School board candidates, their pretense, airs

Here's the official photo of our Morris Area School board.

Stumbled onto the "candidates debate" for Morris Area school board last night. It's "Morris Area" and not "MACA," the latter term devoted to the athletic teams. It can get complicated like when referring to tennis which is actually in with West Central Area. 

The parents with kids in sports can learn this stuff fast. For the rest, it can sometimes seem a little head-scratching. And this applies to understanding the post-season for sports too. So much more complicated than in past times. "Past times" in my mind evokes the boomers' young years. Up until 1971, no varsity girls sports. Girls were left totally out in the cold. I mean, can you believe it? Again and again I am astounded thinking about this. 

And for boys we had the one-class tournament evoked with such dripping nostalgia in the movie "Hoosiers." I think it's the "old oaken bucket philosophy" that suggests that past times were preferable to today, which they most certainly were not. 

So in 2024 - this election year for the school board - we have girls and women's sports bathing in the spotlight of attention. It really should have happened sooner. For whatever reason the year 2024 is a huge step for that. And then we take it for granted. As a boomer aged 69 I can offer a lot of perspective. 

And before we drop the subject of "Hoosiers," why didn't we get to know the cheerleaders? They were definitely there. I don't recall a single line spoken by those girls. We have seen a comeback for cheerleading in our MACA system. Got my attention at Big Cat Field early-on this autumn. I remember so many seasons where cheerleaders were a staple of the experience. 

I weigh different interpretations of why it was phased out and why it came back. I have talked with certain people about this. The most "innocent" explanation for the cancellation was the purported unavailability of an advisor. Hmmm. Sorry but that doesn't really cut it with me. We have always been a totally viable school with the commensurate resources. 

The less-innocent reason would be "political." That would be: cheerleaders were "eye candy" from an earlier age when it was boys who handled the serious business of sports - what the public came to see. Cheerleaders were just supposed to help us cheer louder. So it seemed a rather regressive, uninspiring proposition. You might say it was in line with females' role in the "pre-libbers" days. 

Now in the year 2024, while we totally embrace the widened opportunities for women, we have lightened up on some of the old hard-line attitudes from the land of Gloria Steinem or whatever. Steinem's nature/persona would grate on a lot of us now. 

The typical American would watch the movie "Hoosiers" now and get misty-eyed, right? The sheer power of the Republican Party now means we are not wedded to progressive attitudes, even though it's those attitudes that made the development of girls/women's sports possible in the first place. 

If you went around now talking about how "regressive" the concept of cheerleaders is, people would look at you funny. "What's your problem?" 

Best of both the old and the new? Is this Nirvana? We'll see if we really reach Nirvana if the Republicans take complete command of our national leadership. If Trump comes back. If he doesn't, are we really done with him? Will the cult of Trump remain viable all around us? 

 

Board answers to who?

So another school board election is upon us. I'm sure I watched most of the Wednesday night debate/discussion. Everyone seemed to be trying to say the "proper" things so it was rather yawn-inducing. 

My first question or reaction would be: Why was the teachers association putting on this thing? I assume that MATA stands for "Morris Area Teachers Association." 

The school board members do not work for the teachers - heaven help us - they work for the public. And there is always a major risk of a schism between the public and the self-interested teachers. I use the team "teachers union" rather than "association." It is most certainly a union. And only a child would not see that teachers present a self-interested agenda. 

 

The teachers like this

I heard the candidates talk about high standards, accomplishments and goals. The teachers like such talk because it hints that we need such highly-qualified (and richly compensated) teachers because, what would we do without them? I have written before that teachers like to make their courses hard because it gives them a feeling of importance as teachers. 

Teachers have in fact been forced to back off on this. Best illustration: "honor rolls" that are substantially longer than when I was in school. Why on earth did our parents permit a system where maybe only 3-4 kids made the 'A' honor roll? What did those kids know that the rest of us did not? Teachers played mind games with us with how they developed assignments and exams where a majority of us would come up short for one reason or another. 

Perhaps my philosophy of education is winning in the long run. It is winning in terms of practice even though the school board candidates like to talk in such lofty language about things like standards and goals. Oh to hell with that - if I'm a parent I would want the teachers to be primarily gentle caretakers who are not going to shoot down my child's sense of self-worth with boot camp-style discipline. 

