There was a hell of a string going on about our days in the Fleet. Having achieved full Geezerhood, I had the time to react and reflect as some shipmates swapped sea-stories from our Fleet days. Vince said: “Reminds me of my squadron days. I had a great mentor: the VA-56 Leading Chief Petty Officer, […]

There is always a dynamic tension in communal living. I have seen it here at Big Pink, the place I have lived longer than any other in my life. I moved to the building in 2001, so that is fourteen years. The place is a condominium, so residency is relatively stable. It is diverse, to […]

(The Green Fairy- in fin de ciecle France, the five pm call to cocktails was called “The Green Hour.”) It was a fine, fine summer day that had just about everything in it- a high-tech demonstration of a internet search engine that seems to have the potential to change the whole nature of serious analysis […]

(Office of Personnel Management Director Katherine Archuleta’s Official portrait. I lifted it off the Government server like everyone else does). I have been bustling around this morning. The dashboard on the Panzer has been yelling at me quite insistently about getting “AO” servie, whatever that might be, for the past couple weeks. I finally got […]

It is no secret that things are pretty slow in the business of providing all-source intelligence analysts to the Federal Government. It was a pretty hot business sector when there were two or three major wars going on, but now not so much. A lot of us who were in the business for several decades […]

I was on a roll yesterday and actually read a book to try to get ready to tour guide the Australian delegation down to Nebraska Avenue. Between that, and the interesting relationship between the Nebraska Avenue Complex and Arlington Hall Station just across Route 50 from Big Pink I was so saturated with World War […]

(The Mount Vernon Seminary for Girls in the late 1930s before it became the Naval Security Station. Image from Bill Lockert, CTTCM, USN, Ret.). Man, that was a hell of storm that swept across the region yesterday. It was what was left of Tropical Depression Bill, the second named storm of the year that came […]

I am having a hard time getting started this morning. It is entirely possible that this is associated with the high level of noise from the cocktail nook at Willow last night. It was OK when we were doing it the night before with the Aussies, but this was a alien group who stole all […]

It was cheerful anarchy at Willow last night. Partially Australian anarchy, though the group was civil even as it became more lubricated and efficient. It was a George Costanza episode of Seinfeld- the one in which worlds collide. There were senior Naval Intelligence People, and the 18 bright and personable students from Down Under, and […]

I would really like to escape this sorry century and get back to something with a heroic scope and real consequences. I am on pretty solid ground so far, but I need additional information my Great Great Grandfather’s whereabouts after the Union humiliation at the Battle at Brice’s Crossroads, where the family DNA was saved […]