The Old Lone Ranger

Bringing It Home

By Rich Marin | March 13, 2026 by Rich Marin

The United States has always had a special advantage against its global competitors and that’s it’s isolation in the Western Hemisphere. This is a geopolitical and historical point of differentiation that cuts across geography, economics, military history, and political development. The advantage has been enormous, though with some important nuances. In terms of the geographic advantage, the U.S. sits in what strategists sometimes call a “geopolitical paradise.” It is bounded by two vast oceans, two…

Memoir Politics

Energy Crisis 2026

By Rich Marin | March 12, 2026March 12, 2026 by Rich Marin

When I was in college in Ithaca New York, I experienced my first energy crisis. The 1970s energy crisis was actually two overlapping crises, each triggered by geopolitical upheaval in the Middle East. The first oil shock (1973–1974) began in October 1973, when Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel, starting the Yom Kippur War. The U.S. airlifted weapons to Israel to prevent its defeat. In retaliation, the Arab members of OPEC (the…

Fiction/Humor Memoir

The Chi of Buddy

By Rich Marin | March 11, 2026 by Rich Marin

Yesterday we arrived in San Diego from our short trip to Florida and got in about 7pm. That was basically 12 hours from when we left Andy’s house in Vero Beach. We drove down to West Palm Beach Airport, returned the rental car and sat in the Delta Lounge to await our flight to Atlanta. Kim found us some nice fresh crudite and hummus to sustain us and then we joined the rest of the…

Memoir

Key West

By Rich Marin | March 10, 2026March 10, 2026 by Rich Marin

Key West has one of the most colorful and layered histories of any American city, shaped by geography, smugglers, wreckers, and artists alike. The island was originally inhabited by the Calusa people, who called it “Cayo Hueso” (Island of Bones) — likely a reference to skeletal remains they left there. Spanish explorers encountered the island in the early 16th century, and the name was eventually anglicized to “Key West.” Spain ceded Florida to the United…

Memoir Retirement

Chateaux on the Creek

By Rich Marin | March 10, 2026 by Rich Marin

Today we are heading home to sunny San Diego and our little Buddy. We wrapped up our visit with Frank & Barbara in Stuart by visiting the Elliot Museum, which is a well-appointed vintage car and motorcycle museum. We went to look at Frank’s old 1931 Model A replica, which is exactly like the car he purchased in blue when he was 11 years old and has fastidiously maintained ever since. Not many of us…

Love Memoir

Old Pals

By Rich Marin | March 9, 2026 by Rich Marin

Today was the day of reunion. Back in 1996 I asked my friend Frank O’Connell, who sat on the Cornell business school advisory council with me if you would like to go with me on a motorcycle ride through southern Utah. Frank had been a long time motorcycle enthusiast, and at the time he was in between CEO gigs so he said he would like to do that. We tried the same thing the year…

Memoir Retirement

The Extremes of Florida

By Rich Marin | March 8, 2026 by Rich Marin

It’s not unusual for me to get into a disagreement with somebody on the subject of affluence. I recall in college during freshman year having a debate with my friend Debbie about the definition of affluence. Debbie was one of 10 children in a family headed by an Air Force Chief Master Sergeant, and as we sat there as freshman at an elite Ivy League school, I argued that she came from an affluent family.…

Memoir Politics

Tropic Thunder

By Rich Marin | March 7, 2026March 7, 2026 by Rich Marin

As I have said more times than I can count, I hate the tropics. The reason for it is probably mostly about humidity and comfort, but it has mostly to do with my heritage. I was born in Fort Lauderdale while my mother was on home leave from her life in Venezuela. I like telling the story that she told her friends at the time that she knew she was having a boy and she…

Memoir Retirement

Of Moths and Flames

By Rich Marin | March 5, 2026 by Rich Marin

I have a classic “moth to the flame” personality. Being irresistibly drawn to something — or someone — that is ultimately dangerous or destructive seems to be in my DNA. The attraction is so powerful that I cannot help myself, even when the outcome is potentially or predictably bad. The armchair shrinks in the audience will say that this implies self-destructive tendencies that forces me to operate through compulsion more than it’s about trickery by…

Politics

True Lies

By Rich Marin | March 3, 2026 by Rich Marin

Because we are flying to Key West on Wednesday, someone suggested that we should watch the movie True Lies because the ending scenes are shot in the Florida Keys. True Lies is a 1994 film directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis and Tom Arnold. It’s basically a spy comedy about Iranian terrorists trying to extract retaliation from the United States. While I had seen the movie years ago. I had…

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