(The familiar Crown Victoria was one of the cruisers waiting for me outside of Culpeper yesterday. The other one was a new-issue Taurus Interceptors like this one. Image Christopher Ihara, courtesy of Virginia State Police). So, it was a Good Friday. I did not get to you yesterday because I was responding to a lot […]

(The snow this week made the line for SCOTUS tickets an interesting experience. Image courtesy NY Times). Things are getting better. I walked a couple miles yesterday- the session with the VA doctor early in the week galvanized me to get out and start trudging, regardless of the lingering chill of winter. It was a […]

(The new million-dollar bus stop at Walter Reed Boulevard and Columbia Pike in South Arlington. Only half was for construction- the rest was management overhead. Photo Arlington County.) I have several friends who are passionate about their gardens, and they have taken the time to write me extensively about selection of plants, herbs, and defensive […]

It is officially Spring, so of course the morning is completely screwed up. Yesterday, I was thinking about green shoots, and snow peas and hot peppers and the growing season to come. I will have an account of some of the pithier suggestions for avoiding green-horn mistakes in the garden, maybe tomorrow. It was fun […]

(Biscuit the Wonder Spaniel expresses her thoughts about a sunny Culpeper day. Photo Socotra.) I have not listened to anyone speaking on the radio since Friday. It has been tunes, tunes, and more tunes: lyrical ones, cynical ones, wistful ones. It is always a welcome change to pass outside the concrete barrier of the Beltway […]

(Action in Abbottabad: Team SIX in action in the film “Zero Dark Thirty.” AP Photo/Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Jonathan Olley) I have only seen two movies this year, and as we end the first calendar quarter, I doubt if I will see that many more. I was interested in “Zero Dark Thirty,” for personal and […]

I don’t imagine things can get much stranger, though I have been wrong about that many times. I was waiting for an appointment the other day and did not have the iPad with me, and looked at my alleged smart phone to see if there was a way to waste time. I clicked on one […]

By the time I finally got there, the gang at the Amen corner had already built up a pretty good head of steam. Sabrina got a new haircut and highlights and looked sharp. Old Jim was in his usual seat. Satchel was attempting- apparently successfully- to envelope one of the enormous corned beef sandwiches the […]

It was a gray and rainy Sunday with a pervasive chill that seemed to deny the impending change of season. I should have gone down to the garage and sorted through some stuff, but they said the cold rain would continue all through the day. The Russians had mentioned the possibility of going to the […]

  (The Bureau of Navigation, predecessor of the Bureau of Personnel, in its salad days. Arlington National Cemetery is behind the building. The Pentagon is off the frame to the lower right. Photo USN.) It will be Spring tomorrow, Dammit. It had better. It is gray and chill and spritzing this morning, not much different […]