Aunt Irene projected a loving glow back in '55

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." - Mark 16:16

 

Baptism photos are certainly touching. The one you see here shows Ralph and Martha Williams with their fresh arrival into the world. So, that's yours truly in the arms of my beloved Aunt Irene. Irene was the wife of my blood uncle Andy. Andy and Irene are at center. You are likely to recognize my parents at left. 

We were city people at the time. My father became quite at home in the city environs after having grown up outside Glenwood. Mom grew up in Brainerd. Bless the pastor who you see at right: E.S. Hjortland. This was Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. Only recently did I get the bright idea to check on Central Lutheran via the Internet. Was most pleased to see that this ELCA church is doing a fine job with outreach on YouTube. I'd have to rank it at the top. 

I am not certain of the identity of the other person in photo. It might be family friend Chuck Closson. Just not sure. I had the photo scanned for sharing online because it represents Irene particularly well. I had seen this photo over the years and was always struck by her shining presence. She truly blessed my entrance into spirituality. 

I have retreated from the faith at various times, typical of my generation of the boomers, but at present I find a home in a Morris ELCA church. So this is destiny, then? 

Thanks for Del Sarlette who scans photos for me. Bless the memory of Andy and Irene. Andy and Ralph were among the five boys raised by Martin and Carrie Williams of Glenwood. I was never able to meet Martin and Carrie. Martin passed on from cancer when Dad was just a junior in high school. Carrie lived until 1949. 

My baptism was on May 8, 1955. My birth was on January 28, 1955. The three brothers of Andy and Ralph were Clyde, Joe and Howard. Howard I knew particularly well. He is the only one of the five to be buried at the Williams plot at Glenwood Lutheran Cemetery, with Martin and Carrie. You'll see a master "Williams" piece of stone there. Martin and Carrie with their modest markers are on one side, Howard and wife Vi on the other. 

The Williams family of Morris is represented at our Summit Cemetery with a bench. Feel free to sit a spell any time. Reminds me: I need to stop by, check for the occasional bird dropping. The monument is black! We have gotten compliments on it. 

My baptismal papers announce that I was "received into fellowship with the Lord Jesus through Christian baptism." 

Andrew Williams served in the Aleutian Islands during World War II. Ralph went far afield too, to the Pacific where he commanded a crew assigned to protect a merchant ship, an oil tanker. 

 

Lord, can you swing this?

I have recently taken to thinking that it's essential for me to meet Martin and Carrie in the afterlife. That's even if I'm not blessed to end up in as nice a place as my other family members and relatives. I have sort of joked with God that maybe I could just see Martin and Carrie through a pane of glass, and I could tap on it to get their attention - maybe we could exchange smiles. 

The adversity of the Great Depression was compounded by my grandfather's health decline and death. My father told about when his father first sought medical consultation. Medical people didn't have so many answers back then. Martin's doctor began his assessment thusly: "How's your soul?" 

I sensed that Martin's death was hard on my father. I located the Glenwood cemetery in the year following my mom's death. It was a moving experience, as I had no recollection of being there before. I suspect Mom felt that going there would be hard emotionally for Dad. I was profoundly touched seeing the plot. I had just attended the late afternoon Christmas Eve service at Glenwood Lutheran Church. 

The cemetery is not that easy to find in Glenwood. My first attempt at going there was based on a cursory Internet search. I failed. So I called the church one day and got straightened out. Look for a sign that says "Memorial Drive." In Morris there is no Lutheran cemetery. However the Catholics have their own place. I think young people find the divisions strange, and perhaps they find much of organized religion strange. Religion will need to adjust, IMHO. Not sure if it's up to the task. 

My father made me aware of Martin ad Carrie but didn't share too many details or tell many stories about them. My cousin Bob of Anoka told me it was the same with his father Clyde. So maybe the challenge of raising five boys with the Depression setting in made life rather less than colorful? 

My father was the youngest of the five boys and graduated from Glenwood High School in 1934. I assume this was the heart of the Depression. John Dillinger was shot that summer. Youngest of five boys? Perhaps Dad had to live with a fair amount of hand-me-downs, though he never mentioned this. 

I remember two places where we lived in the Twin Cities. One was a duplex in Minneapolis where the other unit had two young girls whose names I remember: Sandy and Linda. The other place was in St. Paul where we rented from snowbirds who left behind their cat, "Pepper," for us to take care of. Mom was scared of the cat! She didn't like going downstairs to wash clothes, 'cause Pepper would be there in a less-than-welcoming demeanor. So my family took to small dogs to have as pets. 

Irene looks at me in photo in such a shining way. I wish that look could have infused a little more success for my life's path. We all start out this way, right? With seeming unlimited potential and bound for numerous friends and joy? It never quite turns out that way for most of us. Such is life. Such is how God handles us, with love of course. We are flawed and subject to humility, thus we seek religion in our institutions of worship with God's love. "He knows every sparrow that falls." That was a favorite saying of the Sun Tribune cartoonist Del Holdgrafer. 

Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis

It would be wonderful to visit Central Lutheran, Minneapolis, again. Such a grand building. My father had impact with his passion for music in the 1950s, and henceforth of course. He directed the Apollo Male Chorus of Minneapolis. He taught at the U of M St. Paul School of Agriculture when I was pre-school. The U of M was the rock on which he developed his talents. He had a lifelong association beginning with his freshman year on the Minneapolis campus. He got his Master's there too. 

