Dismal spring weather but MACA softball sweep!

It's the last day of April, nothing to write home about, for sure. Non-descript weather right up to the end. So the gray sky prevails on this April 30. Rainfall this morning. Nature is subdued as it seeks to come alive in the new spring. The wind has been like a knockout blow over the recent past. I have only made it out to the bike path benches once. 

I could be outside more if I wished, if I was really prepared. But I'm just lax, wanting the conditions to begin bordering on summer-like. I mean, just intermittently. 

The UMM graduation has a long background of being hampered by the weather, often forced inside. So what beckons for the May 14 event here? A sunny day or more of the uncooperative stuff? I am informed that tickets would be distributed if it's inside. Not the kind of tickets you pay for, but tickets to limit the turnout and prevent an overflow. I have heard that the UMM band may not play for graduation. Plans are always subject to change, I assume. The band is something I would take for granted. 

I personally helped out with the UMM band for graduation way back in about 1969. Those were war protest times, growth of the counterculture. So there I was with my French horn. I was a member all spring. Clyde Johnson was on leave and John Woell directed. The late Bonnie Dunnum-Drinkwitz was student director. Rich Meiss played oboe. 

I believe we played "Nobles of the Mystic Shrine." OK how about "Procession of the Nobles." It was the latter, I'm confirming on May 1! Time draws a misty curtain but it's not hopeless. Trumpets did terrific job on "Procession of the Nobles."

 

The college hurdle

I would not go on to become a UMMer. Strange status for someone with strong family ties, but it was not for me, could not have handled the math/science requirements here. I could barely handle these anywhere else. I needed to show some sleight of hand. And it wasn't worth it - I should have just had no inhibitions about not being a college person. That's water under the bridge. 

College was impressed on us too much when I was young, as an almost-necessary rite of passage. And too many students frittered away their time with stupid behavior anyway - drugs, alcohol, ear-splitting rock music, late raucous parties. All that is quite under the bridge now. I regret so much of it. I didn't really partake in the self-destructive stuff - note the qualifier "really" - but it was in the air around me. You couldn't fight it.

 

Play ball!

So on this April 30 we're wondering how much enjoyment the fans of MACA athletes are having. I am well on the record suggesting an adjustment in high schools' approach to spring sports. I shall not ring the bell again. Even when the teams have been able to play, I'm sure it has not been pleasant. But for the record, the MACA softball team took two against the Sauk Centre Streeters in recent action. 

We're seeing Brienna Dybdahl as pitcher once again. She appears in the groove, as shown by her ten strikeouts in Game 1. She pitched the whole way in the 9-1 MACA win. Action was in Sauk Centre on April 26. Dybdahl allowed the one Sauk run on three hits. At bat, Sydney Dietz came through with three hits. Two hits each resonated off the bats of Reilly Gibson, Yasmine Westerman and Brianna Marty. 

Dybdahl turned the ball over to Westerman for Game 2. Westerman matched Dybdahl's strikeout total for Game 1: 10. Her innings pitched was six. Sauk had the wheels in motion for a potential rally in the seventh. The bases were loaded. The Tigers were seeking to cling to a 6-4 lead. Dybdahl was rested at this point and she was called upon to pitch. She got the best possible result: a double play ball! Westerman was the pitcher of record and Dybdahl got the save. The Tigers completed the sweep with this 6-4 win. Let's look at the hitting attack where Westerman and Brianna Marty each had three hits. A major highlight was the home run off the bat of Kortney Sanasack. The orange and black came out of the day at 6-1.

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

Mid-week gatherings for temperate Christians

Enjoy the food at Met Lounge side room!

A late-April Thursday, temperature stubbornly low, naturally there's a wind. A non-descript day all around. We only tolerate it as we move along in our routine. In the back of our minds: warmer days are coming. It's so cotton-pickin' belated. The window for pleasant weather is narrowing all the time. Remember, we start feeling a "nip" in the nighttime air in mid-August. About the time of the county fair. 

We cannot put pandemic fears behind us. Headlines remain worrisome. Somewhere in the world there's a "new spike." Our normal lives have rebounded only to a limited degree. Some of our new habits from during the pandemic have remained. We go online for some activities that used to be understood as communal. 

My church likes to have a little informal gathering on Wednesday nights. Let's clarify: it's my church along with the other ELCA church in town. The two churches we're talking about are First Lutheran and Faith Lutheran. We pause the Wednesday event during Lenten season. We wait until after Easter. An attempt was made to get it going last night (Wednesday). Three of us were present. The gathering was very pleasant for the three. I was joined by two members of Faith Lutheran. 

The ELCA has not been in great shape in the last several years. Now we're trying to hold our own in a situation we might describe as post-pandemic. Can we really be sure it's post-pandemic? 

For most of my life, First Lutheran was a most hearty mainstream church that had two services on Sunday. Finally we decided to have one but only in summer.

Morris sure slacks off in the summer. We expect renewal in the fall. We used to have a "UMM Sunday." That was wiped from the slate even before the pandemic. We used to have a big "pot luck" for that. The last year we had it, the number of people coming downstairs for fellowship was no more than the usual. So it was nothing more than a subdued "coffee hour." And there's nothing wrong with that, but in previous times this was a really big deal. 

Today First Lutheran has one Sunday service year-around.

Little by little the features of longstanding church life have eroded. A church needs a core of young adults to form a pathway to the future. A friend of mine refers to these people as "tweeners." And he notes: "'There aren't enough of them." I know some of these people well. And my friend is right, the numbers are not encouraging. 

