Anticipating a visit from the couple from Australia, an apt and fine tribute to our heroes and something about the good life

Posted By: David Fortier July 2, 2023

By David Fortier

Come Sunday morning, once again the fallout from the wildfires in Canada will have subsided and the air quality will have improved, at least that is the hope. And there will be some rain in the forecast. Mary and I will be heading out late in the day to pick up our son and his partner, Allison, who will be returning from Australia, after a year away, for a 12-day stay. We are looking forward to seeing the couple. 

And of course, the Fourth of July will be on Tuesday, that is something to look forward to. The plan is to spend time at a family cookout, where the whole gang, including spouses and grandchildren and even some in-laws will sit around, eat, chat, maybe even nap, all as part of the celebration of our nation’s independence—evidence, that despite all the mishmash of life in our times, things are still working. 

And we do have much to deal with, and somehow, we do—deal with these issues. For instance, this year’s Bristol Exchange Club’s “Honoring Heroes” program brought together almost 900 people to commemorate officers involved with the events of that fateful evening in October, but also to raise up several young people from our community as cadets of the year. 

The Exchange Club honors both the cadets and officers of the year annually. This year’s event was different for obvious reasons, and the club did marvelous work presenting a fitting and apt tribute for a very special evening. 

*** 

Of course, the U.S. Supreme Court ended its latest session with some big decisions. At some level, and I think people forget this, while these seem to take place on some elevated level that is beyond the scope of the common and every day, their affect ripples through each of lives. If there is any solace in this, is it is that ours, as a country, is a work in progress. And we have a lot of work to do. 

I suggest one place to start is to hunker down with the actual decisions, read through them and try to understand the arguments, both pro and con, consenting and dissenting ones. I might be considered unschooled in this area but that doesn’t mean I can’t try my best to understand—understanding, I am hoping, still means something. 

*** 

Reading and listening this week is a bit scattered but that makes things interesting. There’s an interesting piece in this week’s New Yorker, “You Good? Aristotle’s guide to human flourishing” by Nikhil Krishnan. 

It’s a critique, sort of, of a new edition of the Nicomachean Ethics as a self-help manual. (Don’t be intimidated—Nicomachean appears to refer to either Aristotle’s father or son, both of whom were named Nicholas, thus Nicomachean. That’s a fun fact.) Click here. (I hope you can access it. Otherwise, it might mean a trip to the Bristol Public Library.) 

For listening, try “Simone Weil’s radical philosophy of love and attention,” one of the latest installments of The Gray Area with Sean Illing. It features a discussion with Robert Zaretsky, author of The Subversive Simone Weil: A Life in Five Ideas, about Weil, who graduated first in her class, ahead of the more familiar Simone de Beauvoir. Click here. 

*** 

Enjoy the Fourth of July! 

“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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