(From the Ashleigh Buyer article in Catholic Herald this morning.) Don’t worry, I am not going to go all ecclesiastical on you, but I respect people of faith, and appreciate the Judeo-Christian traditions of the West in a secular manner. But I also keep track of the holidays, even if every day is starting to […]

(Jon-Without with his parents, visiting from Upstate New York. Photo TLB). I drove the P-71 Crown Vic Police Car to Willow at the usual time. There were a lot of Arlington Cops out, and I got eye contact twice and one wave, a professional courtesy, I assume, because they knew what I was driving and […]

(Surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. Painting by John Trumbel, 1789.) I was talking to my best pal this morning. I said it appeared the world had gone mad, and was marveling at the developments in the deliberate crash of the Germanwings jet. Apparently Interpol detectives found a series of notes- ripped up- that would […]

(Mass murderer Andreas Lubitz in a lighter moment in San Francisco. Image cropped from a larger image in the Daily Mail). I was going to talk to you this morning about the horrifying events in France, when an apparently fully capable Airbus A320 jet flew into rugged terrain, killing all 150 souls on board. It […]

(Captain Phil McKnight, USN-Ret. A Great American. RIP). We lost another Great American yesterday. I suppose it is inevitable, but I am getting tired of it. Our pal Joe summed up our collective memory of Phil McKnight nicely this morning- he was on travel yesterday and didn’t get the word that Phil had left us […]

I hate it when things like this happen. I took a trip to East Davis Street last weekend to check out Clarke’s Hardware Store, a one-of-a-kind relic of the older and slower days in the Country. I was going to stop and get a drink at the Hazel River Inn, which is just across the […]

The Douglas A-1 Skyraider (formerly know as the AD- or, ‘Attack Douglas’ in Navy parlance) was a rompin,’ stompin’ airplane. It was an amazing crate, highly adaptable and the culmination of a generation of aviation technology. Dad- that is him above on the wing preparing to mount up- used to say that his could carry […]

(I get suggestions for fine dining from all over. I am a bit of a foodie, when I can afford it and seeing Tracy O’Grady’s culinary skills daily always has me read to truy something new. This is ČesneČka, or Czech Garlic Soup. Image courtesy of Viking River Cruises.) The temperatures brushed 70 yesterday, and […]

(The Cuyahoga River on fire in this file photo. It has not burned since. Photo AP). I know- it does feel like spring is around the corner this morning. It is about time- and I have to remember to swap out the propane tank on the grill and get ready for the outdoor cooking season. […]

“Yo! Vic!” I was startled in the rain. I keep to myself when I am down in the country, for the most part, though there was an animated conversation with The Russians about where Mr. Putin is hiding these days as Mattski replaced the hot water heater at his farm, and Biscuit the Wonderspaniel and […]