December
19 Strangest PR call of the year: The CIA

Yeah, that one. And after the formalities were out of the way ("This isn't a joke, this really is the Central Intelligence Agency" -- boy, they must get tired of saying that), a nice man named George Little wanted to know if I'd be interested some information about... Kevin Bacon's visit to the CIA? "We don't usually call entertainment magazines," George said. I'll bet! And I don't often get calls from secretive government agencies, and I'd like to keep it that way. But Kevin Bacon and the CIA? Hell, why not; it's the last Friday before Christmas. And so, then:

As we discussed, the Bacon Brothers visited the CIA yesterday before their show at the Birchmere.  It was a great visit – here are some of the highlights:

-- Hundreds of Agency officers greeted Kevin and Michael with applause and cheers.

-- Kevin and Michael took photos and signed autographs with a large number of Agency officers, and they toured the CIA Museum (whose unofficial motto is the “best little museum you’ll never see”).

-- CIA Director Mike Hayden – a big music fan – met with the Bacons.

-- Kevin and Michael also sat down with head of the National Clandestine Service, Mike Sulick, Michael Morell, the Agency’s head analyst, and Scott White, the #3 Agency official (Associate Deputy Director). Sulick is originally from New York, where the Bacons live, so they swapped stories on the Big Apple.

-- On their way out, Kevin and Michael stopped to thank a crowd of Agency employees who had gathered to send them off.

-- Kevin told them:  “Thank you all for coming out.  We had a great time. It’s been really informative, interesting, fascinating.  So thanks a lot for having us. And Happy Holidays.”

--Michael told them: “I’m Kevin’s brother, Mike, and we don’t know exactly what you people do, but we’re really glad you’re doing it.  Thank you and best of luck.”

I’m attaching a photo (Michael Bacon on left, CIA Director Mike Hayden in middle, and Kevin Bacon on right) that might be useful.

If you’re inclined to do something on this, let me know.

Merry Christmas, George. Now please don't tap our phones.