Some of us are living in the past these days. I know I have been. It is a treat to wander through the cultural wreckage of the American Century, and the long Cold War. It is hard though, since you have to make lunch and dinner in the present, and what lurks around the corner […]

Bien Dans sa Peau Comment le Pédé Va T’il?, Part Five Photo copyright Graham Cullimore, car Rebuilt by Frome 2CV I walked across Avenue Gabriel from the Embassy to do what the Captain told me to do. I was to wait for the French National Police to pick me up and brief me on the […]

My associate has had a variety of names in his official life. Let’s pick one for him now. “Associate” seems so cold and detached, though that is part of the business personal involvement can lead to attachments, which in turn can lead to bad decision-making.   Let’s call him “Tom,” since that links nicely to […]

SNAFU Comment le Pédé Va T’il?, Part Three At the end of 1952 in Washington, there was hope and despair and confusion. Fleet sailors knew the feeling, and they had a word for it: SNAFU. “Situation normal all f***ked up.” The new role of Washington fit the Republic like a ready-made suit in the wrong […]

Philipe Thyraud de Vosjoli, Chief of the SDECE   1952 in Washington.   The War years had transformed Washington from a sleepy southern town to the bustling center of a new world. While assigned to the Naval District Intelligence office at the Observatory, I had a room in the Kalorama neighborhood north of Dupont Circle, […]

Very truly yours, A.A. Christides U.S. Treasury Representative, Paris, France December 31, 1952   Good morning. The time-ball is still up, and I have time to start a story, though not complete it in this sitting. I got another long note from my associate who is retired now, and deep in the country. He is […]

I had a hole in the day’s schedule. It was quite remarkable. I got back from the weekly meeting and checked the schedule I saw that there was nothing between me and the latest storm’s arrival in the afternoon. Things have been so crazy for so long that I was momentarily stunned.   I realized […]

  I have a chance to purchase the death certificate- the one with the date left blank for the owner’s convenience. I had not been to the “motors” section of eBay since that wonderful tipsy evening when I purchased a 1973 SLK-350 using a new program called “Sniper,” which tracked the bidding on the vehicle […]

Anastasia is the Queen of the dogs, and naturally, her subjects include all the dog people of Big Pink. She is a stately lady with silver hair and an erect regal carriage. I include myself as one of her subjects, since the former marital dog comes to visit when the ex needs the time off, […]

VADM David C. Richardson and the Operator’s perspective on the creation of the Ocean Surveillance Information System   VADM David C. Richardson, 1966   Gentle Readers, OK, I am lazy this morning. I have things to do. I got up late, and instead of being juiced with the thrill of the weekend, I got lost […]