It has been a lovely few days here in the Swamp. Late Friday we got word from unbiased CNN that Special Prosecutor Bob Mueller was going to roll out some indictments against someone he has been investigating. No specific name, of course, since the anonymous leaker didn’t want to do something inappropriate.
I thought it might be General Flynn who was going to get bagged- which I found a bit curious, since he is about the straightest shooter I have run across in the flag ranks. But he may be going down, too. Just not yet. It gave me all weekend to not know anything, which is a bit of a relief these days. Instead, I motored down to the farm once the rains blew out to the east and the skies were cloudless blue and the low foothills of the mountains were tinged with color in the distance. Lovely drive and a few chores to be done.
On the way back, I stopped at my almost-favorite restaurant on historic East Davis Street to meet Paul and Kiim for lunch: “It’s About Thyme.” John Yarnall Thyme relocated his It’s About Thyme French restaurant from Philadelphia to Culpeper and changed its menu to broader European fare. He greeted us shortly after opening, and since we were early, he had a chance to just chat while enjoying a nice glass of Chardonnay.
I knew some of the story, but he explained that John’s two oldest daughters, Joclyn and Jodi, grew up in the restaurant business. After graduating from West Chester University and completing her Chef training at Cordon Bleu in Paris. That provoked all sorts of conversation, since Paul had been Assistant ALUSNA there- or, ‘American Legation US Navy Attache-‘ and we talked about life there, and great food and drink.
I view myself as a bit of a Thyme ambassador, and talk the place up, as well as the deli John opened next door, and my favorite restaurant just on the other side, below the deluxe two suite B&B he runs. The Copper fish offers seafood, but you can order off either menu since the central kitchen serves both restaurants. The tie breaker for me is that the Fish has a very nice bar in the back. We had a ball, and vowed to return the next time they were passing through Culpeper.
I drove back north that afternoon, delighted with the crisp clear fall weather thaat made me feel energized. I was back at the keyboard in the office when reports of breaking news began to come in- the usual uncertainty was first, and then the growing clarity that we still do not have over the Las Vegas mass murder. This one was easy: driver of a rented pick-up truck careened up the bike path on the lower West Side of Manhattan, striking bikers and pedestrians, killing at least eight.
29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov was halted by a school bus that pulled out to block his path. At that point, the citizen of Uzbekistan leaped from te truck and began shouting “Alahu Akbar!,” which pretty much sealed the deal as domestic terror. Mr. Saipov was not a US Citizen, but a green card holder. For some reason, he had been a winner in the improbably-named ‘Diversity Immigrant Visa Program,” congressionally-mandated lottery program for prospective immigrants who choose to try to do things legally as opposed to everyone else. Honestly, why exactly do we need more truck or Uber drivers here?
I don’t know. It was Halloween, but no one came to the door, and I thought I might as well just avoid crowds where all sorts of things can happen. I don’t think I would even take a free ticket to Game Sven of one of the more entertaining World Series I have seen. We will know the answer to that tonight.
Anyway, here is the post card for another amazed and slightly surreal week:
Copyright 2017 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com