A leader in my church has spoken of the future possibility of "lay leadership." The synod is preparing for orientation on this, as clergy numbers are thinning. This is what I remember being said from the front of the sanctuary, but it looks like I misremembered the speaker. Earlier today I attributed the quotes to Ward Voorhees. He says it wasn't him, so I retract the earlier attribution, sorry.

 

Politics hovers

A constant thread these days is that some will leave for a more "conservative" church. These people hear a sort of siren song that drives them to a church where I guess they feel comforted by hardcore conservative values. So last night I was informed that Faith Lutheran has lost people to Good Shepherd because of "mask" policies. Such a divisive issue these days. I'm happy to follow a mask requirement anywhere, but I find it uncomfortable keeping the thing on for a long time. We can get frustrated with the policy and be inclined to pooh-pooh it. But then we'll hear of a long-time friend or well-known face in the community who is lost to covid. 

And we can't even be sure we're past the whole thing. I told my friends from Faith last night that we just have to keep the Wednesday night thing going. Already it had a long up-and-down history. We had to leave the Met Lounge side room and go to the Old No. 1 for a time. That did not go well. We have had sessions where both our pastors were present and sessions with no pastor. 

We used to be able to sing but not any more. There was a time when the side room wasn't yet fully developed as a restaurant. We were treated like a private party and we could sing! That was nice. At present the doors there are open to all. I had an ice cream cone on my way out last night. 

My church of First Lutheran, Morris MN

If you're an ELCA church member anywhere, come and join us behind the little partition. I'd venture to say you're welcome also if you attend Federated. 

First Lutheran, Faith Lutheran and Federated could actually join as one - they attract the same kind of people. Maybe our defining feature is that we have not been drawn into the cult of Donald Trump. Other churches seem to have gotten sucked into the awful vortex. 

 

Why can't we assess?

We all should be profoundly scared, about how U.S. citizens have not coalesced around the basic idea that Trump was a dangerous force at the end. I would argue he was corrupt long before that, like from day one. But these days, late April of 2022, we are getting a stream of revelations about Trump. It's all over the map in a way not limited to January 6. And I feel exasperated perusing the news each day. Such a litany. Often it's a litany of sheer ridiculousness. Have we lost all our discipline as a society? Are we nearing a death knell for the very United States of America? 

Donald Trump did not even want to be president. He ran as a way of building his "branding." The greater the degree of celebrity, the better for him. He doesn't care about the rank and file masses of people. No point for me to elaborate on this. Obviously I could, but I'd be trying to persuade the many people who are cult members, who show actual traits of the cult phenomenon. Not the slightest bit of dissent or disloyalty is allowed. They take umbrage at any suggestion of criticism, for any reason. I have put my toe in the water with this. They have the wagons circled. And they populate the churches of Stevens County outside of the three I have given attention here. 

OK so what about the Catholics? That gets into different territory. Have you seen the movie "Spotlight?" Major national Trump supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene is in the news now for condemning the Catholic faith. Her words are so strong, she has gotten pushback from Bill Donohue of the Catholic League, who almost never criticizes Republicans. 

 

Abrasive language

Trump stooge Ms. Greene said recent efforts by Christian organizations and churches to help resettle undocumented immigrants and refugees in the U.S. are evidence of "Satan controlling the church." Donahue accused Greene of "slandering the entire Catholic Church." 

So, the Catholic League is contacting Kevin McCarthy about this? Kevin McCarthy? He has no more credibility than Greene. Been following the news? How is all this going to be chronicled someday? 

Will we still have a United States of America? The kind we all grew up with and once loved? Will January 6 turn out to have been a rehearsal? Are the forces for autocracy poised to win next time? What will this accomplish for you all? 

The fact that our reasonable, temperate churches are on the downslide may be the most discouraging thing of all. We welcome new people to attend the Wednesday night thing at the Met Lounge side room. Please arrive at around 6 p.m. and go to behind the little partition on the far end. Get a "waffle cone" before you leave!

The beautiful exterior of Faith Lutheran Church in west Morris

 

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

Four years since my mother passed on

I did not take this photo. I don't know who did. It was someone who wanted to preserve for posterity a familiar sight on the UMM campus: Mom taking care of business for the campus post office which she managed. She was known to have such a swift "gait." Mom and Dad were on board with U of M-Morris right from the outset of the "adventure." It continues apace today, maybe facing a headwind or two. But the focus is always on the future. The Ralph and Martha Williams Fund assures we're always attuned to the present and future of the "jewel in the crown." Is that expression still promoted? I think it's better than "in the middle of somewhere."

 

Today (Sunday) ought to be a somber occasion for yours truly: the fourth anniversary of my mother Martha's passing. You might suggest that I overlook the sadness of the occasion. Instead, be inspired to remember Mom from her more robust years. In theory I accept that. But I developed a particular type of closeness with Mom in the last three or so years of her life. 

So it's that phase of our relationship that sticks in my mind. Toward the end, she was at her best at around 9 or 10 a.m., soon after finishing her morning cold cereal. Mom and Dad both emphasized cold cereal as their breakfast habit. I was the one who gravitated toward the hot breakfast. Once Mom finished that, she sat in her standard chair and was very much "herself." She was mostly calm and alert. Her mental state was better than what you probably associated with her. 

Some people said after her death that this was one of those deaths that might be considered a "blessing." I'm not mad at anyone who thought this. She could seem distressed and disoriented later in the day. It was Vicki Dalager who taught me the term "sundowning." Apparently it's common. Toward the end of the day, the person can become rather unhinged. So, Mom could be that way but it was a different story in the morning. It also helped that she was in her own home surroundings. 

