Kissing Frogs

By luigi_pagano

Sun, 26 Apr 2020

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4 comments

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Prior to the onset of the pandemic I was chomping at the bit to embark on sleuthing not for the police but the Security Services but due firstly to bureaucratic inefficiency and then the introduction of 'social distancing' I was excluded from unhampered movements. As a consequence I had plenty of spare time. I didn't sit twiddling my thumbs but used it wisely and effectively.

I follow my workout routine with daily High Intensity exercises, jogging and walking; I am catching up with my reading and, as I want to become an expert on espionage, I have discovered that there is a vast selection of manuals for spy training available to me. There are some dealing with the role of women in intelligence which are particularly appealing and I have ordered them on line.

What I find fascinating is the great number of females that have at various times participated in clandestine work.
The one most talked about is Mata Hari, a Dutch exotic dancer who was convicted of being a spy for Germany and executed by firing squad in France in 1917 although it is believed she was made a scapegoat for French military failures for which she had nothing to do.

The name that caught my eye was that of Amy Thorpe Pack who was given the code name Cynthia.
An American woman, married to a British diplomat, who began extramarital affairs finding her marriage passionless. Her motivation was a lust for danger and excitement and she volunteered her services to MI6 whose chief of station contacted her and asked her to infiltrate embassies.

Coincidentally, while I was doing my research, I received a phone call from my ex fellow student Cynthia, the one with wandering hands, whose name came up at my interview. It was a friendly call, she said, to enquire how I was and how I was bearing up being self-isolating.

She informed me that the pupils who were on the same course as I was had been quizzed - not very discreetly, it seems - about me; that my old nickname (was it Hot Lips or Hot Pants, she maliciously asked) was being bandied about.

I admit that I rather relished being referred to as 'Hot Lips' – a term borrowed from the TV series M.A.S.H. - to reflect my so called passionate nature.
It's true that I have kissed a few frogs hoping to find my prince, but resent being described as a nymphomaniac.

She waffled on how happy she was that she and her girlfriend had decided to co-habit, bitchily adding she felt sorry for me not having a warm body to cuddle up to at night and suggested a few alternatives to relieve my frustration. I gave her short shrift and cut her off.

I am not surprised that questions are being asked; I know that I am being vetted and those enquiries must be germane and central to the issue and yet I feel a bit uneasy.

Comments

Where has Jessica's new frog

Permalink Submitted by onemorething on Sun, 2020-04-26 14:15

Where has Jessica's new frog gone? Is he still at the bottom of the garden?
Having replied to your comment on my poem, I did wonder about asking you as you write so much yourself, what your writing process was? I imagine that you do lots of research, especially for some as they can be very detailed.

Rachel x

1 User voted this as great feedback

Hi Rachel.

Permalink Submitted by luigi_pagano on Sun, 2020-04-26 15:35

Hi Rachel.
We haven't yet established if it is a frog or a toad at the bottom of her garden.
As far as writing goes I just do it on impulse, as and when the Muse strikes. Having decided on a topic I start scribbling and see how it develops. When I write chapters of a story I haven't the faintest idea what to put in the next episode and then it becomes a mental challenge. Once I finish a story or a poem I don't do revisions unless there are typos or misspellings pointed out to me as I frequently miss them. I do research if I am describing something factual. For instance, before mentioning training manuals for spies I have to ascertain that such publications exist; when I mention names of well know people I find out information about them that may be relevant to the story, etc., etc.
Basically I don't follow a particular pattern or set plan. That's me in a nutshell: untidy and not methodical.

Luigi x

Well, everything appears as

Permalink Submitted by onemorething on Sun, 2020-04-26 20:55

Well, everything appears as though you have been very tidy and methodical and I'm sure that's all that matters. And yes, perhaps a toad. I'll wait and see. Rachel x

I very much appreciate your

Permalink Submitted by luigi_pagano on Sun, 2020-04-26 23:33

I very much appreciate your kind words, Rachel, and thank you for your support but the general lack of response, positive or otherwise, seem to contradict the assumption that everything is hunky-dory.
It would be useful to receive a genuine assessment of one's work as silence can indicate that the writing is wanting. Without being brutally critical readers could hint at improvements to help writers achieve a higher standard. It would at least keep them on their toes.

Cheers, Luigi x