The resilient Williams family of Glenwood MN

My grandparents, Martin and Carrie

Today, Saturday, the day after Christmas, would be my late parents' wedding anniversary. They tied the knot in 1949. Dad had been through WWII in the Navy. He would spend the 1950s teaching music at the University of Minnesota-St. Paul School of Agriculture. Ah, my pre-school years! 

I don't know what my parents would make of our circumstances in 2020. My father was born in 1916 as the youngest of five boys. All five had long and interesting lives. They were a disparate group. 

My father was especially close to Howard, mainly due to proximity because Howard and wife Vi lived in Glenwood. The five boys contrasted with talents and occupations. In Howard's case, banking was his calling from the get-go. It was in his blood, whereas my father had an equal passion in music. 

I was never able to meet my grandparents on my father's side. The five boys were sons of Martin and Carrie Williams. Martin and Carrie are laid to rest in Glenwood Lutheran Cemetery. I am proud to see our family represented there. It is a testament to their grit as they coped with the Spanish flu epidemic and the Depression. They lived on the shore of Lake Minnewaska west of Glenwood. I believe the house has been razed. 

What a vibrant family it must have been! I'd love to close my eyes and get a vision of how they celebrated Christmas. The Depression must have cast a shadow over so much. Amenities minimal, love overwhelming. 

My father Ralph graduated from Glenwood High School in 1934 at the height of the John Dillinger spree. "Machine gun bandits," yes, romanticized in our popular culture since. 

 

Spending eternity

You'll see a master piece of rock with "Williams" at Glenwood Lutheran Cemetery. On one side are buried my grandparents Martin and Carrie. On the other side are Howard and Vi. I know my uncle Andy is in the immediate area because I was a pallbearer and went out for graveside services. I'm sure he's buried next to his beloved wife Irene. Irene held yours truly for my baptism at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. 

Glenwood Lutheran Church

So the five boys were Clyde (the oldest), Howard, Andy, Joe and Ralph. The first Christmas after my mother died, I attended Glenwood Lutheran Church for the early Christmas Eve service. It was the Williams family church. Bright music played as I entered, and laser light dots danced on the walls. We got communion wafers that were already dipped in grape juice/wine. I appreciated the ease this facilitated. I don't recall any deep spiritual sermon, rather it was just the festive air that ruled - it was wonderful. 

The five Williams boys had been confirmed one-by-one there. The service was at 3 p.m. so I could go out to Glenwood Lutheran Cemetery afterward. This was my second attempt at locating the cemetery. This time I had better directions which I had obtained by calling the church office. It is truly a top-notch church. For my first attempt, I had gone with directions that I thought were sufficient from the web. I was on the right road but the left turn to the cemetery wasn't clear. 

The second time, I got there just fine. I had no recollection of ever being there before. I have a theory that Mom feared a visit would be emotionally hard for Dad. Dad would have been a junior in high school when his father died a painful cancer death. So Martin died in 1933 and his wife Carrie would pass on in 1949. They both have small flatstones at the cemetery, too small IMHO. Even though Martin's was placed many years previous, it's Carrie's that shows more weathering/erosion now, and at some point I may do something about that.

Maybe I would have gone to Glenwood Lutheran again for Christmas Eve this year. My, what would my parents make of the pandemic/shutdown? What would they make of an American fabric now that tolerates such a crude person as Donald Trump being president? How would Dad feel about Trump's "losers and suckers" quote about military service people? 

A fantastical "what if"

We can be sure that the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future did not visit Trump on Christmas Eve. We should have prayed for this to happen. Could you imagine the jubilant air yesterday and today, if only the three apparitions had come around? It's the most fantastic scenario I could imagine. 

We could hear: "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, let's make sacrifices to save lives, take every possible step to ensure survival of all our loved ones, even those up in years and past the productive phase in their lives. Please let's all show abundant love and prioritize life and health above all else. America has the wealth to make this happen, even if our short-term sacrifice might be unpleasant. Please show our classic American grit, our can-do genius, and we can get past this. I will step to the side as Dr. Fauci can be in charge of news conferences. Life means everything." 

 

Oh, to be confronted

Maybe Kristi Noem of South Dakota could have been visited also by the three ghosts of the Christmas tale. Put aside your worries about the cotton pickin' stock market and Dow Jones "points." Just imagine the phantom-like ghost of "Christmases yet to come" pointing at gravestones. It scared the heck out of Scrooge. We need some other people scared at present. 

I awoke this morning on the day of my parents' wedding anniversary, turned on cable news and unfortunately I was not surprised: Trump is the same disruptive force. Don't you see his motivation now? He wants to rule like an autocrat - he does not want to deal with Congress at all, as it's simply an inconvenience for him. 

The citizens of the nation need to understand what is happening. The forlorn Trump supporters of our Stevens County, some with a profile of Trump on the side of their pickups, need to learn to modify their thinking. Please, don't worry about admitting you were wrong. 

The right wing political churches which now have the majority in Stevens County need to wake up and smell the coffee. Quit being so scared of gay people and just put that concern aside. Lutheran churches didn't even allow women pastors until 1970! Prior to that it was probably a matter of contention: women pastors! Oh my. You all are on the losing side of history. 

And now, are you willing to risk the very vitality and future of this nation over issues like gay rights and women's reproductive health? Why should I even remain a Christian? Can anyone answer that for me? 

Here's a headline currently on "Mediaite": "Vacationing Trump says Afghanistan better than United States." Well, f--k you, Donald Trump. I repeat: f--k you.

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

The Williams brothers of Glenwood, from left: Joe, Clyde, Ralph, Andy and Howard. Sons of Martin and Carrie Williams. Ralph "the music man" was my father.

Try to think about poinsettias, not Trump

(britannica image)

The season of the poinsettia might remind us of Johnny Carson. He talked about how the pronunciation could be confounding. One might be tempted to say "poinsetta." But of course it's "poinsettia." We really need Christmas symbols like the poinsettia flower now. 

It is Sunday as we are mere days away from Christmas 2020. We knew all along this coming Christmas would be different for finding the usual jubilant spirit. We started out OK on the days immediately following Thanksgiving. Just thinking of Christmas had an uplifting effect. Maybe it was a mirage. 

