(The McLean House today. It was dismantled after the war, and stored in pieces as preparation for display at the Great Columbia Exposition of 1893. It never happened, nor did the plans to reconstruct it in Washington, DC. It was not restored until after World War Two. Photo US Park Service). My friend and I […]

(The Five Forks. Lee ordered George Pickett to “hold the junction at all costs.” Inexplicably, Pickett went to lunch and his leaderless troops were routed, closing the last rail line to Richmond and Petersburg, and forcing their evacuation. Photo Donald Hogan). One hundred and fifty years ago today, Robert E. Lee looked at the papers […]

(New Nats hurler Max Scherzer sparkled early in his first start for the Nats. he got tagged with the loss, though. Photo Fox 5) It was an absolutely superb Opening Day in Northern Virginia. It has a certain languor to it that the first days of warmth convey. The skies were clear, and though a […]

(Mark taught us in the conference room of this Wells Fargo branch in Clarendon. Photo Wells Fargo). Van Dyke and I went back to school yesterday. We had been scheduled to take it last month, but one of the interminable winter storms swept across Fairfax County and forced cancellation at the range near Fairfax City. […]

(An image of the second eclipse in the current tetrad event. Photo: Adalberto Roque, AFP) On this weekend, holy to Christians and Jews in the spirit of life and resurrection, there are those who can still find ominous portents. We have talked about it before- the occurrence of the Blood Moon Eclipse. This is the […]

(Mom and Dad, 1949, getting ready to leave NJ for Detroit and the Big Auto Boom). I didn’t intend to go this way this rainy Arlington morning, but I am in a bit of a pensive mood. I have several correspondents whose communications are treasures- ongoing narratives of thought and adventure. One pal has discovered […]

(The bizarrely colored former CIA training facility prior to commencement demolition. The Ballston neighborhood was Spook Central- the Original NIS/NCIS HQ was across the street and the Original NSA and DIA was about a half mile away. Photo CoStar). It is a tough time to have opinions about anything these days, and as you know, […]

This is the day when a person has to be extra alert to detect pranks and other tomfoolery. I was expecting the announcement to come on the Iranian Nuclear Deal, but I think any revelations will have to come on a less emotionally fraught day, maybe tomorrow, and before Passover. People are playing jokes on […]