Yesterday was emotional in a way that none of the last twenty-five observances of that strange and lovely morning had been. It was a morning that became too busy to think about and too intense to fully channel, and one that would hold such horror—and so much energy and attention—through the next quarter century. Only […]

This is the view from the North East corner of Socotra Island, looking west. It is where some of this nonsense started when some of the current grand stand of people arrived to cheer the misadventures as the Persians and the Americans do their joustings at one another. And jeer. The ‘news’ from here is […]

This is where I left the story in 2011. You can see the Pentagon façade just under the overhang to the left. It is where the jet came in a quarter-century ago. The old Navy Exchange gas station was located at what was called Quarters K, a name left from the old Army layout on […]

What is a galley proof? Galley proofs are books in the pre-publication stage, sent around to interested folks who might want to review what is coming before the final version goes to print. Vic claims to have worked for McGraw-Hill in a previous century, and he reminds us that publishers used to send the things […]

Those were some of the volleys from yesterday. We did not put the three tankers CENTCOM struck on Monday on our map, including the one reported now on the bottom of the Persian Gulf. But you can see the ominous red lines of the missile tracks heading west from Iran. The reported target solution was […]

Hi! Afternoon from Fairfax in the Old Dominion of Virginia! It’s Deirdre here. I wanted to check in after the Production people got done complaining about the Chapter One and Chapter Two continuity problem. That dragged us back to why we are currently in Fairfax, and how this flexible living arrangement seems to suit people […]

Cooking for the Crowd Inline image Vic had the good fortune to be born in Detroit, a city famously located north of Canada, although explaining that geography to people elsewhere can take longer than eating lunch. It would be faster to just click through and order some. Speaking of which—here, have a pierogi from Pietrzyk’s. […]

This was an unexpected and tough morning we were not expecting until the end of the week. We we will not spend a lot of time describing the emotions that poured out of the little Alexa radio in the cube farm just down the passageway from the elevators and the Galley/Conference Room complex. Management likes […]

Miles said I could start with the big panorama of one of the patches of cabbage that came up with the breakfast fritters. You need to remember we are changing seasons here at Socotra House. The Creative Section is huddled with Production, attempting to get the manuscript for my Cooking With Oil book through this […]