by In my email this morning, I received an alert from the US State Department with the following headline:
Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Mike Hammer Travels to Stockholm and Brussels
Given I am a fan of older detective stories such as those from Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane, the name struck a chord with me. I’m like “are we really sending Mike Hammer to Stockholm to discuss water issues or is he just there to hang out with blonde Swedish dames with great gams?”
Sort of like the creator of Mike Hammer in this 1970s ad for Lite Beer from Miller.
Was this Mike Hammer like the early Mike Hammer played by Darren McGavin?
Or was he more like the later Mike Hammer played by Stacy Keach? Does he carry a .45ACP 1911 or does he carry a .38 Special J-frame?
Unfortunately, I don’t think this Mike Hammer is as cool as Spillane’s hard-boiled detective.
This Mike is a career Foreign Service Officer with degrees from Georgetown, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and the National War College. He also speaks four languages in addition to English. He holds the FSO rank of Minister-Counselor which is equivalent to a 2-star general.
While I’m sure this guy is supremely qualified for the job of Special Envoy, I actually prefer Mickey Spillane’s version as that one seems more authentic even if he is fiction.
Does he carry a 1911 that he named “Betsy”?
I about fell in the floor laughing when that Lite Beer commercial first came out. I was telling a co-worker about it and he asked with a puzzled look who Mickey Spillane was. It was a generational thing I suppose. But those old Lite Beer commercials were an example of ad making at it’s finest.
I chuckle whenever I hear someone mention Jake Sullivan, as I’ve read the Grimnoir series by Larry Corriea, where the protagonist is Heavy Jake Sullivan.