We watch quite a lot of the old classic Mission: Impossible  at our house and I have developed a working theory that master-spy Jim Phelps slept with the wrong guys wife.

Balderdash, you say? Well, bide a wee, Obligated Reader, and you may yet come around to my way of thinking.

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Sure, Jim Phelps and the Impossible Missions Force get all the really cool assignments, but just consider the rigmarole that he has to go through just to get to the damn self-destructing tape every week.

Drive your car 3/4 a mile outside of town, climb a water tower, and pull out the plastic bag containing the tape recorder.

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Climb down the sewer and after the third rat on the left you’ll find the tape recorder.

Disguise yourself as a Burger King employee . . .

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And then there are the times when he has to use the special codes with another agent – or just some schmuck they hired off the street to do the job – in order to get the tape.

Jim: Boy Scouts in bloom never go out of style.

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Store clerk: Unless you accidentally kill them with a ceiling tile.

And then, once he finally gets the tape – which he can’t replay because the damn thing goes up in smoke – the message may or may not tell him which country he and his team are supposed to go to, so that they can make the world safe for democracy once more.

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All of which leads to the inescapable conclusion : Jim Phelps slept with the wrong guy’s wife, some minor bureaucrat whose only job is to be the middle man between Phelps and his superiors.

And what if Jim Phelps – who has pissed somebody off royally – were to turn down the job, because it’s too dangerous, too gross, or outright insane?

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One more thing, Mister Phelps . . .

Does anybody remember the great briefing scenes with the team, in which, even though the show was in color, everyone was dressed in black and white?

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Today’s Soundtrack

Listening to the great soundtrack from the remake of “The Thomas Crown Affair,” which has Nina Simone’s full-length version of “Sinnerman.”

It also feature’s Sting’s version of “The Windmills of your Mind,” which is pretty good, though I still prefer the Noel Harrison version from the original film.

The great Nina Simone’s “Sinnerman”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH3Fx41Jpl4

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Now on YouTube: Banjo Master Clarke Buehling

My interview with Banjo master Clarke Buehling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuhEi3ngYq4

“On the Air with Richard S. Drake” celebrates 26 years on the air in 2017.

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Quote of the Day

Parents who expect gratitude from their children (there are even some who insist upon it) are like usurers who gladly risk their capital if only they receive interest. – Franz Kafka

rsdrake@cox.net

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