We hold breath to see if mowers start

An MTD mower, my brand. I got mine at Eul's.

The weather is smiling on us, finally. This isn't to say we won't have some more of the unpleasant stuff: wind, cool temps and gray skies. Have you ever felt more annoyed by persistent winds? 

Our mowing can be delayed. All over America, people are getting ready to pull their mowers out of the garage or wherever they've been kept. And then, to find they won't start! 

I generally have good luck with this, have had years when my MTD mower starts on the first pull in fact. "Eureka," one might proclaim. 

Can tech come to the rescue, as it has on so many fronts, to alleviate the worry about mowers? There are troubleshooting videos of course. But you'd better have an array of tools for disassembly. 

Are you ready to take the plunge into battery power? Would probably be less hassle than what I've described here. Surely a cleaner process.

I have the gas-powered: both a rider and the MTD push kind. 

It is 8:30 a.m. Wednesday as I share these thoughts: biscuits and gravy morning at DeToy's. That's a nice anchor for getting through the day. And the day looks to be pleasant enough. Yesterday (Tuesday) was quite pleasant. For the first time this year I bicycled the whole circle of the biking/talking trail. That's 4 1/2 miles. I thought of the very long winter when everything was desolate out there. Hellscape? Well, on some days - make that many days. 

The "overlook" is along bike trail.

The nice weather is too belated in arriving this year. Can't get that thought out of my head. En route to the river I pass by the softball complex. Whether biking or walking, I always pass by the place. Work is surely continuing there. It's not cheap, that's for sure. So the long-established UMM softball field with its distinctive brick dugouts ("Cougars" emblazoned) is completely torn up. Heavy equipment and trucks were rumbling out there Tuesday, coming and going. So I'm not sure it was safe to actually have an MACA softball game on the grounds. 

The danger is compounded by vehicles continuing to be parked on both sides of Prairie Lane. This despite new signs which prohibit parking on the north side. There are three such signs: "No parking this side." Am I interpreting the signs correctly? If I am, scofflaws abound. No one is paying attention to the signs, it appears. So, these people run the risk of getting a ticket from law enforcement? Will we see such efforts start? 

 

Tigers host Lakers

The MACA softball team hosted Minnewaska yesterday at the new varsity field. It's a stone's throw from where the very intensive work is being done. And the work accomplishes what, exactly? The long-established UMM field was a wonderful home for the Cougars. It was right across the street from the east UMM parking lot. At present the idea is to get the diamond established on the opposite side from where it was. So it will be next to the pressbox - I suppose that's the aim. 

The idea is for diamonds to be in a narrow circumference around the pressbox. So the pressbox people can monitor everything better? But what about this question: Will batters be facing the sun in an undesirable way? As I proceeded home yesterday, I noticed the sun getting lower in the sky (to the west of course). I then noticed where the new diamond would be, and I wondered: Will batters be looking into the sun too much in late afternoon or early evening? When else do the games get played? Let's keep an eye on this. 

Whatever, it is FAR more trouble than it's worth to have destroyed the former UMM field. As construction proceeds at present, and as people continue to park in a madhouse way, maybe the MACA games should be moved temporarily to the familiar old location of Wells Park. Wells has everything, even some off-street parking on the south end. 

The Cougars have played games at Big Cat Stadium, a real spectacle to enjoy. Big Cat is a dream for the fans. The new Holmberg Field is a nightmare for the fans. The fans' interests count. The people behind the complex planning appear to think not. I greatly disagree on this. 

 

How about more PR?

As of Wednesday morning I cannot find even the score of the MACA softball game vs. Minnewaska. That's a shame. I have checked in all the usual sources, even the "Minnesota Scores" site which has become the go-to place for score/schedule information. Nothing. I'd like to suggest to coach Mary Holmberg that she become more pro-active on this. Just use email and get the essential game info to the local news sources, ASAP. It's not too much to ask IMHO. 

But she'd probably get mad at me for any suggestions I'd make. The late Laura Carrington, school board member, once said to me: "Brian, I think you should know you're not the only person who Mary has yelled at."

Why is it necessary for the National Anthem to be played before game's start? It's a recorded version of course. But why? It just makes me (and others I'm sure) think of "Make America Great Again." I would type "MAGA" but it could get confused with "MACA." 

Holmberg no doubt gets game info to the Morris newspaper. But hell, the next print edition of the paper doesn't come out until next Tuesday. This is not acceptable! Would Mary yell at me about that? Former MAHS administrator Mike Martin considered timely coverage to be very important. Sometimes I thought he got a little carried away.

 

Seed vision for bike trail

Back in 2010 I wrote a post on "I Love Morris" about how Cary Birch of the well-known Birch family here was the early visionary for the biking/walking trail. He developed the idea in a Boy Scout project. Cary's brother Craig was in my high school graduating class (1973). Their dad was Morris mayor. You may click on permalink below to read my 2010 blog post. Putting up this link reminds me that I now have a very long history of writing online.

http://ilovemorris73.blogspot.com/2010/04/bike-trail-fulfills-dream-of-old-scout.html

 

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