(The guys drove the Bobcat tractors around the edge of the pool, punching through the concrete in preparation for the front-end loader to pry up big slabs and stack them). It is a special time of the year for Budget Weenies and book-keepers of the Federal Flavor. I was in the Finance Committee meeting last […]

(The pool was completely drained yesterday. When we lived down in Florida, that came with the risk that the ground pressure from below would push it up and damage the integrity of the concrete. I guess we will see). Well, there is an upside to all this. I think. I am not talking about anything […]

(Two bar stools from the Amen Corner of the Willow Restaurant at their new home in Culpeper.) It was another emotional and tumultuous day. Two of my pals have lost their dogs; there is not a great deal more emotional in life than that, so my heart goes out to them. I was all worked […]

It won’t be the first time we have laughed about the old Chinese curse: “May you live in interesting times.” Hard on the heels of the Holy Father’s visit to Your Nation’s Capital, we have the visit of Chinese President Xi. There are a couple of interesting announcements associated with the visit. One will be […]

(Big Pink’s Old School Pool before the project begins next week). There is a lot we could get to in this edition of The Daily, now that things are pretty much buttoned up from the summer. Old Jim, Chanteuse Mary and Camus the Wonder Hound are driving to Las Vegas this morning. The Pope of […]

So, I was sitting in an excruciatingly long meeting in one of the anonymous squat towers on Rt. 7 when I got a text from Heather on my smart phone that I am too stupid to operate to full capacity. This one was fairly straightforward: “Join Old Jim and me for a drink?” Of course, […]

So, I drove over to the corner of Utah Street and Fairfax Drive in Ballston on a special mission- an epilogue, if you will. And even if you won’t. The destination was the place formerly known as Willow. The doors were open, and there were no lights on. Boxes filed with things to be moved […]

I will get to an account of the momentous events of yesterday, presently, or not. I have to get it in gear to drive back to the scene of the crime and pick up the two stools that Od Jim and I sat on for several years. But suffice it to say, in general order, […]

(L-R: Lovely Jamie, and John-with with Jon-without; Senior Executive Jeff and Vic on the right.) I am a little slow out of the gate this morning for a variety of reasons. Some of them are perfectly reasonable. Others not so much. I am free to say that no one crashed any cars and to the […]

Here are some pictorial vignettes from Willow last night. I don’t have the words to describe it all, and that (as you are painfully aware) is unusual. Between seeing my son again after two years, hearing of the imminent passing of an old pal, and the closing of a great place, I am really emotional. […]