the stuff of spies

I have to admit I’m a little more than intrigued by the latest news that Russian spies posing as families here in the U S of A were recently apprehended. A neighbor of one of the “spy” couples told reporters how the teenage son of the one of the pairs mowed the lawn for them. Another responded incredulously, “How can she be a spy? Look at those hydrangeas!” What sort of life is it to settle somewhere on an indefinite basis and lead a seemingly “normal” life (complete with a regular job and routine) while having an altogether different “agenda?” “Work” is your daily life. It does not end after the normal 8 to 5 day is over.

How, one wonders, can you help but assimilate into the very community you are tasked with infiltrating? Other neighbors for instance, recounted conversations about baby sitters, the price of groceries, topics we discuss regularly with our own non-spy neighbors. I’m sure these conversations were totally sincere, motivated by the same concerns and daily issues we all confront. And why wouldn’t they be? Even if they were normal U.S. grade spies working for the C.I.A., at the end of the day, the price of groceries does seem to be creeping up far more than any of us would like to admit. And baby sitters? Good ones ARE hard to come by . . .

So what is it about this operation that has me so fascinated? I suppose when it comes right down to it, I am more accustomed to the images of spies depicted in movies: covert operatives skilled in the martial arts, sporting Minox cameras and lock-picking tools in their pockets, not suburban housewives or university professors. I’d love to delve into their minds to see how they reconciled their feigned lives of normality with their more sinister assignment (which was to position themselves with individuals who were policy makers and to engage in recruitment activities).

It has been suggested that the children of the exposed spies were most likely unaware of their parents’ covert operations. Indeed, the neighbors of these families expressed the most concern over the welfare of the children. I’m sure more and more will be uncovered as time goes on. Already some of the real names of some of the operatives are surfacing. Initially, it has been speculated that the damage done by these operatives is minimal at best and that no real threat was posed to our national welfare.

In the meantime, I’m going to keep a closer eye on my neighbor from the former Republic of Czechoslovakia. We’ve been neighbors for years, but he DOES keep a garden of edibles along with the rabbits he occasionally kills for dinner. And lest I forget, he does keep beehives in his backyard. He’s even given me a bottle or two of honey over the years. In short, he is far too self-reliant and industrious. It's . . . well, just plain un-American. And we HAVE discussed many mundane things like city zoning ordinances and the change of ownership of our neighborhood supermarket. Wouldn’t YOU be suspicious too?