By David Fortier
Come Sunday morning … I will have returned to the classroom after three weeks or so of quarantine and it was like the old saying, climbing back on the bike, but this time climbing on with a mask and between sprints lots of handwashing and lots of space between me and others.
One early morning Mary discovered a bat on the curtains in the kitchen, after about 10 seconds in there. I had eaten breakfast, washed out the CPAP parts (I do this every day), made some tea as well as my daily concoction of turmeric, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, black pepper and lemon juice, and snack on some corn bread. (The turmeric drink is supposed to help moderate the symptoms of osteoarthritis.) I was in there for at least half an hour, while a bat was clinging to the curtain about five feet from where I was sitting.
So much for my powers of observation. Ha!
A small trash bag, a small trash can, and a pretty sedate bat made for easy extraction. I released the creature from the back porch and expected it to fly away, but it dropped to the ground. I wondered if I had done the right thing. (And I wondered if I should have call animal rescue.) I decided that I should go back out and bag the bat and hold it for animal control. What if it had rabies? When I got back outside, the bat was gone. Every morning, now, as I enter the kitchen, the first place I look is at the curtains, first the one where the bat was, and then a second one to its right.
By Sunday, I will have celebrated another birthday! (Thanks to all those Facebook messengers! I am not really very good at keeping up, but I did manage to see the birthday wishes!) This year is a first, when it comes to birthdays because it will have also been one of my grandchild’s birthday—the same day.
Shifting gears, at one point I overheard a radio account featuring comments by our state senator regarding his position on a bill being proposed at the state house. When we can, TBE will be expanding our coverage to include what happens not only in the state house but also our city council chambers. Baby steps.
In the meantime, it might be instructive to consider the voting bills at the state capitol. Rather than tell you what I think is up—I am continuing to take things slow, mulling them over, deciding what it the best way to report on them—I have provided a link to a website where you can compare what is happening in the state with what is happening across the country.
Here you go: click on the link and it will take you to the website, which offers a roundup of voting laws.
One of our goals here at TBE is to promote democracy. Voting is key. This may be a stretch, but it is analogous to spending time on that William Carlos Williams poem that made no sense back in high school–”So much depends on the red wheel barrel” coated with rain by the chickens–you remember, maybe not–well, voting sometimes gets treated the same way: What’s the big deal? It’s something that we all do, right? Maybe not, and that is a big deal. We’ll get back to it.
While I am on websites, try this: here is an Ezra Klein interview with author George Saunders. It is a worthwhile listen, despite its length. I broke up listening into four parts. Talk about a different slant on things.
And for the week ahead, here are a few meetings, you might want to keep on your radar. They are available online, so you can listen without having to leave the comfort of your home.
Democracy doesn’t take care of itself—the people who live it do. And so there are meetings. This week there are a few you might check in on.
On March 2, the Bristol Board of Education is discussing redistricting options as part of its “Reimagining BPS Plan.” Click here for meeting details.
On March 25, the board will hold a public forum on the progress of the intradistrict arts magnet school. For details, check the board’s website.
Until Sunday next!
“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.