On this glorious Christmas morning, there is a palpable joy in the air at Refuge Farm. The crimson-tinged sun rising amid the sky streaked with the passing clouds of an old year. Joy and merriment is abundant here. Splash carefully folded his sleeping bag, and a merry fire was sparking with delight in the Fire […]

The Chairman was relaxed this morning, and his jolly spirit joined the mild breeze that awakened Refuge Farm with fresh spirit on a gorgeous holiday morning. The sun shone bright over the Piedmont, framed by thin but prominent strands of bright clouds that mimicked the gentle curves of the holly strung with merry enthusiasm on […]

The Chairman had to shrug at this one. There is a major holiday coming up, and the timeline for the Eve has narrowed to “tomorrow.” He has held to a firm position that the holiday should be honored- indeed treasured- despite all the manifestations of looniness abroad in the land. You are aware of it […]

DeMille has taken to a quick stop by the Headquarters at Socotra House in the morning to ensure that the Writer’s Section isn’t too far off the reservation in terms of tone and production. We skirted the line this week, running an Arrias piece that examined the three international situations bubbling with a half-boil. The […]

(Author Franz Kafka on one of his better hypnotic days before what he might have called “Der Grossen Krieg.” The group at the First Ring was fully caffeinated. DeMille tried to establish order. “We have to find a way to use a cool quote for the title. Then fill it in with some festive anecdotes […]

(Virginia morning, Dog Holler image courtesy Arrias). The crowd was afire on a magnificent morning. One of the Interns had her phone and showed us the incoming from Tidewater down the road. None of the rest of us were smart enough to have our phones with us- a result of having to go through Security […]

“In the history of the world, never has a nation come into power, wealth and world influence as rapidly as the United States in the 20th century. The “American Century,” as some historians have labeled it, saw a union of states that had almost split apart in the 1860s rise to world power status and […]

Splash was agitated. The warm spell that accompanied the tornedo outbreak that swept across five states had everyone a little on edge, since Melissa has family out there. It was close enough to some of them that a short drive could have taken them to see the devastation in Mayfeld, Kentucky. If the roads were […]

DeMille is the de facto leader of the Writer’s Section at Socotra House. He had done the rounds with Legal, HR and Management in the morning and was back by the Fire Ring. He was now attempting to keep the group focused on the mission statement posted over the lintel of the door to the […]

(Thin sheets of pulp paper spliced together in booklet format were part of the trash Splash brought along on his life journey. He claims to have purchased this odd collection in 1966. He also claims to recognize the figure pointing at America, now largely unknown). We had some great kids visit the Farm yesterday. They […]