Author: Vic Socotra

Life & Island Times: Our New York State of Mind Part III

Editor’s Note: Marlow is on a roll, celebrating a trip that incorporates rails and rambling up the major East Coast thoroughfare to fabled New York City. The other ‘role’ in the equation is the nature of life in what was our American Century. To give that matter some holiday treatment, in accordance with the Chairman’s […]

Arrias: Will They Go?

It seems that something is brewing. And it probably isn’t going to be pretty. Putin wants more of Ukraine, Xi wants Taiwan, and the Mad Mullahs in Tehran want nuclear weapons. And has anyone heard from young Mr. Kim in Pyongyang lately? About 10 months ago I asked the question “Will he go?” of Emperor […]

Life & Island Times: Our New York State of Mind

Editor’s Note: Marlow takes us further in his rambles on the rails. Herein, he finds an essence in a city that was the center of a world. Dad looked at the wonder of it across the the water. Mom worked in the Chrysler Building. They started married life in Brooklyn. For their 65th Anniversary, we […]

Life & Island Times: Take an Amtrak Picture

Editor’s Note: DeMille was relieved this morning. Splash had submitted one of his “Winds of Change” pieces for publication in which he claimed to find a link between the astonishing landscape of today, how it came about, and where the extraordinary transformation of good ‘ole America is likely to go in the coming new year: […]

Life & Island Times: Tripping Northward

South Carolina Overnight Train Scene Editor’s Note: We were going to run this tomorrow, but some inspired responses prompt an early go. – Vic Author’s Note: As promised earlier, here’s an installment of photos from and thoughts on our December journey out of CovidLand to, from as well as during our Big Apple stay. Have […]

Kafka-Trapping

(Author Franz Kafka on one of his better hypnotic days before what he might have called “Der Grossen Krieg.” The group at the First Ring was fully caffeinated. DeMille tried to establish order. “We have to find a way to use a cool quote for the title. Then fill it in with some festive anecdotes […]

Morning Got Broken!

(Virginia morning, Dog Holler image courtesy Arrias). The crowd was afire on a magnificent morning. One of the Interns had her phone and showed us the incoming from Tidewater down the road. None of the rest of us were smart enough to have our phones with us- a result of having to go through Security […]

The American Century, Part Two

“In the history of the world, never has a nation come into power, wealth and world influence as rapidly as the United States in the 20th century. The “American Century,” as some historians have labeled it, saw a union of states that had almost split apart in the 1860s rise to world power status and […]

The American Century, Part One

Splash was agitated. The warm spell that accompanied the tornedo outbreak that swept across five states had everyone a little on edge, since Melissa has family out there. It was close enough to some of them that a short drive could have taken them to see the devastation in Mayfeld, Kentucky. If the roads were […]