What’s today? Friday.
Oh FiretrUCK, I’ve got to write a blog. This professorship gig is relentless.
I’m finishing up the third week of teaching two hours a day, five days a week,
plus an every day regimen of producing written critiques and rewrites of the
latest pages of my sixteen students’ new mystery novels.
I’m loving it, but why did I pick this year to give up
drinking? Oh how I miss my friends,
Jack, Jim, and Johnnie to console me. And
even my internationalist colleagues, Stoli, Jose, and Grey.
Did I ever mention before that I’d given up drinking? No, I didn’t do it so that I could more
clearly comprehend what’s going on in Greece—that would require an enchantment
and concomitant time travel to some point in the future where I could gaze back
on the past to see how things will turn out in order that I can tell you before
they happen (if you can follow that you’re definitely a Dennis Hopper fan).
No, I gave it up for one simple reason: On Mykonos there’s
only one of two ways to be if you’re the sociable sort, pleasantly pickled most
of the time or stone cold sober. You see, in the mornings in the harbor it’s
the fishermen offering you to share their tsipoura
(think grapa), at lunch time it’s wine,
at sunset ouzo or more wine, dinner
more wine, and late at night in the bars and clubs…well you get the idea.
Yes, I know, just say no.
Trust me, it’s not as easy as it sounds in a tourist paradise. “Hey, you
drank with him. Why won’t you drink with me?” “I’m just here on vacation for a
couple of days.” Or, “I’m buying you
this drink, you can’t say no.”
But if you say, “I don’t drink” and stick to it, despite the
initial razzing, your friends will stop asking and pushing you. Some will even privately confide that they
wish they could stop. It’s not a
question of alcoholism (I’m sure I’ll get letters on that one), it’s a matter
of that’s just the way it is over here.
It’s part of the life that I love. I just decided to focus more on the
other parts (none of which I’m a happy to say I’ve given up…so far).
The serendipitous result of all this is that every morning
when I wake up, I’m bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and roaring to go. No
fuzziness. In fact, I finished writing
my new novel for 2014 one and a half months before I thought I would!
At a book event for my current release (Mykonos After Midnight) moderated by my editor, I told how giving
up drinking helped me write my new book faster.
Like a shot, she deadpan quipped: “I’ll let you know if that was a wise
decision after I’ve read the manuscript.”
The manuscript…the manuscript! Oh, my God. I promised to
have final edits back to her by the end of the month. When am I going to find the time….
Jack, oh Jack….
Nah, besides, I’ve found a new pal to hang around with, Claust
as in Clausthaler. He’s a regular non-alcoholic
sort of chap.
By the way, there’s still all sorts of ways to get that
hangover headache-like feeling, Greek-style, without the booze. For example, here’s a news story from Reuters,
yesterday, that should do the trick:
A man who created a Facebook
page poking fun at a revered Greek Orthodox monk has been sentenced to 10
months in prison in Greece after being found guilty of blasphemy.
Thousands of Greeks
took to social networking sites to protest against the arrest in 2012 of
Filippos Loizos, 28, who used a play on words to portray Father Paisios as a
traditional pasta-based dish.
“He was merely
satirizing in a country that gave birth to satire,” his lawyer Yorgos
Kleftodimos said on Friday. “Never and by no means did he insult the Orthodox
Church.”
Father Paisios, who
was revered for his spiritual teachings and said by some believers to have
powers of prophecy, died in 1994.
Loizos has appealed
against the ruling and will not be jailed before his case is heard by a higher
court, Kleftodimos said.
The charges against
him, of insulting religion and malicious blasphemy, were filed after Christos
Pappas, a lawmaker from the far-right Golden Dawn Party, brought the issue
before parliament.
While blasphemy
charges are not commonly filed in Greece, a similar case in 2012 was brought
against the team behind an American play that depicted Jesus Christ and his
apostles as gay, drawing criticism from rights' groups and politicians who said
the country's blasphemy laws were outdated.
The production of
“Corpus Christi” was cancelled after weeks of protests outside the theatre by
priests and far-right groups, including Golden Dawn lawmakers.
Pappas is detained
pending trial on charges of belonging to a criminal group, as part of a
government crackdown on Golden Dawn.
*****
It’s complicated.
Jeff—Saturday
Posts
As a teetotaller, I find most people are pretty understanding when I tell them I can't drink. I have had the occasional comment that this must make me a cheap date. I tell them I prefer to think of it as being extremely good value for money.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, when I wake up in the morning feeling lousy, that's likely to be as good as I'm going to feel all day.
Hmmm, perhaps that explains why I feel so much more welcome among my check-splitting friends.
DeleteHmm, have to admit I've been out for a lot of group meals where I've had only a starter and no booze and been hit with a share of everyone else's cocktail bill. On such occasions the late and much lamented Sally Fellows used to sit down and her first words to the waitstaff were always, "Separate checks!"
DeleteI apologize in advance, Jeff, but I am going to say the obvious. With all that is going on in Greece, they are paying attention to satire and blasphemy. I am not sure if I should interpret this as a good sign or the end of the game.
ReplyDeleteI think it speaks more to how many cooks have a hand in stirring the broth (mixed metaphor, but I'm sure you get the point, Annamaria). With the razor thin majority held by the governing coalition, it appears no one has the stomach for jumping in and challenging even the most obviously exploitative positions (neo-Nazi parliament member wrapping themselves in the flag of the Greek church) that might cost the majority supporters. To be fair we see the same thing in the US. Hopefully, it will be reversed on appeal.
DeleteI think all politicians should be required to teach a course in something or other! Very quickly there'd be less whining about how little teachers work and how much time off they have.
ReplyDeleteNo argument from me on that suggestion, Stan. I never fully appreciated all that teaching entailed, especially for an intersession course (4 credits in 3 1/2 weeks). No wonder people kept telling me it's like taking a drink from a fire hose.
DeleteI never thought of that before Everett! Hmm, I suggest that considering the way things seem headed (here and there) we'd all appreciate your opting for extra soundproofing for that cellar of yours.
ReplyDelete