Author: Vic Socotra

Rough Riders

Rough Riders

The word about Truman’s entry to the Med came in through the dozen or so addressees in the Old Salt Collective distro. The Salts are as tough a lot as I have been privileged to know in this world, and their grizzle was earned in brilliant day and dusky night out on the World Ocean. […]

The Rains Doth Come

And they came- two inches worth-today. We had been dry, and God knows the consequences of itchy dry and a brisk wind and a spark in the night. So we will let the Santa Anna sleep for a while and get the green to grow as we head toward birthdays coming in June. There was […]

Situation Report: 07 April 2025

Just completed the Big Meeting which essentially said “Two weeks here in Woodbine if he continues therapy successfully unless an assisted living facility will take him sooner.” That is a pretty good bottom line but there are some other things flying around that need notation, at least. At the start of this Monday, Prime Minister […]

Situation Report: 06 April 2025

The arrival of the new room-mate has been an irritating entertainment. He appeared on a rolling cart yesterday in mid-afternoon, attempting to command the Rehab staff to bend to his will. I think his name is Ken, though there were no introductions. I recognized some of it from my own behavior last month, and the […]

Situation Report: 05 April 2025

We weren’t sure about what to do today. There was the natural inclination to blow things off with the weekend but the serious discussion with case manager Paula suggested there were already too many new best friends suddenly huddled by the fire and we need to stay focused through the case management meeting on Monday […]

Situation Report: 04 April 2025

My crowd worked in the Pentagon for two military tours of duty, or about six years spread across nearly a dozen in the District. There were some classic days there, mostly when I still had time to worry about how things worked and what the limits of professional conduct were. I was theoretically assigned to […]

Situation Report: 03 April 2025

“Morning!” Is how this would have started when the first message came into the scrambled stack seen just before dinner. At morning in a western square state, it had been 25 under cloudy skies. I answered about it being 81 under cloudy skies now in the face of the oncoming front, a quick check showing […]

Liberation Day

The title yesterday should have read “April Fools” or something and will refrain from any commentary on the outbreak of hostilities with Iran, the use of thirty-thousand pound bunker-busting aerial delivered ordnance, or the name of the big body of water west of Key West. Are we clear yet? With the deck suitably cleared of […]

Arrias and His Muse: Spring Storm

His Muse tickled his fingertips as the word of the storm came in. “A foot of rain in a couple days.” Morning, Fools! Welcome, April! Spring Storm The rain begins to fall Heavy drops on the window pane, Black clouds in a flat black sky, A flash of lightning again. A spring storm has come […]

Situation Report: March 31 2025

The institution which is managing our Rehabilitation started slowly today, easing itself into another vigorous week of emphatic success. That is what the Socotra House Legal Section told us to say, and to be flattering to both the Occupational and Physical Therapy staffs who are managing the process. We tried that, but the other stuff […]