It was an ordinary day. Watching the credits fly past me on the TV screen from the movie "Argo." Had every intention of going to watch it at the theater, but never found time, or should I say effort, to hop in the car and head in that direction. Wanted to see the movie ever since I had read an article in the Washington Post on January 13 that talked about the title character, Tony Mendez, and his wife and son who happen to live close to my daughter and her family in Maryland. Tony's story about how he led the covert operation that went into Iran in November of 1979 and saved six American diplomats was amazing. During the last half hour of the movie I was continuously on the edge of my chair, cheering for Tony and his group which were impersonating a Canadian film crew. So I don't spoil anymore of the story or plot of the movie, I will just tell you a few more details about Tony's life after his retirement from the CIA. Tony not only practiced the art of deception during his days as a spy, but the art of painting. He now lives a very secluded and private life along a rocky road in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western Maryland with his second wife in a red carriage house on 40 acres in Knoxville, MD which is about half an hour from my daughter's home in Urbana, MD. Art was always the way that Tony was able to deceive his opponents or enemies because he is such a talented artist that most would never suspect him of being a spy. After college Mendez worked as an artist and in 1965 he answered a blind advertisement in a publication for a graphic artist. He was hired by the Central Intelligence Agency in the same year, becoming an espionage artist for the Technical Services Division, finally retiring from the CIA in 1990.Tony's second wife, Jonna, is also an ex-spy as well as a professional photographer and the two of them, along with Tony's son Toby who is a sculptor, have a large gallery and studio connected to their home in Knoxville, MD. They work quietly and in seclusion except for their twice-a-year gallery showings for art buyers. Toby works include the Thurgood Marshall monument at the Maryland State House and sculptures of baseball players at Baltimore's Oriole Park at Camden Yards and Boston's Fenway Park. I mentioned to my wife that I would love to visit his gallery some time when we are in Maryand visiting with our daughter and family, but I'm not so sure I would be as much impressed with his art as I am the fact that I would be meeting a real life 007. Now that would be impressive!! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. |
| Tony, Jonna and Toby posing with some of their artwork. |
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