(The pie was quite real when it popped out of the oven).

It took 15 ballots to confirm things, but we are in general but closely divided unity. One segment is our group on the hill west of the District and the one downtown where they capitalize The Hill. One segment of the Writer’s Section group was concerned that a visit of some of the Chairman’s family was impending. That offered the opportunity for continued holiday joviality without having to account for whether it was the 12th or 13th Day of Christmas, depending on denomination. The other necessity was the matter of lingering family matters in the Socotra Company, not dissimilar to those being conducted Downtown. Both streams include transfer of real property in uncertain times.
And so it started. Family matters, big ones and family ones.

We decided to act like everything is normal. The holiday routine continues while transitioning to a discussion of future events and their resolution. That included matters of family-owned plots. And how to get there. The confusion on The Hill was useful backdrop, reminding everyone on the balcony that there are large interests in the world and some of them are. moving with unusual speed.

One conversational interlude occurred before addition of Belmont Farms distilled spirits. ‘Disposition?’ was one bullet on a longer list of items, but interesting in terms of supply chains. Some of the military vets had disposition plans involving military honors, which due to scarcity of resources at the 3rd Infantry at Fort Myer encourages cremation as a means to lessen storage costs between death and interment. There are some other new thoughts about greener options for burial going around.

You can imagine the spectrum of them, so that led naturally to the “where” part. There was a general agreement that with Arlington Cemetery real estate under pressure, a more generalized plan for internment should be considered. Polling the delegation later suggested that the concept of “scattering” remains at preferred locations by proportion, for emotion. And with a carbon-reduction factor considered, possibly an organic central stone someplace with place for multiple names.

Splash was contemplative. “A plinth?” he said, obviously thinking in the vertical. “Maybe a small one?”

That discussion devolved quickly in number. The few in that circle were actually concerned with the execution-end of the program. They huddled and there may have been Belmont Farms augmentation to the discussion.

The remaining quorum conferred on the ephemeral issues of transition planning, from one majority to a distinctly different one. Notably included was the: “What do you think if you precede in departure? Let’s get preferences down so at least someone can say we talked about it.”

That led directly to a re-seated morning table centered around a fabulous potato-egg pie with hearty home-made biscotti. Between animated dining, occasionally with forks raised in affirmation multiple times, we decided on a way ahead on a chill brisk Washington weekend. The path has direct relevance on personal planning as opposed to whom is going to get the key Committee seats in the 118th Congress.

That analogy swiftly progressed into more discussion about ‘why’ and ‘how’ things are working at the moment on the “inside baseball” being conducted downtown. The “who is now on what Committee, and what can they do?” is in progress after the new leadership gets some sleep. We talked through about fifteen variations on the possibilities. We finally got to the point that our Overton Window moment arrived. We reached that point where the extremes of both spectrums were as evenly divided as possible. We think we used most of the alternatives and decided to gaslight the moment in triumph.

In that symbolic effort we went out on the balcony for a celebratory smoke.

Copyright 2023 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com