This is a Blog site created by Bob Reed (in Florida) for folks who live--or used to live--in Marcus, Iowa. Its purpose is to exchange notes, news, remembrances, and thoughts about life in and about Marcus, or news about one's family, friends or acquaintances.
Friday, May 05, 2006
May 06 Discussion
This discussion thread is closed. You may click below to read and catch up, but go to the current thread to continue the conversation.
What a wonderful addition to Marcus... the Cozy Cottage. Yogi & Margaret Rohwer have done a wonderful job! Go to the Marcus Website for more information on it.
I tuned into the Academy Awards last month just in time to hear the presentation of one of the nominated songs. I couldn’t understand much of the lyrics but they seemed to have something to do with how hard it was to be a pimp. I later learned that it won.
This spurred me to try to find out about current rock and roll. It’s much more nuanced and complicated than in my day of three chords and the truth.
There’s evidently speed metal, ska, Celtic punk, and shoegazer rock. And many others including Christian rock and hip hop and rap. (Is hip hop the same as rap and anyhow shouldn’t there be a “C” in front of the word rap?)
The groups that my kids listened to like my fictitious Blood Sweat and Earwax have been replaced by the real Smoking Popes. And there is a new album out by some group titled “Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?”
Bob: I find it interesting, too, how music changes over time, especially the way it is delivered. As everyone with kids or grandkids knows, MP3 players,iPods, Nanos, satellite radios, dish systems, laptops, cable, cellphones and portable CD players provide those interested with the music of their choice, 24 hours a day, anywhere in the world. What a change from tuning in the standalone radio or the little transistor, to one of about 5 or 6 stations, at best, which put out tunes according to a playlist developed by programmers at a radio station. Now, on a Sirius satellite radio I can listen to commercial free big band music 24/7, "all Elvis, all the time", non-stop jazz, 60's soul music, broadway tunes, or favorites sorted by decades - all 50's, all 60's, all 70's, to name a few. The choices are staggering. And it's everywhere. Take it in your car. Take it on vacation anywhere in the world. Listen at home. Or, if you want, listen while out walking in your neighborhood. That I like.
Of course, like everything it needs moderation. Kids can harm their hearing blasting sounds through "ear buds" attached to their portable players. Sometimes walks are intended to be for just walking, without a connection to technology. And on.
Another dark side of all this connectedness, is how some crazed individual anywhere in the world can quickly develop a following. And the message spreads. I was reading a fascinating book this past weekend, entitled "While Europe Slept". It is an overview of the manner in which the culture of Islam is sweeping over Europe. Dramatically changing the face of the continent in less than a generation. (e.g., France will likely be the first nation in Europe to have a Muslim majority, in the not too distant future.)In the book, the author was examining European music and its virulent anti-American tone. The German "electronic industrial metal" group Rammstein was the focus of the author's attention. I was unaware of the group, but apparently it has a huge following the world over. It's message is chilling. The Columbine High School shooters were fans, as were the Chechnyan terrorists responsible for the Beslan School hostage crisis in Russia. One of its most popular numbers showcases the nutcase cannibal in Germany - Armin Meiwes -who advertised on the internet for someone to kill and eat. He found a willing participant and followed through with his horrific plan - videotaping the events. And now the band has a worldwide hit which retells the story.
We've come a long way from being concerned about Elvis rotating his hips on the Ed Sullivan Show. Yes, music has changed. The pervasiveness and speed with which it can circle the globe have exponentially increased its impact. You don't have to wait for Billboard Magazine to come out to tell you what is popular, or sit by the radio in your car or at home waiting for your favorite song to play, you log on to your computer, download your favorites from iTunes, or buy a service that allows you to receive exactly what you want/when you want it, and off you go. It's all different now, and not all better. Fred
The last time I read the 'blog' there was an item by Bob about terminology that we knew when we were young. It seems to be gone. I intended to make a copy of that. Could it be repeated? Please?