Well I'm a boomer and our fathers quite literally went through boot camp for WWII. Maybe they felt there was something to be said for that kind of discipline. These same fathers turned a blind eye basically to what was going on in Vietnam, the escalation and the "body bags." If you think MAGA is crazy today and I do, it can't be any worse than turning a blind eye to Vietnam. 

 

Vote for Steve Just? You should hear him when he substitutes for our pastor at First Lutheran Church. Some church members think he goes over better than the regular pastor. He projects levity and personality. I'm not sure how independent he'd be on the board but I'd give him benefit of the doubt, for now. Let me add that I'll vote for anyone who has a Hispanic name! I find that those people do not put on the usual airs.

 

So as a parent I would want teachers to be fundamentally gentle to guide my child to basic maturity. For most of the kids a solid mastery of reading, writing and arithmetic is going to be good enough. If you want to be a doctor you'll have to seek more. Don't try to push all the kids in that direction, in the name of promoting "all kids have potential for greatness." That's nothing but a sick cliche. 

So much pretense in the statements made by school board candidates. A public school is not out to change the world so knock it off. Take care of our kids, be empathetic with them, impart some knowledge along the way. The kids really will enrich themselves with their electronic devices. Oh yes they will. I enriched myself with comic books. 

And above all, I think our school should lift up the co-curricular phase which I think is even more valuable than academics! Don't you hate the term "academics?" Do you even hear the term "cramming for finals" any more? I would guess that our colleges have backed off on thrusting this miserable experience on kids - colleges need students! Hear that, UMM? Yes, Provost Imholte would roll over in his grave. 

 

Drum roll?

Who will I vote for? First I'll have to make sure it's safe to vote (at the armory) because there could be MAGA poll-watchers there to intimidate. I'd scram if that happens. The MAGA people think they are doing God's work. Yes, God's work to make favorable comparisons to Hitler. Maybe Trump is being substituted for Jesus and God, both of them. I think he's a dangerous, vain, fat fool. 

"Beware false prophets." Oh heck, most of y'all like at Good Shepherd Church will not pay heed. May God have mercy on their souls.

 

Addendum: The board candidates sought such a convivial air with the MATA last night. But remember the whole progression of teachers showing up for school board meetings and complaining with some intensity? Enough intensity that a spokesman accused the board of "lying." A bridge too far. I have seen teacher unions get too big for their breeches through the years. I have seen teachers try to organize boycotts of businesses. The board should never feel in concert with the teachers. Don't find out the hard way. If the North Dakota property tax revolt spreads to MN, we may realize we cannot even allow teacher unions anymore.

 

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

Asante Adams flirts w/ 100 yards on 8 carries

Minnewaska 56, Melrose 14

You might remember that the MACA Tigers defeated Minnewaska Area in the season opener. Pretty impressive score for the Tigers too: 46-27. But the Lakers showed they really had "chops" for playing competitive football at the end of the regular season. The regular season always ends on a Wednesday. So let's consider the winning score for those Lakers in their home game vs. Melrose. Pretty impressive: 56-14. 

Now the post-season awaits for both those Lakers and our Tigers. The Tigers did not fare so well in their final regular season test. It was a loss to the Fergus Falls Otters at Fergus. The Lakers have lost only twice since the season opener. They shut out Montevideo 37-0. 'Waska is 5-3 in overall W/L, 3-1 in section, 5-2 in conference, 2-2 away from home and 3-1 at their friendly home venue. 

'Waska owned the first quarter vs. Melrose with a 14-0 advantage. The first score was by Riley Dell on a run from the four. Zach Guggisberg kicked the PAT. Then it was Levi Johnson scoring for the home team: a run from the one. Guggisberg again nailed the PAT. 

The teams traded touchdowns in the second quarter. First it was 'Waska striking again as Asante Adams had a big run of 50 yards. Melrose got on the board with a big run of their own, as Riley Elfering raced 31 yards. 

The third quarter was huge for the Lakers. Fans were inspired to cheer loudly as their team scored 28 points! Adams began the deluge of scoring with an 18-yard run. Guggisberg drove the ball through the uprights. Then it was Dell adding six with his run from the nine. The PAT kick: good. Miles Wildman broke loose for a 28-yard scoring scamper. The PAT kick: good. 

