I’m leaving for Greece in a few weeks. I can’t wait.
Finally, I’ll be in a place where I’m not inundated with tales of what’s
happening there. I’ll actually be there. Instead of hearing what’s wrong, what’s
right, what’s uplifting, what’s depressing, I’ll see it, experience it, feel
it.
Sadly, I’m leaving just as the Greatest Show on Earth is
getting underway…the US Presidential Election Campaign, filled with sideshow
acts that would challenge Federico Fellini’s La Stratda troupe. With
Kaldis #7 done and my looking for inspiration for #8, imagine the character
inspirations I’ll be missing so far away from that menagerie extraordinaire.
But alas, all is not lost.
There is an upside. All I need do
is look at a map and I realize how many of the great issues confronting our
modern world can be found in Greece’s Mediterranean neighborhood. I’d venture to say no western country is
closer to what seriously challenges our planet than Greece. And many of the players directly involved in
all of that somehow find their way to Greece, onto Mykonos, and—if I have any
luck at making truth sound as believable as fiction—into my books.
That’s not to say the US isn’t in the midst of horrendous
messes, both domestic and international, but America’s electorate no longer
holds out great expectations from those who make them promises to get
elected.
Greece, on the other hand, has new names running the
government and though the honeymoon isn’t quite yet over, the people are
getting restless, and events could turn this Grecian summer into something
quite unexpected.
I’ll be there hoping for the best…but likely writing a story
contemplating the worst. Or, maybe not.
Perhaps I’ll write something different. A comedy filled with fairy tale
concepts like love, understanding, and world peace. I’ll call it Round Trip, and feature a character
always ending up in the same place no matter where he thinks he’s headed. But no groundhogs. I think ostriches—with their heads buried
comfortably in the sand—are a far more symbolic expression of the times.
Kalo Paska to my Greek friends, and Good Luck to all.
Jeff—Saturday
Posts
Jeff, is it just me, or does Giulietta Masina look like she's morphing into Hilary Clinton? Not even Fellini could have invented the absurdities of these days. I have never been more delighted that I chose during the George W. Bush administration, to bury my head deep in the fictional past.
ReplyDeleteMy God, Annamaria, you're right! I wonder whether Anthony Quinn's character had astroturf in the back of his motorcycle pickup truck?
DeleteWith a great-grandchild coming in August, my only way to survive is to become an ostrich. The stupidity and the hypocrisy on both the right and left sickens me. (A plague on both your houses!) The boomers were supposed to be the first downwardly mobile generation in the U.S. The hopelessness of our young people is so depressing. If I ruled the universe, my solutions would have my own union up in arms. Close most of the colleges and open schools that teach skills that will get students job. I retired early because the level of my students kept going down, down, down. Everyone should have the right to go to college? Why? That is, why would they want to? The only ones who benefit are those getting fat on students loans. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox.
ReplyDeleteWell, Barbara, I see you've jumped right into the spirit of the debate currently consuming both Greece and the US.:)
DeleteNow I am really depressed. I read this in hopes of traveling far, but it sounds like there's no escaping the charlatans in your rogues gallery there. The gods need to help us! At least in Greece, you'll be closer to them. Im sure you'll be in a divine place!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lil, I certainly will enjoy it there. And to be honest, if you're a tourist in Greece you're aware of none of this. It's still among the most tourist friendly and beautiful places on earth.
DeleteThe benefit of missing out on the first round of the American presidential election is, of course, missing out on the first round of the American presidential election. Lucky you! Just remember: you'll be back LONG before it's all over. 20 months or so is a LONGGGG time. :-(
ReplyDeleteThanks, EvKa, I can always trust you to buoy my spirits.:)
DeleteYou are so lucky! To be in beautiful Mykonos, truly one of the most wondrous places on earth, and to have fantastic food and people around -- and, to be away from the debacle of the U.S. elections, is terrific.
ReplyDeleteDespite the awful financial crisis for so many people in Greece and the dilemma now faced by its government, it is still a beautiful country. I hope that the government can find a solution to the economic crisis, but how I don't know.
There are crises going on all over the world, wars, disease, poverty, unemployment, with some of the same woes as Greece faces. But at least there are beautiful beaches and sites there to distract from the problems.
Over here it will be TV, Internet and print media blasts nonstop until after the elections. I'm tempted to turn it all off and just read fiction for the coming period.
What a magical day, Kathy. It's Greek Easter, relatively warm, sunny, and I agree with every word you said. :)
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