I was raised in Marcus; however, I no longer live there. Looking back, I don't think Marcus was a bad place to grow up. While I lived in Marcus, I couldn't think of anything but getting out of there. Marcus is a nice place with a very tight knit community. I miss the fact that when someone needed help, there was always someone there to give a helping hand. I don't miss the small town politics. Where everyone knows or think they know everyone elses business and money is power; however, I must say it doesn't change much in a larger town. The only difference being that privacy is more respected. Where I am in life now, I would probably never move back, but I am proud to say I am from Marcus.
I just came across the marcusiowa.com website. Glad to see it and hope it continues to grow! I always enjoy visiting Marcus when I can and it's nice to see that I'll be able to keep up-to-date through these postings.
Hope all is well with everyone.
Take care, Melinda Horstman Des Moines,IA *Denny Horstman's youngest daughter
That was a nice story about Marc Friedrich. I copied the link to my class website (MHS Class of 75) so others could read it. Brian Friedrich was in my class, and Lori Mohning was nice enough to offer this link about Brian, who is now president of Concordia College. Thought some might find this interesting too. I'm afraid I don't know how to make think link clickable though, so you will have to copy and paste it.
http://www.cune.edu/2005a.asp?durki=7
We have had lots of rain out here. We are much better off than the area north of Boston. My daughter and I will be flying out to Iowa next weekend to celebrate the high school graduation of my sister Nancy's son, Tim Sinnwell, from Valley High School. So we are looking forward to seeing lots of family.
Julia: My youngest daughter is graduating from Valley next Sunday, also. We'll be at the Knapp Center at the same time. Not sure how I'll find you but if possible, it would be fun to say hi. As your sister has probably told you, this group of Iowa kids is no exception to the norm. It never ceases to amaze me the talent that comes out of our state. This group of seniors includes the National Mock Trial Champions - beat teams from 40 other states - and the boys 4x400 relay team just clocked the 5th fastest time in the nation last Saturday in winning the state meet, to name a couple of examples. It's a special group, but not really. There are many like it all over our state. We frequently undersell ourselves, with our inbred Midwest modesty. It's a nice virtue, as long as it doesn't hold our kids back. That is, thinking they can't compete because they grew up in rural America. As most of us know, the truth is that many times it is a great advantage. Just not appreciated enough, oftentimes, until you're older.
Hope to get a chance to greet you on Sunday, Julia. (My daughter is Elizabeth-Lissa-Tiz Dorr. She has lots of names, depending on the group.) Fred
I just uncovered an old 8mm movie taken by someone in my family, and it's labelled as the Marcus, IA Centenial. Does anyone know of a Chet Peck? The Marcus website says it was founded in 1871, so that means the film I have must be dated 1971, but not necessarily, as I think some towns have restated their dates :) It's from around that time at any rate.
Well, "Uncle Chet" (my grandfather's uncle) owned a couple of draft horses...not the Clydesdales, but real draft horses. He was sitting on the right of what looks like the last item in the parade, a tanker carriage that says "Coop" on the side and pulled by these two huge horses.
Any chance anyone was there, or remembers it? I don't actually know that his last name was Peck, as he might have been on my grandfather's maternal side.
My grandfather, Wilmer Peck, went to Buena Vista College, and his brother Lester spent some time in the Navy. I know they had another brother or two and several sisters...seems like there were 9 or 10 kids.
Does anybody know any of them, or any thing about them? Or, my grandmother was Helen Fisher, and I know very little about her, other than her family was well off.
If anybody knows anything about any of this, I'd like to hear about it. I'm going to be getting the film digitized and transferred onto DVDs.
On this Memorial Day I would like to thank any and all Marcus residents current and past that served in the military in any capacity.
I just recently stopped at the cemetary in Galva, IA---the cemetary immediately on the southeast corner of town---and visited the grave site of Nathan- Shubert. To see this and realize how much those who serve in our military scarifice and in this case the ultimate sacrifice of one's life----thanks just doesn't seem like it does those who have served or r currently serving justice.
