Behind the Man Behind the Badge
They always said to me, "And what did you do?"
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
My Nights in the Brothel
During 1967-71 we were stationed in Taiwan, Republic of China, and our home was located in a city named Peitou, about thirty-minutes outside of Taipei. We lived high on a hill which was terraced in rice fields, and which overlooked a beautiful lush green valley with two rivers crossing in the middle. In fact, the view was so magnificent movie companies used the viewpoint below our house for many of their movies. The background of the valley must have been in every movie made, as they were there frequently, blocking the entrance to our driveway and the road continuing to the top of the hill.
Every morning the crisp sounds of “yi, er, san, sz” echoed up from a Chinese military school at the base of the mountain, as the students were put through their calisthenics. Yi, er, san, sz---one, two, three, four! On Sundays, soothing, mellow music drifted up from the school and was the background to this beautiful location where we lived.
The hill to Wellington Heights, as our area was known, was quite steep and many of the local taxicabs could only go up part way, which meant if you were in one of those you had to walk from wherever it stopped to your final destination. One could walk through the rice fields and wander around the hill into the city center of Peitou, if one were so inclined. We, however, took the easy way and drove our car around the base of the hill and up the other side of the mountain into the town.
Peitou was an old town with hot sulfur springs which were extremely smelly, to say the least. In fact, when the wind was blowing the right direction, the odor was terribly strong and heavy even on our side of the mountain. Also, the sulfur in the air tarnished every piece of metal we had; brass, silver or copper. Our houseboy could spend half a day polishing and before he would be halfway down the hill on his way home, everything would be green with tarnish again.
In spite of the rotten egg smell, Peitou was famous for those hot springs. For generations people had been going to the springs for the baths. One of the bath houses became quite famous when in 1968 Time Magazine did an article regarding the R&R locations around the world, which were used by the military for the GI’s. The article mentioned Australia, Hawaii, Japan, and The Literary Inn in Peitou. Time Magazine used a photo of a GI in a hot bath, with a Chinese girl in each arm, for their cover on that issue, and the smile on his face said it all.
The Taiwan government was extremely upset over this portrayal of one of their cities and consequently the government closed down The Literary Inn, arrested the owner and the main woman in charge, and banned the magazine from the Island. The closure only lasted for a week and the women were released from custody and business continued as before. By this time we had been going there for several months, having been taken by some close friends we had made in Taipei.
Our friend was employed by AIR AMERICA in a prestigious position, and he and his family had been living in Taiwan for a number of years. They told us of having gone to the Inn since their daughter was an infant, and at this time she was about ten years old. They knew the owner and all the girls who worked at the Inn and felt quite comfortable in going there. They would go and have their hot baths, the girls would take care of their small child, and then they would return to their room, where they would have a wonderful one hour long massage followed with a sukiyaki dinner, prepared right in their room. Before long, we were going with them, and like them, became regular visitors.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
"Behind the Man Behind the Badge" is a collection of short stories recounting what I did as the wife of a Special Agent in the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Or, as the world knows it today---NCIS. A special agent's job is not only very demanding but at times the cases are extremely sensitive and secretive. So, as a wife living in this environment, I had to find my own way in each new country where we were assigned. Since, NCIS is attached to various military offices in each country, many of the stories involve activities with both American and foreign military personnel. I also explain how I had to adjust to military life as a civilian, one who had never been exposed to military life before. When my husband retired and we finally returned to the United States, friends and relatives would listen to my husband's intriguing tales of adventure. Then invariably they would turn to me and say, "And what did you do?" Occasionally, I would have the chance to tell one of my favorite stories. But before long they were eagerly asking my husband to tell them another story of intrigue. My own tales of intrigue, though none of them are super-secret types, cover---The Week I Went to War, To Sir With Love, My Nights in the Brothel, One for the Grinch, Modern Conveniences, Titillating Tidbits---just to name a few. The stories are written with subtle humor, compassion, and honesty, and relate my adventures of living in foreign countries. So, now, this is my way of telling what it was really like, "Behind the Man Behind the Badge."
About the Author
Bev Brannon is the wife of a retired NCIS Special Agent. She was born and raised in southern California, attended a local college, and was working for a large public utility company when she met the man she would marry. Seven days after they were wed he left for Vietnam, and one year later she found herself living in a foreign country. Her husband's twenty-eight year career with NCIS took them to the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, Italy and England. From those home bases she was fortunate to travel most of Asia and Europe. Since her husband's work kept him extremely busy and away from home a great deal of the time, she was left alone approximately eighty-percent of the time. The day-to-day issues, and the traumatic ones, were left for her to handle. She had to deal with the water-boy who provided bottled drinking water, the "Benjo" cleaner who cleaned the septic tank, the repairmen who thought American women didn't know what they were talking about, and of course all the shop keepers. In a foreign country this proved to be quite challenging. Her first priority in each country was to learn the language. And she did---enough to communicate and to find her way around. She explored each new region until she knew all the back-alleys, and then she and her husband found themselves leading their friends and co-workers on weekend jaunts into the countryside. The fifteen-plus years she lived overseas has provided her with numerous stories. Her ability to tell a great story is guaranteed to lead our emotions through tears of laughter to tears of sadness. Always letting us see through her eyes the wonderful experiences she enjoyed as the wife of an NCIS Agent.