(Ohio Turnpike Bridge over the Cuyahoga River. It was reportedly not on fire when Vic passed by in the Panzer).

Many do not care, nor should they. However, for those few who have expressed concern that the Panzer may have plunged into the turbulent Cuyahoga River, or the placid Monongahela, he asked me to pass along the news that he is once again in Arlington after logging nearly two thousand miles on the SUV over the past five days.

“I had a chance to visit America,” he muttered. “I am exhausted, but last night I slept in my own bed, and that was grand, and took the opportunity to drive through that covered bridge in Newton Falls Ohio, which may be the second oldest in the Buckeye State but is the oldest actually in service, and a source of intense civic pride along with Tigers High School Football, and that guy in the bronze Toyota that almost side-swiped me on Ohio Route 5 missed, thank God, and now all I have to do is ignore the jihadis coming over the railings, forget the fact that I listened to the news for five straight days and that no one out there in the Real Country seems to be too fazed by anything and the car ran great and missed the big rainstorm, and life is pretty damned good, all things considered.”

I have no idea why he could not get it together this morning- I saw his light on at the usual ungodly time when I was coming back from the Blind Pig, and he was pounding away on his computer. I have no idea what he was doing if not the stupid morning epistle. When he called from the road yesterday, he said he was working on a big photo montage of the Hoosier AMO Club Bill Reddig Meet, and the jets and how people in the Heartland are about as kind and good as they get, and he was thinking about buying a Ford F150 pickup truck with a camper on the back and just checking out of the National Capital Region because everyone here is nuts.

As far as I know, he did not do that, but I had to crash when I got back to my place, and anything could have happened in the meantime.

I am confident that Vic will be “back in battery” one of these days soon. But like I said, anything could have happened in the meantime, and based on what is going on in the wide world these strange days, might have.

Cheers,

J.R.