BTW, to see Nate's grave right next to his father's grave who incidentally died roughly 6 months before him of "cancer" I believe will bring one to tears! The beauty of it is that they r on a little knoll overlooking the town of Galva and their parents/grandparents live right down the highway south of town. Needless to say the family is all together thus I trust it helps the Shubert family with the pain of these tragic premature deaths. Nate was a handsome man and to see his picture on the tomb in his Marine uniform----all I can say is WOW!!!!
One last note..........a good friend of mine who is a Texas boy was college buddies "Texas Tech" with the pilot of Nate's C-130 that crashed in Iraq. Isaac Lee is my friend's name and he entered the marines with his buddy right out of college........Isaac and his buddy both flew/fly the "Super Stallions" and went through training together and the like at Camp Pendleton or as they say they are Hollywood Marines since they trained in Southern California. Isaac and I found it ironic that his college friend from Texas and a young man from Cherokee County, Iowa both died in the tragic wreck in Iraq on that fateful day when his friend's C-130 crashed in a blinding sandstorm. Growing up in West Texas Isaac said they knew all about sandstorms but the storms in Iraq are/were nothing like those they had ever seen. Unfortunately his buddy's second of two helicopters traveling at that time in Iraq didn't make it out of the sandstorm they entered thus the crash that led to Nate Shubert's death.......may Nate Shubert rest in peace and again thanks to all Marcusites who have served in any branch of the U.S. military to protect this great country we live in!
If you ever go through Galva, IA and want to see Nate's grave it is on the far southwest corner of the cemetary immediately next to his father's grave and the tombstone of his grandparents who are both alive and living on the family farm 3.5 miles immediately south of town........
I thought I had heard just about everything. But every so once in a while something comes along that makes me say, “Okay — that’s it. We have reached the end of civilized life as we know it.”
When you enter your November years, you have traveled a long way and some of the roads haven’t been paved. My generation has survived five wars, women’s lib, the sexual revolution, and Enron. We have somehow managed to cope with the inauguration of baseball’s designated hitter, the Gong Show, blue cocktails, and anything Michael Jackson has done in the past twenty years.
We have adjusted to commercials in the movie house touting everything from tooth paste to panty hose. And with something called “reality television,” which I think has got to be up there with “military intelligence” as one of the ultimates in oxymorons.
But comes now, cage fightin’. Word seeps slowly down here to Florida, but news has reached us that in nearby Sioux Falls, promoters put two guys into a chain link cage, and let them have at one another in a no-holds-barred battle with no rules. They evidently gouge, bite, bash, brawl, and mangle one another until one of them is knocked out or killed, to the cheers of the beer-soaked onlookers. It’s been called “human cockfighting.”
Now this is not in Iowa — it’s in South Dakota. It’s my wife’s home state and I delight in telling everyone that the wind up there on the prairie somehow just-keeps-on-a-blowin’. She says there’s a reason for that, ‘cause one day it stopped blowin’ and everybody fell over.
And the state is so sparsely populated that when you fly into Sioux Falls, you are automatically a member of the state legislature. As such, she was so outraged at the news of these modern-day Roman gladiators that she wrote the governor protesting the “sport” and threatening to withhold her vote on his upcoming election unless he passed a law forbidding this atrocity.
It was one of those “omigawd moments” for her. Like another “sport” that we have survived — the hurling of midgets through the air. Caged beasts beating one another senseless in South Dakota is so outrageous in our so-called civilized society that one has to stop and ponder.
Is the Apocalypse upon us? Is “The Rapture” nearby? Have we finally reached “The End Times”?
The tabloids at the checkout counter of the supermarket trumpet other assaults on humankind. Have we reached the ant-at-the-picnic-stage? If you see one, there are certain to be others.
Is it really the end of the world? What are YOUR “others” — the annoying, irritating, and outlandish things that make you rise right up out of your chair, for they test the premise that everything in this civilized world is hunky dory?
Okay, okay — maybe I’m just having a bad hair day.
