Return of Agent Man

Emilio Fanfucci and Action!

            As I walked into the Missouri Botanical Gardens on this beautiful spring afternoon, I realized it was a special moment in time.  I was accompanied by my bride of thirty-three years, Pamela and my son John Colin.  We were attending a lovely rehearsal dinner for eighty guests thrown by Mr.  & Mrs. Doug Gast for their son Bob and his soon to be wife, the lovely Betsy Engler.  We had known Betsy and her equally lovely sister Catherine Brittain since birth.  Their parents, Jack and Becky Engler, were dear friends of ours and while the dinner and subsequent wedding reception included the A-list of St. Louis society, somehow we had been included.  The theme of the dinner had been safari casual since Bob and Betsy (known as B & B among their friends) would honeymoon for two weeks in South Africa.  After looking over the crowd, it occurred to me that B & B would probably not be making a tour of Sowetto’s Township during their visit to Africa.

             I was definitely into the whole theme of safari and broke out all my old jungle safari outfits for the occasion.  In addition to my white cowboy hat which is well known in Mexico, Central America and parts of South America, I also had my buck knife, first-aid kit (containing a small traveler of Grey Goose Vodka, strictly for medicinal purposes only) and my machete. 

John Colin looked at me, rolled his eyes and said, “Dad, don’t you think that is a little over the top?” 

I replied, “Hey, they want safari, they are going to get the whole ball of wax!”  Pam looked and just began to laugh.  There was nothing more to say, we were off to the Botanical Gardens.

            When we arrived at the parking lot, both Pam and John suggested that I loose the machete I had draped over my back.  We ran into Becky Engler and Dr. Bob Hicks.  Becky, the most wonderful free spirit and upbeat lady one could meet, looked at me and said, “Uncle Kevin, go for it!” 

John Colin looked at me with a jaundiced eye and remarked, “Pop, machetes, alcohol and plants do not mix.  First, cocktails, then the machete somehow comes out of the sheath and rare plants start falling to the ground.” 

The big boy did have a point and at that moment, I made the executive decision to leave the machete locked up in the trunk of the car.  In retrospect, it was a most wise decision.

            We walked through the beautiful gardens, past the indoor atrium which contained fauna and flora from all over the world.  I noticed out of the corner of my eye a small sigh of relief as John Colin looked over at the plants and then continued to look straight ahead with his Marine Corps bearing.

            As we approached the outdoor party, the closest person to safari casual was a man dressed in yellow Bermuda shorts, a white shirt with a leopard bow tie, blue blazer and field glasses around his neck.  At first the group stopped talking and just stared at us.  It was obvious that their idea of safari was quite different than ours.  At that moment, Jack En