I was listening to an audio book by a motivational speaker recently. “The universe is change, life is an opinion”, he states. The usual motivational lingo. My father, as all Greeks, liked to think himself the philosopher. He had many classic quotes that he stood by, and some that he had adapted to suit circumstances.…
Conversations on Retirement
My father never retired. He continued to work in the office till the last. He continued as a director of the Bank of Athens till the last. He continued raising funds for the Greek community and SAHETI till the last. He was passionate about all these things. There were phases in his life when he…
Conversations at Olympia
In modern times the flames for the Olympic Games are lit by concentrating beams of sunlight reflected in a parabolic mirror in front of the Temple of Hera at Ancient Olympia. The jealous goddess of women and marriage gives fiery light to the torch held in her gaze. The flame then travels to the host…
Conversations in Kitchens
At home in Alberton, a long American style ranch house, my father had his own kitchen. It was a complicated path to arrive there. It was after the second extension of the house that we acquired a large laundry that was too big just to wash clothes. I should have known. Along with this extension…
Conversations with the Archbishop
My mother tells the story of the surprise visit to Kakouri by the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Zimbabwe, Father Kyrillos. She had stayed behind in South Africa while my father visited Greece. It was a Sunday. Church in the village finishes by 9 a.m., so the farmers can get to the fields and do the…
Conversations about Holidays
We had an inverted life in South Africa, following the European seasons. In the middle of the year we would leave the crisp Highveld mornings for an oven baked Greece and return to the end of winter when the weather would always sour and sometimes even snow. As children we would nag my father to…
Conversations about a Shopping Centre
Bracken City is an open air shopping centre in the sprawling suburbs of Alberton that lead off from the heart of South African industries at Alrode and run down the gentle slope of veld to the Klip River. The suburbs all start with Bracken, an apt term for South Africa today where bracken invades more…
Conversations about Remembering
There is a story about a believer who spoke to God. He had walked many times on the beach, through good and bad times. He looked back on the pair of footprints that traversed the sand. God had accompanied him.But he saw stretches of sand with only one set of footprints. He asked God: “Why…
Conversations about Winning
I remember in the nineties my father was visiting us in Durban and received a midnight call from Uncle Arthur in Johannesburg. Under normal circumstances nobody called our house after 8 p.m. unless there was a major crisis, usually equal to the death of a friend or family member. Imagine as well that this call…
Conversations about Farming
When I returned from a long trip, as I have now from Australia for Marina’s wedding, my father would phone me to make sure we had arrived safely. As I got older I thought it wiser and more respectful to phone him first. I miss that about him. I also miss the drama about him…
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