My Life As A Spy

I was totally into the life of a spy during the “Man From U.N.C.L.E.” craze of the 1960s. I was glued to the TV on Friday nights. My mother realized this, and smartly used my obsession as leverage when my sister and I misbehaved. This was before “time out” was invented. If we were punished by having to miss an episode of our favorite spy show, Mickey and I had better behave when the reruns came around. Mick and every other female on the planet, had a crush on Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum). I had a pity crush on Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn), so he wouldn’t feel left out. We got some spy gear for Christmas. Mickey got a really cool fake camera that magically turned into a gun. I got a fake transistor radio that had a tiny gun inside. It shot little plastic bullets. This was also in the time before toy safety was invented. The only time I remember actually playing with our spy toys was when our house was getting a new roof. Our neighbors across the street loved nothing better than to watch our house. They had a panoramic view of the entire Salt Lake valley from the back of their house. They preferred, instead, to park themselves at the kitchen window and watch for any movement at our house. During the roof construction, the nosey neighbors finally got to me. I decided to stage a murder for their viewing pleasure. I took Mickey’s spy gun and shoved it into view from behind our curtains. Then I stuck Mickey’s head through the curtains, with my hands around her neck. Mickey dramatically landed on the floor, with her tongue hanging out of her mouth. We thought we were ever so clever. Mrs. Nosey Neighbor did not think so. She called my mother and complained about our antics. There was no shame in her game. I still love a good murder mystery. Rick thinks I am obsessed with watching crime shows. Little does he know it’s just the spy in me.