Most likely I erred in bringing her out into the public so often. I have always been the kind of person who has trouble letting go of habits. I wanted so much for life to go on just as it had. I wanted so much for us to just make our usual cherished rounds. We all end up with regrets when all is said and done. We look back on our lives and realize we could have made some decisions better. 

My parents both became very delicate. They were both close to ending up in a nursing home, I know. Dolores Lammers told me before my father's passing (in 2013) that both my parents would be in a nursing home if it were not for me. It was nice to hear that. 

A caregiver can be put in tense situations. Had I been more prudent, I probably should have insisted to Mom that I take complete charge of the family's finances. This would have saved her stress, which she was very susceptible to. She had a heart attack after reading an article in the Star Tribune about how you have to keep an eye on your "signature cards" at banks. 

It is so easy for any of us to think in hindsight, about my Mom, to just sit her down, look her in the eye, exercise common sense and say "don't worry, relax." If only it had been that simple. To this day I wonder why that approach could not have worked. Well, "you had to be there." You had to know Mom, especially how she was in the last chapter of her life. But she always had those inclinations. 

At a certain point I started sitting in the doctor's office with her. Her doctor said to her one day: "Sometimes I think you worry about what you're going to worry about next." 

My mother had an unreasonable fear of medical intervention. I'm sure the fear sprang from when she was very young and people died younger. Medical intervention in those days was so often a prelude to death. Then of course we had all the medical miracles for treating things come along. 

My mother was obstinate about getting a mammogram. I was the one who eventually pushed for that. Obstinate as my mother was, I was probably the one person who could get to her and get her to re-think. I actually postponed the mammogram for a short time, because I went on the Internet and read skeptical stuff about the procedure. But then I realized something had to be done. I knew what the result would be. We got a letter saying that "something anomalous" turned up. How's that for delicate language? 

A young Martha holds "Teddy"

I brought Mom to SCMC for surgery with Dr. Sam. I was not allowed to be consulted. I suppose the question was how radical the surgery would be. And I suspect the medical people would not want to contradict Mom's wishes, even if she did have mental stability issues. I'm sure the surgery helped prolong Mom's life. It was the best outcome I could have hoped for at the time. 

Of course I can wonder if the diagnosis should have been sought sooner. So we're into second-guessing again. I am familiar with so many breast cancer stories that ultimately have sadness. Could it be Mom was better off not getting "cut open" sooner, and then being subjected to all the follow-up that is prescribed? Well I don't know. Nobody could be sure on this. 

But Mom was just a month shy of age 94 when she passed on that spring day of 2018. It was five years after Dad passed. They are together with their names on our family monument at Summit Cemetery. I made sure that a cross symbol was put on the monument. Fergus Falls Monument came through quite nice. The cross is part of a decoration that has their date of marriage. Mom and Dad are together in heaven too. 

Mom said when our dog "Heidi" died, "she's in a better place now." Mom probably felt our mortal existence had more than its share of pain. She was a young girl during the Great Depression. Mom and Dad were perfect examples of the kind of people that came out of the Depression. Let's say they knew the value of a dollar. To a fault, I'd suggest. 

 

Effort to compensate

Just in case my father had a reputation as a skinflint, I set up the Ralph and Martha Williams Fund to benefit music at the U of M-Morris. For years I had heard about the Clyde Johnson Scholarships. That gnawed at me, so I pushed forward with the initiative to do likewise on behalf of the Williams family name. 

So today, April 24, we'll have a UMM music concert involving band and choir. I might say "symphonic winds" but I'm always reminded of Spinal Tap's "Break Like the Wind" tour. 

But why is today's concert in Alexandria? From an email I shared with a friend this morning:

 

My main reason to email you today, was to inform you there's a big UMM symph. winds and choir concert today (Sunday). Oh, but it's IN ALEXANDRIA. Holy s--t. I suppose I could write a blog post about this. But I'm getting sick of having to complain about so much, seriously. I have heard a couple rumors about this: 1) UMM wanted to use concert hall but was told "no" by the school, and 2) UMM has decided it doesn't want to use concert hall because it just accentuates how UMM doesn't have its own decent facilities. OK, so we have a too-small recital hall, but we have the cavernous hallways of the HFA building. The building was designed when avant garde ideas were all the rage. Don't do anything that is just logical or practical, be attention-getting, like with the science auditorium (the best example).

Maybe performing in Alex is based on PR or outreach. IMHO the choir is having a down year with its numbers and quality. I know others think that. (Name withheld) emailed me after the choir's concert at the conclusion of its tour.

So the concert for Jim Carlson will be in October? "In lieu of" the jazz fest? No it isn't, because the concert isn't even in the current academic year. There will be nothing like the jazz fest in this academic year. Is it so hard to pull something off? Man, I get a terrible reputation saying all these things!!!!

(Name withheld) got some info for me re. Big Cat Stadium, and (this person) says that the high school softball team does in fact have access if needed. But is UMM truly cooperative on this? Here's a theory: maybe the high school wanted to use the place, encountered resistance, and then the high school retaliated by saying "no" on the concert hall. I didn't come to town on a turnip truck.

 

The games go on

Last night (Saturday) I was at the Dairy Queen and encountered an MACA softball player in uniform, and she told me the team had played three games that very day! Three games! A bit much, I would suggest. 

I later walked out to the softball complex grounds, where I believe no games have yet been played this spring. Muddy, mushy ground. And the setup is so bad for fans anyway. I was recently delighted to get an email from an MACA parent who I did not know. This person communicated because of my blogging which so often gives attention to school sports. 

