By David Fortier 

Come Sunday morning, the clocks will have been turned ahead an hour and I will have stopped ranting about why, “Why do we need to play around with the clocks?” “Why not just leave them alone?” “Why, why, why?” And Mary will nod and nothing will change, except the clocks, and I will tuck away in the back of my mind a few news stories that address some of the effects of changing the clock two times a year, in most instances, they cite more depressive episodes during the weeks following the changes. 

For the record, I am a proponent of standard time, no time changes, simple going with the flow. 

And even with the time change the weekend turned out pretty well, since Mary and I had a visit from one of the kids and the latest grandbaby, just about three months old. Off and on I have joked about baby smiles being the result of gas—and, now, on the record, I state that his little smiles, not because of gas, but because of eye contact, listening to and responding to all those baby talk phrases, “Who is a cute little baby?” and all the rest.  

In a visit to Great Grandmother Nana and Uncle Jim, Nana asked, “What is it with babies these days? They are so alert.” Which makes me wonder what my brothers and I were like as babies! Ha!  

Of course, babies are a joy, especially when news from Ukraine is so filled with despair. I have turned more and more to news reports of the Russian invasion. I follow the with increasing disbelief, that something like this is happening in 2022. At the same time, I have become more and more aware that that these conflicts are more frequent than I would have liked to admit—that there has been a war raging in Easter Ukraine for the past decade, that people in Syria are reeling from the aftereffects of the Arab Spring, the ongoing tension in the Middle East, Sudan, Myanmar, and on and on.  

And of course, when I refer to ongoing tension, a euphemism if ever there were one, what I am saying is that people are dying, the vast majority of them, innocents. 

And so, I try to keep this in mind, to be mindful, as I go along with my daily routines and even as I find myself tumbling headlong into March Madness, having dipped my toe into the water this weekend with the Indiana v. Iowa contest, while babysitting. 

And on into the week, one in which our local Bristol Central High boys basketball team continues on the road to the state finals.  

Regarding city issues, the Public Works Commission will take up a new flag policy on Thursday. The meeting is available virtually. The meeting link is available here. The agenda is available here. A link to the new flag policy is available in the agenda. The policy is being considered after several members of the community have taken issue with the Gay Pride Flag being flow during Gay Pride month at city hall. 

For this week’s reading/listening a couple of suggestions. For those among us who are in a Lenten frame of mind, there is “Turning to the Mystics,” a podcast covering the Christian mystics and meditation, beginning with Thomas Merton. Interested, click here. And for a different slant on the economy, check out the Al Franken podcast, featuring Arthur Goolsbee. Click here. 

Have good week! 

“Come Sunday morning” is intended to be a weekly review, a recounting of the past week and an anticipation of week to come. Among its features will be reviews of old and new books, sharing of favorite podcasts, some family news, Bristol events and happenings and issues surrounding education, work and community journalism. He can be reached at dfortier@bristoledition.org.