I am out the door shortly to head north for the placid little village of Shippensburg, where generations of Socotra lie at their rest under the central monument of the muse Hope, who drags an anchor. I intend to work with my Cousin and his plat of the plot to determine where Mom and Dad […]

(Iraqi tank graveyard in the desert near Al Jahrah, Kuwait. In 1991, during the first Gulf War, a million depleted uranium shells were fired at Iraqi forces, spreading radioactive dust for miles around. Such dust is known to  cause various forms of cancer and other serious illnesses among humans. Or so they say. Photo USAF.) […]

(Discount urn, special deal for two. This side of it shows where Socotra Island is, and where Socotra will wind up. Photo Socotra.) I was looking at the urn that came in the mail yesterday afternoon. Fine piece of work. Not the one currently occupied by half of mom and dad, but the one that […]

(Box of Mom and Dad and commingled cremains in the urn. Tribal bedspread by Ralph Lauren. Photo Socotra.) It was a weird day- not bad, just weird. It was so chill after being so delightful on Saturday, and the stacks of tax records are numbing. I throw things that look like they have tax implications […]

(Bill, Betty and the 2011 taxes. Photo Socotra.) I walked over to Willow on Friday, happy that it was Friday and the working week could get buried. There was a lot to be thankful about. The line of ominous weather did not arrive in Washington, though it savaged the mid-section of the country and killed […]

(The technologically advanced but technologically challenged Chevy Volt. Photo GM.) Some of the press is all over the Volt debacle this morning. General Motors reached another milestone when it announced late Friday that they were suspending production of the amazing Chevy Volt for five weeks due to lack of demand. The Volt is an attempt by GM to meet the administration’s pledge to put […]

(A Littoral Combat Ship- this one the USS Independence fitting out. Navy Photo.)   It is easy to get my buddy Boats going. He is a crusty old Master Chief Boatswain’s Mate from the Hooligan Navy- the proud and ironic title used by member of the United States Coast Guard.   He told me one […]

(The Mittster takes our home state. Screen capture CNN.) My fellow citizens, it is leap day in this Leap Year, only the 15th of these bonus days I have seen in my life. That is unlike all the other days, of which I have 60 or more in my personal log-book. There are many more […]

 (The Harper Line of the old Detroit Street Rail System.) I got up early today, thinking the primary election in Virginia was today. I want desperately to vote against somebody, and they let independents throw themselves at the fray here, so what the hell. Of course, they did not let Governor Perry or Speaker Gingrich […]

  (National Security Certified cruiser in the rolling hills of Virginia. Photo Socotra.)   So, I wandered out of the front door of Refuge Farm yesterday morning. The light was coming up over the pastures, and the weather had changed. Someone had knocked the sky clear of clouds and the last brilliant stars were fading […]