I am writing in response to Bob Reed's comments on May 29th. I believe the sport you are talking about is called ultimate fighting. It does take place in many places in Iowa, one of them being Fort Dodge. There are some rules to the sport. For one, there is no biting, you can not kick someone in the head if they are down. I personaly find the sport to be quite entertaining. I feel it is really not that much different than kickboxing. These men and women are professionals and have been trained in mixed martial arts and other areas. The fights are judged, and they have a referee in the ring to moniter the fight. They also have doctors on hand in case someone is hurt, and to check the fighters if they get cut. It may not be the safest sport in America, but if people are choosing to participate why not let them. I would suggest that if you don't like the idea for one don't participate, and for the other don't watch. I would not however ruin it for those of us who want to watch the sport, and do appreciate the true atheletes these individuals are
Your "ultimate fighting" sounds like Palanchik's novel Fight Club to me. Is this an Olympic event for the "true athletes" of the future? Send in the lions and the Christians one more time in the 21st century.
Hey Anonymous, you might be so kind as to offer your name. I guess Bob simply presented his opinion in the same spirit that you did. "Don't watch, don't participate" ...? Hmmmmmm. Quite the generic response of our times, I guess. And so it goes... (a la Vonnegut).
Whew! Flew from 70-degree weather to 90-degree weather in Iowa this past weekend. Fred, I didn't sit through Tim's graduation from Valley, but I did enjoy time with family, munched almost every free sample at the Farmer's Market (what a great summer event), and checked out that massive new mall ... and marveled at another year's crop of new buildings in West Des Moines...
I'm with you two, Bob and Julia, on this one. But then I've never understood the "victimless behavior" advocates. Seems like it never is. (Take boxing. Even with its rules and restrictions. Heard Joe Frazier or Muhammad Ali talk recently? They're some of the few wealthy ex-fighters who can afford treatment for their conditions and still support families.)
The taxpayers usually pick up the tab. Then, everyone around the actor has to adjust. And that assumes society condones the behavior in the first place.
Get hurt in ultimate fighting and have to go to the hospital? Can't imagine any health carrier would insure against voluntary injury of that sort. The fight promoters would typically make you sign releases so no recourse there. Sue your fight opponent? Hardly. Consensual behavior is a poor way to set up litigation. So, if you can't pay your hospital bill, who does? Three guesses.
Ride your motorcycle without a helmet and get busted up? Who covers the head injury if you can't? Same source.
Use meth and can't get to work, support your kids, get tangled up in domestic abuse charges, get into other criminal behavior to support your "victimless actions"? Who covers all that? You guessed it.
The truth - none of this stuff is without victims. It's usually John Q. Public who picks up the tab. And the spouses, girl/boyfriends, kids, employers, neighbors, court system, law enforcement, churches, friends and other family members who have to accomodate the behavior after the dust settles. It's never made sense to me.
As you say, Julia, if turning away was the answer, then I guess we're back to public duels and gladiator days, where the prospect of death hangs in the air, and sell-out crowds would no doubt be guaranteed.
I thought western society had progressed beyond that. Sometimes I, too, wonder, though.
I am writing in response to both Fred & Bob's comments on ultimate fighting. The Ultimate Fighting Championship brand promotes live mixed martial arts (MMA) contests between world-class athletes who cross-train in multiple styles, including boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. MMA is a true sport featuring competitors from successful backgrounds in other arenas, including the Olympics and the Pan American Games. Additionally, many of the athletes are college-educated and excelled in Division I athletics. These fights are won by KO or submission. There has been (1) death in UFC. Doug Dredge couldn't pass the required physical to be cleared to fight in the US, so he fought in an unsanctioned bout in the Ukraine and died. There have been NO DEATHS in the UFC, or in any REGULATED MMA promotion. Most other contact sports, including boxing, cannot make the same claim.
What a wonderful addition to Marcus... the Cozy Cottage. Yogi & Margaret Rohwer have done a wonderful job! Go to the Marcus Website for more information on it.
