The Chairman shoke Section Leader DeMille’s hand energetically on his way to do some business that might have involved a mimosa and a white tablecloth. He said: “Doesn’t look like the Israeli’s did more than send a real powerful signal, so I am going to see if we can get cozy with the company that just bought the local news shop.”

DeMille nodded, still not completely awake. The Chairman gave him a gentle punch on the chest and said: “Keep the graphics simple. Try to help folks keep this in perspective.”

He went off to do whatever it is he does and the rest of the group slowly wandered into The Patio to sit haphazardly around the white table. The Chock Full O’ Nuts jug was on the second cycle and some of the mugs around the table were paler than others, still and cold.

Each of these last mornings of Autumn are treasures. The skies a little chill, rising blue out of the darkness. Some of the crowd was still trying to grasp what had happened with the Israeli strike on Iran. It was being reported when they were going to bed, so arose wondering if the Big Surprise was in progress.

Splash has devolved to working the night shift, such as it is, since he can start his work-shift at Happy Hour and let it go from there. He was gone, but his scrawl was about the status of S-300 air defense systems around Tehran.

“See?”

That lurched into the Old Salts yammering about what the targets were, what was done and not done and what the intent had been. There may be a chapter on it in the book, but it is just another wave to ride this morning in a choppy break, Neptune’s hand strong but a little uneasy in motion.

Melissa is usually the youngest at the table (by a decade or two) and is supposed to check ARLnow to stay aware of what is going on between here at Big Pink, Lubber Run and the Ballston Metro. She wanted to pitch the story about the man with a gun who took bottles of wine from the 7-11 down the block from our office across Fairfax Drive from the Metro.

Trains on the Orange Line were shut down for a while, but no one was injured. “Local contrast,” she said, “Like the Washington Post announcing they weren’t going to endorse anyone for President this time. And the other story about some politicians leaving town now to avoid what is going to happen after election day.”

“Wait, riots after who gets elected? Weren’t we waiting for the Big Surprise about that to see what was going to happen next?”

Rocket held up Splash’s tablet. The letters had some auto-correct highlighting stuff but still were legible enough to display: “Looks like the election surprise isn’t a surprise- yet- and now the surprise is what happens after that. It is two months of opportunity for surprise, and that could be surprising!”

Then we talked about more coffee and then surfing back when some of us were out at Pearl. Reminiscent, you know?

Copyright 2024 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com