His resume made me feel pretty insignificant. 

I have always written that the highlight was coming to Morris for the launch of the U of M-Morris. It seemed like a dream for a music man: being in charge of all facets of a college music department in the institution's first year. Everything! Does it get any better than that? Truth be told, I am proud of all the chapters of Dad's life and his music pursuits. I consider them equally impressive. 

In his mind, the baptism of his only child had to rank up there. Never mind that I would be headed down not quite the exemplary path as him. My forte ended up being journalism. That's for better or worse. And I'm proud of belonging to the ELCA just like my Central Lutheran brethren in the faith. 

God bless the memory of Andy and Irene Williams, and Martin and Carrie, and Pastor Hjortland. You did all you could for me.

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

Forces are building to get USA past Trump

(wikimedia commons image)

I suppose it's a treasure trove for writers: following all that gets revealed about Donald Trump, the man and the phenomenon. Let's put aside any over-arching judgment of Trump the man - the person - right now. Should be obvious to all he is bigger than life. If we were talking about a normal person with normal human failings, well, a collective yawn might be called for at some point. All of that would still provide decent fodder for the news cycle. And like crime, death and taxes, the "tell-all books" spill out. 

Trump's human flaws are more than average. Sensible people ought not waste their breath commenting on Trump the man as if that's a central point in anything. Maybe such talk was called for early-on in Trump's presidency. Maybe that's because we allowed for him being a normal person just trying to steer America straight ahead. We could have legitimate policy disagreements. Like we'd hear on the old "Capitol Gang" show with George Mitchell and Bob Dole. Oh how quaint, to ponder such political discourse. 

You see, an undercurrent with all political wrangling is that America as we've known it must be held together. We accept this premise unless we really become moved to say "to hell with the American experiment." That element does exist. We hear from Texas types about "secession." It's an emotional, whimsical thought that reaches populists sometimes. 

Here's the fundamental truism: the number one aim of any government is to survive. Shall I repeat that? Well no, it was pretty clear out of the starting gate. You might think: well, that's obvious. Let's juxtapose my point with "the perfect is the enemy of the good." People in our U.S. government have always understood there's a sausage-making element to it. We are all flawed human beings. The American experiment has been fascinating but not without an element (or two) of fragility. 

The people with the real levers of power might seem sinister in a particular way, but they have the most sensitive task of steering this nation ahead, in a purely existential way. "Steering" as in "avoid the iceberg." Couldn't resist that - the little visual might be helpful. 

The people holding the real levers must sometimes just do what it takes and accept collateral damage. The perfect is the enemy of the good. You might appreciate an example. So let's ponder a "conspiracy" which was not a dreamed-up one. The most powerful people realized at a key juncture that no way could the USA government and its military admit to the public that TWA Flight 800 was shot down by a missile. The shock might not be sustainable. The humiliation would be too profound. 

I do not gravitate to sensational explanations. But I consider it fact that the plane was shot down in a military training accident. Purely an accident, though something more shady might stick in the back of your mind. I ignore the latter for the purposes of my argument. And I share all of this as I try to present context for what is going on right now in our Capitol with the Jan. 6 hearings. 

We are waiting with excruciating patience for the tide to turn and for the Jim Jordans of the world to just shut the f--k up. We are waiting for the Kevin McCarthys to be confronted on live TV by interviewers who call them out in up-front insulting terms. We might have our finger still in the wind today as I write this, waiting for the new unequivocal course to take over. But I sense it's coming, and it will arrive when the people with the hold on the real levers realize which side has to "win" here, for America to simply continue existing as it has. For the "American experiment" to simply survive. 

Ah, survival. It is the most fundamental instinct, n'est-ce pas? 

We are on the verge of seeing stuff happen - to see this lowlife Steve Bannon get shot out of the saddle (metaphorically) while he tries playing games with the legal system, as Trump acolytes are fond of doing, with success up to now. Up to now. 

The wind direction may be changing as we speak, with well-placed people in government realizing that we can't fool around with this queer fascination with Trump anymore. Forget Trump the person. We can put the person aside as a deluded soul with problems - a guy who shops around for porn stars to have sex with. Where do you sign up for that? Just kidding. 

This most bizarre flirtation has "gone too far." It has crawled along with mob boss tactics and legal tricks/machinations for too long. And now we're at the juncture where we'll need assurance that our USA will sail forward. Sail forward even with the kind of substantial disagreements we have always had. We must not fail. 

It may be we are buying time with the help of our central bank, the Federal Reserve. "The Fed" seems to govern how our cherished stock market does every single day. That is perverse. The Federal Reserve is at the ground floor with the true movers and shakers who make sure our country just rolls forward. And right now, I would guess they are thinking "we must get past the Trump phenomenon, the time has come." 

The opinion movers in the country will begin to coalesce, influenced consciously or subconsciously by the power brokers. Again, these are not sinister people. They simply realize that the purpose of government is to survive, and heaven help us all if it cannot. 

Mussolini climbed to the top as an autocrat, just like Trump has envisioned for himself. The communists caught up with "El Duce," got him killed and put his body up on meat hooks for mutilation. Do we want it to come to that, here in America?

