rest of our list: Eli Grove (5), Kleinwolterink (3), Jaden Maanum (2), Zach Hughes (2) and Durgin Decker (2). Loge led in rebounds with seven. Arndt and Loge were tops in assists with four and three respectively. Arndt and Johnson each had a steal.
 
Boys: Breckenridge 78, Tigers 58
The Tigers/Cowboys rivalry was quite intense when your blog host was in high school, many moons ago. It was the orange and black against that doggone green. I seem to recall the Cowboys getting the upper hand too often for my taste. Those were the days when much of the post-season hoops action was held locally like at the P.E. Center at UMM. The P.E. Center got rocking on many occasions. These days it seems everyone heads south like to Granite Falls and Marshall. The number of fans on behalf of the Tigers is probably quite diminished, restricted in large part to parents and other "hardcores."
Well, those Cowboys got the upper hand over our Tigers in a 2018 matchup of these colors, on Thursday, January 3. The Cowboys were host and came away with a 78-58 victory. It was Breckenridge's fifth win.
Jackson Loge was a force for the Tigers but it wasn't enough. Oh, a great many Tigers scored which was nice consolation for the Tigers and their parents who enjoyed seeing their sons get in the scoring column. Loge poured in 19 points to lead. Camden Arndt with his ten points was our other double figures scorer. Also contributing offense were: Joseph Kleinwolterink (2), Zach Hughes (2), Cameron Koebernick (2), Eli Grove (4), Kevin Asfeld (3), Noah Wulff (1), Durgin Decker (5), Jaret Johnson (8) and Thomas Tiernan (2).
It was an unusual evening where MACA made no three-point shots. Loge made his presence felt on the boards with 14 rebounds. Arndt had three assists.
 
Girls: Breckenridge 69, Tigers 66
The January 3 story for the GBB Tigers was a narrow loss at Breckenridge, 69-66. The Thursday affair saw MACA battle hard employing, among other things, the double-double by Malory Anderson, junior post. Johnson scored 20 points and collected 14 rebounds. Senior Riley Decker made a statement with her 19 points and she was dead-on from 3-point range, making five such crowd-pleasing shots. Maddie Carrington, Tiger junior, accumulated 12 points and five assists.
We were down four points at halftime, 39-35. Breck carved out its seventh win. Emma Bowman scored six points for the Tigers, Liz Dietz five and Kylie Swanson four.
It was "bombs away" for Carrington as she made two 3-pointers, and Bowman made one from beyond the stripe. Carrington dished out five assists. Anderson had two steals.
  
Scandal touches area hockey
Well, this is rather unusual: a person with connections to Morris hockey through Benson has gotten the book thrown at him, for the kind of wrongdoing that is usually associated with Catholic priests. The guy's name is Brad Alsaker. He's a former rink manager and hockey coach in Benson. He was on the board of the Benson Hockey Association at the time of his arrest. The Benson paper reported last summer that the Benson Hockey Association, Morris Hockey Association and Morris-Benson Hockey Association had terminated his employment.
A district court judge laid down the sentence: 120 days in jail and five years probation. The judge stayed prison sentences of up to five years. Alsaker is age 34. He was sentenced in Swift County District Court for a felony charge of soliciting a child through electronic media, three felony charges of possessing pornographic materials, and a felony charge of possessing a firearm.
Judge David Mennis announced the sentencing. (Just think if the judge's first name was Dennis!)
The hockey guy must report to the Swift County jail no later than February 4. Fines and fees are involved too. He must undergo a psychosexual evaluation by an independent forensic psychologist. He was arrested in June 2017 after an undercover operation involving a Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension special agent posing as an underage girl.
Turns out, the guy had a stash of videos depicting child pornography. I don't know how much contact the guy had with Morris hockey kids. I guess this is the first big sexual misbehavior in area sports since Dennis Courneya.
 
Gophers football progress: who cares?
A headline blares from today's (1/10) West Central Tribune sports section, re. whether P.J. Fleck's Gopher football team can progress into the top 25 next season. As if we should focus on such a superficial question. It's superficial because it overlooks or neglects the welfare of the young men who choose to participate in the sport.
We're attracted to such headlines because sports helps us avoid the boredom in life, the ennui. We know nothing of the true hazards those young men are subjecting their bodies and brains to. Oh, we'll see an occasional movie like "Concussion" (Will Smith) and catch occasional news articles, but there seems little effect on our actual behavior. We're still attracted to headlines about whether the Gophers can "row the boat" into the top 25, as if that would be good for our ego as Minnesotans, or something.
I used to care in the standard way. Now I'm ashamed of that, or rather enlightened and moving forward.
A Thursday Star Tribune headline is more helpful: "NFL drops plan to fight payouts." "The NFL abruptly dropped its plan Wednesday to challenge approved dementia diagnoses in a landmark concussion case as players' lawyers accuse it of trying to delay payments and rewrite the $1 billion settlement."
Here's the problem: no matter the onslaught of lawsuits and the like, the new media landscape with so many revenue streams ensures that football will continue as a cash cow. The only hope is if us knave fans will really get smart. We need to fight the boredom in our lives in other ways than to watch young gladiators take unreasonable risks all over the place. Then again, we're a nation that elected Donald Trump.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Zakaria, M. Crowley and other apparent infringers

