Secretary Colin L. Powell Departs If you have not heard, you will. There is sad news this morning. The Powell Family released the news this morning. General Colin L. Powell, 84, passed from complications related to COVID-19. They posted the sad news on Facebook, which combines other streams of recent news with something personal and […]

(This was an old-school hand-me-down ride. Dad got it as his “company car” on a lease as the Kelvinator Appliance Division of American Motors where he worked was spun off to White Consolidated Industries to work more efficiently. Finally freed from driving Ramblers, Dad enjoyed it. In the old days, he would keep a new […]

(There are no harder working and fun people than those who keep Midway (CV-41) alive and ready to experience her guests. Don’t miss a chance to visit what has been saved in honor of her crew and the dozens of her sisters whose presence on the world ocean changed history!) There was a gathering last […]

Author’s Note: Late start this morning, and our apologies. There has been a death in the family, a close one, and that sparked a spirited search through large old boxes and ancient stacks of photographs to fill in some holes in the family history. This story about Soup is from this week eleven years ago. […]

It was a grand Thursday down in the country. There was a birthday celebration, gentle but extended through a mild day with lovely colors. Not the leaves- this is the Piedmont, after all, and not the hardy Northern brilliance of the seasonal passing of the green to brilliant hues of crimson and yellow. This local […]

Some of the detritus of several lives appeared in the big clean-up down at Refuge Farm. One of the boxes that came out of the parent’s estate showed up amid the wreckage down at the Office Complex as Splash, Loma, Rocket, Mel and DeMille looked on with mild interest. The Socotra members were amazed as […]

(Colonel Tom Parker and his “attraction,” Mr. Elvis Presley) The Writer’s Section at Refuge Farm was delighted that Arrias had penned (pecked?) a thought piece on the nature of our unique American society. First was that the Chairman was not shouting for new copy early on a Monday. Arrias noted the role of Col. Tom […]

I think my index finger hit the keyboard before the short and long hands on the clock went straight up, so this is an official Daily on a busy morning! The Crew from the Writer’s Section was rounded up, not by force, but in the interest of public good to get our heads suitably cropped […]

OK, it is October, the 10th month in this strange year. This is the tenth day of the tenth month. Even the letter “O” looks like a zero. The Writer’s Section at Socotra House naturally is befuddled. That is aggravated by the fact that this 10/10 is happening on a Sunday, an artificial oddity in […]

This is a tough one, not because the events are too crazy, but because the words contain two separate but linked stories. The picture below came from the volunteer staff at the USS Midway Museum, part of the ceremony honoring LTJG Winky’s return to the finest damn carrier in the Fleet. This image is part […]