ReplyDeleteBEATS ME
ReplyDeleteI tuned into the Academy Awards last month just in time to hear the presentation of one of the nominated songs. I couldn’t understand much of the lyrics but they seemed to have something to do with how hard it was to be a pimp. I later learned that it won.
This spurred me to try to find out about current rock and roll. It’s much more nuanced and complicated than in my day of three chords and the truth.
There’s evidently speed metal, ska, Celtic punk, and shoegazer rock. And many others including Christian rock and hip hop and rap. (Is hip hop the same as rap and anyhow shouldn’t there be a “C” in front of the word rap?)
The groups that my kids listened to like my fictitious Blood Sweat and Earwax have been replaced by the real Smoking Popes. And there is a new album out by some group titled “Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?”
Beats me. Bob Reed
Bob: I find it interesting, too, how music changes over time, especially the way it is delivered. As everyone with kids or grandkids knows, MP3 players,iPods, Nanos, satellite radios, dish systems, laptops, cable, cellphones and portable CD players provide those interested with the music of their choice, 24 hours a day, anywhere in the world. What a change from tuning in the standalone radio or the little transistor, to one of about 5 or 6 stations, at best, which put out tunes according to a playlist developed by programmers at a radio station. Now, on a Sirius satellite radio I can listen to commercial free big band music 24/7, "all Elvis, all the time", non-stop jazz, 60's soul music, broadway tunes, or favorites sorted by decades - all 50's, all 60's, all 70's, to name a few. The choices are staggering. And it's everywhere. Take it in your car. Take it on vacation anywhere in the world. Listen at home. Or, if you want, listen while out walking in your neighborhood. That I like.
ReplyDeleteOf course, like everything it needs moderation. Kids can harm their hearing blasting sounds through "ear buds" attached to their portable players. Sometimes walks are intended to be for just walking, without a connection to technology. And on.
Another dark side of all this connectedness, is how some crazed individual anywhere in the world can quickly develop a following. And the message spreads. I was reading a fascinating book this past weekend, entitled "While Europe Slept". It is an overview of the manner in which the culture of Islam is sweeping over Europe. Dramatically changing the face of the continent in less than a generation. (e.g., France will likely be the first nation in Europe to have a Muslim majority, in the not too distant future.)In the book, the author was examining European music and its virulent anti-American tone. The German "electronic industrial metal" group Rammstein was the focus of the author's attention. I was unaware of the group, but apparently it has a huge following the world over. It's message is chilling. The Columbine High School shooters were fans, as were the Chechnyan terrorists responsible for the Beslan School hostage crisis in Russia. One of its most popular numbers showcases the nutcase cannibal in Germany - Armin Meiwes -who advertised on the internet for someone to kill and eat. He found a willing participant and followed through with his horrific plan - videotaping the events. And now the band has a worldwide hit which retells the story.
We've come a long way from being concerned about Elvis rotating his hips on the Ed Sullivan Show. Yes, music has changed. The pervasiveness and speed with which it can circle the globe have exponentially increased its impact. You don't have to wait for Billboard Magazine to come out to tell you what is popular, or sit by the radio in your car or at home waiting for your favorite song to play, you log on to your computer, download your favorites from iTunes, or buy a service that allows you to receive exactly what you want/when you want it, and off you go. It's all different now, and not all better. Fred
The last time I read the 'blog' there was an item by Bob about terminology that we knew when we were young. It seems to be gone. I intended to make a copy of that. Could it be repeated? Please?
ReplyDeleteIt can be found under the April discussion on April 29.
ReplyDeleteI was raised in Marcus; however, I no longer live there. Looking back, I don't think Marcus was a bad place to grow up. While I lived in Marcus, I couldn't think of anything but getting out of there. Marcus is a nice place with a very tight knit community. I miss the fact that when someone needed help, there was always someone there to give a helping hand. I don't miss the small town politics. Where everyone knows or think they know everyone elses business and money is power; however, I must say it doesn't change much in a larger town. The only difference being that privacy is more respected. Where I am in life now, I would probably never move back, but I am proud to say I am from Marcus.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI just came across the marcusiowa.com website. Glad to see it and hope it continues to grow! I always enjoy visiting Marcus when I can and it's nice to see that I'll be able to keep up-to-date through these postings.