Kaiden Harvey of the Lakers gained possession of a fumble and converted this into a TD: a return of 34 yards. Guggisberg's toe was true.

Melrose's Jackson Mayers ran ten yards for a score. The Dutchmen went for two on the conversion and it was good: Mayers passing the ball to Samuel Wehlage. 

Minnewaska polished things off with a crowd-pleasing 61-yard run that had Austyn Schuler clutching the football. Evan Armstrong ran for two on the conversion. 

A look at the numbers shows the winning 'Waska crew with 13 first downs. The rushing yards were spread out very nicely to showcase balance. Adams got lots of mileage out of his eight carries: 96 yards. Schuler got boffo mileage on his one carry: 61 yards! Dell charged forward 13 times for 79 yards. Kearri Dickens had seven carries for 39 yards. Miles Wildman's numbers: 2-32. Levi Johnson contributed with 3-17. Other rushing yards came from Carter Meyer, Caleb Kath and Evan Armstrong. 

The 'Waska ground attack in total was 345 yards. The ground game was premier in 'Waska's offensive efforts. No pass attempts! 

Wildman and Joshua Hippe each had an interception. Dickens and Kaiden Harvey each had a fumble recovery. 'Waska had a team quarterback sack. 

Melrose's top ballcarrier was Riley Elfering with 36 yards on seven carries. Jackson Mayers completed two passes in five attempts with one interception for 17 yards. Elfering tried his hand at passing but did not complete a pass. Hudson Bitz had a reception for 15 yards. Melrose had three team quarterback sacks. 

Bring on the playoffs!

Berlynn Green

Volleyball: Lakers 3, Benson 0

On the volleyball court the Minnewaska Area Laker cause is coming on very strong. How about the W/L record of 18-8? They're 11-3 in conference. Their last standard dual was on Oct. 15 and it had the struggling Benson Braves as the opponent at Benson. 

Benson has been getting swept a lot. Well, that's just what happened to them at the hands of the Lakers. So 'Waska took care of business 25-11, 25-15 and 25-13. 

Haillie Schulz was on the attack with serve aces as she sent four over the net. Berlynn Green had three aces and Dacia Fleury two. Schulz was the go-to setter and got 29 assists. Fleury had two and Eliana Marthaler 1. 

Fleury was on top of her hitting form as she often is. On this night she got 13 kills at the Benson court. Marthaler and Avery Lewison each had four kills. Then we see Emma Hellermann with three followed by four of her mates each with two: Green, Schulz, Addyson Kath and Mya VanLuik. Taylor Schulz performed one kill. 

Three Lakers each had an ace block: Lewison, Fleury and Hallie Schulz. In digs we see three Lakers sharing team-best, each with seven: Green, Fleury and Emma Poegel. Hallie Schulz contributed six digs. 

For Benson, Sovia Schwiderski had two serving aces. Julia Claussen contributed 12 set assists for the Braves. Yes they're still the "Braves." 

Carly Tolifson and Jada O'Leary each had three kills. Kaida Helgenset, Madison Osterbauer and Lexi Hoberg each had an ace block. Sophie Krusemark supplied ten digs. 

Bump, set, spike, into the post-season!

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

Here's hoping an eye injury is transitory

Needs no introduction

Raise a toast to the WNBA? The league might still be looking at a bumpy road even after capitalizing on the "CC effect." We all know what that is. 

"CC" gives us another exhibit of celebrity in America. Obviously it's a delicate thing, like a high-wire act. Once you get into a fishbowl like this, it's a mixed bag for what can happen. Whatever it was that made you famous, you will have competitors. I am assuming that CC has an agent, part of whose job is to guide her through the potential shoals of "celebrity." 

We used to see household names go on the Larry King show on CNN to ask for redemption. Famous people are human beings who can succumb to peccadilloes like the rest of us. We shouldn't act surprised but we do. We want someone like "CC" to be perfect but we know down deep that a slide downward is possible. 

Is Garth Brooks guilty?

You know the kind of things that could happen. Too unpleasant to even cite them here. 

One that would be totally innocent is the career-ending injury or career-impeding injury. We as fans don't feel any of the pain or limitations of an injury. There was the scary eye-poke incident with CC on the receiving end recently. We can sometimes overlook how frail the human body is. I pray with all Caitlin backers that it was a passing incident. 

