Author: Vic Socotra

Decoration and Memory

There is a brightness in this Piedmont morning. It is not unusual, since this is a lovely place with new bright green illuminated by the equally brilliant heavens above. It contrasts with the gloom of the past week, the perfectly natural parade of clouds and rain that in their time nurture the growing foliage that […]

Life & Island Times: Sunny Day in the Garden

It is a fine sunny spring day and great matters loom across the approaching horizon of American history. We think that ​Carthage is in our rearview mirror and that we’ll blend into time. What a bunch of dolts. America’s blood is soiled, and a dark angel sits in its brain. Will it take a “point […]

Life & Island Times: Loose Cannons

Another of America’s hidden cannons broke its moorings suddenly this past week becoming a strange, supernatural beast. An 18 year old suddenly was transformed into a monstrous armored loose cannon. His young bullied smallishness belied his billiard-ball moves, as he rocked and rolled with his irregular internal rotating, pitching, and yawing. Before he embarked on […]

D & J south sea treasures

Editor’s Note: We got something precious in the inbound traffic this morning. Well, there was more than that and it reflected the collision in currents in which we all sail. Our shipmate Marlow rang in from his Coastal Empire with a cautionary and lyrical allegory on social and nautical consequences of large things carooming with […]

Life & Island Times: TYFYS

Editor’s Note: This is a holiday weekend that has nuance. It is solemn remembrance in part, and the start of the summer season for most. Marlow takes a look at a now-common greeting in the context of his time. If you had a ‘draft number’ in your memory, you will share some of them. – […]

The Slide On In

So here we are. A major holiday is impending, one that used to be a bigger day than rotating what is appropriate to wear in what marked “winter” and “summer” clothing. Should the occasion arise, the Writer’s Section will drag the old seersucker out of the closet. Our Shipmate Marlow has some thoughts about Memorial […]

Weather Report: A Storm of Horror

We were going to make the usual attempt at some commentary on the events of the week. There are several of significance. We did the research and were ready to present the developments in complex, evolving and potentially dangerous situations. They span the globe, across broad oceans from Ukraine to India. That effort was left […]