Where does time go? We mark 2019 Homecoming

The first Morris Homecoming coronation I ever attended was at the now-razed "elementary auditorium." It was an art deco place, exuding charm to be sure. It's hard to imagine, looking at the barren ground today next to East 7th Street, that the elaborate erector set complex once sat there. My, if the walls could have talked!
I put "elementary auditorium" in quotes because I never stopped remembering that it was once the high school. I remember feeling a rush as I entered the auditorium in 1970 while the pep band played "Do You Know the Way to San Jose," directed by John Woell.
I'll never forget the last year I took my mother to the Homecoming parade. Her health was developing ever greater issues but it worked out fine. She was sensitive to weather extremes toward the end of her life. The weather in September is "just right," not too hot or too cold. Sorry, I did not attend the 2019 parade. Will try to remedy that next year, along with stopping by the game.
So in lieu of my personal attention, I'll quote a friend who had a mixed review of all the festivities. We all love school spirit although I'll put the sport of football aside. How many boys play football because of the positive feedback of cheers showering down on them? It's concerning. We know the health issues of football.
My friend reported on the Friday Homecoming stuff as follows:

The parade was pretty lame. One surprise – there was a float peopled by rainbow flags and the school’s LGBT club members. Not your father’s parade unit. No musical units at all – Wanda (Dagen) used to have either the drum line play, or a pep band on the community band’s trailer, but nothing for the last few years. The crowd for the homecoming game was very good. Wanda’s pep band played pregame, but didn’t do the Banner (some HS girl sang it – did a long, drawn out country-western female drama-queen rendition). The band hasn’t stayed for Homecoming half-time the last few years as they take the whole time to introduce the “Royalty," which includes all the losers (er, candidates), everyone’s parents, and seemingly their grandparents, cousins, and good friends. And also now the C-A royalty as well. It got darn chilly – we bailed after the end of the 3rd quarter.
 
News coverage decisions
The new ownership of the Morris paper is quite the item. I have wondered why the paper appears not to be covering the Brent Fuhrman matter. The radio station website has had more than one item. The individual in question is a former member of the Morris school board. Reports indicate he's in legal trouble. People who get traffic tickets get their name in the paper. I could pull this observation from an email of the past few days:
 
I think the Brent Fuhrman thing is now old news, so we wouldn’t expect to see or hear any more about it. Why it didn’t get picked up by the paper at the time is a puzzle. Maybe the Forum peeps didn’t think it was newsworthy? Maybe someone was afraid of Brent’s GI Joe Image? Or, maybe being a veteran he was cut some slack news-wise?

I responded as follows:

If Brent should be cut slack, fine but that's a decision for law enforcement and the courts, NOT the paper.
 
The new owners of the paper have a honeymoon that could be abbreviated if they don't get more fired up about their website, IMHO. Blame it on the transition? New owner, yes, but the staff of before carries on. They have someone paid to write sports, and yet I as an unpaid person appear to be doing superior work much of the time. It isn't work for me. It's fun. It's relaxing.

Outgoing manager joins pol
The Morris paper's manager under Forum ownership appeared to leave in an unceremonious way. One might speculate it was a non-amicable departure, n'est-ce pas? I haven't seen any coverage indicating otherwise, and this might have been easily done even if in a non-sincere way. Ah, sugar-coating.

But the former manager exited and has now re-surfaced as a political operative. She's the communications director for Collin Peterson, thus she's in the unenviable position of speaking for Peterson's "nay" stance on impeachment. Honest to God, if our congressional district really wants a Republican, red state kind of person, as CW suggests, well then let's just elect one.
And on the other side of the coin, instead of all this "blue dog" bull excrement, maybe my party of the Democrats could put forward a true, sincere Democrat, and this person might surprise you with how he/she would do.

Sue Dieter (radaris image)

How big a story is Sue Dieter's acceptance of the position with old fossil Peterson? First I would want to know how much she's being paid, really. Is it quasi-volunteer? Someone reported she'll do 90 percent of the work from home. I don't know, seems to me the congressman would have a true chief of staff coordinating a lot of this stuff, or as I have opined, Peterson could do it himself. Communications is what being a politician is all about. Like, communicating to your fellow party members about why you're against impeachment.
A Minnpost article says Peterson has "no intention" of supporting impeachment. The congressman asserts the process would be "lengthy and divisive with no resolution." He characterizes the process as "partisan." Well, yes. Is the Trump/GOP side eschewing partisanship? I have encouraged the local Indivisible Morris group, who had the door slammed on them by the Morris paper under Forum ownership, to try to pressure Peterson. Maybe Sue Dieter could offer the rebuttal. Wonder what she'd say.
Update: Just saw new (Oct. 1) Morris paper and I didn't see item about Sue taking position.
 
A cloud over football
Congratulations to the MACA football team on its Homecoming game success. We beat the Kimball Cubs. I wasn't there but a friend informs me that enthusiasm was quite high among the crowd, up to usual standards. The allure of "Friday night lights," I guess.
Jim Morrison used to call me a "contrarian." So let me just share the following from a September 30 article: A former Simms, TX, football player and his parents filed a Federal lawsuit alleging that helmet manufacturer Ridell is to blame for a catastrophic head injury. The young man is Charles Scott Akins. Charles got hurt in a 2017 game. He experienced a left subdural hematoma that resulted in severe brain damage. It left him with spastic quadriplegia.
So I'm a contrarian, I guess, when I seek to ask why this young man felt it necessary to play the game of football on that night. Aren't there many more constructive ways he could have spent his time? Totally safe ways? Is the allure of Friday night lights, its tradition, so overwhelming that it makes us just say "that's unfortunate," and then we move on?
The lawsuit says Akins "must have round-the-clock care and will never be able to live independently."
Revelations roll out about football. The movie "Concussion" with Will Smith was a catalyst. When school officials are asked about this matter, they'll say "we follow all protocols." I have experienced this answer myself, not from the current Morris administration but a former one. The Akins case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder III.
These paragraphs I'm typing now are juxtaposed with the standard coverage of Morris football that I provide on my two blog sites. Why do I do it? I guess it's to try to still feel like a member of the community.
An item was published recently about this curious schizophrenia in the media: 1) informing the public about the increasing body of knowledge about the game's terrible hazards, and 2) covering the sport the standard enthusiastic way: touchdowns, W/L record, bowl game invitations etc.
I ought to be happy about the Gophers. I try to push those thoughts aside in my mind. Someday the obsession with football will be reflected upon as an old Neanderthal trait.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota bwilly73@yahoo.com