(The line for the SRO crowd to enter the Old Chapel at Fort Myer, adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery. Photos Socotra). I was holding an early glass of sauvignon blanc on the third-floor balcony of the new Army-Navy Country Club House. The new structure consolidated all the separate functions of several older structures at the […]

No ruminations about pandemics this morning, or anything else, for that matter. Kenneth Scott Bates, Captain, USN-Ret., aka Mr. Sluggo, aka Scotty, will be laid to rest this morning at Arlington National Cemetery, and that is what I am going to fix my concentration. We can get back to other stuff tomorrow. For now, I […]

I am sure you saw the actual video tape, though we have known this was coming. President Obama has announced a plan to deploy up to 3,000 US Military personnel to combat the outbreak of the deadly Ebola disease in West Africa. Those forces will require a unique fusion of medical and force protection intelligence […]

It is scary as hell. The 2014 Ebola outbreak is the largest Ebola outbreak in history and the first in West Africa, with cases being reported in Senegal, Nigeria, Liberia and Guinea. Ebola is an infectious and often fatal disease that results in fever and severe internal bleeding. Previous outbreaks were relatively contained, and the […]

 I wish I had a legitimate case of writer’s block. I don’t. I have been writing madly since I sat down this morning. I just can’t do anything with it. Thankfully, Marlow came to the rescue. I need to get back to compiling the cook-book. The topics de jour on which I did not […]

The pool closed last night. It is the official change of the season. The mild summer lacked the squishy moist heat that we usually endure, and had the curious effect of never allowing the water to truly warm up much above 80 degrees all season. That had the practical effect of leaving us practically chilled […]

(Civil War Trails Interpretive marker located 1.75 miles from the original site of Stangster’s Station at Caboose Square in historical Clifton, VA. The original monument is at the lower left, with helpful maps and an account of the two actions at the Station in 1862 and 1863, All Photos Socotra). Steve, the new member of […]

(A vintage chart of the Orange & Alexandria Railroad line through present-day Clifton and down to Culpeper. Image courtesy NPS). It is sort of strange that one of the richest counties in America, proud Fairfax of Northern Virginia, should only have three actual towns: Herdon, Vienna and Clifton. The rest is partly historic, like Fairfax […]

(The SS Socotra as she was in December of 1915, with sampan amidships. Photo Le Touquet-Paris-Plage). The day passed without anything happening. Well, wait, let me rephrase that: the day passed without anything awful happening to rival what happened thirteen years ago. I am sure something nasty went on somewhere; it is the nature of […]

I wrote the date and then I had to stop. Thirteen years, almost to the tick of the clock. I watched the President last night, and I know only one thing: we are not safer today than we were then, and this is a mess. Despite all the blood and treasure we have spent since […]