By David Fortier
Come Sunday morning, the temperature is expected to rise to the 80s and 90s through Friday. We’ve had a nice stretch, so some high temps are a bump in the road, figuratively. With the beginning of the school year, school buses are back. From our perch from the second-floor porch, Mary and I can see the students line up at the corner to catch the bus.
First there are the middle schoolers and then come the elementary school ones with their parents in tow. The first day I could see and feel the excitement as the greetings were exchanged and then the goodbyes and the shuttling back up the street home for parents and some younger siblings.
For Mary and me, the new school year means a day or two a week, each, picking up two of the three grandchildren from pre-K and entertaining them for a few hours to help out the moms and dads. A highlight from this week’s pickup from Mary, who has Grandchild #1 duty, includes asking about the first and whether the kids had to say their names. When it was Grandchild #1’s turn, rather than saying her name, she spelt it. We got a laugh from that.
For me, Grandchild #2 duty was spending two hours in the school playground, while other children and their parents came and went. Grandchild #2 fancies being a pirate, so much of the discussion between kids had to do with hoisting sails and preparing harpoons. The other big deal is dinosaurs. When we went for an ice cream after the playground, Grandchild #2 transformed into Tyrannosaur Rex and proceeded to chow down, sans spoon. Good times.
***
Regarding TBE and memberships, this week we got around to sending daily newsletters with the latest posts. If you aren’t receiving the newsletter, you might have to sign up for one. At some point, you may receive an email asking for you to subscribe. Please take the time to do that so that you will receive the newsletter.
Regarding coverage, Labor Day is tomorrow, and traditionally, it is the marker for political campaigns to kick off. I am sure candidates for this year’s municipal elections have been knocking doors. There will be more to come through November. TBE has a couple of items planned when it comes to over coverage. First, we have invited both town committees to submit a guest essay on any subject of their choosing on a regular basis. Second, we will be running profiles of candidates and asking them about issues related to Bristol, regularly.
If you, as a reader, have a concern or would like more information about where candidates stand on issues, please send an email to editor@bristoledition.org.
***
Reading/listening/viewing: For this week’s podcast, try the Gray Area with Sean Illing and a discussion with the author of “Tyranny, Inc.” The author, Sohrab Ahmari is among the “conservative intellectuals trying to map out a post-Trump future for the Republican Party,” as the program notes say. The discussion, between two people from different sides of the political spectrum, covers more common ground than one might anticipate. After listening to the two talks, I am thinking that I will have add Ahmari’s book to my reading list.
For reading, I finished the third Hemingway novel, “The Sun Also Rises,” which is another surprise for its perspective and subject—that of being identified with the “Lost Generation” of writers post-dating the World War I era and the angst associated with that era, mostly, but now after almost a hundred years, jarring for its perspective on relationships between men and men, men and women, approaches to different religions and racial groups. I will leave it at that.
I have picked up a non-fiction book, “Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Our Worst” by Robert M. Sapolsky. Sapolsky is a neuroendocrinology researcher and author and teaches biology, neurology, neurological sciences, and neurosurgery at Stanford University. The book begins with this fantastical scenario—the author takes Adolf Hitler prisoner, so he is now faced with what to do next. Kill him? Inject him with terrible diseases that will punish him for years?
A note: I am trying something different with this book. I requested it through Overdrive, available from the Bristol Public Library, to read on my phone. I had to wait for over a month for a copy to become available online, but it’s here.
***
Enjoy the 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.
All TBE readers, supporters and donors
The Bristol Edition will be limiting the number of stories non-members and free readers may access each week. This decision is based on our financial projections and, most certainly, to remind people that TBE is serious about providing accurate, timely and thorough reporting for Bristol. To do this we have devised a financial support structure that makes unlimited access extremely affordable, beginning with a $6 monthly donation.
- Non-members will be able to access four (4) articles per week.
- Free readers and people who have subscribed by email will be able to access four (4) articles per week.
- Donors and financial supporters will have unlimited access as long as they log in.
Note: Donors may have to contact TBE if they find they are being limited, since we will need to set up a membership account for you. Email editor@bristoledition.org for instructions. Sorry for any inconvenience. People with financial difficulties may write editor@bristoledition.org to be considered for free access.