Brian C. Jones

THERE WAS A MODEST but moving memorial last week at Salve Regina University to observe the shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. on Dec. 14, 2012. The bells at the university’s chapel played “Nearer, My God, to Thee,” followed by tolling of a bell 26 times, 20 for the students who were slaughtered; […]

We all like to think that in an emergency we’ll do the right thing. In a fire, we’ll run into the burning building to alert the family of 10. In a holdup, we’ll trip up the robber and thwart her escape. We’ll give first aid in an auto accident, perhaps a tracheotomy with a ball-point […]

​There is something uniquely sad about closing the home of someone who’s just died. At first glance, everything seems the same. The couch where the cat slept; the pictures on the walls, the same dining table, plants, chairs; same knives, forks and can opener. But suddenly they are foreign, drained of meaning and character now […]

As I drive around my corner of Aquidneck Island, I’ve noticed something missing: political signs supporting the presidential candidates. So far, I’ve seen just two places where there are Biden signs – one of which doesn’t count, since it’s sprouting from the hedge of my home in Newport’s “Fifth Ward” neighborhood. And I have yet […]

I had just turned 3 when World War II ended on Aug. 14, 1945, a hugely important moment in human history that was often referred to during and after the war as “V-J Day,” shorthand for “Victory over Japan Day.” So I can’t tell you first-hand about the how the news was received. Not only […]

There are a lot of terrible things happening in the country and the world these days, and this is not one of them. Nobody died, went hungry, was denied medical care, lost their job, got evicted, was mowed down by a drunk driver, copped a pardon or was treated rudely at the supermarket checkout. Frankly, […]

If ever there was a time to rip the words “Providence Plantations” from Rhode Island’s official name, this would seem to be it. With the nation newly energized to confront not only police killings, but the widespread oppression of Blacks, it makes sense to remove this obscenity from the state’s public title. Still, I’m going […]

Twelve weeks ago, when Suzi Van Ness turned her picture window into a public billboard, she hoped that the messages she displayed would amuse, inspire and challenge the random audience that happened to pass by her Newport home. Most of the posters have featured a quotation: the words of saints, geniuses, coaches, chefs and poets […]

You probably remember the news  President Trump made a few days ago – he’s taking hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug that he’s championed as a covid-19 countermeasure  but that doctors warn may cause heart problems. What caught my attention was his take on another subject: washing the dishes. That common household activity doesn’t seem to rank […]

IT IS EASY to lose track of time since the Covid-19 pandemic forced drastic changes in the lives of Americans. But one way to count the weeks in Newport is by the inspirational signs that Suzi Van Ness posts every Friday in the big picture window of her Fifth Ward home. Sign Number 7 made […]

WHEN I HEARD that world oil prices had turned negative – that sellers were paying buyers to take it off their hands – primitive but long-dormant instincts kicked in. I jumped into my car and headed out to see if gas stations on Aquidneck Island were going to pay me to fill it up. That’s […]

Editor’s note: Even though our regular columnist, Brian C. Jones, writes only once every two weeks, he has today off, and we’ve asked Phoebe, a “sweet” Labrador-retriever-husky-hound, originally from Missouri, to fill in. By PHOEBE LET’S GET THIS STRAIGHT: Society gives a lot of lip service to how much we care about our dogs. I’m […]