As you journey over the picturesque Claiborne Pell Bridge, you are not just crossing the Narragansett Bay. You are

about to travel back centuries, to a world of cobblestone streets, horse-drawn carriages, and the emergence of our young country into a great nation.

Flying Kites, a non-profit organization, will host a fundraiser on Thursday, April 24 from 6-9 p.m. at Sardella’s Italian Restaurant on Memorial Blvd. in Newport.

The event will raise funds for a Kenyan orphanage (run by Flying Kites) and plans for a children’s center for orphaned, abused and homeless children in Kenya.

Pushing his blonde, shaggy hair out of his eyes, Andrew McMahon, 25, perfectly tuned his instrument. Piano rock, as many of his fans have dubbed his style, is what Jack’s Mannequin is all about. Six hours before his performance, on the stage constructed by students earlier that morning, McMahon sound checked the keys of his piano.

By now we have heard the number of days until graduation, how many more days left to procrastinate on the last of our homework assignments. We have heard the number of days we have left to go on adventures with our best friends who live down the street. What will we fill our numbered days with? How will we spend our minutes?

I can admit I have no reason left in me to look at my work; I would much rather spend an afternoon on the beach swinging towards the vibrant sunsets with my best friend.

Brian Kenny recently received a shipment of digital to analog television converter boxes in his Radio Shack store, but since the display went up in front of the register, the devices have yet to sell.

“As much as we’d like to have [the converters] here and get them out, it’s going to be a last minute thing,” said Kenny, manager of the location in the Bellevue Plaza Shopping Center in Newport, R.