The Morris Sun Tribune had a writer a few years back, a "stringer" and not full-time, who engaged in blatant plagiarism. Before the excrement hit the fan with that, I visited my friend Del Sarlette of Sarlettes Music and expressed suspicion of this writer's material, saying it seemed lifted. Maybe the paper's management was too lazy to confront the writer with the appropriate questions.
My suspicion wasn't based on anything concrete, just a sense. Well, I am a lifelong writer and journalist.
One day I perused the Morris paper (which I do not buy) and noticed a headline about how a certain article was being "retracted." The Forum Communications legal department probably advised this route to take, based on the naked plagiarism having been discovered. The writer lifted material from "Baby Boomer Women." Now, it's possible some people just don't have a natural instinct about plagiarism being wrong. I'll allow for this explanation re. the writer in question, who happens to be in the same Morris High School graduating class as Sarlette.
 
A "lifting" discovery at Mpls. paper
I posted on Sunday (on "I Love Morris") about how Colin Covert of the Star Tribune was forced to resign over much more small-scale "lifting." Covert's case just involved phrases, a few words here and there. I expressed fear about precedent in a case like Covert's, like it might have a chilling effect for writers who wish to employ means of expression, distinctive words, that they had simply learned from their reading.

Fareed Zakaria

I argue that the whole purpose of our reading is to expand our grasp of knowledge and mastery of the language. We tap that mastery in our own writing. Mike Barnicle resigned from the Boston Globe for what he would say was "joke stealing." The esteemed Fareed Zakaria of CNN had his own bout with lifting charges. No two of these cases are exactly alike. Zakaria's case is interesting because he actually changed some words in what he appeared to borrow. You might call it "editing," employing your own judgment. A more cynical view is that Zakaria changed some words just to avoid plagiarism detection.
There was a brief fuss about Zakaria's alleged transgressions. CNN said it would look further into his work. But a journalist subsequently noted that CNN's pledge appeared to be poppycock, because other transgressions from the guy's background could in fact be found, but CNN was choosing to just "move on." Zakaria has high standing in international journalism and analysis. He has a good following.
So I'm wondering: maybe the bar is being lowered, maybe for the better, on such matters. Here's the deal: We have moved into a copy/paste world with digital life. It's a world in which people present views and build audiences without necessarily getting paid for it. No one excuses "stealing," absolutely. But I think the younger generation is softer on this, perhaps arguing that severe sanctions should be reserved for blatant ripoff cases.
 

Monica Crowley

When is plagiarism "news?"
When Monica Crowley's plagiarism became known, I think the media didn't give it enough attention. I began wondering if a new understanding was setting into the media, that being: don't hype a plagiarism story unless there is an actual aggrieved party who is launching a tangible legal action. Otherwise it's just the reporter's judgment, subjective.
Fox News - always put an asterisk next to that - tried hyping Elizabeth Warren's alleged plagiarism once. I swear they began each news hour with this for a day or two, but when all was said and done, it turned out the other writer had plagiarized Warren and not the other way around! Like I said, use an asterisk with that bastard organization.
And I remember the notorious "Fox and Friends," Trump's fountain for filling his head, talking about Jimmy Carter "plagiarizing a map" for a book. I suppose you could technically plagiarize a map. But a map simply represents hard facts and presents no creativity or originality except in a purely cosmetic way, and I suppose the cosmetic aspects are not to be tossed aside. I'm not sure how that matter turned out. If an actual judgment or settlement happened, I probably would have caught it on the news.
I think the Colin Covert case is going to give movie reviewers the jitters. I mean, reviewers I'm sure read other reviewers' work exhaustively. They pick up interesting points and observations in which they'd find merit in many cases. So, when sitting down to write your own stuff, you might legitimately want to record or reflect points of merit digested from other reviews. And naturally you don't want to "steal." But now I guess you have to go through the gymnastics of ensuring your words are 100 percent original and that you don't so much as use a particular adjective that you may have picked up.
And as I argued in my first post, the whole purpose of reading is to learn, to add to our vocabulary etc. We assimilate background from media sources all the time, TV discussions in the background etc. If we hear an anecdote that applies to something we'll write about in the future, we might legitimately want to use that, not in the spirit of "stealing" but in the spirit of tapping our knowledge.
 