The fact I would get this feedback means, in case there was any doubt, that I continue to be a viable journalist in Motown. Maybe even respected. So this parent contacted me with an email that was mostly positive. I think this person would want me to cut a little more slack for the people developing the softball complex. We must always allow for future improvements or corrections. 

There, I inserted the word "corrections," implying that remedial actions are called for. Well, we'll just see. The City of Morris gave money to this project with no input into how things were done. Let's vote off all the city council people. We need people with a more objective, intelligent eye, n'est-ce pas? 

Cute that the sender addressed me as "Mr. Williams." Here is a portion of that email I received. It was sent on March 27.

Our girls have overcome adversity, learned to work as a team, and learned perseverance. It has kept them out of trouble on the weekends, kept them in shape, and taught them to play a tough sport. Have you ever tried to pitch a softball underhanded at top speeds while still maintaining accuracy? I have and I am terrible at it. It still baffles me how these softball pitchers do it. 

So, let’s get Wanda to bring the band out and bridge music and sports for the first home opener and let’s embrace our new Holmberg Field Complex. A field of dreams is not built on the facility. It is all about the memories. Hopefully we can have some success along the way too. 

Thanks for blogging. I often “google” you up to see what you have to say today. I am always amazed that your underground sources are pretty accurate. Good detective work. Maybe you can give the writers at the Hancock Times I mean Stevens County Times some pointers. Thanks for the coverage.

 

A nice little "emoticon" was at the end! I was happy to send a response email, a portion of which is below: 

 

So, where to begin? I couldn't help but pay a lot of attention to the softball complex because my regular walking route goes right past there. I would often watch part of a UMM game because I was passing by there. The long-established UMM field has a low enough fence that most people can watch from over it if they choose, and get a very good view. 

As for the softball complex, I started checking that place out before the first game was played there. So, I could easily anticipate the problems they were going to have. For fans sitting on the first and third base sides, it's hard to see through the fence. Your chair might be on muddy ground. As for the aluminum bleachers, only the very middle section provides a view of the whole playing field. I am concerned that fans from out of town, especially those that might not bring their own lawn chairs, are going to be upset. Last year for the sub-section games, I felt sorry for the person charging admission from a table because fans were sprinkling in from all directions. I walked over to behind the left field fence, then noticed that she was staring at me, so I left. Maybe it was Lenora Waddell. Anticlimactic for the Tigers to lose twice on the same day. And we were No. 1 seed. Well, that's sports!

So lately I have made an issue of whether the MACA softball program has access to Big Cat Stadium. The Cougars have been playing games there. I was very surprised to see that, and then I discovered the place is actually perfect. It's no problem setting up the playing field to satisfy softball, and fans have it super-great up in the bleachers. I'm sure the players love being there. Big Cat is supposed to be 50-50 with the high school and college.

After I had scouted the complex last spring, I knew exactly what was going to happen when games started. I knew parking would be a thorny matter. I knew fan seating issues would be noticed quickly. All of this was borne out, and then Mr. Ekren made a public statement about the safety issues in connection to parking. People will not feel that my complaints are so trivial if someone actually gets hurt out there. And then Supt. Ferguson, when he was here, went on the radio to say "do we really need so much parking?" Well, I answered in my blog "yes." If he argued we didn't, I would suggest that it's only because organizers don't have the money, it's not because of a reassessment. But Ferguson made it sound like it was a re-assessment, so I might suggest it's a case of lying. These are important matters.

Looks to me like lots of work remains to be done on the place. The diamond of the old UMM field is supposed to be moved to the opposite end, so it's next to the pressbox. That will require considerable work. If the organizers don't have money raised yet, it's problematic because we're dealing with inflation and continued problems with the supply chain etc. 

Aren't there supposed to be lights around the new field(s)? Paid for by the funeral home? I know I saw that news item: $15,000. I don't notice lights around the new fields yet. One theory I have is that local authorities will not allow night games until the parking is addressed better, because this business of cars parked all up and down Prairie Lane is going to spell real safety issues at night. Well, go ahead and don't listen to me, but if someone gets hurt?

I suppose I'm harassing people in charge of the project but they've been given lots of public money.

Not sure how much longer I can blog well about certain Tiger sports, because my info sources are becoming more limited. For years I relied on info in the West Central Tribune a lot. That has really dried up now. Jackson Loge isn't even on All Area team, because they've lost interest in us. The Morris newspaper, in addition to the Hancock issue you mention, has a website that is frankly worthless - it's just presented as a "teaser" or contact site. And as far as relying on the newspaper's print product, it's only once a week so there goes your timeliness. Most newspaper sites strive to have more value than theirs. My friend Randy Olson of the Bonanza Valley paper simply started his own blog, years ago, which has zero cost for him, and he simply uses the blog as an extension of what the newspaper does. So he'll run sports items and photos regularly there.

My goodness, it's snowing as I type this!

You've probably noticed the tree stumps at the softball complex. People will have to be careful not to drive over them. I might say "what a mess." Well, I WISH it was better. I originally envisioned something far more impressive, like with sidewalks. Well, we got the concert hall at the school, so these things can happen.

 Again, thanks for your email. I call this feedback "fan mail from some flounder" (the old line from the "Bullwinkle" cartoon).

 

Also pertinent here is an email I shared this morning with one of my UMM compatriots. We keep an eye on relevant stuff, whether the stakeholders appreciate it or not. Actually we are stakeholders. I saw this gentleman at the Willie's "cafe" this morning, with a little coterie who I once saw at McDonald's regularly on Sundays. So I asked if they'd switched away from the golden arches due to our restaurant being reluctant now to serve patrons at the counter (as opposed to drive-through). 

