Walorski, 3 others done in by distracted driving?

Jackie Walorski (facebook image)

Am beginning to wonder about political types and their ability to drive cars. I am serious. People in politics are so plugged in with communications. There are those cotton pickin' "texts" that demand attention. 

I personally have never gotten into texting. I'm holding steady with a laptop computer, and am quite satisfied. No cotton pickin' "phone" with its mesmerizing effect. 

Political types have to know everything, all the time. They are always looking for an advantage, frankly seeking gossip while in effect drooling. 

All of this might seem harmless, right? I suppose political people find it advantageous to be in the know. That South Dakota attorney general who looks so pathetic now, now that he has been thrown out of office: heaven knows how much ground he was covering with electronic devices on the night when he struck and killed a pedestrian. I guess investigators couldn't prove he was distracted at the precise moment of impact. He had been consuming a conspiracy blog about "Biden and China." 

See? This is the sort of thing I'm talking about. And why am I bringing it up now? Well, it's in the wake of the horrific traffic accident in Indiana. It's disturbing in so many ways. Certainly it illustrates the "frailty of life." And, how we need to give thanks for every day the Lord gives us. 

Remember the abrupt way the main characters of "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry" died? So haunting to consider, as we leave the movie theater: all four of those people, so alive and buzzing one minute, stone cold dead the next. It was an auto mishap with the driver (Peter Fonda) driving carelessly. Driving distracted is driving careless. Some people are arguing it's just as big a hazard as drunk driving, maybe worse. I'd be receptive to the "worse" argument. 

I am so much more careful riding my bike along roads than I used to be. Never again will I ride along a state highway shoulder. Such is life in 2022: ubiquitous means of surfing news and exchanging comments. And when you're in politics, my God the temptation to stay on top of everything. 

 

My take

I will venture to say that distractions were what took the life of U.S. Congressman Jackie Walorski of Indiana. Must confess: I had never heard of her. She was a Republican. So important to know that nowadays: "red" or "blue." Will we get over this at some point? Walorski and two of her staff members died on Wednesday, Aug. 3, in northern Indiana. They collided with a vehicle whose driver was also killed. 

I have read that seat belts were in use and air bags deployed. Four people killed anyway? What a collision it must have been, a lot like the closing scene of the 1970s movie I cited. Pow! Your life ends. No way to prepare, to lay the groundwork with God or loved ones. 

So we all wonder: did the four just wake up in the afterlife? One minute the Walorski party was so absorbed in their professional/political lives, then it's snuffed out in one big crash. Makes us all want to hug our loved ones, to say an extra little prayer in church. God ordains all this. 

The congressional group was in an SUV. There was a puzzling and horrific misstatement of facts at the start. It was reported initially from law enforcement that the other vehicle, driven by Edith Schmucker, crossed the center line to cause the accident. Erratum. But why? Did authorities just want to give the benefit of the doubt to the congressperson? A pox on them, if this is the case. 

The estate for Ms. Schmucker ought to consider suing the authorities. As of Friday, some news reports were still online with the wrong info. Did authorities want to give Walorski the benefit of the doubt because she's a Republican? That is the way some people in this country behave now. But this is speculation. 

The Elkhart County Sheriff's Department is at issue here. On Thursday these gumshoes released a statement saying that "the preliminary determination of which direction the vehicles were traveling was incorrect." A mistake? Not sure I buy that. I think it was eagerness to promote sympathy for Walorski and her staff. As for Ms. Schmucker, well I guess she was just a face in the crowd, you might say collateral damage. Yes that's blunt. But political forces are so strong these days. 

(wsbt 22 image)

Looks like the blame falls on the deceased Zachary Potts, age 27, who "crossed the center line for unknown reasons in a rural area near Wakarusa." Potts was Walorski's district director and - sigh - the Republican chairman for northern Indiana's St. Joseph County. The South Dakota attorney general was an ambitious Republican too. 

So Potts lost his life along with Emma Thomson, 28, of Washington D.C., communications director. Communications! Rather the lifeblood for politicos. 