At present the situation does not seem joyful. We get up in the morning and continue to hear news reports of Donald Trump's dangerous state of mind, his clutching onto "conspiracy theories," and now word that discussion has been countenanced of a military coup. A literal military coup. 

"Saturday Night Live" has a ready-made satirical script handed to it every week. The blessing right now is that we are still prompted to laugh. Never mind that it's the nation's top political leadership that is behaving in such an absurd way. 

We hear about Russia's extensive hacking and then wonder about Trump's disturbing bond with Putin. We have heard over and over: "Putin has something on Trump." Does anyone doubt the importance of asking the question? But the answer lies in some murky place out of public view. Republicans and their lap dog media like Fox News fought tooth and nail against investigative efforts. It was only because of a bizarre fealty that seemed to feed on itself, to get bigger and bigger, to where the likes of Lou Dobbs and Maria Bartiromo could go on TV and get a wide audience for their conspiratorial contortions.

 

In absentia

What exactly is Trump doing in the White House as we speak? Could we expect him to do anything constructive at all? He fantasizes about election manipulation. He fancies himself a leader by entitlement. He'd love to see his family as royal with permanent presence in our leadership. This would mean harassing leaders that emerge from the Democratic Party, in concert with right wing media biggies, Mark Levin et. al. Don't underestimate their power to simply harass. 

The bizarre right wingers were marginalized when I was young. We knew they were out there and we could name some names. The difference today is explained by the nature of the media. The old gatekeepers have eroded away, leaving a situation now where "the loudest voices in the room" can rule. The loud voices have had an effect on our Morris MN. Still this morning, I saw the big blue "Trump-Pence" sign along the highway between Subway and Greeley Pluming. Why do these people persist? Why are you all so antagonistic toward Joe Biden? 

Is the Russia hacking a means of setting booby traps that will detonate when Biden takes power? Is the idea to torpedo Biden and Harris, setting the stage in some way for Trump to thump his chest from his still-bully pulpit? His protestations would not matter much if there weren't teeming masses all across the U.S. so receptive to it. Such as, so many of our Morris MN residents. Our churches have greased the skids for this. The majority of our churches stand firm with Trump and would cuss at any mention of the new president/vice president. 

What if widespread suffering breaks out, beyond what we've seen thus far? Look at the lines already at numerous food banks. Civil disorder could be on the horizon. 

The worst scenario could be avoided if we had a normal and civil transfer of power now, where the loser actually goes out of his way to facilitate the changeover. In other words, to help his successor. Why is that asking so much? It's called being magnanimous. It's called being mature. It's called showing humility. These are traits we put forward as examples for our young people. 

Such traits have been the norm in the past. Our proper collective response to our current situation would be to condemn Trump. Would such a chorus of voices change the man's attitude? We never expect the best outcome with Trump. We take for granted the most crude, the most unprofessional, the most outlandish response. Talk of a military coup getting attention at the highest level? Promoted by Michael Flynn, he of "lock her up" chant fame? 

We have a president and first lady who use foul language. The situation will change once we breathe the sigh of relief with the inauguration. We're counting the days off one at a time now, slowly, laboriously and with anxiety. We are forced to consume news reports about the "coup" thing, the declaration of martial law. Can this really be happening? In the United States of America? 

What was the point of me taking "civics" classes in school, if our nation was going to take such a horrible tumble? A tumble into abject crudity and ignorance, led by the likes of the people who put the "Trump-Pence" sign on the outskirts of our Morris MN? What are you people really thinking? What do you think can be accomplished now? To support a president who has called our military service people, even those in the ground, "losers" and "suckers?" I'd like to hear next year's Veterans Day speaker at the school respond to those Trump statements. Oh never mind, the speaker will probably be someone who voted for Trump. Yes, a virus in the brain may be going around. Thank God yours truly has been immune. 

 

Strength, anywhere it's available

Maybe I have stayed strong because of my daily bagels from Caribou Coffee. We can look at the brilliant red poinsettia to try to get our spirits lifted. Johnny Carson was intrigued by how to pronounce "poinsettia." Remember how he'd give his monologue starting at 10:30 p.m.? Remember how we'd be aggravated by the "guest hosts" on so often? Someone like McLean Stevenson? Joey Bishop? Even Lorne Greene? 

Remember how Ed McMahon was God's gift to the "foil." He had a real laugh when with Johnny, never manufactured. So much humor reflected the light attitude we had about alcohol consumption. Our society has had a sea change since then. 

"The Tonight Show" was escapist entertainment. If a guest got too "serious" or deep about something, Carson steered the tone back to the innocuous. Remember "Carnac the Magnificent?" "I hold in my hand the last envelope" (McMahon's words). 

Carson told jokes about the standard and proper U.S. presidents of his era. It is hard to imagine how Carson would approach Trump. Making light of Trump is different because Trump does this to himself, he is his own parody. Anytime a subject becomes its own parody, attempts at parody can fall flat. They  are redundant, pointless. Carson's humor was best when he targeted presidents who were acting stiff and proper. 

 

Subdued Christmas

We are at the winter solstice as I write this. Our cherished Christmas Eve and Day are nigh. I will be frank here and divulge I do not feel the Christmas spirit, really not at all. I'm too preoccupied just worrying about the state of our nation and our zeitgeist. The right wingers and all their churches would rather see the nation fall than to see Biden/Harris get positive reviews. 

Remember the days when Tip O'Neill and Ronald Reagan would exude charm with their comradeship even as political adversaries? Isn't that the kind of nation we should want? Am I so out of line on this? 

Well, celebrate Christmas as best you can. I have my own beautiful red poinsettias, thanks to the University of Minnesota Foundation. Bless those people. How is UMM going to emerge from all our current distress? The anti-intellectual crowd has gotten so much power, especially out in rural and "red state" America. I'm not sure saying a prayer will even do any good.