I think we as fans assume too often that when an athlete gets back on the court or the field after an injury, it's "all systems go." Remember Keith Millard of the Vikings? He had injury issues that may not have driven him out of the game, but he was no longer the player he was. 

And let me cite here the best example for how an injury does not routinely pass. That would be Tony Conigliaro. Pro sports has so many dangers for players - in Tony's case the incident was a "beaning." The biggest danger in baseball, right? 

A somewhat comparable incident happened with our Minnesota Twin Jimmie Hall in the 1960s. That is getting to be a long time ago. Well I'm 69, I remember, I was part of the first generation of young Twins fans who got so emotionally involved in the Twins. Our enthusiasm could get out of proportion. We loved Jimmie Hall. Twins legend has it that we traded original Twin Lenny Green because Hall afforded more power at that position. 

I cite Hall with emphasis in this post because it's a good example of how injuries don't just "go away." In the next breath I must note that not all are agreed on how Hall's career declined. A top theory is that the "beaning" by Bo Belinsky in early-season of 1964 was the cause or catalyst. Other players through baseball history have picked up the reputation of having been permanently affected by such a thing. 

To be a superstar athlete, you must court risks. Could Hall's eyesight have been affected? Or, maybe on a psychological level he developed a fear that affected his normal focus? Getting hit in the head with a pitched ball is highly concerning. 

 

A resilient attitude, yes

Would you believe Tony Conigliaro of the Boston Red Sox actually had his best home run season after his major incident of getting beaned? First he had to take a whole season off. He resumed play but with mixed success, the highlight obviously being his 36-home run season of 1970. All mended, then? Not at all. Even his eventual death was attributed to what happened to him. 

In Jimmie Hall's case, the beloved early Minnesota Twin made the All-Star team in 1965. The year after the beaning. All mended, then? While we can't know for absolute certain that the beaning took a toll, well-circulated speculation points this way. The Twins of course made the World Series in 1965. It was a major chapter of joy in Twins history. But by the arrival of the World Series, our manager had decided to platoon Hall. Hall the A.L. All-Star was being platooned. And he was being platooned with very pedestrian hitter Joe Nossek. 

What about 1966? Twins fans hardly remember 1966 because we placed second instead of first in the A.L. in a time when only the pennant winner advanced to post-season. Strange. Only six years earlier, Minnesota didn't even have a major league team. We had the minor league "Millers." So in '66 we were second in league and it made no splash. Let's say "anticlimactic." 

Jimmie Hall, popular early MN Twin

And what about Jimmie Hall? Now he really was platooned. His home run frequency went up some but his batting average dipped below where it needed to be for an outfielder. He got shipped off after '66. Then he really bounced around. I suppose teams were happy to sign him in the hope he could find his earlier form. 

In later years, Hall could not be persuaded to come back for Twins reunion events. Sid Hartman wrote that Hall was "bitter about baseball." Well, Hall's prime was before players started getting the substantially increased $ compensation. The players union with Marvin Miller got dug in. Players got paid better and treated better. Because of the $ invested in them, pitchers got handled better, protected from injured arms. Hence the "pitch count." 

I have plunged into all this background about Hall and Conigliaro because I was reminded of this by the Caitlin Clark incident with getting poked in the eye. Pray to God it's a transitory thing. Sports injuries can sometimes be "degenerative." In other words, they can only get worse - that's what happened with basketball player Ralph Sampson. 

Again we must remember how frail the human body can be. My goodness, fans overlook this, don't want to be bothered to think about it. Well, we want to be entertained. We wanted Keith Millard to keep being the bruising defensive lineman. He could still play, he just couldn't play as well. 

 

Wunderkind's future

So now what will develop with this total wunderkind of America, Caitlin Clark? If she fades for whatever reason, we'll slowly lose interest in her. She has the very delicate game of making the "logo 3's" for which, well obviously, sharp eyesight is her raison d'etre. 

So what will happen? Can she stay on course to being the "straw the stirs the drink" with a WNBA team? That's asking a lot even for someone with CC's talents. Will her sheer celebrity status stay on course? America can do cruel things with its "celebrities." This can happen when we simply discover they are human. CC is a pro now - she's no longer in the college environment where there is a benevolent purpose with how she's handled. Now it's wins and money, baby. And hey, with money comes temptations, pilgrims. 

