The Boomers and Zoomers were at the table early on Friday. There were some stories to clear up that had languished over the flurry of alarming news about the shootings here in downtown DC, and the apprehension about danger to the parades on Thanksgiving Day. Black Friday earned its name with the news that one […]

Twenty minutes ago there was gunfire down between the White House and Farragut Square. Preliminary reports are about a lock down at the Treasury Building after two National Guard personnel, unidentified and with conditions not yet released. Gunman not yet apprehended. The two victims were reportedly walking down the street. The safety of such behavior […]

Jimi Hendrix would have been 83 tomorrow, and the Boomers who heard the great guitarist’s music in person always reserve Thanksgiving Eve to do some preparatory celebrating. We sympathize with Jimi Hendrix, whose birthday is on Thanksgiving and we feel he always got short-changed on his personal holiday. The traditional Turkey Day festivities normally overwhelm […]

Activity started early this Sunday. Those who unashamedly practice devotion to their Faith on this day of the week were up early and had shaved or donned fresh frocks, depending on what or who they were identifying on this delightful morning. They were the first to see the Police lights illuminating the intersection down below […]

Dear Readers, this is a sort of exciting event. A project I had been working on in 2009-2010 with Rex was put aside after his death, followed by that of his lovely companion Jinny Martin, I scrambled to try to make sense of it. Then my folks passed away within four hours of one another […]

This was Vic’s great Aunt, the renowned Nellie Bly, nick-named for the intrepid lady aviatrix in the early age of flight. She retained that nickname beyond the recollection of anyone who knew her in a legal perspective. Vic waved his tablet that displayed the fruits of two Artificial Intelligence algorithms to demonstrate what the faded […]

Front Matter — Long ShadowsTitle Page LONG SHADOWSBy Vic Socotra Socotra House PressArlington, Virginia Copyright © 2025 Vic SocotraAll rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission […]

This was, at one point, an official US Navy picture of one-time grooming standards in the the Sea of Japan. The thought had been, as best we can reconstruct the reasoning, that after the loss of the Vietnam conflict, recognition should be made to the changed social standards back home. And make shipboard life a […]