Life After The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
325 Mulberry Road was located just outside of Washington D.C. A family by the last name of Peterson occupied the home for at least 10 years. The family consisted of father, Robert (Bob) Peterson, age 51, his wife, Millie Peterson, age 50, their daughter Jennifer, age 16, and son, Anthony age 13.
Millie was an RN for an MD's office and kept the hours Monday-Thurs. 8-6. It was a demanding job, and she frequently came home in bitter spirits.
Bob Peterson was a man whose looks were not unusual for an average US citizen. He was 5'6", had brown and gray, balding hair, and was probably about 40 pounds overweight. For a man of his height, the extra weight was not terribly flattering.
Bob's work life was just a bit more unusual than his appearance. To the family and friends, he was thought to be an employee for an advertising firm. In his private office, he had heaps of paper in assorted piles. No one would have thought that his job was other than what he described.
In actuality, Bob worked for the government. He was an undercover agent an investigative department for 10 years. His position required mainly investigations into the financial dealings of insurance companies. In truth, Bob would have preferred to work for a more exciting investigative position. However, times as they were, lay-offs, and pay cuts, Bob kept his feelings and unhappiness to himself.
Millie, on the other hand, was a red head; 5'5" and was quite an attractive woman. However, her unhappiness from her job lent her physical features to be a definite drawback. She never had a smile on her face and was too serious, with only a hint of a sense of humor.
Both Mildred and Bob dressed in an informal, casual, but not particularly stylish type of clothing. Their children were relentless in their criticism of their appearance. "Don't you think you should look a bit more distinguished living in D.C.? Dad" Anthony would ask. Jennifer admitted that she was actually embarrassed to have her parents with her; but then again, what 16 year old would differ from that attitude?
In 1964, Bob saw Sean Connery as James Bond in the Goldfinger film. For years he couldn't get James Bond out of his mind. He loved to watch the TV spy spoofs such as Get Smart or The Man from U.N.C.L.E. even though they were silly and unrealistic, but were wonderful diversions for him.
Whenever, Bob had a moment to himself, he reflected upon those days, when he was a teenager, and wished that TV would air some of those shows. To his surprise, they were on occasionally, however, he always missed them.
Bob's older sister, Jeannie had a crush on the two agents on THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. She and her brother would fight over the TV to watch U.N.C.L.E. every Friday evening. He hated to admit to his sister that he actually loved the show too, for different reasons, of course. It just wasn't "cool" for an 11 year old to watch a show to which so many girls were addicted. They were all devoted fans of Napoleon or Illya.
Jeanne, now 56 suffered from severe depression. What a change from those days of her teens, also in the '60s. She was also very unhappy with her marriage to Adam Barkin.
Bob recalled how he'd tease her over her infatuation with Robert Vaughn who played Napoleon Solo, and yet the next week, David McCallum who played Illya Kuryakin. She became irate whenever he asked how a Scottish actor could play a Russian spy. "Because he's a great actor, you idiot!" she would reply. "Also he has a PhD from the Sorbonne. He also loved to annoy her when he pretended that he couldn't pronounce McCallum's character name. After botching the name up, she'd yell back at him; "It's I-L-L-Y-A K-U-R-Y-A-K-I-N, you dope!"
Years later, Jeanne, became a librarian. Bob always thought that she would follow a more exciting career. She was such an animated teen, and he never imagined her spending half of her life in a library. However, Library
Science was her major at NYU.
Jeannie married a classmate, Adam Barkin. He and Bob were pals. No family problems with their friendship. After 10 years of marriage, Jeannie and Adam began to have marital problems and considered divorce. There was rarely a smile on Jeannie's face anymore, and she rarely ceased to bring her attitude of depression. It drove Bob crazy to see his sister change from the bouncy teenager to a depressed 48 year old. She was also short and overweight, while Adam was tall and thin. She wondered if he was seeing another woman. Their problems seemed to be infinite. Each holiday became more difficult for the Peterson's and the Barkin's to enjoy.
This past Christmas, last month, Bob was wandering the aisles of Wal-Mart searching for a gift for Jeannie. As he saw a VHS set of U.N.C.L.E., he recalled how she loved the show. He thought that for once, she would have that happy expression by which he'd remember her. When she opened the gift, her reply disappointed him, for she explained, "How could you think that I'd watch such trivial nonsense. I have got a bit more sophisticated lifestyle than to sit around and watch old TV shows!" When Bob pointed out her previous teenage love for the agents, she thrust the packages into his hands and recommended that he return them. He could just give her a gift certificate. The tapes sat on the dining room table for a month.
What a disappointment to Bob. He thought that if anything, a happy reminder of the past would bring back some happiness in her life. Obviously, he was wrong.
This memory was running through Bob's brain as he was driving to work. So intense it was, that he nearly missed a left turn arrow. He was jarred back to the present as a passenger behind him blasted his horn. That was life these days. Everyone was rude and in a hurry. It seemed like the '60's was such a better time. Of course, Bob was remembering the best of the '60's.
That evening, Bob mentioned, before he went to bed, that his throat was bothering him. Millie, being an RN, demanded to "have a look." Her diagnosis was that he was assuredly catching the virus of the month, and that he had better not cough or sneeze on anyone in the family!
The next morning, Bob came downstairs dressed only in his bathrobe. "Hey, what's the matter with you, dad?" Anthony questioned his father's inappropriate attire.
Bob hoarsely replied that he had a terrible cold, cough, and was possibly was running a fever. He was definitely, for the first time in years, not going to work that day. Anthony said that he'd love to catch it from him so that he could miss a couple days of school. His father was quick to point out that his grades were already disgraceful and that missing school would not make life much easier. Millie reiterated her warning from last evening, that Bob had better not spread that darn virus around to the family. She ordered him to take a cold preparation, which Bob always referred to as "Millie's cocktail."
After the family left for their various daytime activities, he had the house to himself. He planned to catch some flicks on cable, and generally take advantage of the time off. His son's sentiments of enjoying the freedom were definitely in Bob's plans.
As Bob lay his aching body, upon the couch, his eyes fell upon the stack of "to be returned" items from Christmas. He saw the unopened package of VHS's from "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." TV show. "Aww, what the heck, I'll keep them, and get a few chuckles out of our old buddies Napoleon and whatever his name was. That flashback hit him again of the fun he had with Jeannie when they were teens.
After struggling to unwrap the package of 6 VHS, s Bob popped a one from the first season into their player. "The Quadripartite Affair/The Giuoco Piano Affair."
"I remember that one, no, I think it was, no…" He went on and on, until he just turned it on. Soon he heard Jerry Goldsmith's catchy musical introduction to the show. It would go through his head all the time in Jr. High. As he watched the 35-year-old TV show, Bob's eyes started to close. The "Millie Cocktail" started to take effect. He'd open his eyes on and off, and smiled. "Oh, if life were still like that" he mumbled. Then he fell asleep and started to dream.