By David Fortier

Come Sunday morning, Father’s Day, of course, there will have been the inauguration of a new federal holiday, Juneteenth, a Parks and Rec fundraiser at the new Page Park pool, and graduation from the school where I teach. And the state legislative special session will have ended with few surprises.  

Around here the flower baskets hanging on the porch have turned spectacular and the morning routine is that either Mary or I will have to break out the watering can to make sure that they keep on keeping on. Routine is good. That our flowers require water every day, especially the hotter days, is good. An that’s not all. The flowers in the baskets need to have their old blossoms removed, picked off. Sometimes, they need to be rotated. Establishing routine is necessary, and a routine is good. For me at least, it, routine, is a reminder that there is a world out there that needs attention. And that we are capable of giving it the appropriate attention. 

This works on the personal level and, it works on the statewide, national and international levels, too. And that is why I am somewhat mystified that our efforts to get beyond the personal—such as the recent effort on the state level to attend to TTP (look it up) are stymied by a very narrow discussion that turns to taxes, that flaming torch of a word that burns up any hope of sensible conclusions. 

For instance, if it is generally the consensus that we need to start taking steps now to avert climate disaster later, isn’t a few more cents for gasoline worthwhile? Just something to consider. I just get tired of people falling for the same old tropes about taxes when we need to push beyond them and really understand how they work and what our taxes do for us—that is, if we can work together toward solutions. 

Until people, like you and me, understand this better, we will continue to get led by our noses—yes, the analogy here is that we are cattle. Thus, herd mentality. Thus, stalemate. Thus, trapped. One alternative is choosing legislators who will assist with this process rather than employing it to continue the same old same old. In sync with this, choosing our legislators, is that we each take it upon ourselves to learn about things that challenge us.  

Weekly read: try this piece from Abgail Disney, one of the heirs of the Disney fortune: click here. 

Speaking of the past, the fundraiser Friday night at Page Park pool is just one more nod to our history—both the industrialists who had the foresight to invest in our parks, including setting aside trusts to help with their upkeep, and to the ones who built our parks. I could not help but overhear people around me chatting and my ears perked up when I heard Gail Erickson mention in a private conversation, that became more public when I asked her about it later, that her grandfather’s company built the pool.  

Gail confirmed this, and it wasn’t five minutes before another relative, Steve Allaire, the elder law attorney, was telling me stories about his dad, Ben Allaire, who was the first to jump in the new pool after it was filled. It was Ben’s father, who started the company, and Ben’s brothers who ran it. 

Steve told me that his father, the night he christened the pool, got home later than usual and, when asked why, said he had to make sure things were right. 

Steve also told me that Ben was a serious athlete, one whom Bill Garrett, the Bristol sportswriter, when asked, rated No. 1 before Jim Thorpe, as the greatest. Ben earned 13 letters in high school, before heading to Cornell. Steve told me, it was at Cornell where Ben caught the eye of the soccer coach, he had never played soccer before, and ended up as an All-American. Steve found this out, not from his dad who never mentioned it, but in a conversation with an acquaintance years later. 

There is more to the story. We will get to it soon. 

One more thing, there will be a reenactment of the pool christening when Ben’s great granddaughter Haley, and if she can manage to get herself invited, Gail, this coming Saturday, as part of the official ribbon-cutting ceremony. Yes, Haley will, like her distinguished predecessor, hop in the pool to make sure everything is just right. 

And as for high school graduation, seniors from our local schools crossed the stage and flipped their cords in ceremonies early in the week. The seniors at my school did the same at Dunkin Donut Park in Hartford. It looks as if future ceremonies may just be held at these venues rather than the schools. 

By the way, there was a ceremonial beam signing at the intradistrict arts school on the boulevard, and the last section of the eastbound lane is closed for the bridge project. 

Of course, Saturday, the Bristol Farmers Market debuted, and of course, a bunch of other summertime activities are starting to populate our calendars.  

As for Father’s Day, it looks to be a relatively low-key day, which is just fine with me. FYI, the Fortier children did remember their old dad. On Friday, upon my arrival at home, I found a delivery from Edible Arrangements waiting for me. Delish! 

Have a good 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.