The Foreign Service Journal, May 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2015 77 JimOwen is the eldest son of the late FSO Robert I. Owen andMary Owen. His father joined the Foreign Service at the end of WorldWar II and served in the Dominican Republic, Finland, the Soviet Union, Germany and the former Yugoslavia, retiring in 1971. Born in Ciudad Trujillo (now Santo Domingo), Jim lived inMoscow twice during the 1950s, the second time as amiddle-schooler in 1958-1959. Jimand his wife, Jan, settled inMaine in the early 1970s. To his delight, their twin daughters went just to Bangor schools until they left for college. Jim is now retired, and enjoys writing poetry. Photos courtesy of JimOwen. Coming Out of the Cold BY J I M OWEN REFLECTIONS I was assumed to be a spy when I was in seventh grade. You see, I was an American living in Moscow, USSR, And the oldest son of an American diplomat. Accordingly, I was believed to be a threat to the Soviet Socialist Republic. There were big, uniformed guards at the entrance to our apartment building, Not so much to protect me from Russians, But to keep track of my coming and going, And to dispatch their spies to watch what I was up to. You don’t believe me? I was old enough, and had just enough Russian, To go get a haircut onmy own. The barber shop was a few blocks away, And I could walk there in just a fewminutes. Every time I went my guards wouldmake a call, So that two of their KGB agents could followme. They wantedme to know they were there, Wearing coats on a warmday When everyone else was in shirt sleeves, Just in case I had any funny ideas. I did have funny ideas. I subscribed to Mad Magazine , “Spy vs. Spy” was one of my favorite cartoons. I was also reading Tolkien, books about Narnia, And the great spy story, Kim by Rudyard Kipling. Since I was sure my bedroomwas bugged, I used to talk and read things tomy walls, My very own information counter-offensive. I wantedThem to know That I knewThey were there, That I could play the Game too, And I wanted to exposeThem to the corrupting influence Of a 12-year-old American Spy. n The Kremlin Tower and St. Basil’s Cathedral. Jim Owen and his mother in front of their first apartment building. They were forced to move when the building was condemned. The view from their new apartment.