I’m going to throw this out to the group in hopes that your collective knowledge may offer insight into a question that has bugged me for several decades.

During the mid-1950’s, my parents worked in Washington D.C. My mom was a secretary at the CIA and my dad worked for the Navy Department. Their neighbors and friends were often government employees. Not long after my birth, we moved out of D.C. and the bonds of these friendships were largely severed.

Fast forward to the mid- 70’s, my dad was working for the federal government in another city. I should note that he worked in a non-intelligence agency. I’m positive of this. Anyway, one of his old friends from the DC days was still in the CIA and stationed in this same city where dad now worked. This friend asked my dad for a favor. On occasion, we would receive an ordinary-looking letter at our house that would be addressed to a specific individual. I won’t name the individual ( it is an odd name) , but can say a Google search doesn’t provide any matches. Anyway, when the letters would arrive, my dad would notify his friend’s office and someone from the friend’s station/office would stop by where dad worked in order to pick the letter up. We probably received a dozen or so of these letters over a 5-10 year period. They always came addressed to the same person. On occasion, I would hold the letters up to a bright light in an attempt to read them. The only text I could discern was always seemingly mundane. For example, “It was great to see you”, etc. I remember one was signed “Floyd and Marian”, or something like that.

I don’t think there was any real cloak and dagger element to this arrangement, but it has been a source of puzzlement. My dad says he has no idea what it all meant and simply viewed it as doing a favor for an old friend.

Does anyone have any idea what this was all about?

Peter T.