15 years or so ago Robert Redford made a movie – Lions for Lambs – which attempted to ask some hard questions about the War onTerror. It received mixed reviews, wasn’t seen by a lot of folks, and arguably missed the mark – the difficult mark – of entertaining while getting people to think about […]

Author’s Note: My Muse reminds me, amidst all the frenetic handwringing – it’s summer in the Dismal Swamp, which means it’s hot and wet… – Arrias Dismal Swamp Summer The air is warm, thick and wet, In a soggy blanket all is cloaked, Just a minute outside the door And my shirt is completely soaked. […]

What is that by the door? Porter will investigate! Her head goes down for a closer look, She’s in quite an excited state! Suddenly it moves – Porter jumps! All four feet off the ground, Then down she comes, her head goes down, But she doesn’t make a sound! Another blink, it moved again, Porter […]

As Damon Runyon liked to say (quoting Hugh Keough): “The race isn’t always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but that’s the way to bet.” Looking back 247 years, how would odds-makers have called it, what kind of odds would they have given the gang in Philadelphia? Before answering that, consider the […]

Author’s Note: I have been pestered by my Muse … it won’t win any prizes but there it is! – Arrias To Our Founding Fathers What were they thinking, Why would they even dare, Fight the British empire? They didn’t have a prayer. The British had thousands of troops, The Colonies really had none, Just […]

So green is the grass, in a hundred shades, Green too are the trees, The morning sun plays gently on the leaves, And some turn golden by degrees. A woodpecker begins his daily labors, Hammering rat-a-tat, rat-a-tat, And the squirrels descend warily from nests, As if poised for combat. The songbirds begin their daily choral, […]

Author’s Note: I suspect a lot of people won’t agree with this… On January 12th, 1950 Dean Acheson, Truman’s Secretary of State, gave a speech at the National Press Club, the subject being “Crisis in China – An examination of United States Policy.” In that speech, as you may recall, Acheson made the following statement: […]

Author’s Note: My Muse was impressed… Radial Song An engine quickly comes to life, A lovely rumble, grumble, grumble, A puff of smoke, another bang, Grumble, Grumble, Grumble! This is followed by a cough Followed by another, and a third, Three radial engines, a loud, deep purr, Delightful noises from a big silver bird. She […]

In 1988 McGeorge Bundy, President Kennedy’s National Security Advisor, commented there was just a 1-in-100 chance the Cuban Missile Crisis would have escalated to a nuclear war. But, probabilities and odds and chance are interesting things. Most people use the terms without thinking about what they are really saying. Consider: what’s the probability Ted Williams […]

The island covers just 61 square miles, it’s currently home to about 5,200 people, it lies about 90 miles or so south-east of Athens, and about 90 miles north of Crete. Except for the fact that it’s one of the many gorgeous Greek islands “floating” in the Aegean Sea, it would be forgotten by history, […]