So maybe we'll have to hold our breath with Caitlin on that count. We wouldn't want her to be in a position like some of Larry King's guests of old, in effect asking for a "second chance." We lost Larry to covid. His talk show approach on CNN was eventually judged to be dated. Sometimes I feel nostalgia for it. If anyone needs "redemption" it's Donald Trump, but this man might be on the verge for being president again. Larry King, our nation turns its lonely eyes to you.

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

MACA girls fall 1-3 to Minnewaska Area

Oh no, fortunes have not been good for the MACA volleyball team of late. Ever since the 3-0 win over Montevideo on Sept. 17, the situation has been grim. It's the opposite of how the MACA football Tigers have been faring. 

The MACA girls have two matches remaining to try to reverse course. One of these is against Montevideo which might promise success. The other is against Benson. Benson stands to be a fairly easy foe too, but you never know of course. 

Perhaps Benson should be working harder on upgrading its sports programs and backing off on the school nickname/mascot matter. Benson should have foreseen that problem a long time ago. We can come up with one obvious theory: Benson wants to hold back until the state opens up its coffers with the $. I'm sure Benson is striving to get every penny that it can in the bargain. That's how human nature is. 

A comparable situation exists here in Morris where the school board realizes that referendums are pretty easy to push through. Although, not so easy or routine the last time around. But it passed. As long as these things are passing, you can expect the school to regularly come forward and say they "need" things. I didn't come into town on a turnip truck. 

So, parking congestion is now an issue at the football field? Name me a problem and I'd figure there is a resolution available if the public can cough up the $. So, maybe a proposed new parking lot east of the stadium? Run it up a flagpole and see if anyone salutes it?

But maybe one of these days the local residents will get weary of these demands and just say "no" and tell the district "you'll just have to make do with what you have." First we have to vote "no" sometime. I'm old enough to remember the 1960s when referendums were a totally uphill climb in Morris. 

 

Keep an eye on ND

In North Dakota there's a proposal to eliminate the property tax! It's called "Measure 4." How would y'all like to not get a property tax bill each year? Oh but the various government entities would have to raise taxes in other ways? Well, then I say "just make them." Make them feel some pressure to cut out the largesse. I'd be thrilled to see that. 

Let's eliminate all public employee unions like even for schoolteachers. Maybe especially for schoolteachers. I have hated teacher unions more than I have hated anything in my whole life. 

Do we really need public libraries any more? In the digital age where you can call up anything to read for your enrichment on your "screen?" I never read anything "on paper" any more. Some people are hesitant to admit they are like me for fear of being seen as shallow or ignorant. Hell I'll proclaim from the rooftop. I'll proclaim as someone who developed most of his literacy from reading comic books, backs of baseball cards and "Hardy Boys" mysteries. 

Library employees are unionized too. A pox on them. 

If Measure 4 passes and government gets its back truly against the wall, let's see an unrelenting push for eliminating the public employee unions, teachers first on the list. Is there still a requirement of a four-year college degree for teachers? Ridiculous. Let's eliminate it. Teachers have become mostly caretakers now. Am I saying it's an easy job? Not saying that at all but it's a "job" like any other job. It should be easier if teachers are not expected to impart knowledge so much. 

I believe the highest priorities of our public schools today should be co-curricular like with the school musical and all such stuff. I include band/choir. Let the kids have fun and feel excitement. Do I really have to argue this?

 

Volleyball: 'Waska 3, Tigers 1

The MACA volleyball Tigers lost Tuesday night at Minnewaska Area. We're 5-15-1. Maybe a coaching shakeup after this year? We're 1-2-1 in section, 2-10 in conference, 2-6 on the road, 2-3-1 neutral and an abysmal 1-6 in front of the home fans. Downer. 

So the Tigers were on the short end 1-3. The West Central Tribune of Willmar has "stats not available" for MACA. Why in hell are we in Morris allowing the Willlmar paper to just blow us off? The WC Trib website has thorough match stats on the 'Waska Lakers. All this makes us look bad. 