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

Bill Robb enhanced connections with U-Morris

Bill Robb (Hantge McBride Hughes Chapels)

My eyes brightened when Bill Robb approached to greet me at the U of M Heritage Society Supper. This was pre-pandemic when Eric Kaler was still U president. Kaler spoke during the evening. He joked about how a program should never be planned where he'd have to speak after a student speaker! There was a quite fine student speaker on the dias. Then President Kaler came forward. Did quite fine himself. His comment was self-deprecating of course. 

The site was the McNamara Center. Bill Robb was the first Morris person to befriend me there. He helped me feel relaxed in this big city place, after I had driven through Minneapolis at around 5 p.m. on a weekday. Why does it seem harder now than when I was younger? I drove occasionally to "the Cities" over many years and felt in control. Today I do not relish it. But the evening at the McNamara Center was most worth the stress. 

So there was Bill Robb in a happy mood because he was around people who celebrated the University of Minnesota. "Goldy" the mascot was there. 

Bill was a primary person guiding me toward establishing a UMM gift/fund named for my parents. It was important to get oriented the right way. Robb and his colleague Erin Christensen helped me feel relaxed and comfortable. My father had passed on but Mom was still alive. I remember at one point the U people really wanted Mom's signature on something. I fully understood that. Mom was in decline with various issues at the time. You may recall. 

But as I have noted before, her issues sometimes subsided, usually when she was at home. Her best time of day was mid-morning. It was after she had her morning cold cereal, usually bran flakes. Mom and Dad both started out their day that way. Their lunches came from the senior center. At night I prepared something quite sufficient. So it was all a quite manageable routine, for a long time. But people do not live forever. 

Donald Trump's ex-wife died in a fall. The end can come in all sorts of ways. Often we're left wondering if measures could have been taken to delay death, "cheat" death or whatever. Many things can in fact be done. But so often the death can come out of the blue. Our jaws drop. And that is exactly what happened in late June with Mr. Robb. I got the phone call about his sudden passing last week. 

There were no hints this was coming. We digest this news with the knowledge that the end comes for all. A calming knowledge? Maybe that's one way to put it. Death is something we all have in common. 

Bill Robb was my age, 67, having been born in 1955, same year as me. So we were "boomers," at the heart of that actually. We were the first generation of kids to be marketed to. Our parents allowed us to watch too much TV. Just think, they had grown up without it. A miracle in their eyes, but to us, a thing to be assumed. So we began poking fun at it through Mad Magazine. 

The boomers are beginning their exit from this life. Perhaps it's pretty far along already. Even the millennials have moved up a notch, to be replaced at the young end by "generation Z." So time rolls on.

 

Occasions to visit

Bill Robb leaves a void at UMM. I did not talk to him often but it was always enjoyable. I remember having a nice conversation with him at the time of the barn quilt dedication. I had no prior knowledge of the event and was simply out for one of my occasional walks. I head east through the UMM campus, which is why I have been so observant about the softball complex. Other friends of mine were at the dedication, and in these pandemic times we appreciate the more-rare occasions when we can socialize. 

I remember speaking with Bill at the outdoor retirement reception for Michelle Behr. It was on the UMM campus mall. Maybe I should type "UMN." My, all these changes all the time. 

I joked with Bill about his "radio voice." I envy the skill at those times when I record an occasional podcast episode. My podcast is "Morris Mojo." Bill told me about how he had come to reside in Glenwood. That was his residence at the time of his passing on June 21. He died at home, quite unexpected. Thanks to Erin for calling me about this. Erin stays in touch regularly. 

A celebration of Bill's life will be held on Sunday, Sept. 25, at Carlos Creek Winery in Alexandria, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

Bill had a moniker, "Begonia Bill," that I was unaware of until I read his obit. The funeral home is in Hutchinson. The obit states that Bill left us "peacefully." God rest his soul. He was a native of Langdon ND. He graduated from UND in 1977, a year ahead of my graduation from St. Cloud State. So he was on the model four-year plan while I - ahem - spun my wheels some. 

I could never have attended UMM - too demanding academically - and if I had failed there, it would have shamed the family. Had I tried taking some classes here, it would have been best to try to use an assumed name. Truth be told, I should have just stayed in Morris and not gone to college. Grades K-12 had been very hard on me psychologically (especially 7-12) and my self-esteem was battered. To a pulp actually. The school system did a good job of that. It rendered me unable to just put myself forward as a proud representative of the Williams family. That's what I should have been allowed to be all the time. 

 

You can't undo this

I'm sure I did not attend any of my father's concerts after grade 4 or 5. I felt shunned. I was an only child although I had not created those circumstances for myself. I should have found some path to put myself forward as a respectable human being. 

Perhaps my "curse" was to have been recognized for having a talent for writing at a very young age. So this is what I finally went out and did. I was in the very heart of the "Watergate" generation of mass communications aspirants. That ended up not being a very good thing, I guess, although I have never been ashamed of my perspectives. Today I look at the Morris newspaper, and it's all puffy white clouds. "All our kids are above average." That would be a premise for it all, albeit delusional. 

I digress obviously. Yes this blog post is coming off here like Robert Stack at the end of "Airplane." "I was never happy as a child, Striker." 

Bill Robb had radio in his background. I mentioned Perry Ford in my conversations with him, and he said he knew the coach. Perry coached the Cougars and was quite gifted with recruiting and public relations, recruiting being a rather daunting challenge for UMM hoops. UMM had to find "refuge" in the UMAC. Ford is deceased.

