Birthday party time and a celebration of Black History

Posted By: David Fortier February 25, 2024

By David Fortier

Come Sunday morning, another grandchild will have had a 4th birthday party–pizza, cake and cupcakes, and lots of presents and lots of family. Among the presents, a lab coat–yes, of the white lab coat variety, and safety glasses. These young kids do have an imagination, and this one can sit down with a lab kit and dust away sand to uncover fossils and gems with the best of them.

At the same time, a magic wand–compliments of a cousin and uncle and aunt–comes in very handy to make people appear and disappear at will, especially if one does something that may irritate the wielder of the wand. “Be gone!” Four is a magical age.

The party was on Saturday and following the party Mary and I headed to the NAACP event, honoring local activists for a Black History Month celebration at the Carousel Museum. Among the honorees were the late Rev. Eddie Whitehead, the late Johnie Floyd, Frank Robinson, Pastor Frank Collins, Laura Minor, Ellen Zoppo-Sassu, the late Barbara Hudson, Gail Williams, Jay Maia, Tony Floyd and Dayna Snell. We have wonderful people and their wonderful stories among us–if we listen.

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TBE is in business, the business of providing high quality local journalism, and yes, of course, you know what is coming next–this enterprise has a cost. It’s not much, a membership begins at $6 a month, but of course this price is only sustainable if there are a lot of people chipping in their $6. With that in mind, and until we can attract more members, we will be taking on advertising.

I like the idea of taking on ads for the simple reason they also help us “cover” the city. It’s always nice to see the businesses and nonprofits that aren’t in the news represented alongside our posts and on our pages. It’s one more way of saying to Bristol, “Hello, we are here, too.”

Of course, there is an advantage to seeing your business on TBE, people read us. Our most recent statistics indicate that we get as many as 30,000 visits a week. Over the last year, we have had over a million. For information, click here. (We are working on our “process,” so if what appears on the advertising page is too onerous, email TBEadvertising@bristoledition.org and we’ll get back to you asap.)

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Note: the inlands/wetlands inspection scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 24, at 8 a.m. was rescheduled for Monday, March 4, at 6:30 p.m. Yes, there were several people waiting Saturday morning on Maltby Street where they found the event had been reposted.

Meetings this week include the following:

  • Monday, Feb. 26, Planning Commission, 6 p.m., in council chambers at City Hall.
  • Tuesday, Feb. 27, Board of Finance, 5:30 p.m., council chambers at City Hall.
  • Tuesday, Feb. 27, Board of Finance Budget Hearting, 5:30 p.m. council chambers at City Hall.
  • Tuesday, Feb. 27, Energy Commission–Special Meeting, 5:30 p.m., Meeting Room 115 in City Hall.
  • Tuesday, Feb. 27, 6:20 p.m., Diversity Council, cancelled.
  • Wednesday, Feb. 28, 6 p.m., Historic District Commission, 5 p.m., Meeting Room 1-3 in City Hall.
  • Wednesday, Feb. 28, Animal Control Building Committee, 5 p.m., in Meeting Room 1-1 at City Hall.
  • Wednesday, Feb. 28, Fire Station 3 Building Committee, 6 p.m., location unavailable.
  • Thursday, Feb. 29, CDBG Policy Committee Meeting, 4 p.m., in Meeting Room 2-1 in City Hall.

TBE will do our best to update meeting times and locations, but it’s a good idea to check the agendas ahead of time for cancellations. Click here for specific meetings and times.

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Reading and listening this week starts with something a little different. I have been listening to a Great Courses program, “The Modern Intellectual Tradition: From Descartes to Derrida,” with Professor Lawrence Cahoone of The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. I am not suggesting this one is for everyone–it gets pretty involved–but it is a survey of philosophers and I like reading philosophy, so it’s engaging.

The reason I mention this is because Cahoone is interesting and very good at what he does. Of course, I searched for other things he might have done, and I came across a video where he discusses “Socialism Distortion” on the Faithful Politics podcast. I don’t know much about the people behind the podcast, but this one is interesting. Click here.

For reading, I am making my way through several books, ones that I have mentioned. There is “Poverty by America,” “How To Live or A Life of Montaigne” and “IDA: A Sword Among Lions.” So, I am looking for a novel. A fantasy series, “The Mists of Avalon,” has been recommended. Anyone have a recommendation? Email dfortier@bristoledition.org.

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We encourage all people, young and old, from our community, who have an interest in telling Bristol stories and improving their skills to do this, to join us. If you are one of these people, or know of one, please contact dfortier@bristoledition.org.

TBE is the website of our nonprofit, The Central Connecticut Online Journalism Project, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization. One-time donations and regular recurring monthly donations from our members are welcomed and encouraged.

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Enjoy!

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