Election winding down, an old friend passes on and a high school reunion

Posted By: David Fortier November 13, 2022

By David Fortier 

Come Sunday morning, most of the national elections will have been decided, but not all of them. Locally, Bristol has several new representatives, Joe Hoxha (R) and Mary Fortier (D) in the 78th and 79th respectively. Incumbents Cara Pavalock-D’Amato (R) and Henri Martin (R) prevailed in the 77th House District and 31st Senate District. Congratulations to all and kudos to those who chose to throw their proverbial hats into the ring.  

Let’s hope these successful candidates represent Bristol well at the Capitol. (Note: And of course, Mary is my spouse, so while TBE will be covering our Hartford contingent, I will recuse myself from any reporting.) 

*** 

On a different note, altogether, Joe Wilson, who had many roles in Bristol, passed recently. Rich Colbert wrote a letter remembering Joe, who served on the city council with him. It was a very nice tribute. About Joe, he amazed me with his positive outlook, good sense of humor, wonderful stories and how much he adored his wife and kids and grandkids. Among the many roles Joe filled aside from council person was as an athlete, coach, teacher and local businessman. 

I knew Joe from the time I was in junior high school (i.e., seventh and eighth grade, at Memorial Boulevard where he was my English teacher). At the same time, he was my basketball coach at the then-Bristol Boys Club. Later, I bought books from him at his bookstore, where he guided me to authors I might be interested in and then ordered the books for me because they were not the more typical fare found on the shelves. Later, I spent time with him as we both got back into teaching, preparing for the state exam together and meeting on Saturday mornings to study and write essays. 

Heartfelt condolences to Pam and family. What a guy! 

*** 

On Saturday, I attended my 45th high school reunion at Pint & Plate, from 12 noon to 3 p.m. I admit it, we are all aging, but I won’t miss one. This time around there was a certain air of uncertainty about who might or might not be there. I hadn’t set aside the day, thinking it might be later in the month, so when I received a text a few days before the event, I juggled a few things to make sure I got there.  

Two attendees, Sue and Al, were classmates from our elementary school days at Mary A. Callen School. Another lived off Lake Avenue, where I grew up, briefly before moving away, and then catching up in high school. Another was another Lake Avenue neighbor from the class before ours. It was a good time–kudos for those I got to chat with: Kerry, Lori, Michelle, Jim, Jerry, Doug, Dan, Mike, Jerry, Teresa, Frank, Don, Sandy, Dave. (Did I get everyone?) 

*** 

For this week’s listening/reading, I started three books and listened to a bunch of podcasts. The books include the nonfiction Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Prize winning Economist, and two novels Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead and The Books of Jacob by another Nobel Prize winner, Olga Tokarczuk. 

I am intrigued by perception, and Kahneman takes up judgment and decision making and how perception informs each. Tokarczuk wound up on the radar when I came across a short article about her in the New Yorker, reading how one of her books begins on page 961 and ends on page 1. Yes, she wrote the book backwards. 

The podcast that I thought you might be interested in is “Infinite Scroll,” an episode from On the Media that covers what is happening to our libraries nationwide, from threats facing them to how libraries lend out e-books and the quest for a “universal library.” 

*** 

Thank you for your service and sacrifices, veterans and families. It’s never just the one. 

Until next 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.    

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