Egg on face of Morris paper
I must say, the plagiarism episode at the Morris Sun Tribune didn't just cross a line, it was a a flying leap. I left a message on the answering machine of the infringed-upon writer suggesting she consider suing. I guess she had been told the infringing writer had been "fired." The strategy there was to try to encourage some sympathy for the Morris writer. We're all despondent when someone gets fired.
But of course this pronouncement was misleading because as a "stringer," her employment was hardly employment at all. It's my understanding she had a job at UMM, a totally plum job in the community. The Forum appeared to settle the matter by "retracting" the story. The bottom line for this is "don't get sued."
The Minnesota News Council used to exist, not in the spirit of pure justice but as a way of protecting its member newspapers from getting sued. You see, even though the Council's judgment could sting - "shame on you" - papers actually greeted this with a wink. The short-term humiliation, as experienced here in Morris when Jim Morrison was in charge, was offset by avoiding a lawsuit. Wink, wink to be sure. The Council no longer exists. Seems quaint now.
Papers have been sliding into irrelevance. My current post on "I Love Morris" is about the apparently shaky status of the Morris newspaper. I note several factors there, aided by a source friend of mine who's still in the business, and here's what I think is really telling: I did not see a simple Morris staff photo, even a small one, with the Christmas greeting edition. We used to do a full page as a greeting to the community. It seemed obvious. A couple years ago I noticed the photo being quite small, as everything in the paper has become small, if it's even there at all.
I suppose the paper needs to ponder the propriety of including part-time employees in the "staff photo." Maybe some part-timers would actually balk at being in the photo. It lets the paper brag about having a staff that isn't really a full-fledged staff. Newspapers are cutting in all sorts of ways. In Morris this has been in spades with our paper.
Oh, they're not alone. Look how Thrifty White has pulled the rug out from under us. It's a tiny specialized store now on the windswept northern outskirts of Morris. I used to get my bird seed, notebooks and envelopes at Thrifty White. Gone with the wind. Just like the Morris newspaper will be, probably soon. And when it happens, maybe nobody will care.
It already happened in Hancock where the paper was owned by the Forum. Hancock is viable enough to have its own K-12 school system, a system that is in fact thriving and growing. A community like this should be able to hang in there with its own paper, for at least another decade. Think of the great sports section that could be done with the generous success they're having. I did sportswriting for the Hancock Record for 15 years. (Note: A source tells me Hancock is getting lots of kids from the Starbuck area due to a negative perception of the Minnewaska school.)
 

Cindy McCain

A cookbook? You've got to be kidding
On the absurd end of the plagiarism accusation scale, not far from Jimmy Carter's map, was the Cindy McCain cookbook. Remember that? It was when John McCain was running for president. I mean, can you believe that? Such a middle of the road sensible person running for president as a Republican, in total contrast to the wild nutjobs in charge of the GOP now?
Plagiarizing a cookbook? Oh for crying out loud. Technically it's possible or shall we say unavoidable. What these authors should really say is "here are some of my favorite recipes." How many ways can you make French toast?
The McCains were in politics so their every move was under a microscope. Liberal Democrats of course opposed McCain. Today John McCain and others like him - Mitt Romney? - are total heroes to the progressives! Curiouser and curiouser. You know, Romney should actually be anathema to what progressives represent.
Plagiarizing a cookbook? What about all the recipe columnists out there like the late Phyllis Peterson for our Morris newspaper? Aren't they just sharing "favorite recipes?" Surely we don't expect these recipes to be "original" and I wouldn't want to touch them if they were!
Plagiarism charges can easily tip over to the silly end. On judging real, identifiable plagiarism, I'm inspired by the judge who famously said of pornography: "I can't define it but I know it when I see it."
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Trying to "keep faith" for the new year

