Were there kids out in the snow? A flat tire and some help from folks, recommendations for listening, reading

Posted By: David Fortier February 18, 2024

By David Fortier

Come Sunday morning, the snow will have been behind us, well, for the most part because who saw the almost- or even more-than a foot that fell Monday into Tuesday? The little electric snow blower, introduced to that heavy wet snow, didn’t fare well, which meant getting out the shovels to do most of the work.

But it’s snow, and it’s winter, and no complaints here, which led me to wonder how kids fared. This was good snow, good for sledding and good for making snow men/women/children. Name it.

If kids around this neighborhood did get out, I didn’t see any evidence. But, of course, there was at least one photo of the grandkids having some fun, making the best of the powdery easy to pack stuff.

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Come Sunday, too, the car is safely parked out back after I blew a tire pulling out of a parking lot. I was headed to the grocery store before I realized what happened. Watching the tire pressure gauge on the display go from 34 to 23 to 17 to 9 was a bit disconcerting, but I made it to the next parking lot. Once there, I called for some help–thinking the best thing might be to call AAA.

My reinforcements, really one, the youngest’s boyfriend, convinced me otherwise, and we started to work on the tire before either of us realized that just getting the lug nuts off was going to be a task. Nothing was moving, until one shopper asked if there was anything he could do to help. I said, I thought we could handle things.

He thought otherwise and walked over to lend a boot. That’s what he used to free the lug nuts. A woman who saw us struggling brought over the classic T-tire iron, but by then we were on our way, … until it came to jacking up the car. it kept slipping.

So, another helpful individual came by and situated the jack, after putting on the emergency brake, and the rest is history–except now there is one of those donuts where there needs to be a tire. And so it goes. A little hitch, an inconvenience, but also a reminder that people really are looking out for each other.

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Meetings this week include the following:

  • Tuesday, Feb. 20, Capital Improvement and Strategic Planning Committee, 4 p.m., in the council chambers at City Hall.
  • Tuesday, Feb, 20, Real Estate, from 5 to 6 p.m. in Meeting Room 1-1, at City Hall.
  • Tuesday, Feb. 20, Sewer Commission, from 6 to 6:15 p.m. at their offices on Terryville Avenue; also, on Tuesday, Board of Water Commissioners, immediately following the Sewer Commission, at their Terryville Avenue offices, from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m..
  • Tuesday, Feb. 20, Police Commission, 6 p.m., in council chambers at City Hall.
  • Tuesday, Feb. 20, Transportation Committee, one-time meeting, 6 p.m., location to be announced.
  • Wednesday, Feb. 21, Salary Committee, 5 p.m. in Human Resources Conference Room at City Hall.
  • Wednesday, Feb. 21, Fund Development and Advocacy Committee, 5 p.m. in Room 1-2 in City Hall.
  • Wednesday, Feb. 21, Board of Finance Budget Hearing, 5:30 p.m. in council chambers at City Hall.
  • Wednesday, Feb. 21, Board of Park Commissioners, 6 p.m. in Meeting Room 1-2 at City Hall.
  • Thursday, Feb. 22, Fire Commissioners, 6 p.m. in council chambers at City Hall.
  • Saturday, Feb. 24, Inlands Wetlands/Conservation Agency, 8 a.m. Onsite Inspection, Maltby Street, Lower Wetlands.

The meetings get space here since we TBErs believe that despite their reputation as “boring,” they are the cornerstone of our local government and the foundation for our civil responsibility. It’s good to know what committees are meeting and to know the people who populate these boards are working to ensure the rest of us that the city is not only functioning but doing its best.

Of course, it’s not enough to simply draw attention to them. We know this. Ideally, we can get eyes on the meetings to report what is happening, with some specifics, and do so in a timely manner that is, also, journalistically sound one. That’s our goal, independent, quality journalism that people can turn to for information, that reports down the middle and to the point.

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Reading and listening this week starts with the latest episode of the Enlightened Opinions podcast, “Mindfulness in a Distracted World with Nate Klemp.” Klemp just published a book of the same title as this episode. As with all the Enlightened Opinions podcast, host Stanford professor Robert Harrison leads a discussion that is both enlightening and challenging. There are some provocative questions, as always.

Klemp discusses not only how to back off the addictive tech; he provides some insightful next steps. Click here.

Also for listening, try CT Mirror and its preview of this year’s Connecticut legislative session and the budget with Keith Phaneuf and John Dankosky. Click here.

For reading, I finished a novel, “A Gentleman in Moscow,” by Amor Towles. it’s an interesting book because it handles a dark era in Russian history with a bit of humor and charm. The main character, an aristocrat, returns to Russia after the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, is designated a “former person” and confined to living in a grand old hotel–not in a luxury suite but in a few small rooms in the attic.

That doesn’t sound like much, and yet, it’s enough to provide the background for insights into the dynamics of the revolution, some of the terror–that still exists, just consider what has happened to the late Alexei Navalny–and a sort of redemptive power of the human spirit.

In addition, there is another piece that caught my eye, a piece in the New York Times by Carlos Lazado, entitled “I read it so you don’t have to,” which refers to books about Washington, both the personalities and the proclivities of power. Click here.

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Enjoy!

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