Hope all is well with everyone.
Take care,
Melinda Horstman
Des Moines,IA
*Denny Horstman's youngest daughter
That was a nice story about Marc Friedrich. I copied the link to my class website (MHS Class of 75) so others could read it. Brian Friedrich was in my class, and Lori Mohning was nice enough to offer this link about Brian, who is now president of Concordia College. Thought some might find this interesting too. I'm afraid I don't know how to make think link clickable though, so you will have to copy and paste it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cune.edu/2005a.asp?durki=7
We have had lots of rain out here. We are much better off than the area north of Boston. My daughter and I will be flying out to Iowa next weekend to celebrate the high school graduation of my sister Nancy's son, Tim Sinnwell, from Valley High School. So we are looking forward to seeing lots of family.
Julia: My youngest daughter is graduating from Valley next Sunday, also. We'll be at the Knapp Center at the same time. Not sure how I'll find you but if possible, it would be fun to say hi. As your sister has probably told you, this group of Iowa kids is no exception to the norm. It never ceases to amaze me the talent that comes out of our state. This group of seniors includes the National Mock Trial Champions - beat teams from 40 other states - and the boys 4x400 relay team just clocked the 5th fastest time in the nation last Saturday in winning the state meet, to name a couple of examples. It's a special group, but not really. There are many like it all over our state. We frequently undersell ourselves, with our inbred Midwest modesty. It's a nice virtue, as long as it doesn't hold our kids back. That is, thinking they can't compete because they grew up in rural America. As most of us know, the truth is that many times it is a great advantage. Just not appreciated enough, oftentimes, until you're older.
ReplyDeleteHope to get a chance to greet you on Sunday, Julia. (My daughter is Elizabeth-Lissa-Tiz Dorr. She has lots of names, depending on the group.) Fred
I just uncovered an old 8mm movie taken by someone in my family, and it's labelled as the Marcus, IA Centenial. Does anyone know of a Chet Peck? The Marcus website says it was founded in 1871, so that means the film I have must be dated 1971, but not necessarily, as I think some towns have restated their dates :) It's from around that time at any rate.
ReplyDeleteWell, "Uncle Chet" (my grandfather's uncle) owned a couple of draft horses...not the Clydesdales, but real draft horses. He was sitting on the right of what looks like the last item in the parade, a tanker carriage that says "Coop" on the side and pulled by these two huge horses.
Any chance anyone was there, or remembers it? I don't actually know that his last name was Peck, as he might have been on my grandfather's maternal side.
My grandfather, Wilmer Peck, went to Buena Vista College, and his brother Lester spent some time in the Navy. I know they had another brother or two and several sisters...seems like there were 9 or 10 kids.
Does anybody know any of them, or any thing about them? Or, my grandmother was Helen Fisher, and I know very little about her, other than her family was well off.
If anybody knows anything about any of this, I'd like to hear about it. I'm going to be getting the film digitized and transferred onto DVDs.
Thanks!
Mike Peck
allnight4@yahoo.com
On this Memorial Day I would like to thank any and all Marcus residents current and past that served in the military in any capacity.
ReplyDeleteI just recently stopped at the cemetary in Galva, IA---the cemetary immediately on the southeast corner of town---and visited the grave site of Nathan- Shubert. To see this and realize how much those who serve in our military scarifice and in this case the ultimate sacrifice of one's life----thanks just doesn't seem like it does those who have served or r currently serving justice.
BTW, to see Nate's grave right next to his father's grave who incidentally died roughly 6 months before him of "cancer" I believe will bring one to tears! The beauty of it is that they r on a little knoll overlooking the town of Galva and their parents/grandparents live right down the highway south of town. Needless to say the family is all together thus I trust it helps the Shubert family with the pain of these tragic premature deaths. Nate was a handsome man and to see his picture on the tomb in his Marine uniform----all I can say is WOW!!!!
