Courtesy of long-time reader Barbara Dale:
“In the actual year 1984 I was home alone one day in Bedford, Iowa (population 1600) when the doorbell rang. The man seeking entry flashed his FBI badge. Sitting in our living room he asked me if I knew that our daughter was corresponding with a KGB agent. I told him that our daughter was 18 years old and that she was engaged with a statewide church committee in exploring the possibility of a peaceful exchange with youth in the (then) Soviet Union. One name she had obtained and written to was a diplomat in the Soviet embassy in Washington, DC. At my rather scornful tone he defensively stated, “This is not Big Brother. We just thought you would want to know what your child is doing.” Ha! So I inquired how he came upon the information. He claimed the letter had not been read; they were simply acting upon the address and return address on the outside of the envelope!
So you thought mail just started to be photographed after 9/11/01??”
