By David Fortier 

Come Sunday morning, Mary and I will be rousing ourselves at home after a long Saturday in Norwalk when we babysat two of the three grandkids. Mom and Dad celebrated their anniversary with a night out—drinks and dinner.  

Mary and I entertained and were entertained by the 2-and-a-half-year-old and almost 8-month-old sidekick. The evening included a viewing of Pixar’s “Coco,” which was fun for me because I do not really get a chance to watch many movies. Earlier in the week, I got to visit the third grandchild and parents for an afternoon and dinner. For me it was a grandkid week.  

On Friday, we headed to The Lake (Lake Compounce) for the New England Carousel Museum’s Crocodile Club fundraiser. (Click here for an account.) Bristol native Mike Reiss was guest speaker. He did an admirable job roasting members of both political parties, pushing those political correctness buttons and employing a disarming and self-depreciating sense of humor for some big laughs. 

Also during the week, we continued to communicate via texts with the youngest son from Australia. Life is a little different there, not only because it’s winter. Here’s a video starring a robot server. Take a look.  

How about that. You put in your order from your table on a tablet and your food arrives with “smile” and greeting from your server. 

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For anyone who has not toured the new Bristol Arts and Innovation Magnet School, there will be tours on Wednesday and Saturday this week. On Saturday, ceremonies are planned to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the building. Here’s a link for more information. Also on Saturday, The Rockwell Festival is back after a two-year hiatus. Here’s a link for more information.

Reading and listening–listening really

Reading/listening this week includes two podcasts, one purely for the fun and the other for its reporting and insights into the economy. 

The first, purely for the fun of it, is a podcast, “What Am I Doing Here? with Mike Reiss.” As mentioned above, Reiss was guest speaker at the year’s “Crocodile Club” gathering. He is an original writer for The Simpsons and continues working with the show in different capacities, while taking on projects, such as movie scripts, plays, and world travel which fuels this podcast. 

Each episode recounts the zany antics and encounters of Reiss and his spouse, Denise, as they negotiate various trips across the globe, sometimes to mountain tops, sometimes under the ocean, and always with humor. The latest episode takes the Reisses under the ocean to one of the world’s deepest passes and then to the Titanic. Click here for a link.  

The second recommendation is the Intercepted podcast, “How Fiscal Hawks Are Using Inflation as an Excuse to Tamp Down Worker Power.” The title sums it up, and yet, there is so much more to the conversation. Take a listen by clicking here. 

“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.     

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