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

Shopping malls in their prime reveled in Christmas

Great place in its heyday: Viking Plaza Mall, Alexandria (kxra image)

Doesn't the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas seem long, longer than it might have seemed in years past? I remember thinking years ago that the trappings of Christmas fully took over, starting the day after Thanksgiving. We did not use the term "black Friday." It was just the day after Thanksgiving, a logical day to go shop and maybe make a short trip somewhere. 

You entered the shopping mall in Alexandria and had your spirits instantly elevated. Remember? This applied on most any day between Thanksgiving and Christmas. On weekends you might see recognizable media people from the area there. It was a "happening." The jingle bell sound at the donation points. 

Whether you were there to spend money or not, it was uplifting. The shopping mall had ambiance. I took for granted that such malls would remain a staple of American life. All our systems back then, pre-digital or early digital, lacked efficiency and convenience compared to today. So I suppose we have moved forward. But the Christmas "happening" feeling at the mall was precious. I remember being at Rosedale once when a retro rock 'n' roll group was performing at the center. People swarming. Seems like the atmosphere had intangible benefits for our collective spirit, our humanity. 

I was surprised to learn that malls were hitting the skids. At first I thought it might be exaggeration. But it became most real. The Alex mall became dormant and then rebounded a little, though it was nothing like in the past. It was worth walking through. Mainly I did this just to check how it was doing. I used to buy my Civil War magazines at the bookstore there. A couple years ago I checked downtown Alex to see if I might find such magazines available, and could not. Then again, I'm aware that print-based media have been fading just like the malls. I could get a subscription online but I do not buy anything online. 

 

We all had to adjust

I finally got dragged into using debit cards but I do not have a credit card. I remember George Ure of "Urban Survival" writing a few years ago that some older people were resolving to just keep doing things the old way. Fear of disruption I suppose, and I was inclined that way myself to a degree. Ure wrote that these efforts ultimately end up fruitless for everyone. We get swept into the new ways whether we like it or not. Get on the train. 

I finally got pulled into doing paperless bill payments. I was scared of that for a long time. Then I held my nose and jumped into the pool, in effect. Went better than I expected. A friend of mine recalled signing up for electronic bill pay with a Morris-based concern back when the practice was new, and he was shocked to find he was charged a late fee one month. Late fee? When you're signed up for electronic bill pay? My friend happens to be a lawyer. He got that matter cleared up pretty quickly. The lesson might be: don't jump on board with these new systems when they're brand new. Wait for the bugs to get worked out. 

Jim Morrison at the old Sun Tribune newspaper had the same attitude about new tech with equipment. Quinco Press in Lowry acquired an "image-setter" when the device was just off the drawing board, and had problems. Jim cited this as an example of his wisdom. The tech aspect for newspapers began evolving so fast, starting in about the mid-1980s, it almost seemed counterproductive trying to keep up with it. Photography? Our systems in past times come across like caveman paintings now. Shoot arrow at the running buffalo. 

My family loved dining here, at Viking Plaza

So while the changes spell unmistakable progress, I guess, some valuable things can get left behind. Like going to the shopping mall between Thanksgiving and Christmas and having your spirits instantly buoyed. Christmas music plays in the background. Today people shop online, they worship online. The new norm has been hastened dramatically by the pandemic. 

A big question: when the current crisis is over - I think we can assume it will end - will we actually congregate more in public again? Will we relish some human contact again? Will kids be totally happy crowding into their school buildings again? Will we return to our church sanctuaries? I guess in Murdock there's a new church where they worship Norse gods, unless I was inebriated when that news broadcast was on. 

 

Thor and Odin, eh?

What's up with the people of Murdock? You can keep tabs by talking with Mary Holmberg. It's a white supremacist group that has invaded, I guess. How much do you want to bet those people aren't really interested in worshiping Norse gods? Thor and Odin? I'm sure Sons of Norway will not be forming a bond with this "church." I imagine the church has an agenda far different from spirituality. 

My message to the Murdock town council: You should have just voted "no" and let the chips fall where they may. History will judge you. A friend tells me the town council probably had a common problem: a lawyer who said "well, this is what you have to do or else we might get sued." 

Good grief, are you afraid of Rudy Giuliani coming along? 

I told my friend it was remindful of when we had our high school principal get in such serious trouble. A lawyer probably told the board: "You can't terminate this guy because we might get sued." Well, President Trump sent out his "legal strike force" and how did they do in the sue fest? One win on a matter of slight importance, and a mountain of losses. 

Lawyers for these public entities are just scared of their own shadow. They are afraid a lawsuit might be a career-killer for them. It's selfish. There is such a thing as standing on principle and being proud of it. And when you do that, the law will most likely come around to your side anyway. 

All the king's horses and all the king's men cannot help Trump now. The pedigree of the lawyers does not matter. I'm not sure who is more senile, Rudy Giuliani or Dianne Feinstein. Amazing that we allow ourselves to be ruled by leaders who are so old. Or in the case of Trump, so (fill in blank). Such incredibly weird times. I become weary even writing about it. 

 

A more confined holiday

So Christmas is near. But it seems the full-fledged recognition of the holiday doesn't set in until just 2-3 days before. In the past it seemed wide-open between Thanksgiving and Christmas. You could play your best-liked Christmas songs right after Thanksgiving if you wanted. I had a pile of CDs I'd start playing soon after Thanksgiving. Today that might seem strange. Don't know why. 

"Black Friday?" I think maybe the term is in decline. I never liked it. I was groping for a way to describe my dislike and then my fellow newspaper person John Stone of Glenwood helped me. He wrote that the term sounded "somber." Not an appropriate mood in line with the holidays. 

I'm sitting at home as I write this, where I'm spending about 98 percent of my time now. It's the norm among us now. 

You can build the Christmas spirit by calling up an old Andy Williams TV Christmas special on YouTube. There they are in their prime: Andy, his parents, his brothers, his wife Claudine and the Osmonds. 

"Somber" might describe my mood when calling up a Bob Hope Christmas special from the '60s, from Vietnam. How sad to see the mass of young men in his (captive) audience, young men who were going to be subjected to so much suffering and possible death. Those were my growing up years, what made me cynical and doubting. I cut my teeth as a writer during Watergate.

