Ruth-Ann was at her usual place at Big Pink. I thought I should take her a copy of a book we penned some years ago about a magical decade that followed “Y2K,” a three-character term that referred to the passing of the 20th Century and the arrival of another one. There was supposed to be some big changes that came with it. If you don’t recall, it was going to mean catastrophic events associated with the change of year. Computers would fail and jets would fall from the sky.

That is how things work now, lurching from crisis to crisis, all featuring “Doom in ten years!” That is two Dooms ago this year from our first extended stay at Big Pink, so there will doubtless be more to come in this one.

Thankfully, that old moment passed with minimal disruption, and the events of that first decade of the 21st Century were memorable without untoward event. Management insisted on having the sales blurb included in this outing, just to maintain the fiction that Socotra House is a viable publishing enterprise. So, please forgive us this commercial interjection:

Whew. We are compliant. And thankful to be back in Big Pink twenty years after first getting to know her fuchsia flanks. There was a certain hasty imperative back then, and not a great deal more than one could jam into the trunk of a trim Sebring Convertible vehicle to deal with. This arrival was more extensive and required a truck and three helpful Hispanic fellows to haul stuff around. That was Tuesday, when things started out at nine in the morning and temporarily concluded with the ability to connect the big flat-screen television to the Verizon Fiber-optic network.

We tried to avoid bitching about our satellite connectivity down at The Farm. But that was part of a decision tree that did not include the full assortment of rural living. That is fixed now in the new digs. Wednesday most of us were useless, and a mild effort was expended to move stuff around and make sense of movement. Thursday some energy returned. We dispatched representatives to make the journey down to The Lobby to complete the administrivia required by Building maintenance.

That included covering the move-in charge of $400 for reserving the freight elevator with a somewhat bedraggled check that included additional charges for the magnetic fobs to open the external building doors. And deliver a copy of the book to Ruth-Ann, the queen of Big Pink.We figured it was the least we could do. We sent a list of questions down with our representatives: “Can food deliveries come right up to the unit door?’ was one. Another was registering the vehicles to avoid having them towed in the darkness by the Big Pink Night Patrol. Those items required identification of license plates and a search for the vehicles to confirm accuracy.

That required a search for the Panzer, which was not where it was last seen in the space near the front door. “Administrivia” matters turned briefly to earnest inquiries to determine if the sturdy German vehicle had been towed already, or stolen. That required a check with Ruth-Ann to determine if preemptive action had been taken or if a session with the Arlington Police would be required. The matter needed only a survey of the back parking lot, and we are pleased to report no auto theft had occurred. Panzer had been moved by other parties in the migration after arrival. All is well on the four-wheeled front.

Thursday concluded with the powered plush reclining chairs connected to actual electricity. That enabled connectivity to the USB ports on the flanks, fully charged devices, and movement of various boxes. When Friday morning arrived, the earnest work of Thursday meant we could turn our attention to what the world had been up to while we were sequestered in the movement miasma. There was some interesting stuff. We ducked commencement of War between NATO and Russia over the matter of missiles fired into Poland that killed two civilians. Initial reports were that the Russians had botched a portion of a massive 100-warhead strike directed at Ukraine’s electrical grid.

With remarkable speed, the story changed. Apparently the errant warhead had been fired in self-defense by President Zelenskyy’s forces and no general war in Europe was justified. Apparently peace could break out, unless NATO decides to use the same Article 5 provisions against Kiev. “An attack on one is an attack on all!”

But the only threat of attack was back here, as some important Decision Desks (we don’t know who) decided our recent election. We are not completely certain who these people might be, or why these things seem to take much longer than they used to. But it seems that there has been a change in the House of Representatives. We are excited by this development, since it could mean another endless series of hearings in the Congress about entirely new scandals previously labeled as “conspiracies.”

Former President Trump apparently announced he would make another run at the White House. That Speaker Pelosi mentioned she would gracefully depart the Podium and return to a rank-and-file position. So, there is plenty of material to winnow through over the next couple years. We will attempt to do so from Big Pink. And the Chairman is apparently holding The Farm in reserve, just in case we need to use it again. We are pleased to have the option. We figure we could walk back down there in only two or three days, if that is what it takes.

But in the meantime, stand by for Tales From Big Pink, Part Two. It could be fun.

– Vic

Copyright 2022 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com