Author: Vic Socotra

Life & Island Times: Wild No More

Editor’s Note: Marlow captures some of the emotion flying around. Some of the Salts have tried to follow the ground combat in Europe. It is a horror. – Vic Author’s Note: I spent the better part of the past several days reviewing longitudinally many months of Ukrainian-Russian battle maps, video war footage and reporting imagery. […]

October Surprises

As you know, we are retired. As individuals, and as a group. We gave up the partisan side of things, since it doesn’t appear there is much we can contribute to the discussion. We were participants in some of the previous surprises, so we retain an interest apart from passion. Those operations were only relevant […]

Weather Report: Attention on the Deck?

We had a minor squabble this morning. Had we actually sent the weather report this week? Our stab at amateur meteorology is part of another parallel project. Some day that one may someday show our progress along the road to perdition. As citizens, we can take a fairly broad view of it. For the Navy […]

Hole in the Ocean

They say the best two days of your life are the ones in which you buy and sell your boat. The days in between those two normally are filled with unsuccessful attempts to fill the hole it makes in the ocean with money. The topic came up due to discussion of seasonal arrangements for boats […]

Passing Times

(Nilo Ha Tien: A Novel of Naval Intelligence in Cambodia (Unabridged) by H.L. Serra) This was one of those bright Fall mornings in Virginia’s Piedmont. A front of crisp brisk air rolled in. The dawn fought with the remaining cold night air to bring an odd sort of tension to the small group smoking out […]

What Goes Up…

The big cold front started to tickle the Piedmont yesterday afternoon. It is coming southeast from the great Midwest and causing things to happen. The down-filled coats came out for the first time. They were not really needed until this morning, but the flat-screen treated us to a view of Marquette, Michigan, with images of […]

Arrias and His Muse: Winter Comes?

Author’s Note: My Muse hit me when I walked the puppies, after reading a few items from the news, the Belgorod, demonstration shots, etc… took a little while to germinate this morning… – Arrias Winter Comes? A crescent Moon in a cold blue sky, A golden glow in the east, The Sun is on the […]

Steadfast Noon

(A USAF B-52 with ordnance. The Big Fat Ugly Fellow (BUFF) is leading the big NATO nuclear exercise through the end of October). The two words were borrowed by planners somewhere deep in the bowels of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are intended to convey a sort of non-threatening military strength- the “steadfast” part […]

Life & Island Times: Apolitical Blues

​Author’s Note: We just completed our civic duty this afternoon by early voting in this year’s election. Here’s hoping that these blues lift, and our spirits rise. -Marlow How Voting Became a Central Issue in the Georgia Governor’s Race – The New York Times Early voting in the Empire in 2020 Copyright 2022 My Aisle […]

Milk Signaling

(Paddle and Bottle, one handmade, of an antique signaling system of uncertain purpose and value). The consolidation phase of things continues at Refuge Farm. We are edging into the “distribution” phase, the part when things have been placed in boxes and stacked to be carried away by helpful profit-takers. Something turned up from the top […]