UMM athletics seems a quite contented place now. I would like the school to drop football. 

UMM sports fandom once had a quite arrogant and often-disrespectful attitude. I find now that current UMM people may have no familiarity with that. One of them contacted me after I had alluded to it. She was wondering if I was referring to fans just making a lot of noise when an opponent was at the freethrow line. Oh my goodness, NO. What a happy situation it would have been, if that was the extent of it. For reasons of taste, I do not wish here to get into the details. Let the past die. 

 

"Sweet spot" for career!

Bill Robb found in 2008 that he had discovered his true calling. He used his people skills and genuine caring attitude to get into "major gifts and planned giving." He began this journey at Jamestown College. He traveled a lot in the role. He rubbed shoulders with alumni and formed lasting friendships, and of course all this continued when he moved into his office at the Welcome Center of UMM. I hope I became one of those contacts that he enjoyed. 

But the focus of my family fund is my late parents. Mom left us in 2018. 

I remember the day I brought Mom in wheelchair to the Welcome Center to supply a signature that the people in charge decided was needed. I did have power of attorney. That morning, I worried some about Mom's ability to still write her name and get it in the proper place, on the dotted line. I had her practice. Maybe I was most worried about the dotted line thing. I brought Mom in to Erin's office, where of course Erin was in command of everything. Happy ending: Mom signed her name just fine. 

I told Mom in front of Erin what we were doing but did not state a dollar amount. Remember, my mom and dad were both products of the Depression era! They had the typical traits, as they never considered any sum of money too small to overlook. Let's not underrate that trait. 

The family fund hopefully cancels out any frugality my father might have exhibited, perhaps to an unreasonable degree! I'm thinking that just maybe he did that! The focus of our fund is music. The campus will always need music. 

It won't be the same stopping by the Welcome Center with Bill Robb not there to share his pleasing and disarming nature. You just knew he cared. Bill Robb RIP.

 

This 1962 photo at the state capitol shows my father Ralph E. Williams at right, and Governor Elmer L. Andersen at left. My mother and I were about a half-block away when photo was taken, and I remember Mom saying under her breath "Smile, Ralph." My mother was Martha Williams, long-time manager of the UMM campus post office. She received the Martelle Award one year. UMM was finding its legs in 1962. The chorus trip was a PR plum.

 

From the Morris newspaper, 1962

Ralph E. Williams, director of the Men's Chorus from the University of Minnesota, Morris, has been commissioned a "goodwill ambassador" for Minnesota by Gov. Elmer L. Andersen. 

At a brief ceremony Monday on the capitol steps in St. Paul, Governor Andersen presented Prof. Williams with a certificate making him a "10,000 Laker." Williams went to the capitol for the final briefing before he and his 36-voice chorus leave Friday for the Seattle World's Fair. Plans were announced yesterday for a "send-off" party for the Male Chorus at the Great Northern depot here just before the chorus entrains at 12:48 p.m. for Seattle.

Another vocal group and four bands, the governor and royalty from the St. Paul Winter Carnival and Minneapolis Aquatennial will join the Morris chorus for Minnesota Day festivities at the fair Tuesday, June 12. 

"I want to tell you all," said the governor Monday to representatives of the organizations participating in the World's Fair ceremonies, "that we're all mighty proud of all these organizations going out to Seattle."

Minnesota Day ceremonies in the fair's Plaza of States will last from 10:20 a.m. to noon.

The Morris group will open the program and sing for 10 minutes. Its four numbers will be "Onward, Ye Peoples," "Born to Be Free," "Rock-a My Soul" and "Russian Picnic."

From 2:20 to 2:30 p.m. in the Plaza of States, the chorus will sing.

The chorus will leave Morris by train at 12:48 p.m. Friday and arrive in Seattle the following day. Leaving Seattle Wednesday, June 13, the group will arrive in Morris the following Friday.

Other units that will participate in the Minnesota Day ceremonies at the fair are: The Owatonna high school choir, high school bands from Fairmont, Proctor and Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis) and the Minnesota Over-60 Band from Gaylord.

All of the nearly 500 members of the Minnesota delegation will be provided with colorful brochures to distribute along the way to promote the state as a tourist spot.

Bandsmen and singers will wear red and white badges bearing the messages "Minnesota Says Hello" and "Vacation Land of 10,000 Lakes."

The Minnesota Department of Business Development is co-ordinating the arrangements for Minnesota Day.

Recalling further

I was seven years old at the time, stayed home with Mom. Tensions were high in '62 with the Cuban missile crisis. Our home was built that year and it was within the pretty narrow window when new homes had "fallout shelters." Remember on "Happy Days" when the characters got tired of "prepping" for nuclear disaster? They figured that if such a catastrophe were to happen, life wouldn't be worth living anyway. We have used our fallout shelter for storage. It's an option when really bad weather is happening outside. Now that I live alone, I'm not that scared. 

JFK was president when the UMM chorus made its trip to the wondrous Fair with its monorails. He was supposed to be present at the fair for closing ceremonies. He canceled out with the official explanation of illness, but the real reason was urgency for dealing with the missile crisis. 

It's sad that apparently no one had a movie camera along for the men's chorus trip. Oh, to have captured some of those scenes for YouTube today! The people then could not have envisioned anything like YouTube. 