I enjoy writing about prep sports so I'll report on the Lakers. I have not been able to type the name of an MACA volleyball player all season. I used to be able to do so much better. I'm sad. 

Scores Tuesday with MACA numbers first: 22-25, 25-17, 14-25 and 20-25. 'Waska upped its conference record to 9-3. Here we go with the Lakers and congrats to them: Emma Poegel had three serving aces followed by Berlynn Green and Eliana Marthaler with two each. Then we see Brooklyn Noyes and Haillie Schulz with one each. 

The Lakers turned to Schulz in setting where she achieved 33 assists. In hitting it was Dacia Fleury setting the pace with 19 kills. Schulz and Mya Vanluik each had seven kills. Addyson Kath came through with four, then we see Avery Lewison with three, Emma Hellermann with two and Marthaler with one. 

Ace blocks! Here we see Lewison standing out for the Lakers with 3 1/2. Schulz went up to perform 1 1/2. The list continues with Kath, Green and VanLuik having one each. Green worked hard to get the team-best 21 digs. Here's the rest of that list: Fleury 18, Poegel 17, Noyes 16, Marthaler 11, Schulz 7, VanLuik 7 and Lewison 5. 

How bad is Benson volleyball? They have lost five straight all by SWEEP. I don't think Native Americans would even want to be associated with that.

 

Addendum: Did I see correctly that the "MATA" is sponsoring a school board candidate forum? Does that stand for "Morris Area Teachers Association?" The union? I thought the school board members answered to us the public and not to the teachers/employees. We have to put a stop to this: deferring to the special interest teachers so much.

 

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

Myth or fact about the old Coborn's?

Remember the giant Coborn's shopping cart in our Prairie Pioneer Days parade? From the days of PPD's original iteration, centered at East Side Park? Remember the exciting atmosphere on Sunday? Coborn's is gone, as is the original summer version of PPD. I bemoan the losses.

 

Time to get to the bottom of this: So is it myth or fact that Coborn's was going to build a new store in Morris but just wanted a liquor license? No license was forthcoming. Coborn's peeled out. Is it that simple to understand? 

This matter leads to my next question: Was Morris better off when we had two full-service grocery stores? 

The parking lot in front of Coborn's used to be such a magnet for people in this community. Surely it kept the north end of Atlantic Avenue hopping. People activity is a barometer for a small town. The parking lot drew the McDonald's customers too. And boy, hasn't McDonald's changed the complexion of its business! Even when they accept orders at the counter, I get the strong sense they do not like this. I drive past the place on my way home from breakfast in the morning and almost always see no one "dining in." 

A huge contrast with a past time. 

 

Inflection point

Covid seriously reduced the "people activity" here and in most other places. Since getting over the worst of covid, we have not seen a return to the previous level of people activity. Do you miss it? 

The generation of my parents would not believe how cars get lined up at the "drive through" at McDonald's and other places. Never once have I utilized this system. I learned to do it with banks during the worst of covid. But then then I'd walk up to the window instead of driving. Sitting there in an idling car for a rather long time just does not appeal to me. Furthermore I just don't see the hassle with parking the car, getting out and simply going in to the business. 

How strange am I? So I ask you: would Morris be a more well-rounded place with more than one truly full-service grocery store? Defined probably as a place that offers fruits and vegetables. We hear in the news about "food deserts" around the country. People getting their daily sustenance from "convenience stores?" 

Convenience stores have their niche and they do strive to provide a service. In the big cities I guess they can be a magnet for crime. 

How about having a town with 1 1/2 full-service grocery stores. I have to confess I have not utilized Meadowland Market in Morris. I got word a while back that the west Morris place, formerly UBC, was having problems with in-store vandalism. Sounded to me like prank-type stuff. Is west Morris just not fit for regular commercial activity? I'm old enough to remember the "LaGrand Hotel." 

 

The image at left shows the "LaGrand Hotel" of west Morris. (Image from "Lakes 'n' Woods")

 

I remember a neighborhood grocery store on the west side where I got my first baseball cards. The year had to be 1963. I can visualize the cards. 

Maybe you don't know that Morris was originally planned like Benson, to have the railroad tracks separate two sides of town that would be equals with commercial activity. Morrissites gravitated to Atlantic Avenue. This isn't to say some important business doesn't get done over by Lake Crystal. It's just different. 