 

My podcast for December 11

I invite you to visit my "Morris Mojo" podcast. I continue with some thoughts on the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I give a tip of the hat to our Willie's Super Valu here in Motown. Kudos to them for keeping krumkake in stock! I guess they spell it krumkaka (phonetically). I also share about the foreboding nature of what's left of the Trump presidency. Very unfortunate. Here's the podcast permalink:

https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Two-weeks-from-Christmas-enmaug 

 

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

"Swing Parade of 1946": soothing post-war feel

The Christmas season is on, albeit atypical in 2020, so you'll have a chance to catch "It's a Wonderful Life." The movie came out when all of America was soothed by war being over. It was 1946, a year that also gave us "The Best Years of Our Lives." That movie won Best Picture. It told the story of three combat survivors - their adjustment back to their families and civilian life. The three realize they had fallen behind. 

"The Three Stooges" made their mark in '46 too. You smile. You question if a Three Stooges effort should be mentioned in the same breath as "The Best Years of Our Lives." Come on, don't generalize. 

The Stooges were prominently billed with the movie "Swing Parade of 1946." As you watch, however, you see the movie is not primarily a vehicle for the Stooges. Would it be accurate to say they were woven in for comic relief? I think so. They are complementary. Their humor seemed restrained in comparison to their "anything for a laugh" shorts. 

Perhaps the moviemakers simply wanted this tone, and it worked. But secondarily, "Curly" had begun his struggles with health issues, thus his comedic flexibility was growing limited. It's hard to detect this when watching the movie. "Curly" does his part in the script. But the more restrained tone was written in. You feel no discomfort watching Curly in "Swing Parade." The charming trio endears while they step to the side often for the serious entertainment. And there's plenty of that. 

Some interesting and disparate talent were brought together. I was fascinated to watch the trailblazing African-American musician, Louis Jordan. I was awestruck seeing him perform genuine precursor music to rock 'n' roll. The seeds are clearly there. Jordan is not as well remembered as he should be. He became known as "The King of the Jukebox" and he was in top form throughout the 1940s. He was best known toward the end of the "swing" era. He was a multi-instrumentalist. He had a flair for comedy. He's No. 5 in the list of most successful African-American recording artists. 

 

Ah, those nightclubs of yore

"Swing Parade of 1946" really presents the nightclub scene for young adults of the swing period. Remember Barbara Stanwyck performing (OK, lip synching) "Drum Boogie" in the classic nightclub? The band was Gene Krupa's. Movies of the time gave us many such scenes. Bands did their thing onstage while the formally dressed young adults sat at tables. Young adults drove popular culture. Teenagers seemed invisible. Boy, would that ever change! 

"Hollywood Canteen" was another movie presenting the '40s entertainment norm. Dig Jimmy Dorsey! Shouldn't we feel nostalgia? Should we pine for such entertainment over rock 'n' roll? It's all subjective naturally. Entertainment is fluid and unpredictable. 

"Swing Parade of 1946" was billed as musical comedy. The Three Stooges are waiters/dishwashers and they befriend an aspiring singer played by Gale Storm. The singer falls for a nightclub owner, played by Phil Regan, whose wealthy father is trying to shut it down. The Stooges, soft-hearted at the core, are enablers of the romance. (I think it was Robert Osborne who said "there was a lot more to the Three Stooges than violence.") 

If you're looking for classic Three Stooges in "Swing Parade," there's the scene where they do plumbing! Need I say more? This scene and a couple others are reprised from previous Stooges productions. 

The movie was filmed over summer of 1945. Europe was in rubble. America was on the cusp of the creation of our great "middle class" that came out of the war, as the G.I. Bill was such a great equalizer. Too bad we had to endure the conflict in order to get that. What if the U.S. hadn't been forced to enter the war? Why can't war be fought with rubber bullets? Could we have escaped the Great Depression without the war? Is it really fact that the war did the job? 

In 1946 there were families all across the U.S. still feeling fresh grief over losing their young men. Just remember the hellish "island hopping," Tarawa et. al. 

Louis Jordan is featured

Today we hear so many impassioned speeches on Memorial Day and Veterans Day, intoning how "freedom isn't free" etc., given by men wearing their little hats at school auditoriums. But we are emotionally distant today. Imagine the grief in the immediate post-war years. Many people no doubt weren't that interested in "patriotism," they just missed their sons. There had to be bitterness. 

You can blame the Germans or Japanese but it was really a breakdown of all humanity? Too many male leaders? 

 

Uniquely resilient: the Stooges

The staying power of the Three Stooges through the years was amazing. This they achieved while having to change the "third Stooge." "Curly" is generally considered the most popular Stooge. The summer of 1945 saw him in descent from his prime. He had suffered a series of minor strokes. You can see he wasn't in his prime for the Columbia shorts of that period. He lost weight by the time of "Swing Parade." His classic falsetto voice had faded. 

You can tell that the scriptwriters tried accommodating Curly. This they did very well. Indeed, it's hard to detect that Curly is limited. The Stooges only had supporting roles, less strenuous than in the all-out slapstick. 

Silly as the Stooges always seemed, I have always felt there was a science behind it, a science that fit in with the "golden years" Hollywood studio system. Here's how I see it: "Base" humor, in other words humor with no layered meanings, was perfect to set up the "feature presentation" movie. The feature would seem even more classy after digesting the Stooges. Perfect. 

BTW the studio system seemed glamorous from the outside but it was hard on so much of the talent. We hear more and more stories now. 

 

Filling out the bill

Gale Storm had a film career from 1940 to 1952. She went on to television in the '50s, best-known from the "My Little Margie" series. She also had "The Gale Storm Show." Six of her songs were top 10 hits. Her most successful song was a cover of "I Hear You Knockin," #2 on the Hot 100 chart in 1955. 

Connee Boswell is featured in "Swing Parade of 1946." She's remembered as a premier jazz vocalist. She had an influence on Ella Fitzgerald. She was a co-star on NBC Radio's Kraft Music Hall, 1940-41. She sang in a number of Hollywood films. She did her singing from a wheelchair. There's no agreement on how she ended up handicapped: polio or a fall? Although she made no efforts to conceal her condition, the public was generally not aware. 

