By David Fortier
Come Sunday morning, the house will have been cleaned from top to bottom, three pies baked and ready, menu set, presents wrapped as Christmas music plays 24/7 in the background. Only thing left to do will be to set out to the bakery for bread to compliment the lasagna Christmas Day.
I do what I can to help, but Mary does most of the preparations. For instance, when it comes to the pies, I lend a hand.: apple pies (two of them), I carve up the apples; pecan, with its finicky crust, is all hers; pumpkin, I watch the last 45 minutes it’s in the oven and decide when it’s ready.
Texts from the kids have been streaming in throughout the week with updates and questions. There will be a small gathering at our house with son and family, daughter and boyfriend, Uncle Charlie and Aunt Ann. Quinn, the Australian shepherd who is convalescing from a surgery with be underfoot.
Other kids will be hosting or visiting others. One will have already celebrated with his partner in Australia. We have a FaceTime call scheduled sometime on Christmas Day, here in the U.S. For example, they texted from Australia, a photo of their two cups of, yes, Christmas Tea, with tags visible. Christmas Tea is a staple in the Fortier household.
Another tradition is our Christmas Eve viewing of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The routine begins with the Christmas Vigil Mass, next home for pizza and then snacks and the show. Daughter’s boyfriend has never seen it so we are excited to share!
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To our TBE extended family, Merry Christmas and happy holidays! Thank you to all who have signed up on the website, since this is the heart of our operation. Granted, the site is a bit clunky, but it is people who log in there that help us when it comes to planning and expansion. A very big thank you to those who have not only signed up on the website but who have chosen to donate and set up recurring monthly payments. You are promoting local journalism; and beyond that, part of a grand experiment that includes redefining local news coverage through a nonprofit business model.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
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Reading and listening this week begins with a comic book about news. I mentioned that I was starting Brooke Gladstone’s “The Influencing Machine,” illustrated by Josh Neufeld, about the history of journalism throughout history up to the present moment. Well, I finished it, and it’s a great read. I highly recommend it.
The latest version is updated from its original published version in 2011 and includes an afterword that addresses technological advances since.
Gladstone is the host of the On The Media podcast, a favorite here, with takes an unflinching look at journalism, its processes and principles, and does so in an engaging and informative way. The new book was published in 2021.
For listening, there have been a few, but the one that stands out is Open Source with Christopher Lydon’s latest, “The Revolutionary,” focused on a new biography of Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiff. Adams, a major player in the American Revolution, has taken a back seat to more prominent players, such as Thomas Jefferson and Adams’ own cousin John Adams.
This reappraisal, apparently, since I have not read the book, simply unearths material that puts Samuel Adams in a new light–crediting him with innovations and some creative recasting of events as the major thinker behind the scenes. Click here.
If you have read something lately that struck a nerve, send along an email with the title of the work and what it was that got your attention–and held it. I will share it with our readers. Email dfortier@bristoledition.org.
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Happy Christmas!
“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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