The Minnesota Twins were in their second year in 1962 and finished second behind the Yankees in the American League, just five games out. Vic Power was our first baseman and was team MVP. I was a student at Longfellow Elementary School in West Morris. My third grade teacher Lillian Peterson (later Ehlers, living to over 100) got called into the commons one day, then came back to inform us that JFK had been shot. 

On a happy note, let us remember that 1962 was when Gene Chandler had his hit song "Duke of Earl!"

 

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

Subtle signs that right wing media is backing off?

Greta Van Susteren now on "Newsmax?" I love it!

Sometimes you can sense changes in the wind, just with little things. It really has to start with little things, right? I have had my ear to the ground always, even as a child when TV news was nascent and "Ike" Eisenhower was president. I had time for cartoons too. I was aware of the controversy attached to JFK being Catholic. 

Is it time for a reprise of sorts? I mean, with the discomfort some people might feel with Catholics in major positions of power? Am I out in left field? I really think not: six members of the Supreme Court being Catholic, the president of the U.S. being Catholic and the Speaker of the House. It is well within reason to be concerned. 

Look what has happened with Roe vs. Wade. Look what has happened with Supreme Court nominees coming right out and being dishonest in confirmation procedures. We are all supposed to respect the Judeo-Christian ethic. That means we cannot allow the rise of political tyranny. 

My generation when young could not have imagined this state of affairs. Today, my folks appear to be actually a part of it. Incredible. I look for signs every day that there will be some backtracking, that maybe good American sense will re-emerge, prevail. The only solution for the Supreme Court might be to have a reasonable centrist president add new members to nullify the craziness. The likes of Fox News would go apoplectic. Or would they? 

A particular zeitgeist does not last forever. The early signs of a shift can be difficult for most (busy) people to spot. I am 67 years old and not as busy as I ought to be. That decision was made by other people. It happens to people all the time. I come home from breakfast in the morning and begin poring over news and commentary. It's just what I do. Inflation at 9.1 percent? Big headlines this morning. 

And yet there's talk in economic circles that the stock market is starting to price in interest rate cuts. Again? Mind you, it won't happen immediately. To borrow the colorful description by an analyst, the Fed is "loading the bazooka" with short-term increases so as to set the stage for easing again. History may someday render a verdict on this quantitative easing. Maybe it will be identified as the beginning of the end for this country. It is unnatural, an aberration. 

The walls don't fall in immediately. But we are now looking at inflation at 9.1 percent, so how in any reasonable world could we expect anything other than interest rate hikes in the foreseeable future? 

One theory: the powers-that-be led by the Fed are setting the stage for a new economic system of "digital currency" and "universal basic income." Would seem to smack of socialism. 

We could go back to our old ways and allow people to get paid interest on savings at the banks. I mean appreciable interest, enough to make a difference. However, that might spell disaster for the stock market which has increasingly become the shrine where we all worship, if we are not worshiping this man named Donald Trump first. 

The January 6 hearings might be seen as a convenient diversion from some really concerning things that are going on in the macro economic picture. What a bizarre world or nation: if the winner of the 2016 popular vote, Hillary Clinton, had been allowed to take over, we'd be experiencing eight years just like Bill now. Imagine: no Jan. 6 hearings at all to fill the news cycle constantly. Like none of that happened at all. We'd still be living in a normal, sane America. 

Trump should have been outed for what he so clearly was, a long time ago. "Political silly season" doesn't even begin to explain it. People don't seem to realize yet that our current circumstances could spell an enormous crisis for everyone. Wealth inequality worsens, wealth is shifting from main street to Wall Street. Don't we have the means and intelligence to do something about all this? 

 

Hope from unlikely place?

I notice at present a subtle shift within a sector that might appear to be hopeless. Yes, the right wing media. I'm not talking the extreme fringe right wing media, which has always been out there, but the behemoth-type operations that can galvanize opinions. I'm talking about Fox News (ugh) and Newsmax. Believe it or not, there are flickers of hope. What can I cite on this front? Two things, although I'm sure there are others. 

One, Newsmax has given the beloved Greta Van Susteren an attractive time spot for an hour-long program. She is new to this network but a familiar established face for many of us. The late Jill Willis of the Morris area was a fan! Seeing Greta on the screen is like seeing an old friend. But she is largely apolitical. On Newsmax? Is this possible? Politically she has been described as being in the "mushy middle." On Newsmax? Really? 

Greta's claim to fame is crime stories, particularly two: O.J. Simpson and Natalee Holloway. She is a sincere and credible person. She's on at 5 p.m. CDT. You can watch Newsmax for free on YouTube. Normally the network is a backwater swamp for people like Sean Spicer. Is the sun starting to break through the clouds? Is there intelligent life there? Maybe yes! I love watching Greta Van Susteren. 

Turning to Fox News (again, ugh), might there be a glimmer there too? Yes! My goodness yes! My example: the reaction to Jill Biden's little gaffe with the "tacos" comment. Normally I'd expect the Fox News herd to be all over Jill Biden on this, tossing brickbats, you name it. No restraint. But the opposite happened. 

Dr. Jill Biden

My interpretation: I think Fox News might start seeing the Bidens as the centrists they really are, and a better alternative to the very left-leaning folks. The real left could well start getting traction if the American people begin suffering enough. How did Germany respond to hyper-inflation in the mid-20th Century? 

