I am bustling around trying to get organized for the memorial service, since I have confirmation that my 91-year-old-date will be ready for pick up at his residence over in Ballston at 12:45. The man we will memorialize was blown up in an IED attack in Iraq last year and struggled with PTSD since returning. […]

Admiral Mac drove over to the Willow in his golden Jaguar- first trip out since he took ill earlier in the summer. We agreed to meet and resume our informal discussions of the latter part of his time in the Navy, and specifically the events that surrounded the capture of the USS Pueblo and his […]

(Pandora’s Box missile launch system. ) It was the best of times and the worst of times…wait a minute; that has been used someplace. Let me try it a different way. It was a good day tinged with the sepia of coming change. Someone said it had been the best day of the Washington summer, […]

Sorry about the hacking yesterday. Don’t click on links. We will see if I have to shut this account down. Change your passwords frequently. Take your castor oil. Eat your peas. I was going to tell you about Doc’s battle with the implacable government today, but we lost another hero. It is purely coincidence that […]

(Willow warm Guerierre Cheese Puffs. Photo Socotra.) “You would have to blame Bush, you know?” I looked with envy at the warm Guerrierre cheese puffs pastries on the Willow Bar. Old Jim, his brother-in-law Nick and his long-suffering bride Mary were seated up the mahogany from me, and making a dinner off the $5 neighborhood […]

(T. Boone Pickens in the doorway of his ranch. Photo Pickens Army.) “A fool with a plan is better than a genius with no plan, and we look like fools without a plan.” -Mesa Oil founder, billionaire and unlikely environmental activist T. Boone Pickens Ack, it’s Monday. Hate it. I looked back on the weekend […]

(ENS Socotra at left, having received his certificate of completion from NIOBC in accordance with NETC regulations. Photo Socotra.) It was a huge weekend. It cascaded from bright sunshine at the beach on Friday morning to dark clouds on Sunday. I woke Friday to the sound of a Jodie Call from a formation of naval […]

(AOL is hosed up this morning, gentle readers, so imagine that attachment 1 goes here for important foreshadowing.) It was so delightful a day yesterday that it was hard to believe that the market had lurched into near panic again. I wasn’t panicked; I was preoccupied with sending frantic e-mails about some rare new business […]

(Butter Poached Lobster Tail & Lobster Ravioli with Creamy Fennel Gratin, Savory & Sherry Lobster Sauce. The Lovely Bea and Jon-with -no-H’s cocktails, courtesy of Big Jim complete the tableaux. Photo Socotra. It did not look like this for long.) Well, the Government did it to us last night. A “request for proposal” dropped on […]

(Big Jim the phlegmatic Willow bartender whipped these fish tacos up personally. Photo Socotra.) My associate was beaten up from proposal work. The crazy gyrations of the Government this year- continuing resolutions, course changes and policy uncertainty- have made this a weird season. There are supposed to be Task Orders coming out this week, first […]