You might think the Christmas/New Year's holiday has a depressing element for someone having lost loved ones over the last year. The effect can be the opposite: We feel cheer that offsets, to a degree, the emotional toll of loss.
Perhaps the hard part comes in after the holidays. That's right now as I write this, early Thursday morning. I retire early in the evening and rise early, following the dictum of the great Ben Franklin. Am I wiser? I suspect I'm wise enough to see the total folly - the joke as it were - of Donald Trump as president. I am forced to circulate in the world here in Morris where the most committed conservatives, often rock-ribbed people of faith such as the Apostolics - appear supportive of Trump. Such a crude, ignorant and vain man.
Or, is it just a case of conservatives being coached by the strident right wing media to fear Democrats and Nancy Pelosi? Why be scared of Nancy Pelosi? Is she not motivated by a desire to look out for the interests of all the people? What evidence can you give me to the contrary?
MSNBC's "Morning Joe" is on TV as I write this. Daily the show reveals the abject absurdity of the Trump administration. I literally pray for the stock market to have huge drops, the more catastrophic the better, to teach us a lesson about values. We need to value our basic humanity more. We need to pay attention to the science behind climate change. Maybe we shouldn't be so wedded to our motor vehicles and so inclined to use air travel. Maybe we should just stick to home more and be happy there. Sometimes I think the Apostolics worship business, they don't even worship God. I had thought there were two Apostolic churches in the area but a friend told me yesterday there are three. It seemed like a fringe church when I was young. I have always had friends from that faith.
 
Re-thinking the mainstream churches
Morris has three mainstream Protestant churches: First Lutheran, Faith Lutheran and Federated. The three seem to have experienced some erosion. To an extent that might be healthy because humility can be constructive. My church of First Lutheran has cut back with services offered: down to one per Sunday the year-round. For most of my life it was two each Sunday year-round. There was then a transition to one in summer with a resumption of two in the fall. Why does Morris seem to go into such a retreat mode in summer? There is no longer a summer Prairie Pioneer Days.
The ELCA went through the tumult of adjusting to our enlightened new world of realizing that gay people deserve basic rights. In the meantime we got a whole new church established in Morris: Good Shepherd. In a time where the Star-Tribune has a high-profile feature on the "un-churching" of our society, it hardly seems appropriate for new churches to be carved out, especially churches based on petty, passing grievances.
We have seen the phasing out of Morris Community Church. That church reflected my generation and the inclination of many to step away from the mainstream churches in which we grew up. We grew up seeing our churches as being disingenuous or hypocritical in some respects. It's easy to second-guess now. We grew up in a time of military conscription for the Vietnam war. As wildly inappropriate as Trump seems for the presidency, he has not committed a folly that even comes close to our involvement in Vietnam. The churches of our youth seemed staid and detached from that issue and other concerning issues of the day. But today? Today I am of a mind to root for those mainstream churches as being totally reasonable and a safe harbor from some of the rough right wing politics that permeates so much of the faith.
 
"Whose side are you on?"
In my young adult years, it seemed as though Faith Lutheran in Morris was a haven for the most politically assertive Morris public school teachers, the most union-attuned (or infected), who coalesced there and seemed to make it part of their power base. If you were new in town and chose the other ELCA church, you might legitimately feel on the defensive and have to explain, at least to yourself, if you had a problem with the teachers, their union and their power objectives (against the "evil" superintendent and school board). Indeed, certain teachers seemed to want to harangue us daily about how they weren't paid enough or in general appreciated enough.
Here's a theory: there was a time when it seemed people in education felt they worked in a zero-sum world. In other words, one party's gain is another's loss. The alternative to that would be "a rising tide lifts all boats." I think we got that with the election of Ronald Reagan as president in 1980, a rare time in my background where I saw merit in Republicans' success.
The school district in Morris was a blistering sore of contentiousness for a long time. My own personal memories of teachers, are that they did a terrific job crushing any potential I might have had to develop self-esteem. I say to hell with "rigorous academics."
Teachers created an intimidating atmosphere in classrooms, constructing exams and quizzes that ensured a certain percentage of kids would get a 'C' grade or maybe lower. The teachers had to do that or they'd be reprimanded. No matter if every kid in your class was attentive and eager to assimilate stuff - there was a guarantee of disappointment for a certain percentage of kids. It was baked into the cake. Most likely I had a problem of being insecure and overly impressionable - no one is perfect - and those qualities exacerbated the effect I felt from the draconian classroom.
 
Looking back for better or worse
Now that I am alone for the start of the new year, I cannot help but reflect a lot. I probably should have been prescribed "behavior meds," perhaps the garden variety that simply acts as a tranquilizer, slowing down my mind. I grew up getting absolutely no guidance for understanding and dealing with an essential part of our nature: sex. Nothing. If the subject got floated in our home like from a TV show, I'd feel unspeakable shame and embarrassment. I think many boomers grew up this way.
People often talk about how adolescence is such a difficult rite of passage. The early days of the Internet had a site called "Get Mortified" that was all about that. People sent in photos of their dorky-looking selves in junior high. Stories too of course. It could be that in my case, I literally did not survive adolescence. I was a casualty.
But we're at the start of a new year and the wise thing to do is to look forward. Speaking of being a casualty, maybe our whole nation will be a casualty of Donald Trump. Mark my word, it's a strong possibility.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com