Cruel: the Army did not permit Boswell to perform for the troops overseas, as she wanted, because of a concern that morale could be affected: a singer performing from a wheelchair. A pox on those who so judged. FDR did try concealing his condition. Boswell was active in awareness-boosting for people with disabilities. She was a favorite duet partner for Bing Crosby. She had a solo hit song in 1942: "Moonlight Mood." 

Will Osborne was in "Swing Parade of 1946." He was a bandleader and crooner. The crooning style gained favor after the stock market crash of 1929. The tempo of life became more restrained. He appears with his orchestra in "Swing Parade." In his career he led the orchestra for "The Abbott and Costello Show." His band's theme song was "The Gentleman Waits." 

"Swing Parade of 1946" has a relaxed feel that you wouldn't associate with the Three Stooges, but all of America insisted on relaxing in the year 1946, n'est-ce pas? I find it a very soothing movie to watch. Great music, comic relief. It's worth a second or third watch.

 

My podcast for Dec. 6

It's the year of the pandemic, 2020, and we hope there will only be one such year. It's hard to predict now. Christmas is a time to accentuate the positive, not to talk about "the election being stolen," right? Inspired by my neighbors, I have Christmas lights up along with some interior decorations like figurines. We are in Advent. I invite you to click on permalink to visit my "Morris Mojo" podcast, and thanks.

https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/The-resilience-of-Christmas-eneogv 

 

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

We should "Give a Damn" about '60s "Spanky" group!

How does "Spanky and Our Gang" register with you? Your first thought might be about the old film shorts featuring the little kids. The name also applies to a wonderful musical group that had its prime in the late 1960s. 

The late 1960s! What an incredible chapter not only in American cultural history but in popular music. 

Labels/categories in popular music are at best an oversimplification, at worst a curse. But the general public likes shorthand. Scribes like yours truly also like a little pigeon-holing for convenience. So you'll find the group "Spanky and Our Gang" filed under "sunshine pop." 

What vibes do you get from this? Perhaps not all positive - "sunshine" might suggest superficial or sweet. 

Pop music in its essence is a little superficial. Lyrics to a three-minute song can only say so much. Long-form journalists like me might think it's pretty non-substantive, maybe even pretentious. 

Don't you think a lot of song lyrics bring overly effusive praise? Is it really great art? Despite the limits I suggest, I have fascination with the craft. I have striven to develop my own potential with songwriting. Ironic: a guy like me who believes in in-depth analysis writing a few stanzas and thinking it might have merit. If you need a test in humility, try presenting some of your own songwriting material.

 

The curse of categories

These days a favorite group of mine is "Tonight Alive," the young people from Australia. The group gets pigeon-holed to a degree as "punk" and they are not even averse to that. But I'm bewildered because this group simply puts out fantastic music. The melodies are superbly crafted. "Punk" can disturb a 65-year-old like me. But I feel nothing but joy listening to "Tonight Alive" - "punk" seems to be mere window dressing aimed at getting certain followers. 

I draw a parallel between "Spanky and Our Gang" and "Tonight Alive." These are groups of guys with one girl and they would be nothing without the girl. The girl is the whole show, no exaggeration. Not to say the guys lacked ability. They had total ability, but just how would they fare without the girl? Rhetorical question. 

A like situation can happen with a male like Jim Morrison of the Doors. Some lead singers might insist on being a solo act. Surely that would be an attractive path, but I laud the likes of Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane and Jenna McDougall, the latter with "Tonight Alive." They were joined at the hip with their bandmates. 

"Spanky" McFarlane is extant, still with us. She resisted the label "bubblegum" that might have been directed at her "Gang." She has been described as "the queen of sunshine pop." Can't we just react on an emotional level to the group's music?

Cosmetics: unavoidable

Is it fair to say Spanky had challenges managing her weight through the years? We are discouraged nowadays from weighing such a criterion. With women in particular there has been a push against "objectification." People my age remember a time that was so different. Objectification happened all over the place and no one cared. Bob Hope brought Raquel Welch with him to entertain the troops in Vietnam. The idea is that all the guys would salivate. 

I wonder what went through the mind of Welch or the other "babes" - excuse the term - that were put forward in such a way. 

"Spanky" McFarlane was incredibly gifted but she was destined to get, well, rotund. There were signs of this even in the group's late '60s heyday. Men would have described her then as "pleasably plump." She was cute enough. There was a template of standards promoted by the likes of the Dean Martin Variety Hour. Like it or not it's history, like "drunk" humor. 

(Note: "Pleasantly plump" or "pleasingly plump" appear to be the technically correct terms, while "pleasably" appears to not even be a word. But I swear I heard the "pleasably" version when I was a kid.)

Today you'll learn that "Spanky and Our Gang" was known for its "vocal harmonies." Well, all good music is known for its harmonies. Pop music challenges our ability to describe. There is no science by which we can know why a certain song is a "hit" and why another perfectly well-constructed song is not. 

"Sunshine pop?" It's like describing "Tonight Alive" as "punk." It's almost a cruel shorthand. It isn't needed. 

  

"Give a Damn" about the music

Call up some of the "Spanky and Our Gang" material and just appreciate it. The group has been somewhat lost in the mists of time. It is underappreciated, sadly. It is uplifting music to consume, and in saying that I am not hinting it is saccharine. It gives you a warm feeling and it does so with genuineness. What all do you expect a song to accomplish? 

So substantive could this group be, one of its best songs underperformed because of concerns about its message. This song was "Give a Damn." It was tamped down. 

You're likely familiar with the group's biggest hits as the "oldies" get played. You might sing along with "Sunday Will Never Be the Same," "Lazy Day," "Like to Get to Know You" and "Sunday Mornin.' " Maybe you hear these without the name of the band registering. Maybe you'll think it's the "Mamas and the Papas." The Spanky group did not achieve the kind of immortal fame as the Mamas/Papas. It really deserved to. 

Researching today, the song that really sticks with me is "Give a Damn." The title itself reveals a problem. By late '60s standards, "damn" was edgy. That issue was accompanied by others. "Give a Damn" was released in 1968, a year suggested by historians as particularly tumultuous and transformative in American life. Silly rabbit, trends don't begin and end in a single year, but this is how historians tend to package things. "Give a Damn" was released in late summer. 

