I hate vacations. Sort of. Leaving behind unfinished work makes me batty for awhile—until I settle in with a good book or two on the beach. (This week it’s going to be Jake Tapper’s much praised noir mystery/suspense novel of the JFK era, The Devil May Dance, and Mark Leibovich’s reportedly riotous take on the Trump carnage, Thank You for Your Servitude. As everyone knows, Leibovich is a marvelous writer on the capital’s odd vicissitudes, but I’m guessing this latest will send me into sugar shock long before the last page.

While I’m away, a few of SpyTalk’s stellar contributing editors and writers may chime in with a piece or two, but summer means the pace will slow for all of us for a bit. We are due for a break. We’ve never missed a week since our launch on Aug. 31, 2020. I suspect—and hope—that you all are taking the chance for a break yourselves.

In any event, I’ll be back for a few days starting next Sunday, and then it’s off to surgery that will probably sideline me for a few more weeks. But fear not, Dear Readers: We’ve got you covered with contributions from our regulars. The work will go on.

Until then, as one of my closest friends is wont to say when parting: Stand Tall, Stay Strong. We appreciate every one of you.

—Jeff Stein