The Jan. 6 rioters were right wingers. Maybe they were just plain crazy, though. When Americans really start getting desperate for answers, I think it's likely that the left could rise up and do even more drastic things. The left is not crazy - it is motivated by wanting to see all human beings at least "get by." Socialism is never the proper prescription. Problem is, we have not allowed capitalism to really work in the proper way. Capitalism is really our best friend if it is unencumbered. It has been encumbered. 

The two-party system is not in the Constitution. The remedy might be to have a Bernie Sanders party on the left and a Joe Biden party on the right. I doubt this will happen. We should just hope and pray we do not have a repeat of mid-20th Century Germany. Praying might not be enough. Christianity has been co-opted by the MAGA element.

 

Focus on economy

The fresh news about the economy, with inflation heating up, prompted an email from yours truly to Jim Morrison this a.m. He is rather an economics guru. The two of us have seen a lot from our media positions. Here is what I wrote in my "missive":

 

Jim, so inflation is now over nine percent? Didn't the Fed say a long time ago inflation was "transitory." They practically made the word "transitory" famous. I don't think it's funny any more. Did the Fed really believe that at the time? If it did not, then we have issues. But the Fed doesn't really answer to anyone. The Fed is in the news every single day in connection with speculation on the stock market, as if the market totally depends on it. That is perverse. Why do I feel like a loner with this thinking? Capitalism is supposed to stand on its own two feet. More conservatives should start speaking this way, but if the market crashes, so many Republican incumbents will be tossed out.

Can the Fed even consider "easing" any time soon? What about buying the debt? It's all inflationary.

Will sit-down restaurant dining continue to be cut back or even disappear from our daily lives? You are paying someone to prepare your meal and bring it to you. In the past we could all absorb this. Dining out is the only way I really get out to circulate once in a while.

I wonder how UMM enrollment will look next year.

I suppose the new Morris paper is out, more "happy news," awards, accomplishments, smiles, "all our kids are above average." I am happy that Katie has a stable job there. - BW

 

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

Thinking of community focus, youth, music

The old hub of PPD, the Killoran stage (mapio image)

We are blessed on this Sunday as we are bathed in midsummer weather. Enjoy it while you can. This all-too-brief window will close. 

Today is three days after a most special day on the calendar: Ringo Starr's birthday! We love Ringo and especially his message of "peace and love." To hell with MAGA, let's just love people. Let us embrace universal love, honesty and forthrightness. 

Sad that I must share a reminder on these virtues. So the IRS has targeted known critics of Donald Trump. Well of course it has. If you dispute that, as many of you might, your loyalty to MAGA rules your life - then you think it's random that Comey and McCabe were singled out. The New York Times has computed the odds of these two being chosen randomly as one in 82 million. Trump seeks to acknowledge nothing untoward, "nothing to see here" as it were. 

So if you believe him on this, maybe this blog isn't for you. Maybe you should be reading the funnies. Do they still have "Dagwood and Blondie?" Maybe you should check to see if Dagwood and Blondie are still doing their thing. (The highlight for me was seeing the expression on the dog.)

 

PPD-time here?

If you thought that Comey/McCabe was random, maybe you will think too that it was benign judgment for the Morris Community Band not to be invited to perform at the park in the last year of the "old" Prairie Pioneer Days. 

We are right around the time when the long-time iteration of PPD would be held. Anyone would conclude that the Morris Community Band would be No. 1 on the list for getting invited to play at the park stage. But the band was not invited. 

Let's make a conclusion just like with the IRS audit. There was a method to the madness. Trump or his people are harassing known critics. Totally unforgivable if you subscribe to any basic sense of ethics. Maybe you do not. I don't rule out anything with Trump people these days. And when the Morris Community Band was not invited to play at the park, this was a sign that the Chamber of Commerce just wanted the whole PPD thing to go away. We could later deduce as much, easily. 

The summer PPD was considered a totally wonderful thing when it was first conceived. I was there "on the ground" with the efforts. I was with the Morris newspaper. PPD appears to exist now in name only, really, in the fall. Fall weather is not dependable. 

When the summer PPD was first created, it replaced a fall event. PPD was clearly a "step up" and we were all so proud. The problem now? More than one well-placed source tells me our community leaders desire to "go to the lake" on summer weekends. So that killed it. Well, I protest. I am often portrayed as a contrarian or "negative" person. I simply seek to be constructive, to actually be positive. 

 

In terms you'll appreciate

I have put out feelers recently for making another financial contribution for our well-being here. When I talk about money, maybe that ensures I'll get some readers for my online writing, more than usual. Sigh. 

I have made a commitment in theory for purchasing genuine jazz band music stands for the MAHS instrumental music program. Talks have proceeded on this. Unfortunately they have encountered muddy waters. Three people primarily are involved in these deliberations. No voices are being raised or anything like that, but we have gotten to a bump in the road. One of the parties in this is now "gone" for a brief time, vacation to Michigan I'm told. 

This is a common problem in our Morris: "We're going to be gone." I have joked that the phrase be placed on the water tower. Interesting expression, as we might analyze the word "gone." Has rather an existential ring to it. Cease to exist? The word doesn't shed any light on where you went or why. You're just "gone." But that's Morris Minnesota. We have our attributes but lakes recreation is not one of them. 

So I'm a "negative" person even though I try arguing that Morris is an acceptable place to spend your free time. You might be aghast to read that. 

If I'm not negative, maybe I'm an outlier. 