The (quasi) profane word, in and of itself kept the song from being played in some markets! The song got enmeshed in politics as it was a comment on racial equality, I guess in a context displeasing some. Maybe there was fear it could aggravate tensions in the wake of the Detroit riots. 

Our culture at the time was led by a caliber of folks that you might have trouble understanding today. Many people actually thought the Vietnam war was a good or acceptable idea for a very long time. This was the real flashpoint, more than racial equality concerns. Youth gravitated to popular entertainment permeated by messages, some overt, many subtle, about rejecting the priorities of the older folks. It was the "generation gap." 

"Spanky and Our Gang" is connected with the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in how things played out. The group performed "Give a Damn" live in a November 1968 episode. The CBS Standards and Practices Division got many complaints about the song's title being used during "family viewing hours." Quaint! Nixon himself made a complaint about the song on TV. 

"Give a Damn" had an elaborate musical arrangement including horns. It had real texture. I have to confess I was not familiar with the song until recently. I was only age 13 in 1968. I am greatly moved to listen now. Take away the social commentary aspect and I'm still totally wowed, just with the sound of it. It's marvelous. So bad it was held up by silly problems. 

"Sunshine pop" music? The term didn't do the group justice - its lyrics promoted a range of emotions/reactions. You can find an outstanding performance (OK, lip synched) of "Give a Damn" on YouTube today. I recommend it with vibrant enthusiasm. I'll even link it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmbobcSP5L8 

 

"Give a Damn" became John Lindsay's campaign song during his successful run for mayor of New York City. 

Is it fair to note Spanky's weight transformation through the years? Was it an issue for her? I shied away from writing "weight issues." In this age of non-objectification, who's to say if it should be an issue? In entertainment, realistically it is. Mainly for women? Oh my God, I shouldn't drop that comment. But I grew up influenced by the likes of the Dean Martin Variety Hour, Bob Hope and Raquel Welch. Neanderthal times! 

It's fair to make it an issue if you are simply concerned from a health standpoint. For sure, some people seem born with an inexorable inclination to become "rotund." Metabolism? Thyroid? Who knows. Life presents such an array of challenges. 

Pop groups that were willing to perform a hit "live" on TV, not lip-synched, deserve a very special tip of the hat, IMHO. So let's give credit to Spanky and her group for how it performed "Sunday Will Never Be The Same" on Mike Douglas. It was a small group, not able to duplicate the fullness of the sound from the studio, but they performed brilliantly in a slightly stripped-down version. By doing this, they really showed they were the "real deal." Nothing earns my respect more. 

Spanky and Our Gang deserves to be remembered as well as the Mamas and the Papas. 

  

An identity issue?

Maybe one problem is the group's name evoking thoughts of the Hal Roach comedy shorts: confusion. Researching the music group today, you have to filter through material much of which pertains to the cinematic "Little Rascals." No one could have foreseen Google then. Or YouTube. 

Thanks to YouTube, you can appreciate the group's "Give a Damn." The link I provide above actually presents two tunes, the second "Yesterday's Rain," another gem, yes. And "Yesterday's Rain" has the distinction of having one of the group's male members take over the lead singing for a portion, while Spanky joins the background. It worked! 

Nothing controversial or edgy about the "Give a Damn" lyrics now. Society was in fact forced to give a damn. In any young vs. old schism, we know where the long-term momentum lies! 

So nice to see Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane is still with us, age 78. She's a native of Peoria IL. Enjoy the rest of your life, Spanky. She says "I just want to have fun and be with my pals." Here's a toast from 1968 and today!

  

Please visit my podcast

I share more about the joy of "sunshine pop" in my "Morris Mojo" podcast for November 28, 2020. That's right, right in the middle of the pandemic. Sunshine pop helped counter some of the gloom of the late 1960s, and perhaps it could be ditto today. Here's the permalink for my podcast entry:

https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Retro-sunshine-pop-en3a2g

 

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

Music doesn't get any better: "Spanky and Our Gang"

Maybe South Dakota really is "50th in everything"

SD Governor Kristi Noem

I remember interviewing country music entertainer Sherwin Linton for the Morris newspaper in the early 1980s. This was right after our Minnesota governor Rudy Perpich raised eyebrows by saying South Dakota was "50th in everything." Perpich was responding to a barb from the South Dakota governor. 

The exchange between the two was not as intense as it might appear. Politicians generally had more collegial relations then - not the bite of partisanship all over the place. Really. I read an analysis that suggested a "feud" of this type served to better the position of both governors. Each was going to bat for his own state. 

Oh, Mr. Linton had a South Dakota background and I'm sure he had a response of some levity. I interviewed him at the local Wohlers residence. I can't remember what he said. 

Perpich left this life in 1995 and would you believe, Janklow gave one of the eulogies. Yes, different times. I remember Perpich had kept his health issues under wraps, so we weren't prepared emotionally for his passing. Some people were upset about that. I think he left public life with some bitterness. Let's not say "politics ain't beanbag" - its so cliche. 

Remember the chopsticks factory? 

Janklow passed on in 2012 with his image having been tarnished badly by a notorious and tragic incident. Surely that upstaged the verbal "feud" with his neighbor to the east. Anyway, Janklow was in a fatal traffic collision in 2003. He failed to stop at an intersection near Trent SD. He collided with motorcyclist Randy Scott. Janklow was guilty in spades as he was going at least 70 MPH in a 55 zone and ran a stop sign. His best defense was to claim having low blood sugar at the time. He was convicted of second degree manslaughter, a felony. 

Let's note that Janklow was a scofflaw when it came to speeding. He got 12 speeding tickets from 1990 to 1994 with fines totaling $1000. But beyond that, he had a background of having law enforcement look the other way in traffic matters. A fact? The superintendent of the state highway patrol testified to this. Scott's family couldn't sue because Janklow was on official business, thus was protected by the Federal Tort Claims Act. 

