Wonder Woman Meets the Prop Wash Gang

By Rick Francona

After I returned from Riyadh and my TDY assignment to US Central Command as General Schwarzkopf's interpreter during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, I was assigned to the Office of the Secretary of Defense to write the report to Congress on the war. My boss (once removed) was the now infamous Scooter Libby.

Lewis "Scooter" Libby and Rick Francona - 1991

My neighbor in Alexandria worked for a pharmaceutical company as their Washington Congressional office - a lobbyist. Since the company was headquartered in New York and much of their entertaining was in the DC area, she often asked Emily and me to fill her tables at non-political fundraisers - USO, Ronald MacDonald House, etc.

At one of these functions, she introduced me to an old friend, Lynda Carter - yes, Wonder Woman. Lynda and I are the same age (born 1951), so that was a point of discussion. She insisted that we have a photograph taken together - who was I to refuse? After assessing the lighting, she grabbed my arm, wrapped it around her waist and said, "Act like you're having a good time."

Lynda Carter with Rick Francona - 1991

Later, as I was leaving, I went to thank her for the consideration. She had had a few drinks and ran her hand down the medals on my mess dress uniform. She said, "You know, in Hollywood, we see all this stuff, and it's fake. I assume these are real?

WHAT I SAID: "Yes, they are. Thanks for taking the time to have a photo. Good Night." She said that it was her pleasure and she would see that I got the photo.

WHAT I WANTED TO SAY AND DO: Sure (Running my hands down her chest) - You know, we often see these in Hollywood and they're fake. I assume these are real?

Rick currently resides in Oregon and does commentary for MSNBC