Covert Affairs Season 2 Review: 'Sad Professor'

For several weeks now, Danielle has picked up on clues that maybe Annie is not being entirely honest about her job at the Smithsonian. So after Annie dodges an offer for Danielle to drive her to work with a constantly morphing story about a work conference, Danielle dons the big dark sunglasses, gets in her car and follows Annie. Of course, Miss Annie is a spy and notices she is being tailed by a familiar looking minivan. Also Danielle does not appear to be a good driver, so Annie manages to get away quickly. When she gets to work (20 minutes late thanks to having to detour to lose Danielle) she tells Auggie about it, and he said it is normal for family to get curious when you join the agency.

But all of the family spy talk comes to a halt when Arthur arrives with Joan (never a good sign) to make an announcement. A CIA operative, codename Moonlight, was killed in the line of duty. I’m assuming the stat Arthur gives is accurate, that only 103 ops have been killed in the last 65 years. Only 4 on US soil. It’s sad news made even sadder when Joan tells Annie that Moonlight was her Georgetown Langauge Prof and advisor, Mark Ramsay (we met him briefly last season). That connection put Annie at the top of the list to find his killer, natch.

Mark, as a well-respected language professor, travelled the world giving him the opportunity to recruit assets, make drops, and all that good CIA op stuff. His current mission involved tracking a local Pakistani spy ring with whom he had an inside man. He was killed before he could make his last drop, so Annie now needs to go get the documents that have the intel, wherever they may be. Annie was chosen because she knows Mark’s wife, Safia. (Who when they show her picture, is clearly Pakistani. Does this not set off alarms for anyone else?) Thing is, Safia didn’t know Mark was a spy. Joan didn’t want Annie to tell her, but Arthur says they don’t have time for that, so just lay it all out there. Annie is nervous, but Auggie tells her there is no protocol, just find the way that works for her. Annie arrives at the wake, and Safia is so happy to see her because, as we know, everyone loves Annie. As Safia is called off, a few young men, one of whom is very creepy (alert alert!) chat up Annie for a moment. Annie excuses herself to make sure she has time to talk with Safia later.

The Memory Box: Helping You (and Me) Preserve More Than Just ...

My son is 14 years old, starts at Rockhurst High School this August, and is growing up much too fast. No longer does he want hugs. He is a young man of few words and, in so many ways, is very different from the little boy I remember.

He is a hockey player , Lacrosse midfielder , a friend to many, and a great son that we are so very proud of. Recently, I was emptying out his old dresser as I was thinking of painting it and taking it to our lake house.

To my surprise, I came across the first book that he read completely on his own: “ When Bunny Grows Up ” by  Patsy Scarry (I remember the sense of accomplishment we both felt and how he could not wait to read it to his Dad!), the book I gave him “ Love You Forever ” written by Robert Munsch which still makes me teary, and his favorite book to have me  read to him before bed “ The Runaway Bunny ” by Margaret Wise Brown.

I remember I would  just finish the last page and he would say “again mommy, please!” I also came across his bear sweater that he wore to his first day at Thornhill Nursery School (a school I hold dear to my heart for the great experiences it gave my son and myself for the three years I volunteered there), his Mouseketeer ears from a trip to Walt Disney World Florida that  he swears he doesn’t remember, his GAP ball hat, and his University of Michigan sweater he wore to more than one football game over the years.

So why am I sharing all of these memories with you? Because here I am, the General Manager of Prestige Preservation and the Customer Service Director for GreenEarthCleaning, and even I have precious memories to preserve for the future that I haven’t taken care of!

However, I will procrastinate no longer! All of the items are being cleaned in GreenEarth and very soon I will be preserving them in our Prestige Preservation Memory Box for my son (ok, and for me too!).

I know I will come across more things to put away and I will fill another Prestige Preservation Memory Box…or two…or three…or four. I know that he will appreciate this little time capsule I have created and preserved to keep in good condition so he may  hand down some of his precious memories to his children. I think I will save all of them for his wedding day (shhhhhh!!)

I challenge each of you to take a look around your home and see what memories you would like to preserve. It is a good way to pare down our possessions and keep what is important in good condition to hand down someday. But most of all it allows us to take a trip down memory lane and relive some of those precious moments that slip away far too fast.  For more information, contact a Prestige Specialist today!

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