 

Focus on the present

Jason Ravnsborg

Some loud echoes are heard now with this incident involving the South Dakota attorney general, Jason Ravnsborg. Are South Dakota motorists "50th in the nation" with their skills and judgment? (You have to type Ravnsborg's last name a few times to get comfortable with it.) 

My, hardly anyone would know Ravnsborg's name were it not for his recent traffic misadventure. Not long after, we learned it was a case of distracted driving. It's quite the timely topic. We must take extra care in our new age of expanded distractions. I have taken extra care riding a bicycle. 

You may have heard about Ravnsborg's accident that took the life of Joseph Boever. It appears the nature of the "distraction" has not yet been made public. That's odd. Was it texting? Eating? You can appreciate the dramatic impact of the collision by seeing a photo of the AG's damaged vehicle. The vehicle left the driving lane before striking the victim. Mr. Boever was in the north shoulder of Highway 14 near Highmore SD, actually holding a light. 

South Dakota has assumed some notoriety on more than one front. How would Governor Perpich react to the pattern of news? There is a clear and present danger for us in Minnesota. We in Morris MN are quite close to South Dakota. The raging virus is raging especially bad in South Dakota. More than half of tests have come back positive for weeks. 

We knew Governor Kristi Noem's makeup and attitude before this state of affairs set in. "Governor Tight Fittin' Jeans" is programmed quite the same as Michele Bachmann. It's rare to see females on this side of the political ledger. I'm not thinking Democrat vs. Republican, I'm thinking reasonable vs. crazy. South Dakota really has a full-fledger in Tight Fittin' Jeans. She has floated the idea of having Donald Trump's face put on Mount Rushmore. You have all the clues you need. 

Noem won't require masks in her state or take other measures to curb the spread. She refuses to urge families to limit Thanksgiving gatherings. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended Americans not travel for Thanksgiving. The USA has seen one million new cases of Covid over the week. 

Noem issued her dangerous statement which she titled "Thanksgiving and personal responsibility." It said "we won't stop or discourage you from thanking God and spending time together this Thanksgiving." 

We in West Central Minnesota are right next to a state that has the second highest infection rate in the country. South Dakota is not following the example of most other states. Think of the Sturgis rally. Noem is actually making false statements, such as lockdowns having no value. She suggested similar futility with masks. 

 

The AG sticks his neck out, to PA

The sudden notoriety or infamy of the AG Ravnsborg has not caused him to miss a step in his post. I personally would have been so traumatized, I could not continue in a public role in the foreseeable future. Republicans are awfully bull-headed in our current times. 

Not only is Ravnsborg still in the driver's seat, as it were, he decided to go way beyond the borders of South Dakota in dedication to partisan concerns. Oh my, here we go: a November 10 news item announced that lawsuits challenging mail-in ballots were filed in Pennsylvania, and Republican attorneys general from ten states, including Ravnsborg, had gotten involved. 

(I'm sure most of us have wondered: is it "attorneys general" or "attorney generals." The former seems to be most accepted. It's like wondering if it's "couldn't care less" or "could care less." The former is proper, a fact not taken in stride one day by talk radio host Mark Levin. A friendly caller just tried correcting him. The right wingers are awfully intransigent.) 

Ravnsborg was part of a group that filed an amicus brief in Pennsylvania's Supreme Court. The brief supported two lawsuits in PA. It was reported "their goal is to bring additional information to the court's attention." The lawsuits challenged a court ruling that allowed mail-in ballots to be received three days after election day. But why must Ravnsborg thrust himself into this distant matter, embroiled in partisanship, when he ought to be licking his wounds and dealing with his conscience in the wake of a traffic incident that would leave most normal people crestfallen? 

We'd want to go private. Words couldn't describe my state of mind, had I been responsible for a distracted driving fatal accident. I might never drive a car again. Ravnsborg should be veritably dripping with humility. Call him "Mister Magoo." Highmore, your classic sleepy South Dakota town, will have notoriety for quite some time. 

 

Trump run amok w/ lawyers

We are so weary of hearing about the lawsuit barrage from the slimy Trump campaign. We are weary of reckless judgment by the likes of Governor Tight Fittin' Jeans relative to the tragic Covid. Of course, South Dakota voters put her in her position. They showed the same judgment with Bill Janklow. 

Ravnsborg? His election opponent had an arguably quite superior resume, but he had an overwhelming handicap: he was a Democrat. Minnesota turned its back on long-time Democratic Congressman Collin Peterson a few weeks ago. All the momentum is going with the Republicans in our windswept part of the country. We should be whistling past the graveyard. The big cities are where the people are. That kind of factor catches up to the political process. 

I have male friends who like to comment on how "good looking" Noem is. We need to retire whatever criteria were created for that in men's minds. It is dated, along with so many misogynistic ideas and humor. Get up to date.

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

Should progressive Christians just abandon gospel?

Not a Trump rally

There are ELCA pastors around the nation doing yeoman's work sharing the gospel in a way so totally apart from conservative politics. I could cite a church in Portland OR but then some of you might sniff that Portland is a left wing haven. Why have we come to think in such terms? 

I will assert that the ELCA strives to be apolitical, but then the detractors would say we're lefty-sympathizing. 

Think of community leaders you knew 20 or 30 years ago: what would they say if transported by time machine to today? What would these temperate people think of our discourse in America? I remember Bob Stevenson.

Think of the days when Tip O'Neill and Ronald Reagan could show a certain affection for each other, separate from their obvious partisan differences. Newt Gingrich came along. And then a whole raft of take-no-prisoner righties, people who can seem so hypocritical. 

Those on the right used to think public morality was so important. Our leaders should at least strive to set an example. We acknowledge our sinful nature but we strive to behave in a classy, civilized way. 

Donald Trump comes along. His absurd weaknesses get revealed one after another. And a huge portion of the citizenry who call themselves Christian seem to almost celebrate the shortcomings! So eager they are to say Trump has failings "but he supports us." 

Think of our community leaders from 20 or 30 years ago: did they ever think their freedom to worship was being abridged? Did it cross their minds, even? So what's the problem? There definitely is a problem. 

