Author: Vic Socotra

Neith: Goddess of the Hunt. And Me.

This is a story about a boat, so bear with me. It includes the modern manifestation of the Egyptian Goddess of the Hunt and record-setting ocean crossings. It only includes me for a few months, but it may have been a tipping point when something got in my blood and never could get rid of […]

Life & Island Times: Treading Water in the Deep Blue Sea

Editor’s Note: This is a marvelous muse on the measure of a Boomer’s journey through time, space and emotion. – Vic Marlow Note: Dear Reader, During the plague, I penned various dark pieces that hid in the dust bunny filled corners of my Draft email folder. As our country was on the cusp of exiting […]

Could “It” Be Happening “Again?”

“So, are they going to do it again?” Splash was cranky this morning, and his question was stated as fact. Loma was languid. “What do you mean by those two thoughts? You say “it,” and then you say “again.” What the hell are you talking about?” Splash thought for a moment, or at least gave […]

Weather Report: Storm Before the Calm?

DeMille looked up, already prepared for the Wednesday production meeting. The Salts and the lovely Melissa were grouped in various states of eager participation and a certain somnolence. “It is December,” he said gravely. People looked at one another with uncertainty. Some tried a smile. Others did not. “So, the Supreme Court is going to […]

Sailor, Red Sky at Morning

Sorry Gang. The morning missive got lost in what threatened to become a physical alteration between the Fire Ring and the coffee pot on the Loading Dock. The caffeine dispenser has few of the benefits of the ones back on the big decks we used to ride, and that got Splash going. We warned him […]

How Do You Say Independence?

The only mountains in Ukraine are in the west (the border with Romania), the Carpathian Mountains. Most of the rest of Ukraine is either steppe – grassland – or woods. Much of the forest has long since been converted into farmland and it was across the farms of Ukraine that German tanks swept with great […]

Skipping “Nu” and “Xi”

Mondays have always been a tough day for people shackled to the working world. We are fortunate that the Writer’s Section has a built-in antidote from the lives we used to live. One of our better scribblers hones a piece through the week, polishes it on Sundays, and provides finished copy for release as soon […]

The Guys We Grew Up With

The overnight digital harvest brought a remarkable series of authentic WWII images, carefully modified to reflect the original colors of the scenes of a massive conflict. It made me think of the pictures we grew up with. So here they are, in the original B&W… Copyright 2021 Vic Socotra www.vicsocotra.com

Black and White, In Color

(Rocket contributed this color version of a squadron patch from 1944. He said his Uncle’s unit had it manufactured prior to their deployment to the ETO. That was the color version of an old war, otherwise only visible in Black and White.) Sorry. We are going to veer off the usual litany of current crises […]

Constitutional Crisis

It is a relief to be done with Turkey Day, not that it wasn’t fun. The next major holiday is nearly a month away, and we are sure will will see the same sort of unbridled hostility to it. The Chief directed a certain amount of Hallmark Channel programming would be added to the daily […]