(Christmas still life, with fire and Ivy League kindling. Photo Socotra). I envied the Russians next door. They have made a new wood-burning stove in their dining room, and the cherry glow of the fire makes it the warm centerpiece of the whole house. I should have had the chimney guy out to check mine, […]

You might be thinking of a right jolly old elf these days- I know I have been, though possibly not the one you have. It was a magical morning. On impulse, I switched off the mercury vapor lamp atop the telephone pole in the side yard and let the darkness slowly dissipate naturally list an […]

I am not sorry I am a little emotional about this holiday, and I am not going to bludgeon you with another recap of the news. We are either way too engaged in the circus act, or we are blissfully unaware that the elephants and donkeys are passing by in chaotic review. There have been […]

“We all know what to do, we just don’t know how to get re-elected after we’ve done it.” – Jean-Claude Juncker  ( “J-C” is 23rd and current Prime Minister of Luxemburg, who President Bush (43) once described as “a piece of work.” He is the longest-serving democratically-elected current head of any government in the world. […]

(The Vice President will lead a blue-ribbon panel to figure out gun violence. He is broadly experienced in legislation to control firearms. Photo CNN.)   Yesterday’s rant was toned down considerably for the daily story but it still irritated some of my readers, one of whom observed (more in sorrow than anger) about my descent […]

Things have been very strange this holiday season. I was getting gas over at the base yesterday- the filler cap for the Panzer is, as is Mercedes style, on the right rear flank of the vehicle. Most American cars have them on the left. There were vehicles in modest lines to accommodate the Lefties, and […]

(Sandy Hook Principal Dawn Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, left, and School Psychologist Mary Sherlach. American Heroes.) The horror at Sandy Hook- those innocent kids gunned down, the heroic ladies who ran toward certain death to protect them- is not going to go away. The other outrages of public gun violence seemed to fade with the passage […]

(Accessories available for the Bushmaster AR-15 similar to the one carried by the shooter in the Sandy Hook shootings. Barrels under 15” require approval by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and are not legal in all states. Photo Bushmaster.com) I wonder what is going to happen in the wake of the tragedy at […]

(Here is the seasonal display on the front door to Refuge Farm. Photo Socotra.) I am down at the Farm, and slept well in the new bed, thank-you very kindly. I should have dreamed, and I did not, thank God. I had arrived in full darkness, not surprising for this time of the year I […]

(Video capture of the response to the shootings at Newtown. Image courtesy of Fox17.) We were sitting at the Amen Corner at Willow. It was a Friday that had not gone that well. The Budget Cliff had everyone a little jumpy, and the awful news was the only thing that could push that into the […]