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Vic Socotra

Author: Vic Socotra

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January 29, 2017 Vic Socotra

Life and Island Times: The Edge of the World at 60 MPH

They awoke the next morning to slowly clearing skies. They found the land around the motel was a dairy farm with milk cows grazing nearby. One by one they exited their room to survey the scene. This land was domesticated, neat, pastoral and pleasant. This landscape was everything yesterday’s was not. It was after they […]

January 29, 2017 Vic Socotra

Cagey Five

Editor’s Note: It is appropriate that we arrive with Mac at the end of the Pacific War just as Winston’s bust has been returned to a place of honor in the Oval Office and the British Prime Minister is in Washington to take the measure of the new administration. Mac would have laughed- there is […]

January 28, 2017 Vic Socotra

ERNIE (and Mac’s) WAR

(WWI sailor and WWII War Correspondent Ernie Pyle, seen here on USS Cabot when he was making waves with the Navy Department. Mac met him on Guam with the CINCPAC forward staff. Photo US Navy.) I tried to look at my notes from the most recent session with Mac at Willow and they are not […]

January 27, 2017 Vic Socotra

Life and Island Times: Devil’s Cathedral

Editor’s note: In these middle aged riders’ view, the staggering velocity of the 20th century was not just historically weird. It had been unsettling. Second Editor’s Note: Marlow’s tale of the Four Corners has been with me for several years. I am a firm believer that the saga of that epic ride on two wheels […]

January 26, 2017 Vic Socotra

Fish and Chips

Editor’s Note: I had finished the slides for the big Weekly Meeting when the news came in. The slate of nominees to be Service Secretaries is complete. We knew about billionaire businessman Vincent Viola’s nomination to be the next Army Secretary, formerly the Secretary of War. There is word that General Mattis was not happy […]

January 26, 2017 Vic Socotra

Life and Island Times: Scenic Sunday

Steve and Marlow had the conn for this Sunday drive of scenic landscape worship. As opposed to the Garmin toolishness of Augustus, using paper state maps and Marlow’s old marked-up road atlas they analogue planned the day’s route through three states of national and state parks and sundry attractions. They had visited these places two […]

January 26, 2017 Vic Socotra

Syria, China and the Trump Administration

If you haven’t paid attention to the civil war in Syria (entering its 6th year in March), the Assad – Russia coalition has moved deep into the city of Aleppo, and now controls all but part of eastern Aleppo. This means that Assad and the Russians are winning the war. It may take another year […]

January 25, 2017 Vic Socotra

Fronts

Editor’s Note: Whatever you think of the new and old administrations, one has to observe that the new one doesn’t mind working. The lights are on in the West Wing early, and the meetings are going all day, with periodic breaks to sign Executive Orders. What an interesting next four years this is going to […]

January 25, 2017 Vic Socotra

Life and Island Times: Recycled House of Christ

They were somewhere in western Minnesota when in the far distance a little white church turned onto the road and made its way along the route they were intending to ride. From far away, the church looked like a Coast Guard cutter sailing on the open prairie. Stopping to consider their alternatives, paper maps were […]

January 24, 2017 Vic Socotra

Branches and Sequels

Editor’s Note: We are off to an interesting week in Your Nation’s Capital. I am going to have to make a trip to the Commissary to stock up on popcorn. My favorite moment in the flurry of “They lie!” moments on the daily news cycle was the entertaining image of the distinguished Senate Minority Leader […]