Hi! Vic here this morning, deputized by Section Leader Miles to cover the morning watch with the Time Travel Bridge while we wait to see whether the emerging peace holds—or whether we return to limited combat over the Really BIG Stuff later today.

We think Miles wandered over to the VABC store on Route 7, so we’re doing what we can until he gets back.

The morning got off to a rough start with reports of yet another assassination attempt against the President. The initial bulletin proved to be legitimate, although the armed suspect had apparently positioned himself in the underbrush near the golf course a day or two before the President’s scheduled arrival last night.

Still, these incidents are beginning to occur often enough that they’re making everyone uneasy.

That news had the newsroom a little agitated while we waited for the Michigan Senate primary to be called. By the time we finished our third cup of Black Rifle coffee, we decided the best therapy was sorting through another box of old family photographs that surfaced while clearing away the debris left behind after the last two Alpha Strikes along Iran’s southern coast.

Whether it is simple exhaustion—or the realization that everyone has seen enough—it appears the Gulf partners bordering the Strait of Hormuz have joined the United States in telling the Persians that it may be time to lie low for a while.

The real question, of course, is for how long?

That makes these old photographs unexpectedly interesting. Some are well over a century old and carry improbable dates like 1881, along with handwritten notes that raise more questions than they answer.

One photograph simply identifies a young man as “Uncle Jim Clendenin” and notes that he departed for Missouri on 31 March 1881.

Why?

A little modern searching suggests one possibility.

That winter had brought exceptionally heavy snowfall across the Dakotas. Spring remained unusually cold, delaying the melt until late March. When it finally came, rivers rose dramatically, producing what became known as the Great Missouri Flood of 1881, with water levels reportedly rising more than thirty feet in places and causing millions of dollars in damage.

Perhaps Uncle Jim—whoever’s uncle he eventually became three generations later—headed west simply because people were needed.

Sometimes one faded photograph opens a door into history.

We could leave it there.

But since we’re keeping count of the number of times we’ve reached what everyone assures us is the final and complete agreement with the Persians in their continuing International Waterways Carnival, we’re not completely confident we’ll actually make Happy Hour this evening.

Copyright 2026 Vic Socotra
http://www.vicsocotra.com