West Morris is known for the museum, an odd place - sorry but it's true - because of no convenient nearby parking. We should have just forgotten about the old "Carnegie Library." That building was always more special on the outside than the inside. Actually a lot of "old" buildings are like that. 

My opinion has always been that the museum and public library should be together. We have always had the substantial open space in front of our current library. I feel I have to add the "current" tag because I remember using the prior library which is the museum now: Mom would walk me there and we'd check out books, and we had to be careful to only speak in a faint whisper or be reprimanded! We may have forgotten a lot of these old customs. My, time does pass. 

Being quiet in the library now is a gray area thing. I remember talking with Wally Behm there and his voice was conspicuous. Wally was the high school principal to the boomer generation of Morris. Every community can lionize the names of the school administrators to the unique boomer generation with its teeming numbers and endless distinctive personalities. 

Like all generations, the boomers are slowly leaving us now. We have learned humility in our advanced years. We can definitely look back and regret a lot. We may have regressed when young because we were dumbfounded about the protracted U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war. "Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die?" That expression has no reference to drug use which we definitely dove into with both feet, and don't let anyone deny that to you. People with extremely distinguished resumes and important positions today: man, if you only knew the foolishness they engaged in when young! 

I sampled some of the undesirable behavior myself out of peer pressure. I had to pretend it was all really neat. Beer? Was I supposed to be some sort of connoisseur of beer and be able to tell the difference between "brands?" My peers acted like they could. "Hey I got some 'Old Mil'," someone would say. That's "Old Milwaukee." We were supposed to dismiss Hamm's which at least had neat TV commercials. I could not have cared less about all of it. We are all pulled toward the zeitgeist sometimes. I'm no exception. 

 

Subject at hand

"Hello Groceries." I remember that was a tune recorded by the Bill Chase band. So to save myself some work I will quote from my own emails to three people over the last 24 hours. God bless and we hope inflation stops. But it won't. Politicians promote "lower interest rates." Trump wants control over the Federal Reserve. No one now talks about the threat of hyper-inflation. This menace has taken down countries. Just thought I'd mention it.

 

Curly Howard

Del - Pete Rose RIP. Died from hypertension. That was Curly Howard's problem.

There were fireworks over Morris a few minutes ago. It's a shock if you're not expecting it. I don't know what the occasion was, but I'm out of the loop these days.

Caribou sure has problems, their oven has been down for four days. I checked Sunday morning and again this morning and it's no-go. No hot breakfast sandwiches.

This makes me wonder if maybe Paul could use some competition for his store in town or in the county. So is it myth or fact that Coborn's wanted to build a new store but couldn't get a liquor license?

I don't think there are any Homecoming coronation photos online. There really ought to be. You could do it yourself and use Flickr to display in a photo set. Add dreams of glory. Actually the newspaper should do it and slap some photos on website. Sue Dieter was going to go nuts with this sort of thing, scared me from standpoint of overwork. Then I solved that by resigning. If I could have stayed at paper, I would have done something like 45 coronation photo collages by now. Too bad I couldn't do it.

No monopoly business ever runs with peak efficiency. They may say they do but they don't. How many "chips" displays are at Willie's, and I'm constantly seeing the employees re-stocking the "chips." Totally empty and worthless food, addictive. If I walk in there in the evening, I'm wondering "how can I get some food for a simple meal?" Isn't that strange?

- BW

 

Warrenn - The oven at Caribou Coffee has been down four days. I inquired Sunday morning and I inquired Wednesday morning and the oven was down. This has happened before: stuff not working there and it doesn't get fixed fast. Even the coffee-maker.

So my point is this: are we in Morris being hurt by Willie's having almost no competition? I have actually wondered about this for a long time. Most of us have really good vibes from Paul Martin and we trust him. We trust him not to engage in price-gouging but he could do this if he wanted too. He has a monopoly for Stevens County - no other store comes close to offering what they do.

Then again there are "food deserts" in many places. Get food at convenience stores?

Frankly, no monopoly operation is ever going to be as sharp as one with competition. I think that's a truism.

I'm getting more concerned because inflation marches forward. The Federal Reserve is promising aggressive new "rate cuts" and that devalues our currency and pushes inflation up. We have to trust Paul Martin more than ever. I frankly wonder how some people are getting by.