They responded "yes." What a calamity for Morris, and maybe an inquiry should be placed with "corporate" about whether this is an approved practice. I suspect it may not be. 

I invite you to read a portion of this email I sent on this very blustery (crappy) Sunday morning in late April.

Lousiest spring I have ever seen. Main problem most days is the wind. High school sports must be next to impossible. Even when they do play, it has to be miserable. I saw a Tiger softball player at the Dairy Queen last night and she said the team played three games that day. That's excessive.

I walked out to softball complex and ground was very muddy. I don't think a single game has been played there yet this spring. The thing is only about 1/4 completed, based on the original plans, but maybe they don't want us to look at the original plans any more. If I had been a donor, I would feel royally ripped off. (Name withheld) never came to me about that. Maybe (this person) knew I'd be a skeptic. Fred Switzer gave a big check. I wish he had cared this much about Tiger athletics when he was the supt. 

I remember Merlin Beyer coming to my office once and we talked about all the buck-passing that went on in school administration. I think they were just hamstrung by social networks, coaches and their cliques around them. And that's one thing I started speaking out about, which is why I almost got tarred the feathered.

I encourage you to just drive over to the softball complex and observe sometime. Notice all the tree stumps. I think it's a shame all those trees were cut down.

 

Martha, as I will always remember her

RIP

Please remember my late mother Martha on this day, April 24, 2022. She was so high-profile on the UMM campus as she made her rounds for the campus P.O. which she was in charge of. 

At the reception held for her retirement, I only showed up at the very end. For most of my life I was concerned about being seen too much with my parents, as there was a stigma about adult children living with parents. I don't sense so much of a stigma these days, if any at all, about this lifestyle or really any other lifestyle. 

I also don't give a rip if a certain person is "unemployed." There used to be shame associated with that. Now it's just a survival game for all of us. 

If you can use a job to live your desired lifestyle, all the more power to you. If you can get by somehow without working, I'm certainly not going to pass judgment on you. No one else would seem to want to pass judgment either. 

"Live and let live." If only this had been the credo all through the years.

I was once the target for open antagonism from some, like the ad manager at the Morris paper. So unfortunate. Today we all realize that "extended generation" families have benefits for all. The aging parents get needed assistance. The family can live in an economical arrangement. Some of us might sometimes appear to be "lazy." Well, let's all just chill out! I think we have. Productivity is not so connected with "sweat" any more. It's about being smart.

 

Toodles,

Brian Williams

The hurdle of adolescence, junior high

Such a big deal is made of the year 1968 in U.S. history. Troubled times in many ways, definitely. Isn't it sort of a norm, though? Looking for what was uniquely bad about 1968, we had the military draft. That was the catalyst, I feel, for young people sort of losing their minds with discontent. Here in Morris MN we tried tending to our usual affairs. Take a look at the images that accompany this blog post. They showcase the music program of our public school. 

I was in the seventh grade, focused on the French horn instrument. Overall I was in "adolescence." Unbelievable phase, adolescence can be. Life includes trauma at all stages, but we might think of adolescence as unique in this regard. We are trying to find ourselves. We might only think we're headed in the right direction. Then we back up, adjust, try something else or just recoil at bad things that are happening to us. We don't have the freedom to adjust in the ways that might be best. 

Maybe public education is more accommodating today in the year 2022. Look at all the kids making the "honor rolls" today, 'A' and 'B'. Well, what's wrong with getting "C' grades? I learned once it means you're "average." Heavens, anyone ought to be satisfied with that. But as time passed, kids developed some aversion to the 'C' grade. 

The 'C' students can be inspired by the background of President George W. Bush - apparently was comfortable with 'C' grades. 

The same people who would today vote Republican were the war "hawks." The "doves" were war skeptics. We can be such inscrutable creatures, as the most fervent people who call themselves "conservative" today will support the president we had from 2016 to 2020, who became a voice for getting out of foreign wars. Bush gave us "Operation Iraqi Freedom" and other adventures. Afghanistan: the famous sinkhole for major powers. 

I remember the news bulletin "We've taken Kabul." Sounded like a big deal, right? Then I learned that "taking Kabul" has never been a big deal. 

My generation had its heart in the right place. We opposed war but that was hardly a genius proposition. So many of us got into drugs, left permanent stain in many cases. Drugs were part of a counterculture that was supposed to signal enlightenment on so many things. Fine, but there were weird tangents that dragged us down. Boys grew their hair long as some sort of statement. We dressed "grubby" as a statement. We thought our rock music had to be really loud to be cool. We'd damage our hearing. Boys walked with a slouched posture. 

Me? I got disoriented in the adolescent world like most of my peers. Floundering, flailing, getting frustrated at things out of our control. Wondering why people in positions of authority seemed to "have it in for us" so often. 

The people with authority seemed to like that mantle just for its own sake. They had to show they could control us. They justified their salary that way: they could claim their job was to keep order. Yes, in the way a prison warden might. 

And then our parents, presumably, would feel thankful that our world wasn't just crumbling and our path to adulthood waylaid. If only they knew how we could be waylaid anyway. For the boys, fear of forced military service was absolutely paramount. In today's parlance, the matter was "existential" to us. (When I was in college, "existential" was considered a total "50-cent word" and it was hard to find anything like a cogent definition.) 

 

To behave? Why?

Why be a "good boy," work hard at your "lessons," learn all the rules of our U.S. society, if at the age of 18 you'd be sent to some miserable jungle to "die for your country." You see, the young people of today, all those wonderful kids who make the "honor roll," cannot begin to relate to the U.S. life of the late 1960s. The conflict then was on a level they cannot comprehend. The little tribulations of their adolescent lives are so inconsequential. 

