I always wanted to be . . . a spy.

I don't know why except one reason was that I grew up the son of an U.S. Air Force officer and learned about duty. I know that I had the idealistic views of the neophyte. My initial conceptions of the 'intelligence' agent were idealistic and naive. I thought that to go out and gather information to protect people was a noble cause. The reality is that information is subverted to the political will of its ultimate consumer. The agent of information collection is just a tool and many times is simply thrown to the wolves if political expediency demands it.

To this day though I enjoy reading well written spy novels and actual histories about espionage. One of my favorites is Legacy of Ashes by Tim Weiner. Other authors include Le Carre (of course!), Alex Berenson and especially Robert Littel, whom I consider a real master.

It is a foggy world, not many black and whites. My goal would have been the clandestine service, a nonofficial cover (or NOC) agent. I would never want to be a desk jockey riding my cubicle. I would want to be in the field. The real life of a 'spy' many times is probably most filled with boredom. This is what I don't love. What I do love is that make believe world of espionage with a dash of romance thrown in here and there.

Duty, honor, country? I think duty, honor, world more than anything. I applied to the Agency once upon a time. Too old I guess at that time. More later.