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Vic Socotra

Author: Vic Socotra

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February 2, 2019 Vic Socotra

Arrias: Another Modest Proposal

Jonathan Swift, where are you when we need you? Roughly 300 million people have died in all the wars ever fought. Slightly less, between 250 million and 300 million have been killed by their own governments (perhaps a quarter of them by Chairman Mao). Maybe 600 million in 6,000 years. Worldwide, since 1973 nearly 1.5 […]

February 1, 2019 Vic Socotra

The Big Chill

So, it has been cold lately. Bitter freaking cold. They call the phenomenon the “Polar Vortex,” most severe such blast of arctic air since the mid 1980s, when they were telling us to panic about the coming of the next Ice Age, which apparently was caused by prehistoric SUV use by my Neolithic ancestors. The […]

January 30, 2019 Vic Socotra

Swamp Postcard: Putting the Fun in Dysfunctional!

Putting the Fun in Dysfunctional! I am pinned down at the farm by the Polar Vortex and icy roads. The Piedmont of Virginia is never quite ready for these things, and we have it far better than Chicago or Detroit where there are weather emergencies in progress and temperatures dozens of degrees below zero (F). […]

January 29, 2019 Vic Socotra

Life & Island Times: Motorcycle Boy Blues

Youth is gone A tear in your eye All alone with your toys You wonder why What is this thing Happenin to you Motorcycle boy blues Motorcycle boy blues Had things so together Now they’re fallin apart Rode the winds With all your heart If it just don’t work It’s not because of you Motorcycle […]

January 28, 2019 Vic Socotra

Arrias: Socialism and Motherhood

There’s been a lot of talk about Socialism and Socialists of late, with several being elected to Congress. All this even as Venezuela – a land blessed with natural resources – unravels under socialist rule. When challenged that socialism has never worked, the Socialists respond that true Socialism has never been tried and that if […]

January 26, 2019 Vic Socotra

Last Cruise of the Battleship Nagato

This series of stories is dedicated to the memory of Edward Smith Gilfillen, whose recollections should have been told long ago, and for all the Atomic Veterans whose lives were cut short due to exposure to radiation at Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll and the Nevada Test Site, among other places. Last Cruise of the […]

January 25, 2019 Vic Socotra

Swamp Postcard: Guns Drawn! Lights, Camera Rolling!

It has been quite a week- which I know you get tired of hearing, since the Swamp has become stranger with each passing week. Amid the government shutdown, legislators took the weekend off as the Coast Guard prepares to meet a second pay period without….well you know, pay. Maybe they should be authorized to retail […]

January 22, 2019 Vic Socotra

Commander’s Moon

We have the second night of The Big Moon down in Culpeper County, one of those remarkable times when the orbital mechanics of our fractious solar system bring our hurtling orbs a little closer together than usual. It is an awesome view from the back deck at Refuge Farm. The pastures are bathed in silver, […]

January 21, 2019 Vic Socotra

Arrias: Rotting From the Head Down?

Comedies are often far better at revealing subtle truths than are drama; perhaps that’s why good comedies are more rare than good dramas. In a scene in the movie “Major League” the Cleveland Indians, ahead by one run, face a tight situation: runners on, the big Yankee slugger stepping into the batter’s box. The relief […]

January 20, 2019 Vic Socotra

Life & Island Times: Riding Lessons

After an 18 year hiatus from motorcycle riding, I decided in my late 40s to begin again. I decided to take a three day safety riding course that, if passed, would exempt me from displaying my skills at the local DMV, when applying for my Virginia driver’s license endorsement as a legal two wheeled rider. […]