Good Luck, Bingo

Thursday was a sad day for us. Bingo, our CIA-engineered puppy, left home on his top-secret mission, and it will be weeks before we hear any news from him.

We drove him down to one of those huge undisclosed locations that you always hear about. This one sprawls out over several acres and looks, to the unsuspecting passing civilian, like a posh, gated grade school, tucked away and surrounded by dirt roads, live oaks and Florida wilderness.

Just outside the main facility, two other dogs (who looked remarkably like Bingo) paced back and forth, accompanied by civilian handlers just like us, a few of whom we had met before, maybe in Central America (or maybe that was just a dream). Anyway, we all talked for a while, put on our best faces and tried not to get overly sentimental.


(Photo by Durga Garcia)

The boys wanted to pose for a quick photo. That's Bingo in the middle, hamming it up for the camera. A door opened, and a group of uniformed young people marched into place. Time to go. We said some quick good-byes, and then the three boys climbed into a waiting helicopter and they were off. Who knows what they are all doing now?

To help us feel better, they gave Cheryl a pin and a letter from President Obama. Did I get a pin or a letter? No. But that's OK. I told them I didn't need any letters from the president--I've already got a big stack of his letters (asking for my help, but I've been so busy), not to mention all the phone messages that I haven't returned yet (including that one about the oil). :)

Good luck, Bingo.