I was the third in line at the polling station in the basement of the assisted-living facility kitty-corner from Big Pink. The building is for Dr. Charles Culpepper, who made his property available to build Culpepper Gardens in 1975, shortly after Big Pink began to rise adjacent to Route 50. Dr. Culpepper was a botanist […]

Everyone is doing some contortions this morning. The politicians are, of course, since tomorrow at this time I will be in a line with my fellow voters in the rain, squirming to stay dry. The rain is a factor in these events, particularly if the voting machines malfunction, and the people are wet and cold […]

NeoCons I set out this morning to capture the down-and-dirty politics at the microcosm level of Big Pink. Oh, it is a brutal struggle! The Old Guard on the board aloof, having tried everything in their long years of service, and now reduced to doing precisely nothing, except the anomalous acquisition of a billiard table […]

Local Politics Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neil, famed Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, once observed that “All politics is local.” He was explaining how the concerns of towns and cities around the country affect the actions of the Congress here in Washington, D.C., my adopted home town. Another fine observation came from Chris Matthews, […]

Lucky Bastard Sixty-two years ago today, the black smudge on the horizon over Germany was getting bigger. Viewed from the cockpit it was an ink-print from an errant thumb, a curious little mushroom that contained tiny flashes. It was a man-made cloud, composed of the residue of high explosives thrown into the sky over the […]

Bandits The bomber stream bored east, a gigantic silver snake that spewed contrails across a rich blue autumn sky, heading inexorably into the rising sun. That is where the fighters would come from, out of the glare, appearing suddenly, flashing by as dark shapes and the guns that bristled from the upper turret and the […]

Ray Bradbury knew about the end of the last good month of the year. He called it the October Country, which is a state of mind as much as it is a time. All the harvests are in, the first frost has visited, and the ghosts walk in the chill night air. The ghosts are […]

I have just about got Uncle Dick’s truck back to the condition that I think he would have appreciated. The new stainless exhaust is custom made to fit. The brakes work now, both primary and secondary. Stopping is a good thing, if you need to do that when you are going fast. I consider the […]

Series End I walked into the place last night, still in my tuxedo, black tie still proudly fixed under the points of the wing collar of my pleated shirt. It was the annual professional affair, the gathering of the Spooks. They were in from all over the world, from the War and from the far-flung […]

Rock Bottom I glanced at my watch, wondering what vagary of Washington rush hour had delayed my appointment. Traffic was brisk at the bar, commuters ducking in before jumping on the subway home. I enjoyed the first beer. It was a Virginia pale ale, a little bitter and quite tasty. I don’t drink much beer […]