There’s a particularly brutal scene in the movie “The Untouchables” in which Al Capone (played to perfection by Robert De Niro), in front of all of his lieutenants, gives a short speech about “the team” and then beats one man to death with a baseball bat. If you haven’t seen it, go online and search […]

Author’s Note: My Muse hit me when I walked the puppies, after reading a few items from the news, the Belgorod, demonstration shots, etc… took a little while to germinate this morning… – Arrias Winter Comes? A crescent Moon in a cold blue sky, A golden glow in the east, The Sun is on the […]

Jim Geraghty at National Review framed it correctly: if the US President believes we are on the precipice, that we face nuclear “Armageddon,” then that deserves an address to the American people, from the Oval Office, with all the seriousness that can possibly be mustered. Geraghty also raises the proper follow-on issue: Ukraine is not […]

Editor’s Note: Arrias was at The Farm to assist in Downsizing the Decades. His Muse is clear on this one. – Vic Author’s Note: My muse hit me on the head on the way home last Sunday, and I stopped and wrote down one line and then continued on home and lost the string… it […]

15 September 2022 Author’s Note: Watching the Hummingbirds – they must be leaving soon, then my Muse showed up… – Arrias Cool and crisp, crystalline clear, fall arrives, Ignoring calendars, hummingbirds’ last Probes for nectar ere their journey vast, But summer lingers, And still the roses thrive. Several trees start to drop their cloaks, Reds […]

Author’s Note: My Muse accosted me this morning… Plutarch of the Piedmont Land once surveyed by Washington, Patrick Henry passed this way, Farm land rich and lush, Fought for by Blue and Gray. His ancestors had a hand in building it, Helped lay down the iron rail, In his youth he defended it, Now he […]

The raid on Donald Trump’s house didn’t convince me of anything. Rather, it was a raid several years ago, a raid on the house of someone 99% of Americans have never heard of, that convinced me. The incident was more than 5 years ago. A fellow I know, I’ll call him “General Smith,” had been […]

William Tecumseh Sherman was a fascinating guy, and with his friend and boss US Grant, was one of the most talented practitioners of modern, total war. We probably spend too little time studying what he said about war, despite everyone quoting him. The fact is, he has a lot to say that is terrifyingly relevant. […]

Author’s Note: I had a great dream – did not want to wake up… My Muse working at it, as sailors you perhaps might appreciate this. Arrias & His Muse: Mermaid Naked she sits upon a large, flat rock, Perched on a tropic shore, Off shore, waves pound the reef, Serenaded by the sea’s distant roar. […]

Many moons ago, I recall being overseas – I think I was in the desert – and my mom and dad called me and told me about one of my nephews, I think he was probably 10 or 11 years old at the time. Mom and dad were so pleased I thought they might burst: […]