Melissa’s Local Beat
Yo, it’s Melissa! I get the lead today even if it is late. The Boomers are still off this weekend, which is why things started with a discussion of the moon just after a few of them returned from what they called a “Routine Recce Mission” to ‘observe’ the operations in a new club since Willow closed and Front Pager went under, both in my portfolio at six minutes away.
They said The Loft at Lena’s is called the “Havana 151,” since it supposed to evoke the elegance and sensual languor of 1950’s Cuba which they never saw and now can’t keep the lights on. They have a lot of issues that seem sort of unworldly.
Rocket insisted on going, since the bar at Lena’s has the same proof number as the one assigned to his Fighter Squadron a quarter century before I was born, so it is a little distant but sort of quaint. I am writing about it since the 151 bar is only 19 minutes from The Patio at Big Pink, and DeMille, the section leader who is across the River for some reason, lets me cover as “local events” or some fiction so no one takes it seriously.
They got back sometime after closing, and I had been over in Clarendon for a while with some girlfriends before coming home relatively sober and in order with a couple possibilities who may get in touch for further local investigation. They were arguing about the size of the moon, or something, and it got vigorous until Splash apparently decided to sleep where he was sitting.
They were all gone when I went over for coffee this morning. There were two notes with contributions from Splash, Rocket and the two “V” guys, “Vapor and Vic.” If any more of those guys show up to contribute to this thing, I will have to insist DeMille let me get an associate who I can boss around. Maybe give her the five-or-ten minute city most of us actually live in.Oh, the notes from the guys were sort of implausible. One was about the situation in Iran, which has always given me the creeps. I saw some pictures of what the women were wearing in Tehran when Rocket’s squadron had the rum-number.
I admit the chadors they have to wear now might be more comfortable than a decent tailored outfit, and I am more denim-casual myself, but the whole idea of someone telling me what to wear and having young men standing around to watch and punish me for it.
Well. That is one of the other issues flying around in the whole biological thing. They told me not to even bring any of them up, even the sensible ones. But you can talk to me on the side if they let me get DMs on the company system. So that led to me as lead for the weekend. The stuff the Boomers left was the usual. They are laying low on the Cabinet picks. Vic said they who make up what they allegedly call “The Creative Section” at Socotra House are laying low.
They don’t want to get dragged into the scuffle about the cabinet picks. At least the ones apparently intended to draw fire while other things slide by with less controversy. They say it is the opening of a real bureaucratic war with real job casualties, which means it fall directly into my warm creative lap in local real estate. I talked about it when the Nigerian Defense Minister bought real estate here less than 20 minutes way by electric scooter.
Turns out, there is going to be plenty of property available soon if Elon and the GOPE- I think they took the “R” out for messaging reasons- is going to get rid of a few hundred senior male bureaucrats int the area, and the ones who had families and kids invested in Arlington.
You can imagine there is some hysteria just on this block, not even a minute away, since once upon a time the Speaker of the House lived in this building, although on the side that looks over the Capitol, of course. That will be another full episode in the Fifteen Minute County, when time permits.
The stuff happening overseas is related to the political game here. I listen with interest in the morning when the Boomers are jammering about it. political games being played at the moment share some of what is happening overseas, and I checked with Legal before they went on weekend rest to see if they could blather on about the stuff overseas where they spent too much time.
Like, Vic has this string he is always bringing up about Iran and he told me to stay away from it. But the scrawl on the pad was about the Israeli strike that happened a few weeks ago. It was messaged as something “measured and responsive” to the Iranians who had just launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at them. Jeeze. That is what Splash would say, that old Geezer.
Anyway, this one came up talking about the CIA operative who was just busted for leaking some of the Israeli plans to Tehran. Then it went over to what the Israels actually hit. It apparently included a place called Parchin where they make the high explosives to condense all that highly fissionable stuff we hear about into the plutonium concentration that goes “boom.”
Without it, they can swim in fissionable stuff and not make it explode. So, I’ll let the Boomers try to explain it when it happens. I think the answer is to overthrow the Mullahs and let people wear what they want without nukes, but that is beyond the neighborhood, and my beat.
I will keep an eye out but it looks like a nice day and the farmer’s market is open over on George Mason Drive so I am going to be outdoors on the scooter. Have a nice day. It is supposed to be clear tonight, so look up. It will only be 94% as bright as last night or something but still very cool!
Copyright 2024 Vic Socotra