Author: Vic Socotra

A Storm Comes Ashore

I had one of those dreams in the pre-dawn that left me unsettled as I wandered with divided focus down to the Loading Dock. I had been changing planes in a foreign airport, the international standards apparent, but with something behind them that wasn’t at all like home. I was a little disoriented, and partly […]

Coastal Empire: Angel Baby

Editor’s Note: Here is a note from the Coastal Empire that commemorates something real and personal, and has nothing to do with the various crises we are supposed to stay alarmed about. This is about love. It seems like a good day for it. – Vic Angel Baby 6-month-old Angel in 2010 Author’s Note: Our […]

The Supply Chain Thing

The Writer’s Section had some wistful smiles this morning, since it looks like the hurricane is going to hit New England rather than the Old Dominion. The smiles were a bit thin, perhaps, given all the other stuff we are supped to be worried about. But Marlow’s piece from his Coastal Empire this morning brought […]

Who Was That Masked Man?

I don’t recall much about local coverage of the Carter Administration. I joined the Navy in March of 1977, and spent a year in an assortment of entry-level training. The most memorable figure in that interlude was Drill lnstructor hSSGT Ronald C. Mace, USMC, who remains one of the most memorable characters in any of […]

Coastal Empire: Vos Papiers, s’il vos plait, Monsieur

Editor’s Note: Marlow is in this morning with some thoughts about the nature of identity, and the use of it in past and current times. The Writer’s Section at Socotra House murmured about it at the editorial meeting this morning, some from behind masks of dubious health use but solid social value. Consider Marlow’s views […]

Weather Report: Fire in the Whole

Exciting week, right? You should see the pile of digits reflecting the thoughts and raw emotions of people who have dealt with the litany of memorable actions with which America has played a major role down through the years. Some of the Writers Section participated in the evacuation of Saigon, now 46 years in the […]