Trump's whole world view makes a mockery of Christian values. He carefully manicured this image of himself as masterful businessman. He realized the power of TV and mined it. The image and reality of Trump as a businessman are almost certainly two different things. Many evangelicals might actually be concluding that now, but they won't back off, they cannot back off. They don't dare appear to be compromising. Their normal faculties have slammed shut because they have turned into a cult. 

 

The real example set by Christ

The ELCA is an outlier, perhaps a besieged one now. Those in its fold equate so many of Christ's values with the kind of outlook a progressive-thinking person would have. If climate change science appears sound, we respect it and suggest ways of preventing harm to us all. It would seem to be a Christ-like stance. 

The rock-ribbed evangelicals look up to Trump who says climate change is a hoax. The Trump supporters don't even look for documentation for their assertions anymore. They buy seat-of-the-pants pronouncements and seem not to even feel defensive about it. Trump is their leader, period. So they might not even care if they're called racists. 

White evangelicals voted 80 percent for Trump in 2016. They backed a man who is so clearly irreligious, whose whole world view hardly mirrors Christian values. 

We talk about white evangelicals and maybe it's the first word that is essential: white. They don't recognize, or refuse to recognize, that the "prosperity gospel" preachers are charlatans. Trump pledged to give secular power to the evangelical class in America. And we all know, power is intoxicating. Evangelicals have put their moral compass aside. They support Trump even though he talks about U.S. military service personnel as "losers and suckers." 

So, Russia and Putin paid the Taliban to kill U.S. troops? Trump was unresponsive. His defenders like on Fox News (K.T. McFarland) went into contortions. How do we interpret that kind of deference? When we cannot even employ generally understood logic or morality as a reliable compass? What kind of discourse can we have? We learn that atheists, of all people, are more guided by morality than Trump-supporting evangelicals. 

 

Go ahead and say it

Is this an invitation to become an atheist? Quite possibly yes. But we abandon Christianity at great risk. Historically the faith has so much to offer for the advancement of civilization. If no Christianity, what will fill the void? Is secular power so important to the movers and shakers of evangelical Christianity? What a crazy world. 

My church is in the ELCA where the first letter stands for "evangelical." Yet we seem to be increasingly derided. I observe some very brilliant pastors of the ELCA speaking from their local online platforms across the U.S. Talk about making the world smaller! And for the first time I am starting to wonder: would these pastors serve the interest of their flocks better if they just abandoned God and Jesus, seriously? Abandon these names and symbols that have been co-opted by such a huge portion of Christians who are in the Trump-supporting "evangelical" fold. 

  

Jim Carrey's artwork

A taint for Christianity?

"Evangelical" is growing into a toxic word. Talk about God and Jesus and many people will think you are oriented to that element. Can people like me still hold our heads high? 

The pandemic keeps us from our church buildings now. Trump was a phenomenon in the recent election even though it appears he lost. Don't bet against him, by the way. But this charlatan, grifter, pretender, demagogue could have won. Perhaps one little misstep prevented him from clearly winning: the "losers/suckers" quote? Melanie using the "F" word in connection to Christmas? 

And to think many in the Trump crowd had issues when Obama simply wore a tan suit coat! Yes, it's totally "Alice Through the Looking Glass" or "Bizarro world." And it's America in 2020, to the consternation of those community leaders of a bygone time, whose jaws would drop if they could appear before us today. Again, Bob Stevenson.

There was a time when I think public morality was more important to the broad swath of America, precluding the partisan issues. But then Newt Gingrich came along. The tea party came along. Ted Cruz came along. Mitt Romney got dismissed. John McCain lost his standing. 

And now it's Trump at the forefront. He rains his "tweets" on us.

 

Getting to the essence?

Our Morris area has many devotees to what Trump represents. And how to describe it? That would be difficult and unpleasant. Racists? 

I personally don't think much about race at all. I just judge people on how they behave. 

About 40 percent of Trump voters come from a group that is only 15 percent of America. I remember an old Mad Magazine spoof that showed an old grumpy white man talking about all the people in America he detested. And at the bottom: the conclusion that this guy "loves America while hating 90 percent (or some such number) of the people living in it." I believe Jewish intellectual minds powered the Mad Magazine humor, often cynical of course, and I say that with great respect. Jews are always vigilant about the dangers of prejudice and discrimination. 

Let's acknowledge the unvarnished truth: white evangelicals got so motivated at polling places because of Trump's encouragement of white supremacy. Forget about economics and morality - the benchmark for those people was the standing of historical white Christian dominance. So given the powerful influence, so strong that Trump may yet wrest back the White House, can ELCA pastors rationalize the continued promotion of the gospel, or should they abandon the Bible in favor of just emphasizing a proper moral/ethical framework in life? 

Christ was defined by this kind of framework, caring about the poor and downtrodden of course, unconditional love of humanity, not an embrace of "prosperity" i.e. having a new Bentley. 

Evangelicals follow Trump's lead in saying that Confederate monuments are a reflection of Southern pride and U.S. history, not symbols of racism. Why are they going out of their way on this issue? 

Republicans once developed a "southern strategy" but at least they tried cloaking it. Trump is oblivious to the cloak. And his crowd continues eating right from his hand like with the scary Trump "rallies," the superspreader events that have cost lives. The Trump people are the "mask deniers" in the current pandemic. They scream about "voter fraud" to caricature. 

Yes, imagine the reaction of our community leaders of the bygone time, for whom being restrained and reasonable was a virtue. Oh, how quaint to imagine now. 

  

Pastor Danielle Casey, Austin TX

Sticking with the gospel

Yes, there are brilliant ELCA pastors all over the U.S. trying to "keep the faith," and isn't that admirable? I have been calling up the services of Pastor Danielle Casey of Triumphant Love Lutheran Church in Austin TX. Oh, but this is a "college town" full of "lefties," right? How can these arguments even continue? 

And if Trump goes down as a martyr, isn't that the most dangerous thing? Martyrs can take their followers down with them.

 

My November 19 podcast

We're on the threshold of another shutdown in Minnesota. I'm told it starts late Friday. I share thoughts about this and about the abrupt end of high school sports, on "Morris Mojo." Please click to listen:

https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Another-shutdown-approaches-emncjh

 

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