Jeff—Saturday
I am so jealous this week of my blogmates. Their posts show
them travelling off to Florence (not Kentucky), Paris (not Texas), Hong Kong
(via the land of King Kong), and hobbiting in Scotland (are there one or two
“t”s in hobbiting?), while I sit in Washington (neither the DC nor the state
versions thereof) down in the heart of southwest Pennsylvania’s natural gas fracking
territory close by its border with West Virginia.
 |
| That's me, in the lower left corner. |
It is home to a gem of a picture postcard college where I once
again have the privilege of playing professor for a month to a dozen
mystery-writing students. But it’s also
proving to be an endless source of Stephen King-like inspirational moments—both
in characters and settings.
In juxtaposition to my current locale are photos and videos
contained in the daily missives (I consider them more like missiles for their
destructive effect upon my psyche) from my Mykonos friends enticing me to
return home to the off-season beauty of our island. How can one not miss such a beautiful place;
filled with people who live by the philosophy of, when all about you is
crumbling, don’t mope, get out and enjoy life for what you have. Viva the Mediterranean attitude!
But nothing touched me more than this brief British Pathé film clip
of Mykonos 50 years ago. It is of a time long passed…unless you happen to be on
Mykonos during the off season.
Perhaps it is time to go home.
 |
| Rhenia, Delos, Mykonos (Left to right) |
Soon.
—Jeff
Silly you. As a writer, I'd think you'd KNOW that it's one 't' if the hob is biting you NOW, and two 't's if you were bitten in the past. Sheesh.
ReplyDeleteThank you, my precious.
DeleteViva wherever the inspiration comes, Jeffrey. Bon voyage Cara
ReplyDeleteAny place is beautiful if it's home. Even Paris, Texas.(however, if given a choice of going to a place that is not home, I'll happily take Mykonos.)
ReplyDeleteAnd Mykonos would happily welcome you, Donis! Sorry if the Paris Texas remark came across as disparaging, for it wasn't intended, though I must say every time I hear the name I think of Harry Dean Stanton :) from of course the movie.
DeleteBy the way, Jeff, I thought of you yesterday evening. I was watching an episode of 60 Minutes from the past week or two that had a segment on the "AgriMafia" of Italy, and how they adulterate the "Extra Virgin Olive Oil", some of it completely fake (other cheap vegetable oils with chemicals added to give it color and some kind of flavor/smell). They suspected that a majority of the "Extra Virgin Olive Oil" imported into the US from Italy was adulterated or fake. I checked the stuff we buy at Costco, and it's from Greece. That both did and didn't make me feel better, after having read Devil of Delphi...
ReplyDeleteTruth is, I'm not surprised. For years the Italians have been buying Greek olive oil and selling it as Italian. And of course there have been scandals about counterfeit and adulterated Italian (as well as other) wines. As I pointed out in "Devil of Delphi," it's a problem plaguing every product with the potential of yielding such great profits to the counterfeiter.
DeleteI feel you...I'm sitting in my office in California, watching the rain and longing for Japan this week. Fortunately, my son may be heading back over for the summer, which means I'll have a reason to justify another research trip...soon, indeed!
ReplyDelete(And I hope you get back to Mykonos quickly, too.)
I love a parent who knows how to exploit their children in the appropriate manner. :) Happy travels.
Delete