By David Fortier
Come Sunday morning, the family is planning an outing to Tonn’s Marketplace where Smetana, the food truck featuring Eastern European fare run by Bristolite Nick Valenta, will be hunkered down as what we anticipate as a cold cold day. When the plans were hatched earlier in September the weather was still in the 70s. It doesn’t look like it this time around, but we are excited to get together, do some shopping at Tonn’s and try some decidedly delicious food.
If you haven’t been by, Tonn’s is a treat in itself. The marketplace features local agricultural products from area farms and businesses. Bakery on Maple and Harvest items are on sale as well as items from Lyman Orchard. And there are a bunch of other unique products from chocolates to food to hot sauce and tomato sauces. Smetana makes fairly regular stops, so it makes sense to check ahead online to confirm.
Smetana is Polish for cream, as in sour cream, but a Rocky Hill High School colleague and native Bristolite Dan Czuchta tells me, Smetana also has other meanings along the lines of “the cream that rises to the top.”
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Friday night Mary and I attended the Bristol Sports Hall of Fame induction dinner at Doubletree. Ed Swicklas was honored with the Julie Larese Award, typically given at the Bristol Tramps dinner, but given this evening since the two organizations have merged under the hall of fame. Other honorees included Chris Strahowski, Kim Corbin Varasconi, Tracy Pomerenke Regan, Reinaldo Soto, Leon and Gussie Breen, Mario Marrero, Clem Roy and Pete Wininger.
It’s always a feel-good evening, one where you can sit back and relax, chat with some old and new friends both before the meal and during the meal. Zingers: Former Bristol Central coach and athletic director Bob DeSantis took a few hits, one right from the get-go when BSHoF president Mark Ziogas said he didn’t realize DeSantis was involved in politics and congratulated him for winning the governorship in Florida.
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Reading and listening this week revolved around some article from the New Yorker on teaching math and a bunch of podcasts, but I will share only one, the latest episode of Gray Matter called “Your identity is a story you tell yourself.” For links to the New Yorker articles, click here for “How Math Became an Object of the Culture Wars,” and click here for “What Do We Really Know About Teaching Kids Math.” For a link to the podcast, click here.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving!
“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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