I think one more real push of inflation and we'll see restaurants closing everywhere. Like I told you before, there is no restaurant in Morris where the waitress comes up to you and says "our soup today is. . ." I think this is remarkable. Don's Cafe is hardly a nutrition leader. If Bo decided to leave the restaurant business could he find a buyer for his place? Walk around there and look at the condition of the building's exterior. It may be getting too late for a makeover. And how about a little interior redecorating now and then?

DeToy's used to have a salad bar. They used to have a Sunday chicken buffet. They only have a buffet for Mother's Day and Easter now. Why?

Paul of Willie's, on the ball!

Getting proper nutrition is much harder. You go into Willie's and there are displays of "chips" in various places, all kinds of "chips." I see employees restocking those displays often. That stuff is junk! The store actually sells all sorts of junk.

We had Coborn's once. Is it your understanding that Coborn's was going to build a new store but they couldn't get a liquor license? Is Morris too small for two grocery stores? Didn't we once have three with the old "Holiday" where Coborn's was, and the place across from DeToy's that was Super Valu and then Mitch's? I guess Mitch's was a casualty of the Atlantic Ave. project of Mayor Lee Swanson RIP. 

I'm old enough to remember when Juergensen's Super Valu was a thriving, bustling place.

I have never bought anything at Meadowland Market and I have heard there's problems with in-store vandalism there, prank-type vandalism. I'm suspicious of West Morris in general. I guess that would include Faith Lutheran with the burned-out place right next to it, looking like Europe after WWii.

Would Caribou Coffee get its act together faster if the store had competition?

Re. the Gophers: the onside kick call was a moot point because there was a second infraction by the Gophers on the play that would have been called: touching before the ball went ten yards. I have no interest in the Gophers at present. I'm still interested in Caitlin.

The UMM campus seems dead and dormant. Has the new U president not even made a visit here yet?

I'm in a precarious position because I'm the rare breed of people who still thinks it's important to SAVE money and to get some interest paid. It is getting next to impossible. Banks have been acting like they don't care about depositor money. Such a sea change from a past time. I see where Riverwood has now changed hands. I wonder if they'll make the change to where there's only two people in the whole building when you go in. All this "noise" in the presidential campaign means nothing because I think the central issue ought to be the Federal Reserve. Should we even have that system any more? The Fed jerks interest rates around so much and it doesn't solve anything. People think "lower rates" are always the panacea and that's crap. Inflation destroyed the Roman Empire.

The Fed may be in a no-win situation and that would mean the U.S. is in a no-win situation.

So the school referendum passed. Now it looks like there's a concerted effort to get teacher-approved people on the school board. I can tell from the yard signs. I didn't fall off a turnip truck. The school district will soak us for $ more than ever.

Remember when Gail Nelson won with a write-in vote to displace Liz Harris? Our school district has such a checkered history, it's scary.

High school Homecoming this week. Can we find photos from the coronation anywhere? I used to get so fired-up about this. But there was an element that wanted me gone of course.

- BW

P.S. I realize the banks have been offering "CD specials" but the big fear is what the interest rate will be after they mature. In the past we didn't hear anything about "CD specials" because we just bought the standard CDs. I don't get it.

 

Jerome Powell

Jim - Jerome Powell was all over the news Monday saying the pace of rate cuts might NOT be that fast after all. Why do we accept his behavior and this system? Why is he in the news every 3-4 days with some pronouncement that comes across like it's from the heavens?

Well, Larry Summers says it won't be that easy for the Fed to pull this off. 

But why make speculative comments at all? It jerks my feelings around because I've been through situations were rates paid by banks were going down DAILY, and cascaded down to near-zero. It is very humiliating.

Isn't the dock strike looming as a catastrophe? Here's the deal: Biden ALWAYS takes the union's side. You probably know that. Totally knee-jerk. But what if the American people start getting really hurt? Then they'll realize they have a president who would never intervene against the union. And if people get mad it might open the door for Trump to win. Trump will say things like a blowhorn to promise he'd resolve it, and I actually think he would.

So what will happen? I think Kamala might engineer the 25th Amendment to get Biden removed quickly, then she can become president and do whatever it takes to keep the dock strike from causing a disaster across America. I'm serious.

 

- BW