In their own minds, definitely not. But they ought to feel glad that with a normal decent attitude about life, they can get on the "honor rolls." Teachers no longer act like they are "keeping prisoners in line." I have heard it said that today's kids "walk all over the teachers." In a sense I think this is real progress. 

 

The genuine nightmare

The life-changing event for me was realizing in the ninth grade that I could not do algebra. I literally could not do it. Who on behalf of "the state" (i.e. government) decided that algebra was a course I had to take? What possible purpose might it serve? I'll tell you what purpose it served: to make certain education bureaucrats feel important. They sought the feeling of importance not with any desire to actually help young people. It was entirely self-serving. Their "grunts" were the teachers like Mr. Vodden at Morris junior high. 

My parents were contacted about my troubles. I remember that both me and another kid in the ninth grade play cast were at risk of being removed from that activity. We couldn't do algebra. Looking back, I might have been better off just being thrown in with the "retards." The idea would be to just survive school and then get the hell out of it, to somehow "break out of prison." 

Looking back, why should I have been so scared of getting to school late or getting to a class late? What if I just wanted to "sleep in" now and then? What if I got to class late because I needed some time to just get organized? But you'd be disciplined in such a severe manner. I wish I had just "talked back" now and then so I could vent my feelings. Might I be sent away as some incorrigible kid? 

Yeah, as if I'd really hurt someone. My intent in life would be just the opposite: I just wanted a little freedom, a little elbow room and a little reasonableness from my elders. Such a low bar to set. 

After high school I was amazed at how reasonable and pleasant people could be, as I circulated in the standard adult world. We could enjoy our interactions. The idea was to make tasks easy, not hard. Don't make tasks any harder than they needed to be. In school the requirements had seemed onerous, like it was "pain equals gain." 

The system must have been set up that way for a reason. Maybe it was the dads of the baby boomers who ha been in "boot camp."

 

Name-dropping

Take note of the program images with this blog post. Note the composer of the evening's final tune: "Born To Be Free." The composer of this "inspirational tune" was Ralph E. Williams, my father. He was on the UMM faculty. It was my cross to bear to be his son because people expected me to be special. 

You'll see my name with the French horn. I was absolutely staggered at a certain point to realize that French horn was a girls instrument, at least in our school. Could not figure out why. Made no sense to me. So in the next couple years as I took up trumpet for marching band, I sought to gravitate to trumpet permanently. For sure the trumpet was a boys instrument. The gender expectations or stereotypes were much more pronounced back then. There was no serious sports for girls, none! Isn't that hard to believe? So many of us cannot even conceive of that. 

Compare those days to the present. 

You'll see the name Del Sarlette in the concert program for being in a trumpet duet. He joined with Terry Rice. Terry was an absolute virtuoso of the instrument. 

If you're a lifelong Morris person you'll see many other familiar names in the program. Our band director was Bill Dohrn, who I always thought looked like the Egyptian leader Gamma Abdul Nasser. Vocal was handled by Christine Gruenes, who played in my father's UMM orchestra. The kids unfortunately did not take to her very well. I'm not blaming her, I'm blaming the kids. We developed such fixed impressions of our junior high teachers. 

Bill Coombe was one of our teachers. The long-time football field was named for him. He liked to refer to himself in the third person!

All I can say about my junior high experience is that I survived. I must have gotten past my algebra hardship somehow. Maybe I was "mainstreamed." That's what teachers do when they decide to just let kids get by, to advance, no matter what. Get them through the system so they can finally reach the normal adult world, a far better place. Today I think we treat kids with a lot more kindness.

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

Come-down from H.S. winter sports seems too much

Super place for softball also: Big Cat at UMM!

I see where the Thursday Tiger baseball game has already been rescheduled. For a long time I have been struck by the drastic transition from winter to spring school sports. 

The winter season is intense. It culminates in this thing we call March Madness. As a newspaper person I was sometimes troubled by the intensity of the atmosphere, the emotions invested. In a small community we follow the allure, get taken in. The local media reports on the doings like there is such great gravity attached. You might well consider it excessive, if you cool your jets and seek a reasonable stance. 

Has the Morris newspaper published a review of the exciting MAHS band/choir trip to Texas? If it has, I apologize for bringing it up. But I haven't seen it. If the music department doesn't volunteer something, go get it. Show some enterprise, which many of my critics would have said to me in a hectoring way. But that was politics. I never overcame some of the baggage I assumed after I got all fed up with the Morris public school teachers union in the late 1980s. Some things you just cannot tolerate. 

 

Season to season

Once March Madness is done, we catch our collective breath and then ponder the resumption of high school sports. But it is not the same at all! Weather can be an enormous obstacle. More press people are coming forward and suggesting that something be done about this. But it seems nothing gets done. 

We have this huge and emotional market for sports entertainment in winter. Then what? Announcements of "postponed" for the start of spring. 

The best-laid plans: We somehow think the kids can play baseball and softball according to a planned schedule. Certainly everything is well-structured for winter. Not only are spring sports events so tentative so much of the time, when the games do start getting played it's a struggle to feel a sense of vitality. Weather is barely good enough some days. Oh, the wind and the cold. Springtime winds can almost bowl you over. 

We don't permit any adversity like this for our winter sports. Why do we punish ourselves in spring? Look at the weather today which is Wednesday. Ridiculous. I cannot even walk across the grounds at the "softball complex" now, such is the mud. 

