Author: Vic Socotra

First Dip, 2024

(In Arlington, skies are clear and bottomless blue. Temperature is 85 and rising, they say, to near triple digits. Water temperature, according to Prague-based Life Guard Pavlich, was 82 at time of immersion. Just about perfect). We do not claim it was a “Good” dip. It was more properly a decent wade, since we are […]

The War In Court

Sure, we know the Warren Court. That dates back to the last tumult in the Supremes. Under Judge Earl Warren, The Warren Court effectively ended racial segregation in U.S. public schools, expanded the constitutional rights of defendants, ensured equal representation in state legislatures, outlawed state-sponsored prayer in public schools, and paved the way for the […]

Blast from the Past

We got two late messages yesterday that set the tone of dreams. There was little else we could do about it, since we were horizontal and looking up into the darkness. One of them was a link to an old Senate transcript that featured our last live appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee. It […]

The Panama Canal, Part 1

On this Father’s day, here is one for my Dad’s Dad: I have been to the Gatun locks twice, once on my own wallet and once on the Governments!

A Socotra Family Album

So, we rolled back from the Rambler ramble down to Petersburg, just south of Richmond. It was a breathtaking event, if you have not seen an acre or two of American Motors projects. The memories of the design and industrial deployment of those now-old rides actually brought a tear with the recollection of Mom emerging […]

Return From a Rambler Rally

We owned, leased or or rambled across America in these machines! This show was oriented to the later innovations as George Romney’s vision for an affordable family car was implemented by designers Ed Anderson and Dick Teague- and Bill Reddig, our Dad. Below left is brother Mike and I recreating an original picture from fifty-odd […]

Rambler Show, Day 2

Day 1 was such a blast down in Petersburg that we tried to extend our reservation for another night. Too no avail, so we will head back over to the National Tractor and Truck Museum for a pass through the perking lot to see what the new day has brought forth. More on that tomorrow! […]

Rambler Rambling

The American Motors Owners Association is holding its annual get together this year in Petersburg, just south of Richmond. They celebrate the cars Dad used to help design in the wild tail-fin era of the 1950s. This is the sort of designs he contributed: Anyway, this is a year of transitions. Mom, Dad and Sister […]

12 June 24 Weather Report

Morning, Gentle Readers! The weekly report is not “weakly” presented! There is more Law Fare news bursting out all over! With the Trump verdict reverberations signifying the mixed results on that front, the news shifted to the matter of the Hunter Biden affair up in Delaware. It is hard to follow the intricacies of this […]

Meanwhile, Across the River…

There were celebrations in progress yesterday on both banks of the Potomac Rivers broad and inexorable flow. It divides things in terms of mood. On the West bank, just up the Hill from the gray-brown-sometimes blue waters there was joy and relief. The joy sprang from the successful celebration of another orbit around the sun […]