Friday, July 9, 2010

Week's End - Blast from the Cold Past

A desperate-looking man at a bus stop, "They're after me." I sighed inwardly, oh no. Poor man. Then travel memories behind the Iron Curtain (still firmly drawn) flooded in. Observing weird comings & goings in Vienna, among other places. Going through Checkpoint Charlie. And ongoing amongst us innocents in the DC neighborhood (& more so in N. VA)? Crazy traitor Robert Hanssen not 5 minutes away, oh-so-busy honing his spy-craft (& perversions). (Have you seen Breach? Or read Eric O'Neill's book?)

Read/re-watch Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; Smiley's People, but especially Richard Burton in The Spy Who Came in From the Cold. Now, that, as a professor (& friend) said to me when I was rather young, that is the whole bloody dirty nasty business right there. Hey, he knew nutty Ezra Pound. Who was I to question him on these tangled matters?

So that man, in the beautiful Burberry trench* right near the Phillips Collection? You never know. They could be after him. I gave him a quarter for the phone.

Here's John le
Carré's website.

Off to scary dental doings. (Shades of last summer.)

*I know. A cliche. Life is like that sometimes. It was a Burberry. Speaking of clothes, the above shot is via myvintagevogue.

4 comments:

Angie Muresan said...

Haha! I love this! Your mind is so fascinating, you know?

ceecee said...

This post makes me want to put on a trench and slink around town. (As long as I can take up smoking again. I know, I know...but I loved smoking.)

For the record, I never think of you as grumpy. Oh no, no, no. You are entertaining and tres intelligente. (I have no accents to type.)

I will be trying very hard to avoid the internet while on my 'vacation' or else I will never accomplish anything in my life other than sitting at my desk.

Hope you're feeling well these days. Talk with you soon.

Catherine
(My word verification is 'ablessu'.)

Giulia said...

Angie & Catherine,

You're both too generous & kind with your words, but I will not object to them (today) as I'm not feeling particularly interesting, well, or intelligent.

Catherine...never having smoked, I still understand why you enjoyed it. Thanks for the verification word...I do love that sort of thing.

Mary-Laure said...

I love your little story...
Never read any spy novels - which one do you recommend I start with?