One last note..........a good friend of mine who is a Texas boy was college buddies "Texas Tech" with the pilot of Nate's C-130 that crashed in Iraq. Isaac Lee is my friend's name and he entered the marines with his buddy right out of college........Isaac and his buddy both flew/fly the "Super Stallions" and went through training together and the like at Camp Pendleton or as they say they are Hollywood Marines since they trained in Southern California. Isaac and I found it ironic that his college friend from Texas and a young man from Cherokee County, Iowa both died in the tragic wreck in Iraq on that fateful day when his friend's C-130 crashed in a blinding sandstorm.
Growing up in West Texas Isaac said they knew all about sandstorms but the storms in Iraq are/were nothing like those they had ever seen. Unfortunately his buddy's second of two helicopters traveling at that time in Iraq didn't make it out of the sandstorm they entered thus the crash that led to Nate Shubert's death.......may Nate Shubert rest in peace and again thanks to all Marcusites who have served in any branch of the U.S. military to protect this great country we live in!
If you ever go through Galva, IA and want to see Nate's grave it is on the far southwest corner of the cemetary immediately next to his father's grave and the tombstone of his grandparents who are both alive and living on the family farm 3.5 miles immediately south of town........
can someones tell me the dates of the August Marcus Fair? Hope to stop on way from San Diego (via Omaha)to Lake Okoboji.
ReplyDeleteDon Peters
A SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE?
ReplyDeleteI thought I had heard just about everything. But every so once in a while something comes along that makes me say, “Okay — that’s it. We have reached the end of civilized life as we know it.”
When you enter your November years, you have traveled a long way and some of the roads haven’t been paved. My generation has survived five wars, women’s lib, the sexual revolution, and Enron. We have somehow managed to cope with the inauguration of baseball’s designated hitter, the Gong Show, blue cocktails, and anything Michael Jackson has done in the past twenty years.
We have adjusted to commercials in the movie house touting everything from tooth paste to panty hose. And with something called “reality television,” which I think has got to be up there with “military intelligence” as one of the ultimates in oxymorons.
But comes now, cage fightin’. Word seeps slowly down here to Florida, but news has reached us that in nearby Sioux Falls, promoters put two guys into a chain link cage, and let them have at one another in a no-holds-barred battle with no rules. They evidently gouge, bite, bash, brawl, and mangle one another until one of them is knocked out or killed, to the cheers of the beer-soaked onlookers. It’s been called “human cockfighting.”
Now this is not in Iowa — it’s in South Dakota. It’s my wife’s home state and I delight in telling everyone that the wind up there on the prairie somehow just-keeps-on-a-blowin’. She says there’s a reason for that, ‘cause one day it stopped blowin’ and everybody fell over.
And the state is so sparsely populated that when you fly into Sioux Falls, you are automatically a member of the state legislature. As such, she was so outraged at the news of these modern-day Roman gladiators that she wrote the governor protesting the “sport” and threatening to withhold her vote on his upcoming election unless he passed a law forbidding this atrocity.
It was one of those “omigawd moments” for her. Like another “sport” that we have survived — the hurling of midgets through the air. Caged beasts beating one another senseless in South Dakota is so outrageous in our so-called civilized society that one has to stop and ponder.
Is the Apocalypse upon us? Is “The Rapture” nearby? Have we finally reached “The End Times”?
The tabloids at the checkout counter of the supermarket trumpet other assaults on humankind. Have we reached the ant-at-the-picnic-stage? If you see one, there are certain to be others.
Is it really the end of the world? What are YOUR “others” — the annoying, irritating, and outlandish things that make you rise right up out of your chair, for they test the premise that everything in this civilized world is hunky dory?
Okay, okay — maybe I’m just having a bad hair day.