My strong suspicion - I repeat - is that distracted driving was at play here. Unless you want to believe the guy was dozing off or something. There was a "roundabout" in the vicinity? Hmmm. 

 

Priorities

People fail to realize the power of a motor vehicle as it speeds along. Put aside your communications temptation, relax and just drive the damn car. All your political thoughts of the moment will mean nothing if your concentration lapses. 

I have a hard time typing "Walorski" without confirming the damn spelling every time. She was obscure which leads me to think she was just a "yes person" for Kevin McCarthy in the House. 

As time goes on, my blood just boils over how the late Ms. Schmucker was treated in the aftermath. We see bio capsules of the three others in various places like "Politico." Schmucker's life had the same value. Plus she was totally smeared in the immediate aftermath of the accident. 

So there will be a "special election" now. How untoward to even focus on that. 

Law enforcement needs to come up with more disincentives for using electronic communications when driving. The punishment must become more harsh. The danger is worse than DWI. 

Rest in peace? Well for sure, yes. And I would begin that list with Ms. Schmucker. 

Walorski reportedly had a good sense of humor. Well, she can display that in heaven now.

 

Addendum: The Politico article reported that Walorski was "an advocate for children and families." Really? Who wouldn't be an advocate for children and families? The article also described her as "an influential voice for women." Really? HOW was she an influential voice for women? Did she favor women's reproductive health rights?

 

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

The Apple River stabbings: less than clear facts

The tubing pastime (matador image)

A reason why true crime stories can grip us: too many blanks left to fill in. An initial report in the media can almost seem like a disservice: too sketchy. Problem is, a few tantalizing details get tossed out but they are grossly insufficient. You consume an article like this, then search voraciously for more, often with less than complete satisfaction. 

I view the notorious tragic Apple River incident in this light. The initial reports left us with furrowed brow as we tried to reconstruct in our minds. So futile was this, it leaves us wondering if law enforcement should make public statements at all, until a more complete picture emerges. 

The story reached the New York Times. Like it or not, some of the people involved in the incident could end up in a fishbowl. Some of the people are seriously hurt or dead. One fatality actually, as of today (August 5). 

How? All this happened amidst "tubing" fun on the Apple River. The Apple River in Wisconsin is a magnet for this kind of activity. I have often heard of "tubing" but never participated in it. What could be more harmless than going out for an outing of this type? Let's chalk up the July 30 tragedy as a reminder of the frailty of life. The pandemic has already drilled that into us. Would be advisable to take a moment to thank God for every day you have in this existence, n'est-ce-pas? 

How unspeakably sad: a 17-year-old young man from Stillwater being pronounced dead. Other victims went from critical to stable condition, thank the Lord. 

We shout from the rooftop: "How? Why?" 

The New York Times article and other early articles seemed fleshed out: plenty of paragraphs. This did not prevent us from collectively scratching our heads. We tried forming a picture in our mind of what happened. A conflict developed. But how? Why? We got only snippets. The Star Tribune article by Paul Walsh tells us the case vs. the alleged bad guy "leans heavily on a video." Honest to goodness, how was justice ever achieved in pre-digital days? Well, there must have been a system that worked. 

The story gets thick with intrigue where Walsh tells us that some in a group of tubers shoved the alleged bad guy and accused him of "looking for underage girls." So much left unanswered here. Actually, if anyone is going to submit a statement as provocative as the one I just cited, there ought to be more. The person making the statement should be required to provide a basis for how the bad guy was seen to have prurient motives. Being accused of "looking for underage girls" is as bad as it gets, but can this be verified factually or something approximating factually? 

The alleged bad guy's name is out in public - it's Nicolae Miu, age 52. I have a hard time picturing the onset of the dispute, according to the Strib review. Miu's explanation is that he was looking for a cellphone that was lost by a friend. Certainly seems unusual, but. . . He claims that those accosting him produced weapons, hit him, and "were on top of him" while calling him a child molester. 

Whoa, now he's a child molester? We need to know the basis for this deduction. Miu comes across as suspicious. But he is legally presumed innocent. And I would have profound concerns if suspicions were based on Miu being a relatively old person, compared to the tubing norm. And, being alone.