How shall I explain this music stands thing further? One of the interested parties is the band director. She is wonderfully talented but I have a wee concern about the program's numbers: seven seniors last year, only. Might she be pushing the kids too hard? It is nice to have high standards naturally. If this comes across as implying anything negative about her methods, I'm in big trouble. It will not be the first time. 

Example of the "Poly" company's music stands

The director insists on doing business with the music store. I approve of this avenue but the music store is restricted to doing business with one company. There is another company that might be preferable. The music store owner has told me he "won't take it personally" if we deal with the other company. The band director seems to only want to communicate with the store owner, not lil' ol' me. So I'm disconsolate. Just kidding. But I am concerned that we can't all get comfortably on the same page. Time is going by. The music store owner reminded me of wisdom from his late father: "If someone wants to give you money, take it!" 

I do these things partly because I have no family left in the world - oh, a cousin with whom I exchange emails at Christmas, maybe. Nothing that suggests a bond. And when it comes to friends, I'm rather bereft also. Not sobbing or anything, it's just reality. 

So I have made financial gestures hopefully for the betterment of the University of Minnesota and now Morris Area High School. The high school was nice enough to allow me to get a diploma way back when (1973).

 

Speaking of the high school

I see there is a new administrative team member at our beloved MAHS. 

From an email I shared with a friend:

 

Well, someone left a Morris paper behind at DeToy's yesterday but I didn't have my reading glasses with me. If I pay with cash, I don't need my reading glasses. I am learning to just take my glasses wherever I go. I could read the headlines and I saw the one about the new school activities director. Later I went to the library with my glasses and read the article. Well, the guy has an impressive resume, has had several stops in his career. No doubt he's an idealistic and motivated guy. And to think there was a time here when an actual written statement had to be presented to the board saying the AD should be an "enthusiastic person." Why did it come to that? Looking back, no one should have considered the 1980s to be a throwaway decade. That is largely what it turned out to be, for athletics.

I reflect a lot and I figure, the '80s saw the last vestiges of an old public school model. How to describe? Well, a government supported bureaucratic monopoly, and of course there's nothing worse in the world. The system slowly got adjusted so that today it's much better, more accountability. I suppose open enrollment was the first step?

 

Further note on facilities for youth

Oh, the softball complex continues getting attention among the local denizens, eh? From an email I shared with a friend:

 

The softball complex: where are the lights? A year must have passed since we saw the headlines about how the funeral home had donated $15,000 to light up the place. But I do not see the lights. Also, there are three "no parking this side" signs along north shoulder of Prairie Lane - go and look yourself - and the people are totally ignoring them. There are strings of cars there. Also, it is an ABSOLUTE ABOMINATION that the pre-existing UMM softball field was torn up to make way for a new field with the diamond on the opposite side. They wanted the diamond to be close to the pressbox, I'm told. I will repeat: There will be a problem with batters facing the sun at the new diamond. Walk over to where the batter will face the pitcher and look for yourself. I take the trouble to do these things. When people complain about the fan viewing at Holmberg Field, who are they directed to? Who is the head person, and how does this person respond to the complaints? There is no satisfactory response.

 

Final thought:

Maybe we can close eyes and reflect back on the wonderful event once known as Prairie Pioneer Days. Boy, I sure remember. I covered it for many years for the Morris paper. 

I remember when we had an editor who tried to get an editorial published that harshly criticized the parade committee for having Ronald McDonald as grand marshal. Jim Morrison refused to run it. That editor was about the heaviest cigarette smoker I've ever been around. Hope it didn't shorten my lifespan, or Jim's. 

Jim is from a local family that is a benefactor with education too. The family is the type you'd expect to make gestures like that. But me? I hope I have emerged as a pleasant surprise. But maybe not. I mean maybe not pleasant. As far as I'm concerned, there is a lot of negativity in Morris MN. Which might be hard to appreciate if you're "gone." "We're going to be gone."

 

Different heights for different sections

For the record:

Below is an email I recently shared with the Morris Area School Foundation. It pertains to my interest in supporting the MAHS instrumental music program. I did get a nice and informative response. But nothing has moved forward yet. You can read here how I shared. If you are reading, maybe you are not "gone." Interesting state of being, to be "gone."

 

Hello Ms. Solvie - Lately I have proposed the idea of purchasing genuine jazz band music stands for the MAHS jazz music program. Director Wanda Dagen knows about this. Mostly I have communicated with Del Sarlette who of course has the music store in town. He's an old high school peer of mine.

Last spring I attended the jazz concert and noticed the musicians were using the standard stands from the band room. In my opinion the band didn't even look like a jazz band. I have some experience with this format. This is just my opinion of course. Whatever gets done on this matter, it will have to have Wanda's 100 percent support. That's a given.

The talks on this have gotten a little confused. What I gather right now, is that Wanda would like some nice stands for the front row, but as for the other musicians, they could continue using the standard stands but with banners placed on them. I guess she saw the banners in a website that was suggested.

I think we'd all like some graphics on the stands. I'm told there's a local MAHS graduate with professional expertise who could do this "at a reasonable price." Last name is Heck - I know his parents. But no one says what reasonable is. I have tried pressing people for a rather firm figure in terms of a quote, but that has become difficult. You can run into cost overruns with this sort of thing, like with "storage cases."

You might end up dealing with three different parties for payment.

