By David Fortier
Come Sunday morning, Mary and I will have had another babysitting gig, this time with two of the three grandkids—one three-year-old and one one-year-old. Thier mom had a birthday earlier in the week, and she and Dad headed out for a drink and dinner. Before heading out she cooked pasta sauce, and dad finished up some yardwork.
The pasta sauce—a Nana recipe with chicken, pork and sausage—simmers on the stove for the afternoon and ends up on our dinner plates. The one-year-old, much more of an eater than the three-year-old, does not fool around, fills that little face with rotini and ends up with a saucy mask, both cheeks covered.
The three-year-old passes, other things in mind, flitting between missing the parents and kids shows that are waiting on the TV screen in the living. We are grandparents. There are two of them and two of us. We divide and conquer, and before we know it, the kids are well on their way to nighttime slumber. (The nighttime routine is disrupted—no bath, which apparently, can be a sticking point.)
By the way, the sauce is excellent, and we get to take a bowl home for dinner later in the week.
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The big news around here this week is that our competitor has announced going digital, along with the costs. For them, $40 for 56 days digital only ($52 for 56 days for print and digital); for us $6 a month for the year (unless you decide to become a member at a different level).
Once again, these are the days when newspapers are searching for alternatives and experimenting with new business models. Ours happens to be a nonprofit model, so that all of our resources, including financial ones, end up benefiting the community–with a staff that lives here, with programs fostering young writers and with scholarships for our students.
(Yes, while we are volunteers at the moment, we expect to be paying our staff and freelancers, since the only way to sustain our efforts is to provide living wages for employees and compensation for freelance work. As our readers recognize their importance in this equation, this model will come closer to that goal. For instance, one day your membership will go towards supporting our own Bristol kids who pursue careers in journalism, as well as the ones who are producing it now.)
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Reading and listening for the week: It takes a while to get through, but the Lex Fridman interview with Texas University at Austin professor Jeremi Suri. Suri recently published Civil War by Other Means: America’s Long & Unfinished Fight for Democracy and hosts the “This is Democracy” podcast.
The conversation focuses on American history, and I am guessing up front that you will learn things that will not only make you scratch your head but also provide a lens to consider the current state of American democracy.
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And for those of you who are wondering, grades close on Monday at 12 noon, so the plan is to finish up on Sunday afternoon.
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Enjoy!
“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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