He may in fact be guilty of over-the-top murder. Of course, we seem only in the early stages of piecing things together. Conclusions are so tentative now, it might be best to lay off following the matter - let the investigation proceed. The limited details so far could push many people to flail away with dodgy conclusions. I'd be in that category because we have no choice. 

Isaac Schuman (kare11)

But the magnet for interest here is that it's a true crime story that includes murder. Isaac Schuman RIP. 

The incident happened in late afternoon. The location was close to the Minnesota border, northeast of Stillwater. 

Were all of the parties here on tubes or was Miu on foot? The tubers decided to abort their tubing? Based on what actual observable behavior? An "older man" by himself, doing something that seemed incongruous? Was it something that actually spelled "child predator?" If the person or persons who made that suggestion, to be quoted in the national media, could elucidate, it would be so helpful.

 

Put on my moccasins

I have a special interest here. I happen to be a 67-year-old male who is alone a lot. I have come to sense that my way of life goes against the grain. I am attuned to that. I remember a stand-up comedian who had a routine where he noted that people who go into a restaurant to dine alone are considered strange. The patron is approached by a hostess and he tells her it's a party of one. "One?" The reaction is one of surprise. 

Some people by their nature are comfortable being alone. I am not averse to being with others at all. I was a caregiver for my aging parents for a long time, got focused on them, so my social life atrophied. It has come back to only a limited degree. I switch around with the restaurants I go to, not wanting to become a fixture at any one. "Who's that guy sitting alone?" Well, it's me. Maybe I would enjoy having a female significant other. It's one thing to want that, another to have it. 

So I am fundamentally content, I really am, and would feel disappointed if people became standoffish. Our society has gotten more sensitive too. A few years ago, I was sitting with two friends at McDonald's and recalled my days when I jogged long distances frequently. I told them that at times I came upon small groups of children out waiting for their approaching school bus. I said that in earlier, less tense times in our society, I'd smile and wave at the kids - they responded in kind. But then as time passed and the tenseness ramped up, I kept to myself, opted to not even look at the kids in a situation like this. Which was sad. 

One of my friends imagined a schoolkid going back to his parents and saying "you know, that guy who jogs by here sometimes, he's awfully friendly." "Friendly" might be said with a suspicious inflection. Sad to say, it's best to not take any chances. 

 

Attending youth sports

Oh, and here's a better example of what I'm talking about: By way of background, I used to cover area high school sports for the commercial media. Today I sometimes blog about it. I have a friend who had two daughters go through our girls basketball and other sports programs. After the years passed and I became less well known to the public, it might have been delicate for me to attend games, I guess particularly girls games: if I was an older man with gray hair and by himself. 

With a friend, no problem! No problem at all. But not by myself. And with a camera? Maybe to shoot a couple of pix to post online in the spirit of journalism? Well absolutely not. Heavens! The cops might come running at me. 

Maybe it was the Jacob Wetterling situation that fostered all this. The Wetterling investigation ended up being a story of horrible law enforcement incompetence, investigators protecting their "turf" etc. And the legacy was an extremely jittery public. 

So if a guy is seen along the shore of a tubing river all by himself? Suspicious? Hell, I don't know if this was the scenario or not. We have to speculate at this point. But watch your back if you're an older man who is a "loner."

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

What standard for being deemed "original?"

(image from amazon)

Milton Berle once mused "I know a good joke when I steal one, I mean when I hear one." 

Joke-stealing appeared to be at issue when Mike Barnicle encountered troubled waters with the Boston Globe. He says today it was merely a joke-stealing matter, nothing worthy of weighty consideration. 

Creative people do not do their thing in a vacuum. It would be impossible to accomplish much if anything that way. So once we recognize our own talents, we bathe ourselves in what's out there in that field. Certainly this is not with the idea of "stealing," at least for most practitioners. These people typically talk about their "influences." 

