Community-wide discussion and rally, another family get together and provocative reading and listening

Posted By: David Fortier August 27, 2023

By David Fortier 

Come Sunday morning, word is that there will be a community action and response to a recent white supremacist demonstration at the corner of Todd Street and Rt. 72 last weekend. The “Black Lives Still Matter, Bristol: Rally and Discussion” will be held from 6-7 p.m. is being led by Melina Floyd-Torres, who led Black Lives Matter marches and discussions in Bristol during the COVID-19 pandemic. (More information in a news story shortly.)  

And in the midst of such madness, life continues. A bunch of us from the BCHS class of ‘76 got together at Tommy’s Place (Tommy is himself a BCHS grad) for lunch and some talk. There were Tim, Tom, Will, Hal, Don and I. A few others who were on the text thread sent regrets but plan to get together the next time around. At one point, someone mentioned how when we were much younger we’d be swinging by McDonald’s and we’d see some older guys in a corner shooting the breeze over a coffee and kind of laugh—never going to happen to us. And, yet. 

On Saturday, the Fortier family gathered for another family pasta dinner, part of a new tradition. The sauce, in homage to Nana, bubbles on the stove with bits of chicken and sausage. The garlic bread heats in the oven (and of course, there is a loaf of Harvest Bakery Italian bread, sliced, waiting for a slab or two of butter). Grandkids clamber under foot—big trucks, an old favorite, is joined by a new one, a fancy drum, one, two, three, boom boom boom. We count our blessings! 

And of course, a new school year calls, a first for two of the grandkids. Mary and I have pick-up duty a couple of times a week. A car seat sits in the back seat of my Camry awaiting its first official run. We did complete a practice run after our family meal Saturday. 

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Reading and listening: For listening, try “The benefits of Utopian Things,” from the Gray Area podcast with Sean Illing. In it Illing interviews, Kristen R. Ghodsee, author of “Everyday Utopia: What 2,000 Years of Wild Experiments Can Teach Us About the Good Life.” It’s one of those listens that starts with, why am I spending my time on this, and end with, that was really worth it.  Click here.

For reading, try this New York piece, “Elon Musk’s Shadow Rule: How the U.S. government came to rely on the tech billionaire—and is now struggling to rein him in,” by Ronan Farrow. It is pretty much about what the headline says. Of course, there is a general fascination with Musk among many people, especially the younger generation. Everyone wants what Musk has, right?

If you can’t get a copy of the article, there is a podcast with Farrow discussing it here. It is a recent interview on Fresh Air, with host Terry Gross.

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Be well! 

“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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