Boy From Foggy Bottom
L. E. Indianer
- “Boy
- From
- Foggy
- Bottom”
- by
- L.
- E.
- IndianerSeeking
- adventure
- over
- their
- summer
- vacation,
- Florida
- teenagers
- Jonathan
- Roth
- and
- his
- friend
- Adam
- travel
- to
- Iran
- in
- 1979,
- to
- visit
- Adam’s
- grandparents.
- As
- they
- tour
- historic
- sites
- in
- Shiraz
- and
- Persepolis,
- they
- learn
- that
- the
- Ayatollah
- is
- trying
- to
- erase
- decades
- of
- modernization
- that
- occurred
- under
- the
- Shah.
In
- Shiraz,
- at
- the
- beautiful
- palace
- and
- Garden
- of
- Paradise,
- they
- encounter
- the
- mysterious
- Rafi,
- an
- Iranian
- who
- spoke
- English,
- and
- seemed
- to
- be
- watching
- them.
- When
- the
- two
- young
- men
- explore
- the
- ruins
- of
- Persepolis,
- they
- meet
- two
- charming
- girls,
- including
- the
- lovely
- Polly,
- whose
- fathers
- work
- at
- the
- U.S.
- Embassy
- in
- Tehran.
Invited
- to
- tour
- the
- embassy
- by
- Polly,
- they
- pass
- Iranian
- student
- protesters
- shouting
- anti-US
- and
- anti-Israeli
- slogans.
- Once
- inside
- the
- embassy,
- they
- are
- suddenly
- ordered
- to
- leave
- by
- Polly’s
- father,
- who
- senses
- impending
- danger
- from
- the
- angry
- mob.
- Making
- their
- escape
- through
- a
- back
- door,
- Jonathan
- is
- forced
- to
- use
- his
- Tai
- Kwon
- Do
- skills
- in
- a
- fight
- with
- two
- Iranian
- assailants.
- Once
- again,
- the
- mysterious
- Rafi
- appears
- and
- drives
- the
- boys
- and
- Polly
- to
- a
- secret
- clinic
- where
- Adam
- is
- treated
- for
- injuries
- suffered
- in
- the
- fight.
Jonathan
- finds
- that
- his
- fight
- with
- the
- two
- Iranians,
- also
- captured
- on
- TV,
- forces
- him
- to
- go
- into
- hiding.
Rafi
- reveals
- his
- CIA
- identity,
- and
- on
- assignment
- to
- Iran.
- He
- helps
- Jon
- escape
- by
- crossing
- the
- snowy,
- rugged
- mountains
- into
- Turkey,
- killing
- several
- members
- of
- the
- secret
- police
- in
- the
- process.
Jon
- returns
- to
- Florida
- where
- he
- finishes
- high
- school
- at
- age16.
- Polly
- and
- her
- mother
- move
- back
- to
- their
- home
- to
- Washington,
- DC
- She
- does
- not
- realize
- that
- it
- will
- be
- 450
- days
- before
- she
- will
- see
- her
- father
- again,
- being
- one
- of
- 52
- hostages
- taken
- prisoner,
- in
- what
- became
- known
- as
- the
- Iran
- Hostage
- Crisis.
When
- Jonathan
- becomes
- a
- student
- at
- Georgetown
- University,
- he
- renews
- his
- relationship
- with
- Polly.
- The
- two
- marry
- after
- her
- father
- is
- released
- from
- Iran.
- Jonathan’s
- ambition
- to
- go
- into
- business
- comes
- soon
- while
- in
- college.
- Ted
- Silber,
- a
- former
- Holocaust
- survivor,
- and
- the
- owner
- of
- two
- units
- in
- the
- Maryland
- Wholesale
- Produce
- Market,
- becomes
- his
- mentor.
- The
- business
- is
- successful,
- as
- Jonathan
- and
- Polly,
- over
- time,
- buy
- the
- two
- units,
- and
- expand
- these
- into
- 52
- units,
- and
- blessed
- with
- two
- children.
But
- Jonathan
- is
- unable
- to
- forget
- his
- Iranian
- experience
- with
- Rafi,
- who
- became
- a
- good
- friend.
- He
- questions
- Rafi
- about
- the
- possibility
- of
- becoming
- a
- CIA
- covert
- agent
- as
- well
- as
- a
- businessman.
- Rafi
- informs
- him
- that
- this
- is
- indeed
- possible
- and
- agrees
- to
- mentor
- him
- into
- the
- agency.
- Over
- the
- years,
- Jon
- and
- Rafi
- work
- together
- on
- several
- dangerous
- missions.
- Ted
- informs
- Jon
- about
- his
- experience
- in
- a
- Nazi
- concentration
- camp,
- and
- the
- beatings
- he
- and
- others
- received
- from
- a
- sadistic
- guard,
- Gerhold
- Habich.
- Jon
- and
- Rafi
- eventually
- search
- in
- Germany,
- and
- the
- United
- States,
- for
- this
- Nazi
- monster.
Years
- later,
- Jon
- couldn’t
- imagine
- a
- more
- ideal
- life
- than
- working
- with
- Poly
- to
- build
- a
- family
- business
- and
- being
- able
- to
- give
- back
- to
- his
- country
- as
- a
- covert
- agent.
- Near
- the
- end
- of
- their
- careers,
- Jon
- said
- to
- Rafi,
- “Even
- though
- you
- and
- the
- agency
- took
- only
- one
- percent
- of
- my
- time,
- it
- gave
- me
- that
- extra
- challenge
- I
- needed…mentally
- and physically.”
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