OK so I do some songwriting. I can think of three of my own songs that I would not have written if I had not been "influenced" by a pre-existing song. Allow me to emphasize right here and now: my own songs would pass any test for being original. So even if I were to strike it rich - 100 percent hypothetical - I would be at ease. But there was a certain quality or feel, or even a few bars of chord progression, that steered me toward writing the three songs. 

It's unfortunate that the wonderful art of songwriting is clouded by lawsuits that can fly like confetti. It's a given if you're in the business, I guess. 

Of late the pendulum appears to have been shifting in these matters. I personally welcome this. Certain cases on appeal have been overturned to cut a break to the alleged "stealer." In other words, theft must be identified in more blatant terms now, not subtle. The subtle criterion could drive everyone nuts. The legal system is striving to set reasonable terms so that people with a love of the songwriting craft can keep doing their thing. In other words, with no heavy deterrent from the legal system. 

Katy Perry got nailed by the arcane and confusing criteria - it was mind-blowing - then a judge higher up erased all that. I gather that the problem is with juries. Best to leave juries out of most of these matters. If an accusation reaches the level where it's heard in a formal court setting, then we can assume that there is some sort of similarity between the two songs. A jury will hear both and very likely buy the accusation of similarity. If a lawyer and "expert witnesses" have to go on at length about how it's "borrowing" or whatever, that in itself throws up doubt. 

If someone stole a song, play the two songs in succession and leave it at that, you knaves. Oh, but lawyers are involved. They'll make your head spin. 

  

Say it ain't so

A few months ago we got word that a Christmas classic is in the lawsuit crosshairs. The publicity itself would put someone like Mariah Carey on the defensive. Just as Katy Perry had to feel humiliated for a time. 

The Carey case has special interest because it tests an old truism. Which is: a song title by itself does not bring IP protection. That's "intellectual property." I'm a songwriter so I'm an "intellectual?" Hmmm. 

I wrote a post in response to the Carey situation, suggesting that the lawsuit might not be written off as frivolous. My argument is based on the unusually long length of the song title: "All I Want for Christmas is You." It's a quite specific thought. But even if the alleged "stealer" did in fact re-purpose the earlier title for a new song, the general understanding in music is that it's OK. 

Why would someone try a lawsuit anyway? Money! Yes, when you strike megabucks with a tune, a whole crowd of people out there will see if they can sue you. So here's another try and it might have potential, albeit of the uphill kind. 

 

Lennon's song, its origins

Remember the John Lennon song "Happy Xmas (War is Over)?" Lennon re-purposed an old English folk melody. There is no legal debate on this because songs in the public domain lose any IP protection. If a song is public domain, go ahead and use the melody and craft some new lyrics. It has been done many times. 

"Peter, Paul and Mary" developed their "Stewball" song with the same melody as what Lennon would use. Oh, and I remember the Jamaica tourism promo melody which was exactly the same melody too! 

I believe there was a hangup with using the "Happy Birthday" song in movies for a long time: someone owned it. "Happy Birthday" should be in the public domain just based on common sense. 

 

A challenge

In the wake of the suit vs. Carey being announced, I have a suggestion: a nationwide songwriting competition for everyone to write a new song with the title "All I Want For Christmas is You." Would be fascinating to see the results. Here is my entry:

  

"All I Want For Christmas is You"

by Brian Williams

We feel infatuation

With tinsel and the like

Wrapping paper on the floor

And the Christmas lights

Yes it seems so festive

Songs enhance the mood

But all I want for Christmas is you

CHORUS:

All I want for Christmas is you

Nothing else can match it, it's true

Just to see your smiling face 

And hear your laughter too

All I want for Christmas is you

We leave some milk and cookies

For Santa to enjoy

He has a special something

For every girl and boy

As for me I'll tell you

From my point of view

All I want for Christmas is you

(repeat chorus)

It's not about the presents

Though they can be nice

Yes I like the music 

Making spirits bright

There is only one thing

Truly I behoove

All I want for Christmas is you

(repeat chorus)

I'd like to watch some football

But the times have changed

Now we know the science

What it does to brains

So to heck with TV

I'll just say I'm through

All I want for Christmas is you

(repeat chorus)

 

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

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