By David Fortier
Come Sunday morning, I will have made my way back to St. Joseph Church for 8 a.m. Mass. At least that is the plan. With the hip replacement three weeks behind me and feeling pretty good about being able to walk for 20-minute stretches, I am thinking that it’s time to get back out there.
What concerns me, of course, is that there may be icy patches on the walk over. I guess I’ve got to be particularly attentive to my surroundings. The one precaution that I have to pay attention to, too, is that I cannot break that 90-degree angle at my hip — to avoid the chances of injuring myself. So far so good.
Overall, it’s been a good convalescence, knock on wood.
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For listening this week there is the “Ones & Tooze” podcast, mostly, because Tooze, who is a professor at Columbia University, shares his feelings and thoughts about his own open-heart surgery to correct an aortic aneurism.
Tooze is a thinker of global influence, relatively young, 57, who concentrates on analysis of economic and cultural trends. When he speaks of his own trepidation about his surgery, Tooze breaches that ground of common humanity–that thing that makes us human–our mortality.
The conversation is enlightening, too, for the simple reason that his knowledge is so broad that he can toss in little bits of information, such as, Einstein had one of the early surgeries for an aneurysm and was so traumatized that when a second one was suggested at the age of 76 he decided against it.
For the episode, click here.
Another podcast that caught my attention is The Colin McEnroe Show, entitled “We’re reading fewer books. That’s not good.” One of the guests is Maryanne Wolf, cognitive neuroscientist, reading and literacy expert, and author with a couple of pretty influential books to her credit.
You might have heard of “Proust and the Squid”? Most recently, she has published “Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World.” Wolf has an irrepressible spirit, including a wonderful laugh. What’s better is that she explains in a clear and understandable way what is happening when we read screens. Everyone should listen to this one. Click here.
Among the items I am reading this week is a novel, “The Chain-Gang All-Stars” by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah,” recommended by our first-born. (I do love that the kids are readers and often text recommendations.)
From the get-go, this novel is pretty brutal. Its premise, from what I can tell, is that society has “evolved” to the point where those in prison are given a choice–whether to serve their sentence, in this instance, being executed or 25 years or longer, or fight for their lives to entertain “the people.”
Those who choose to fight are separated into “chain-gangs,” which means they do not fight members of their gang. If chain-gang members survive for three years, they may gain their freedom. To add to the intrigue, within the first couple of chapters, a chain-gang member on the cusp of being released is murdered.
Note: It appears that the people who are serving sentences have not committed the crimes for which they have been charged. The system just needs people to fill the chain-gangs to keep the rest of society in amused, i.e., in check, and ensures that those roles will be filled in anyway necessary.
For a review of the book, click here.
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City meetings this week include the following:
On Monday, Dec. 9
- American Rescue Plan Task Force, 4 p.m. Council chambers, city hall. For virtual meeting, click here.
- Board of Park Commissioners–Budget and Finance Committee, 5 p.m. Meeting Room 1-2, city hall. For virtual meeting, click here.
- Animal Control Building Committee, 5:15 p.m.
- Cemetery Commission, 5:30 p.m. Bristol Historical Society, 98 Summer Sr. Canceled.
- Zoning Commission, 6 p.m. Council chambers, city hall. For virtual meeting, click here.
On Tuesday, Dec. 10
- Board of Finance Workshop, 1 p.m. Bristol Senior Center, 240 Stafford Ave.
- Special Meeting, Board of Finance, 6:15 p.m. Council chambers, city hall. For virtual meeting, click here.
- Joint Meeting of the City Council and Board of Finance, 6:45 p.m. Council chambers, city hall. For virtual meeting, click here.
- City Council Meeting, 7 p.m. Council chambers, city hall. For virtual meeting, click here.
On Wednesday, Dec. 11
- Youth Commission, 6 p.m. Meeting Room 1-4, city hall. For virtual meeting, click here.
- Persons with Disabilities Commission, 7 p.m. Meeting Room 3-1. For virtual meeting, click here.
On Thursday, Dec. 12
- Board of Health Meeting. Canceled.
- Retirement Board, 5 p.m. Council chambers, city hall.
On Friday, Dec. 13
- No meeting posted.
TBE will do our best to update meeting times and locations, but it’s a good idea to check the agendas ahead of time for cancellations. Click here for specific meetings and times.
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Enjoy!
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