(Secretary of State John Kerry.) I had to look away from the train wreck in the Middle East yesterday and appreciate the bizarre, subtle and ultimately sort of comforting antics of the North Koreans. The current basketball diplomacy with goofy Dennis Rodman, following immediately on the heels of a stern rejection of a visit by […]

(NBA Hall of-Famer Dennis Rodman (right) and the Outstanding Leader (far left). The translator in the back is the same one who helped me when I lunched with the DRPK’s General Secretary years ago. Job Security. Photo KCNA via Reuters). Well, put away the white shoes. Summer is over. The pool is shuttered today; Milos […]

OK- sorry. I am a little distracted this morning. As you know, I have been sort of agitated of late. Change of circumstance and all that- new digs, new situation, pool closing, LTJG Socotra getting ready to ship out for the Fleet. There is a feeling of change in the air, the seasons doing their […]

(Entering the Big Pink Pool. Photos by Miłosz Borkowski with the underwater Nikonos.) I was whistling “LA Woman,” by the Doors this morning, since “This is the End” is too dark for such a bright morning. It seems to fit- we blasted through the summer like a speeding convertible on the I-5. We left August […]

(Beef on Weck sandwiches flank an order of pommes frites with Buffalo brown gravy at Willow last night. Photo Socotra). It was important- and I had to balance priorities, something I have never been particularly good at doing. It was the last Friday of the month, and you know that means the All-American Buffalo, New […]

We are about to run out of cute literary asides to great works of the past as the future sweeps over us. Along with all the other scribblers about these great matters, I am looking for the next hackneyed line to use. Old Jim had some words for me in that regard as we relaxed […]

I paid attention to the celebration of Dr. King’s Dream Speech down on the Mall yesterday. There was a light drizzle and gray skies that apparently held down attendance. In the original, there were a quarter million people in the audience. For the anniversary, the only number I heard was 20,000. I can’t confirm it, […]

I don’t think the President is going to authorize the strikes on Syria today- he is speaking from the Lincoln Memorial, from the very place where one of my American heroes uttered the wards that ring down the decades. (Stan Levison and Clarence Jones) The prepared speech- done the night before by New York businessman […]

(Restaurant Week breaded scallops. All photos courtesy Willow Restaurant) I would prefer to be writing an account of Restaurant Week at Willow. Tracy O’Grady has doubled down on the chance for broader exposure of her restaurant, and extended the special menu through next Saturday, and was open on Sunday, an unusual event. Staff looked like […]

The two letters- Mike and Charlie- are the code we used to enter in the itinerary portion of our travel claims, back when such things were actual pieces of paper. “MC” meant the journey was done, the activity complete, and the mission accomplished. I did not have that feeling in the afternoon. I was stuck […]