I have written recently about the use of Big Cat Stadium for the diamond sports. I personally watched Cougar softball there Saturday. I have begun communicating with certain well-placed people on whether the Tigers as well as the Cougars have access to Big Cat in the spring. In theory they ought to, because the stadium was set up on a 50-50 basis. I'd welcome any edification.

 

Tedious, maybe?

MACA baseball played a game at Benson Monday and wiped out the opponent, in a game that must have been a chore to watch. I mean, our opponent maybe not real prepared? A case of just not being in the swing for spring sports? Maybe a hangover from March Madness? I use the word figuratively of course. 

But spring sports, especially early-on, can seem like a downer if I may be candid. I observed this all through the years when I was at the paper. We came off the "high" of March Madness and then the games resumed with an atmosphere not even remotely similar. Can the powers-that-be with high school sports do something about this? Do they notice the same things I am writing about? 

Can the softball Tigers utilize our Big Cat Stadium for practices and games? I don't know about baseball. I'm not in the know on everything like I used to be. Much of what I write now is speculation, preferably informed speculation. 

 

Friday of this week

Oh my, no games on the schedule for this Friday! This in spite of the fact that schools I'm sure are getting desperate to re-schedule games. 

Friday is "Good Friday," I guess, but that's a religious holiday. Why are we forced to roll over for that? Many people may not accept the crucifixion story of Christ. And these days we are told the story in such a gory way: the literal torture of this man named Jesus Christ. Many people think that's all he was: a man. You have a right to your opinion otherwise, of course. But our public institutions like schools should not make judgment based on the Christian faith. That's what it is, a faith, and there are people who do not embrace it. 

These institutions should not even acknowledge Christmas. We don't know the date of Christ's birth anyway. To confide, let me say that the current attachment of about half of all U.S. Christians to the interests of Donald Trump has almost put Christianity off-limits for me. My disillusionment may be permanent. Is our educational system responsible for this?

 

Trying to get games in

Whither the rest of our high school sports season, as the weather continues to howl on so many days? I sent another email Tuesday to a friend, regarding the Big Cat angle on spring sports. I share my email here, and thanks for reading:

 

Well (name withheld), look outside at the weather. If the softball complex has been too muddy to walk through, what is it going to be like after the rain and snow we're getting now? Our tax dollars are at work with interscholastic spring sports. Maybe there should just be an indoor spring season.

Yesterday I saw Cougar softball team practicing at Big Cat. At present I'm wondering: does the MACA softball or baseball program have the same right of access to Big Cat? I imagine there was a written pact on all this at the start. The place was seen at the start as a football stadium, fully, and I shared that understanding. Now I see that the place accommodates softball wonderfully. I haven't witnessed baseball there yet - I don't know everything of course. Would need a mobile pitching mound, but I'm sure they could swing that. They've done everything else. 

With a "shared" facility, there is always potential for conflicts and disagreements, wouldn't you say? The thing about Big Cat is that it has the "feel" of being part of the UMM campus, so maybe UMM has a proprietary sense. Had it been right next to the public school, the opposite would be the case. I will repeat that the fans are served 100 percent better at Big Cat than at the new softball place. I have to wonder if local authorities will permit parking at the new place like what happened last spring: a madhouse. Dangerous too.

As far as these proposed "scholarships" to get students out to the outstate U campuses, I'm wondering if they are merit-based, or just a way to get bodies out here. Scholarships are supposed to be merit-based. Otherwise it's just government throwing money at a problem. That's where I get frustrated with the Democrats sometimes. But the Republicans are just going apeshit crazy all over the U.S.

Now inflation is 8.5 percent as of this morning. One of my favorite economic commentators says many restaurants are starting to add an actual "service fee." Separate from the tip? That is a good question and there is debate underway about this. I consider tipping to be a strange and antiquated practice, kind of condescending actually. This commentator also says some restaurants are starting to serve glorified TV dinners as their entrees. I need to eat out occasionally to get out of the house and get around people some.

So, impeachment day today for the South Dakota attorney general.

- Brian W.

This photo from the UMM softball website shows the beautiful green turf at Big Cat. Softball is a super experience there, would be super too for the MACA Tigers. But, I don't know if that is in the cards. I cannot be certain of player's name in photo, sorry. The Cougars swept a doubleheader from Northland Saturday at Big Cat Stadium. The fans were accommodated wonderfully in the bleachers, elevated and protected from the northwest wind. The existing lines on the field did the job for softball.

The long, turgid case of Ravnsborg in South Dakota

Jason Ravnsborg should have conversation with his maker.

Highmore SD is going to have a familiar ring for all of us, for a long time into the future. A man walking along the side of the highway was struck and killed outside the town: a sensational incident that involved the South Dakota attorney general at the wheel of the vehicle. We can presume the walking man died instantly. The car was smashed up enough that it was immobilized. 

Have you seen photos of the red Taurus? How could you be in an accident like that and not know what you hit? How could the driver not be bowled over by the sheer trauma of it all? To seek a leave of absence?

In legal trouble? That would have been a secondary concern for me. I think a normal person would have been totally overcome with feelings of grief and shame, grief primarily. Your job can wait, if in fact it is going to be waiting for you at all. My fundamental, primal emotions would take over. The AG acted with strange aplomb afterward. 

The people who follow Upper Midwest news have probably reviewed the essential facts a lot. Judgment day is nearly upon us. We're not talking actual legal punishment for the AG, instead we're seeing if the South Dakota legislature can simply get the man removed from his AG position. 

The state AG? Of all people, the one to be in focus for such a disastrous incident? "You can't make this up," an observer might muse. 

