By David Fortier 

Come Sunday morning, the storm will have passed, and it will have turned out we did okay, unlike some other areas of the state and further up in New England. There will be one more round of snow clearing later in the day. Even then it will be dealing with drifts rather than shoveling out. 

Saturday we hunkered down. The snow fell and the winds blew, stirring things up, rattling the windows. It was good to be inside. On Friday, I did the food shopping on the way home from work, so there was no reason to head outside.  

Earlier in the week, students returned to the classroom after exams. It was good to get back to the routine. But even returning to the routine brought news about the passing of two Bristol movers and shakers. Loretta Teevan, who taught me mythology and Latin at BCHS, and Craig Yarde, who was more than an acquaintance but not a close friend, passed.  

Both deaths were surprises to me, and mostly, I think this is true because we have become more isolated during the pandemic. I can remember being at Mass last Sunday and hoping that Loretta was well, and that perhaps as things opened up in the spring, chances were she might be back. How wrong I was and how I wish that our paths had crossed a few more times. 

I did not expect that my path would cross Craig’s anytime, since it was a rare occurrence since a few meetings early at the turn of the new century. Upon hearing the news, I was brought back to the episodes of Allie McBeal, especially the ones that featured the unisex bathroom, an innovation at Yarde Metals all those years ago, and how much fun it was to make the connection. 

And, the pandemic continues, even though people are tired of wearing masks—while food shopping I noticed that the number of people wearing masks was greatly reduced and that made me sad. I think it was Tuesday that one of the grandbabies wound up in the pediatric ICU with a COVID-induced case of the croup. The baby is fine, thank God, but it was one of those times when I am reminded how each of us is connected to the other, especially each other’s welfare. 

On the TBE front, I was heartened by a conversation that resulted from our new letter policy, one I announced last week in this column. In the policy, I mentioned that we would not honor personal attacks, and one reader raised the issue about calling out liars—not simply lies, but liars. In response, he wrote on our Facebook page, that not calling people out would be doing the public a disservice, especially in this time of the Big Lie. 

That is a great point, and one that we are going to have to think about before putting something in writing. If anyone has any suggestions, please send them along via email. 

For this week’s reading/listening, try the podcast, On Being, and the latest one featuring the late Thich Nhat Hanh, “Remembering Thich Nhat Hanh, Brother Thay.” Hanh, the renown Zen master from Vietnam, whose teaching on peace and mindfulness has influenced thinkers and leaders since the 1960s, passed recently at 95. Click here for the link.  

Keep warm and 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.