All that stuff? We may as well just call these mornings exactly that, but generally sorted into what stack they are dumped. The tumult overseas is still mostly in two piles, the Gaza one still in the news as the Israelis have reduced most of the Hamas fighters. In Ukraine, President Zelenskyy fired his Air Force Chief after one of the donated F-16 Fighting Falcons we gave him was shot down by a donated Patriot missile we gave him, killing the highly trained pilot we trained.

National? There are 65 days to the big election in which one candidate is threatened with being jailed by the incumbents, who apparently fear jail time if they lose. The intense swirl of messaging is continuing to increase in volume and motion. We expect some drama to come after the strange first interview with Vice President Harris on CNN and the eruption of family squabbles in both the Kennedy and Walz families and the controversy over Mr. Trump’s appearance at the cemetery just to the east. We expect more drama and surprise, so stand by!

Things are also sort of nuts at the local level. We include the astonishing developments in Aurora, CP, which was briefly a home and thus totally local. That is where a Venezuelan gang has apparently taken over three apartment buildings and terrorized local residents. That was unusual in our time there, but this is an odd sort of season ending on this un-labored Labor Day.

Here in Arlington, we live near the Pentagon where many of us worked for years. We are a mile or so from the five-sided Adult Car Facility, near the neat little boxy brick houses built for fdr’s New Dealers now nearing a century in age. Most of the little bungalows now have decimal points in the asking price despite their small size, but they are placid and pleasant on the eye. But not the ears lately.

That could be attributed to the occasional missed-approach by airliners into Reagan National just ot oour south, or the low-fly-by of the Italian Flight Demonstration Team who visited the National Cemetery just up Route 50. But there were some more recent detonations and just up the block by the lush banks of the Lubber Run park.

The Arlington County Fire Department’s Fire Marshal announced the arrest of a local citizen following an investigation into ongoing noise complaints in Clarendon’s 5700 block on Washington Blvd. It’s about eight minutes from here on the way to the River, which would be of mild concern. We mentioned the fellow over there who assaulted a police officer early in the month and managed to discharge the cop’s sidearm in the struggle. No one was injured in that incident, but it characterized a change in the neighborhood.

The Fire Marshall was onto this more recent guy: Charles Peters, 77. He was arrested and charged with five counts of manufacturing, possession, use of firebombs or explosive materials or devices. That used to be a more rural sort of hobby. Charlie is having a less pleasant night than ours over at the Arlington County Detention Facility where he is spending his evenings without bail.

The Fire Marshal began an investigation ten days ago- 20 Aug- into a series of loud noises reported by residents along the north-south Custis Trail in the Bluemont neighborhood northwest of Lubber Run, which starts at the end of our block in lush greenery.

Comrade Josh over in Ballston just to our north noted that Mr. Peter’s residence in Clarendon, just to the east, has slid a little and now is inhabited by what he calls “sketchy folks.” We don’t know if that is the same sort of sketch as the Venezuelans who are occupying apartment buildings out in Aurora, CO, but it seems like a part of a larger trend in local affairs all over.

The Fire Marshal had identified Mr. Peters as a person of interest, but there is not yet information on how or what made him interesting. Whatever it was, the Marshall notified County and federal partners that he was executing a search warrant yesterday morning, Aug. 30, 2024, and what was discovered led directly to the arrest. They didn’t say what it was, but it must have been explosive.

The Fire Marshal announced there is no ongoing threat to the public, so we are going to relax and enjoy the holiday, and the last three days our pool at Big Pink will be open this season.

The investigation about the loud noises, firebombs, explosive materials or devices is ongoing. If you have information, we are all reminded to contact the Office of the Fire Marshall. The folks there are on alert, and we support their efforts while we are still outdoors until the pool is shuttered and the big green tarp is secured over the placid blue waters for the inclement seasons to come.

Enjoy the end of summer! If you hear explosions, you know who to call!

Copyright 2024 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com