But stranger than fiction it is, so now after so much time and tedious investigative efforts, akin to pulling teeth, we'll finally get somewhere? Will we really? It's an impeachment question. Lawyers are infesting the whole matter, naturally. Nothing like those people "gumming up the works." Got any lawyer jokes handy? Ravnsborg has gotten counsel from a Republican lawmaker.

But why should the AG wish to see the matter bog down like this? He knows that the machinations of lawyers cannot conceal the matter from God's eyes. 

The AG's name is Jason Ravnsborg. He says it's pronounced "Roundsborg." We must respect that. There's nothing else about the man I would care to respect at this point. He was grilled by investigators from North Dakota in an interrogation room. The two dudes from ND were professionally sharp. The video was available for viewing. One of the guys finally said "people make mistakes." He was trying to get Ravnsborg to agree to a very credible explanation. It might have been distracted driving, a real threat in our new age. I do not ride bike on the shoulders of highways anymore. I am extra careful everywhere. But if you kill someone as the result of this, it is obviously not an "excuse." 

 

Imagine the scene

If not distracted driving, how in heck did such a horrendous thing happen? The guy who was struck, who I really should be calling a "victim," had his body lie outside overnight, undiscovered. What could be more horrifying? If the AG had not returned to the scene the next day, how would the body have been discovered? By a passer-by? 

Why did Ravnsborg return to the scene? He had already submitted a report to a law enforcement person who showed up shortly after the incident. The law enf. person, now deceased, was subsequently subjected to brickbats. However, put yourself in his position: he along with the 9-1-1 dispatcher were talking to the state's attorney general. The AG typically identifies himself as such when he has been accosted by law enf. for his driving problems, which we now learn has been often. 

If you cannot defer some, give some benefit of the doubt to the state AG, well then it's a worrisome, unacceptable situation. Which is why the SD legislature so long after the fact now considers impeachment. It's coming up this week. But why the long slog up to now? Can't see the forest for the trees? I guess lawyers can do that. Many political figures are of course lawyers by profession. 

The South Dakota governor despite her general warts of judgment has been a jewel of wisdom on this one. She has wanted the AG gone, right from early-on. Women are nurturers by nature, not destroyers. Women have empathy. The governor is Kristi Noem.

 

Can this be true?

Do I have to bring up partisanship? Maybe that's the saddest aspect of the whole matter. Noem was a jewel because she wanted Ravnsborg gone even though he's a Republican, like she is. 

In a normal world such a consideration would not even be on the periphery. When I was a kid, I would have thought you were joking, if you said it could be. But this is 2022. These are the times of MAGA, Steve Bannon et al. Times when people of that ilk would merely sniff at the idea of a Democrat being struck and killed on the side of the highway, impact so hard it renders the car immobile. Victim's glasses ended up inside the car. It has been suggested that the car's systems shut it down right there. 

The AG had to borrow a car. From the sheriff? Well, the sheriff was dealing with the attorney general. We would not wish to even consider that the AG would be a shifty, misleading or darkly calculating person, would we? 

The partisanship virus appears to have infected the South Dakota legislature. Contradicting Noem and her wisdom, some in the legislative picture are talking more like partisan animals. Which reminds me again of what our late former governor of Minnesota Rudy Perpich said about South Dakota. He said the state is "50th in everything."

These are not "talking points"

So the South Dakota Department of Public Safety wanted to supply input on the impeachment consideration process? With a statement of judgment, well supported, on why Ravnsborg should not be allowed to continue as AG? 

A partisan animal in the process i.e. a Republican said he didn't want to hear "talking points" from the agency. As if the agency would even wish to be part of the partisan cesspool, the epitome of "the swamp." 

How can any of these people sleep at night? 

Have I mentioned that the man who was run over was a Democrat? Are some of these legislators thinking on the level of a 6-year-old? The matter at hand is not some trivial thing where you simply diss or disrespect a person of the competing political stripe. It's not a matter where we can just shrug and move on. Or, to laugh about humiliating or overcoming someone from "the far left." Being on "the left" simply means you support redistributionist policies more than the political right. There has always been room in our U.S. political system for both, the give-and-take as it were. 

But today the political right is virtually on the warpath, banning books, harassing teachers in classrooms, and in D.C. even trying to overthrow the government. In the meantime, Donald Trump keeps hovering, keeps escaping justice just like Jason Ravnsborg of South Dakota. 

Look, the man might have a problem. Maybe it's neurological. Maybe he cannot grasp the gravity of what happened, what he has done. He has shown a pattern of recklessness when driving a motor vehicle. I would be scolded viciously by law enforcement if I had been pulled over in situations like he has. But he's the AG. He's in the National Guard as he loves telling people ad nauseam. 

None of this will bring Joe Boever back to life.

 

Addendum: Spencer Gosch, South Dakota House speaker, has behaved strangely. He is a high-level public servant. What is wrong with him? Something that medication might address? Paranoid delusions? What would he have to fear from his own state's Department of Public Safety? The department wanted to weigh in with some of its wisdom. Who would you trust more? Is there a fear that some of those people might be Democrats? That's how Donald Trump would approach the matter, the first question he'd ask. Look, I don't know about party affiliation. But look how people are behaving these days. Will God impose judgment? "We felt we didn't need a sales pitch," Gosch said. Gosch is similarly apprehensive about Gov. Noem, who isn't even a Democrat. Gosch is scared of the Dept. of Public Safety maybe "influencing bias." Bias? The impeachment proceedings are all about "bias," opinions, judgment. Certainly we have nothing to fear from the SD Dept. of Public Safety, do we, Mr. Gosch?

 

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