( Our Expert Guide at the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow, 12 May 1998). Many of us Old Salts have heard of what is becoming known as “Mal-Mis-Dis Information.” Our Government has declared what goes on as a sort of domestic unpleasantness verging on something bigger. That is sort of an unusual place to find ourselves […]

(The Talking Heads, 1979) Splash was humming this morning. He was inside due to the return of the gray cold by the Fire Pit. It was ominous indication he may be thinking again even after that last memo from the HR Department at Socotra House. They get irritated, since his antics frequently cause meetings between […]

Splash was out with the dawn, an event we experienced at The Farm for the first time in the latest Big Storm passage over the Piedmont. This one was so big it got a name. When he was done with a cigarette he came in through the storm door but was unusually silent and part […]

Author’s Note: the Writer’s Section is puzzling through rumors of “False Flag” provocations in Ukraine that could bring war again to Europe. It is a sobering business, just like the Jobs Report that is likely to have bad news this morning. We intend to be strong, and Splash advocates taking the afternoon off, in peace. […]

Country life can be complicated when attempting to juggle local and national affairs. The Chairman has been off the property, attempting to juggle the perceived value of the property against the inexorable inflation and threat of dramatic interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve. He sent a note to DeMille and the other department heads […]

The junior Attorney attached to the Writer’s Section at Refuge Farm was clearly frazzled. It was a nice enough morning, some sunshine amid the clouds, and temperatures might even break freezing later. She waved a regular sheet of paper from the printer that was completely blacked out with china marker. “See? This is what you […]

Author’s Note: This was a rough from 2005, a long time ago in modern terms. In that year, Minneapolis-Saint Paul was still a bustling modern city that had few immigrants beyond the ones who had come from Scandinavia. We don’t want to pick on any particular group, since these days the discussion spins off into […]

The Attorney was missing this morning. She was required to attend some proceeding in town, or at least that was the rumor, but naturally the Writer’s Section was uneasy with the possibility of veering into non-compliant discussion. Splash was already concerned. “I counted twenty-one buzzards in the trees this morning at first light. Now there […]

Morning had brought a disconcerting blue tinge to Splash’s unshaven visage. Not that it was unattractive, but consensus polling suggested he ought to try warming up before launching on the day. There is a lot going on at The Farm on Sundays, so a certain amount of morning confusion is the norm. There are holy […]