Monday, April 18, 2011

Watching Your Crazy Ways and All the Lazy Days

Today is a big deal in Boston (no Anthony, not just at supper) as it's Patriots' Day (I prefer the possessive plural while admiring how each individual is a singular patriot). Admittedly, the Bruins stole a march on all professional sports teams in The Olde Town, but the main event today is, of course, the Boston Marathon.

Marathons are perfect figures of speech for much of how we live our lives--requiring, as they do, natural ability, endurance, conditioning, strategy and no small amounts of courage and luck in addition to just the right amount of speed. Sort of like our political process, except for all the qualities I just listed (money is the great equalizer for some political parties).

Beyond politics, this is a solemn week as Passover begins today at sundown and yesterday, Palm Sunday, marked the start of Holy Week for Christians. Political life goes on, of course, perhaps tempered by the realization and recognition of a higher power, though too often (I fear) that's not the case and we plunge headless and often headless into the rut of routine without thinking of other, better and higher, callings.

At nine this morning in the Rose City Senior Center it's a meeting of the Senior Affairs Commission, though a check of their meeting minutes on line leaves me at a loss to understand if this is their first 2011 meeting or if the City of Norwich continues to fail to comply with State of Connecticut Public Act 08-3. Hmmm...

Tuesday afternoon at six, it's a regular meeting (but the last meeting minutes posted on line are from February, so maybe not) of the Personnel and Pension Board, all of whose members' appointments, not the members themselves, have expired.

At six-thirty in Council chambers, it's an informational meeting of the City Council (always fun to see how many alderpersons show up, especially this time of year as budget deliberations take a lot of the focus) on the repaving project on Canterbury Turnpike.

At seven, in the Planning Department basement conference room at 23 Union Street, it's a regular meeting of the Commission on the City Plan, whose agenda you'll find here.

And at seven thirty , it's a regular meeting of the City Council (albeit on a Tuesday because of the start of Passover on Monday) with a refreshingly short agenda that could prove to be the tip of the iceberg in terms of the length and, perhaps, intensity of this meeting. Something about tonight's sole topic makes me think again of Tom Sawyer's once in a lifetime opportunity to paint and how eagerly so many of us reach, first for our wallets and then for our paintbrushes. (Sometimes, we reach for other people's wallets; confusion abounds.)

At 8:30 Wednesday morning in their offices in the Norwich Business Park it's a regular meeting of the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments, whose April meeting agenda on-line link is broken as is the one for the meeting agenda of their Executive Committee.

At nine, in their usual meeting place, the community room of The Dime Bank on Route 82, it's a regular meeting of Norwich School Readiness Council (Children First) about whom much is published and little is updated (in my opinion).

Thursday afternoon at five in Room 319 of City Hall, it's a regular meeting of the Historic District Commission, whose meeting agenda and March meeting minutes are here.

Saturday afternoon, from noon to four in honor of Earth Day (and you forgot to send a card, didn't you?) it's a Repurposed Sculpture Exhibit at the Leffingwell House Museum. This has a little bit to do with picking up the leftovers of winter from around your neighborhood and bringing it to the museum to make into works of art (beauty and the eye, etc) and a lot to do with having some either hysterical or historical fun. You can get more information by calling 860.889.9440 or visiting their Facebook page. I don't know where you can get less information.

This has nothing to do with anything listed above, except that it's a beautiful thought wrapped in a delightful melody, magically executed. Everyone should have someone who inspires them to feel this way; I hope you, too, have someone like this. See you at something in the course of this week here on the Big Blue Marble, unless your luck is really good.
-bill kenny

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