Bob Reed
Asked about the Marcus Fair. This year the dates are August 10 thru 13. More info is available on the Marcusiowa web site. Bob Meyer
ReplyDeleteI am writing in response to Bob Reed's comments on May 29th. I believe the sport you are talking about is called ultimate fighting. It does take place in many places in Iowa, one of them being Fort Dodge. There are some rules to the sport. For one, there is no biting, you can not kick someone in the head if they are down. I personaly find the sport to be quite entertaining. I feel it is really not that much different than kickboxing. These men and women are professionals and have been trained in mixed martial arts and other areas. The fights are judged, and they have a referee in the ring to moniter the fight. They also have doctors on hand in case someone is hurt, and to check the fighters if they get cut. It may not be the safest sport in America, but if people are choosing to participate why not let them. I would suggest that if you don't like the idea for one don't participate, and for the other don't watch. I would not however ruin it for those of us who want to watch the sport, and do appreciate the true atheletes these individuals are
ReplyDeleteYour "ultimate fighting" sounds like Palanchik's novel Fight Club to me. Is this an Olympic event for the "true athletes" of the future? Send in the lions and the Christians one more time in the 21st century.
ReplyDeleteHey Anonymous, you might be so kind as to offer your name. I guess Bob simply presented his opinion in the same spirit that you did. "Don't watch, don't participate" ...? Hmmmmmm. Quite the generic response of our times, I guess. And so it goes... (a la Vonnegut).
Whew! Flew from 70-degree weather to 90-degree weather in Iowa this past weekend. Fred, I didn't sit through Tim's graduation from Valley, but I did enjoy time with family, munched almost every free sample at the Farmer's Market (what a great summer event), and checked out that massive new mall ... and marveled at another year's crop of new buildings in West Des Moines...
I'm with you two, Bob and Julia, on this one. But then I've never understood the "victimless behavior" advocates. Seems like it never is. (Take boxing. Even with its rules and restrictions. Heard Joe Frazier or Muhammad Ali talk recently? They're some of the few wealthy ex-fighters who can afford treatment for their conditions and still support families.)
ReplyDeleteThe taxpayers usually pick up the tab. Then, everyone around the actor has to adjust. And that assumes society condones the behavior in the first place.
Get hurt in ultimate fighting and have to go to the hospital? Can't imagine any health carrier would insure against voluntary injury of that sort. The fight promoters would typically make you sign releases so no recourse there. Sue your fight opponent? Hardly. Consensual behavior is a poor way to set up litigation. So, if you can't pay your hospital bill, who does? Three guesses.
Ride your motorcycle without a helmet and get busted up? Who covers the head injury if you can't? Same source.
Use meth and can't get to work, support your kids, get tangled up in domestic abuse charges, get into other criminal behavior to support your "victimless actions"? Who covers all that? You guessed it.
The truth - none of this stuff is without victims. It's usually John Q. Public who picks up the tab. And the spouses, girl/boyfriends, kids, employers, neighbors, court system, law enforcement, churches, friends and other family members who have to accomodate the behavior after the dust settles. It's never made sense to me.
As you say, Julia, if turning away was the answer, then I guess we're back to public duels and gladiator days, where the prospect of death hangs in the air, and sell-out crowds would no doubt be guaranteed.
I thought western society had progressed beyond that. Sometimes I, too, wonder, though.
Fred
I am writing in response to both Fred & Bob's comments on ultimate fighting. The Ultimate Fighting Championship brand promotes live mixed martial arts (MMA) contests between world-class athletes who cross-train in multiple styles, including boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. MMA is a true sport featuring competitors from successful backgrounds in other arenas, including the Olympics and the Pan American Games. Additionally, many of the athletes are college-educated and excelled in Division I athletics. These fights are won by KO or submission. There has been (1) death in UFC. Doug Dredge couldn't pass the required physical to be cleared to fight in the US, so he fought in an unsanctioned bout in the Ukraine and died. There have been NO DEATHS in the UFC, or in any REGULATED MMA promotion. Most other contact sports, including boxing, cannot make the same claim.
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