(A sample of the hundreds of thousands of wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery as part of the Wreaths Across American tribute, 2015). My pal Point Loma wrote this morning to answer a question I asked after thousands of volunteers poured into Arlington National Cemetery to reverently (but efficiently) place hundreds of thousands of wreaths on […]

 So, they are going to indict Dave Petraeus, the General who arguably won the Afghan war before we decided to lose it, and whose dalliance with an Army reservist who was writing an adoring biography of him was revealed by the FBI poking around in his email accounts. I certainly would resent anyone from […]

The madness continues in France. It is still all first-report, and you know as well as I do that first reports are always wrong. What appears to be true it that the brothers Kouachi are dead, and so is a third who conducted his own separate rampage. I hope so. The brothers were holed up […]

I am not often at a loss for words, but I can find none that sufficiently convey the outrage I feel over this latest murderous assault on the West. Wait. Perhaps there are: Je suis Charlie: aujourd’hui, demain et toujours. Vive la France! Copyright 2014 Vic Socotra www.vicsocotra.com Twitter: @jayare303

I wrote this early, so I could recall the imagery. I am glad I did, since the news of the massacre in Paris drove everything out of my mind as I researched frantically to attempt to understand what happened, and why. I did a nice little piece on it, but I think I am going […]

I had been thinking about a road trip to clear my brain in the New Year- the trip back up from the Farm was delightful yesterday, and I like an open road with my Ray-Ban Wayfarers on and a grin on my face. Not today, though, and maybe not tomorrow, either. The timing of this […]

OK- sorry- it was clearly freaking interference and the stupid Cowboys should not have got a break from the stupid ref and the Lions should have won the game and gone on to meet the Packers next week. OK- that is off my chest and I can get on with life. It is sunny and […]

It is a gray day down at the farm, and it was a splendid morning to sleep in, once the matter of the bedside lamp disintegrating in the night was resolved to my satisfaction. Funny how seemingly solid things can just fall apart, isn’t it? On the way down, I stopped at the Nation’s Gun […]

(In the painting, God’s Own Gentleman, Patrick Griffin is shown with his commander, Colonel Randal McGavock, holding the “Sons of Erin” flag during the Battle of Raymond. Courtesy of Jerry McWilliams, SouthernCedarsGallery.com). There is a reason I am going back through the files- I will get to that, presently, but I am looking for the […]

I got off the Metro at Farragut West, and popped out on the street. The Square was nowhere to be seen- did I normally get off at McPherson Square? Disoriented, I made a furtive start to what I thought was the North, then stopped. The Army-Navy Club should be to the east, I thought, and […]