Del has gotten a little frustrated dealing with this.

So, in trying to cut to the chase here, let me say I'd be happy to provide $1000 to the Morris Area School Foundation to cover the cost of this, but if the estimate runs to between $1000 and $1500, I'd be happy to write out the check for $1500. If it's over $1500, I might have some concerns based on principle. I am 67 years old and I still think of a thousand dollars as being a lot of money.

The Foundation can of course give me a nice little receipt that I can give to my tax accountant in March.

If Wanda cools on the whole idea, fine, we can just skip it. I'm just trying to be pro-active.

I'm a 1973 graduate of Morris High School and was in the 1971 Minnesota All-State Band.

- Brian R. Williams, Morris MN

 

Jenessa Solvie answered my email. Thanks to all. Most importantly, "peace and love." Ringo is 82 years old and almost looks to be an example of "reverse aging."

Another example of the "Poly Band Stands." The jazz band has its needs just like the concert band. Remember the UMM Jazz Fest from when it was in its prime? Why do we discuss these things in the past tense so much: Prairie Pioneer Days and the UMM Jazz Fest? Such magnets for "people." Have we lost that touch, perhaps influenced by pandemic anxiety? The anxiety has its basis for justification. But let's weigh our reaction. Human beings are social creatures.

Personally I'd like to see Morris Area High jazz have the kind of attribute you see in this photo. Maybe it will just be a passing suggestion. My heart is in the right place. - BW

"Peace and love" for Ringo's birthday, July 7!

Universally loved

You think July 4 is special? Today is July 7, Thursday, and it's super special as it is Ringo Starr's birthday! Ringo wants all of us to share a "peace and love" message at noon today. I guess that's noon for whatever time zone you're in. So please drop what you're doing and share the loving, pacifist message at noon. 

Remind everyone to tamp down whatever conflicts they might have. Seems an easy thing to grasp in principle, right? In practice I would suggest it's quite daunting for a lot of us. 

It has been suggested that Ringo is an example of "reverse-aging." This isn't literally true of course, but it suggests that Ringo is, to use the popular term, "well-preserved." What a blessing that is. Someone my age, 67, appreciates this sort of attribute more and more. 

When you get to be around 70 years of age, you appreciate human frailties more and more. By "appreciate" I mean understand, of course. We tend to appreciate natural human weaknesses more. That includes our insecurities. 

I remember when Fr. Jerry Dalseth, a Morris native, wrote a column for the Morris newspaper. He was in fact one of several clergy who were arranged to do that. He wrote about how we approach our high school reunions as the years go by. His column stuck in my head, made me think. It is logical that clergy people would be good op-ed writers. Communicating and arguing ought to be their stock in trade. Are the Catholic clergy currently high-fiving each other and their congregants over the reversal of Roe vs. Wade? Is it that simple for them? Will contraception be the next domino? Gay marriage? 

Anyway, Fr. Dalseth wrote in sage fashion how, at our ten-year class reunion, it does not matter what you are doing, "it sounds impressive." Well, most anything would sound impressive compared to our years of total submissiveness as "students." 

What struck me the most about Dalseth's piece was what he wrote about our perceptions later in life. As we plod along to our advanced reunions, as we are getting long of tooth, we are not so cocky or self-assured, he reminded us. He pointedly noted "we are not nearly so successful as we thought we were." We are more inclined to open up about our failures, he added. 

Sounds negative or discouraging but I knew exactly where he was coming from. This was many years ago so my own age was not that advanced yet. But my impulse told me his wisdom was profound on this. I just knew. 

So now I'm getting close to 70 and I realize that Ringo Starr and his bandmates were vulnerable and insecure human beings like the rest of us. They had human failings like the rest of us all. They really were not so much different at all. They simply adopted an art form at a time in our history when a particular sound was going to grip young people. The Beatles perfected a form called "The Mersey Sound." They were trying to become a successful band. It happens all over. They began to realize they were finding success, to achieve their goals - fine and dandy - but could they have imagined the explosive popularity they got vaulted into, in such short order? 

It wasn't just because of their own talent, impressive as it was. There are always lots of talented musicians in pop music. Serendipity comes into play in conjunction with corporate or financial forces. When the momentum got built up, the four guys had to show they had the resilience to handle it. It was difficult, but they did. They needed a wall of management to protect them from the forces unleashed by worldwide popularity. They retreated to the recording studio because it became to difficult for them to continue performing live. 

I have seen videos of some of their last live performances, where the commentators would observe that the Beatles seemed worn out or dispirited. Wrong! Absolutely wrong! I learned that the Beatles had some difficulty performing at the end because their newest work in the studio was not tailored for live performances. We're talking about songs from "Revolver" and henceforth. A good example: "Paperback Writer." 

Stress did cause problems for the guys as time went on. I felt John Lennon struggled particularly hard. I felt he was puzzled and disturbed by his own fame. I felt Paul McCartney understood and handled fame better. George Harrison seemed to develop a sad image. He never should have felt dissatisfied contributing just a small number of tunes for the albums. That was his best role and he still supplied boffo stuff. 

And then, "Ringo." Universally loved, to be sure. He's the charming, reliable drummer, never a deep thinker but a loving one. "Peace and love." That says it all. Please share that at noon today, Thursday, July 7, 2022. Happy birthday, Ringo Starr, on your 82nd. Many more birthdays to come, we hope.

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