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NICHOLAS COLOMBOS AND THE ART OF THE REAL ESTATE DEAL
November 2014
:: magazine
www.neomagazine.com
From The Editor
Going home to Kourounia by Dimitri C. Michalakis
18 BUYING AND SELLING
REAL ESTATE: A COLOMBOS FAMILY TRADITION
24 AHEPA’s Gold Coast
Chapter Decks the Halls for its Annual Gala
periXscope
Will two minuses make one plus? by Demetrios Rhompotis
26 Tribute Concert 8 Cyprus still Has the Edge
in Attracting International Business
for Legendary Stelios Kazantzidis in Astoria
strategy/στρατηγική
10 A “Homemade“
Greece subsidizing Western National Security
FUNDRAISER for Greek Children
by Endy Zemenides
30 KOUROUNIA
Portrait of a Greek Village
32 Journey of Hope:
Vaccinating Children in Greece
medical world
THE EBOLA VIRUS CRAZE: The Facts by Dr. Nicholas Kaloudis
34 Gallo winemaster
remembers odyssey from Cyprus
12 Gene Rossides
Awarded Cypriot Parliament’s Highest Honor
38 "Song of My Life,
A Memoir" Harry Mark Petrakis
hellenes without borders
Modern Greece and Greeks ...In Whose Image? by Alexander Billinis
Going home to Kourounia :: magazine FOUNDED IN 2005 BY
Demetrios Rhompotis Dimitri Michalakis Kyprianos Bazenikas
Publishing Committee Chairman
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As I get older and the world seems increasingly to implode (climate change, ISIS, US governmental gridlock, the resurgent Russian bear, Greece tied up in another Gordian knot of debt and political stasis, and, personally, the aging of relatives who once constituted our whole world), I keep thinking back to the good old days when I was young—if they ever existed. Part of my good old days was the first seven years of my life when I lived in Chios, Greece with my grandparents, on a farm with animals and lemon groves and tomato plants that we watered with rainwater collected in a cistern and plugged with one of my grandfather’s old shirts. A highlight for me were the trips my grandmother and I made periodically (my grandfather stayed to tend the farm) to visit my mother’s relatives up in the village of Kourounia—where my paternal grandparents also came from before they commuted to the town of “Chios” and the farm community of Kofinas. Kofinas was flat and sleepy. But Kourounia was up in the mountains, perched on the side of one mountain and facing another, and the houses were a splash of white with red-tile roofs and blue doors and red doors and green shutters and flowers sprouting in all colors according to the season most of the time in the shiny yellow tins that olive oil came in and were square and so fit perfectly in the trough along the terrace where the “nikokires” of the village displayed their flowers. We took a grumbling old bus (blue and white) with a picture of the saint bestowing his blessing above the front windshield along with a plastic sprig of flowers and the steering
wheel wrapped in a rainbowcolored tape and the “magnitophono” on the dashboard sometimes playing Yi o t i a L i d i a a n d S t e l i o s Kazantzides and we choked back the dust boiling in the window as the bus hung on the lip of the road and groaned its ascent up the mountains to the hills and then sailed along the hills through resin-smelling forests to the northern villages of Chios. And when we reached Kourounia, it was a homecoming for the ages: my grandfather “O Neamonites” met us at the “bus stop” outside the kafeneio and it was a privilege because he was the merchant prince of the northern hills and looked the part, with several gold teeth and big bear of a hug, and a general store nestled among the swaying cypress trees that smelled of the cheeses and olives and spices he sold and the smoked herring not far from “Neamonites Vrisi” where the chickens came to drink and the water ran teeth-numbing cold straight from the inside of the mountain. It was a fabulous magical world for a kid and the memories of it are evoked hauntingly in the photographs of my cousin George Michalakis featured in this issue. George used to visit Kourounia periodically all the way from Kenya (where he grew up) and like me he never got over the spell it cast over him. His photographs evoke both his memories and capture that microcosm of a world that once existed in those hills and is being revived in the memories of the children like George and me who visited or lived there and as we get older will think of it as our special refuge from all the vicissitudes of this world.
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Cyprus still Has the Edge in Attracting International Business The world corporate map is beginning to be redrawn in ways that offer us an opportunity to p r e s e n t Cyprus as an advantageous and effective jurisdiction for g l o b a l corporations. On the one hand, concern is growing a m o n g American multinationals by Aristos Constantine* over high corporate tax rates, worldwide taxation, and increasingly onerous regulation. As such, many U.S. corporations are moving their legal headquarters overseas or seeking mergers with foreign corporations in a process called “inversion”. On the other, there is an increasing public backlash against the corporate use of conventional “tax havens” to avoid taxation and ever closer government scrutiny of the corporate use of overseas subsidiaries in zero-tax jurisdictions or “tax havens”. As a result, American corporations are searching for alternative low-tax jurisdictions that are OECD compliant to avoid accusations of tax-evasion and other prohibited activities. While London, Ireland and Luxembourg are some of the more traditional on-shore jurisdiction choices for US corporations, Cyprus has the potential to become an equally established and popular alternative within the EU market if it is properly presented to the corporate community in the United States. The Cyprus Embassy Trade Center considers it a strategic priority to proactively engage and inform the American corporate community about the advantages that Cyprus has to offer as an ideal alternative jurisdiction. Moreover, we believe it is
important that we seize every opportunity to do so in a way that is relevant to the prevailing climate during any given period. While some might argue that the EU bailout/“bailin” last year may have sparked some concern about Cyprus, it has quickly become apparent that the country’s fundamentals remain sound and our value-proposition remains undiminished. A fact that the two international rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Fitch seem to agree with, having recently upgraded their ranking of the Cypr us economy noting Cypr us’ fiscal performance as higher than anticipated and that the services industries were affected much less than expected. There are three important current developments that can be highlighted in presenting Cyprus as an attractive choice as corporate jurisdiction. The first is the potential Cyprus has to emerge as a regional energy hub with the discovery of substantial offshore gas reserves and with the growing interest of major energy companies to use Cyprus as a hub for conducting business in the region, as evidenced by the recent decisions of corporate giants Halliburton and Schlumberger to establish a presence in Cyprus as their base of operations for the Eastern Mediterranean. Second, Cyprus’s recently reformed intellectual property Intellectual Property (“IP”) tax regime has made Cyprus one of the most attractive IP locations in the EU and worldwide. This is extremely important because of the increasing scrutiny given to the tax planning practices of such large companies as Apple and Google involving their use of zero tax jurisdictions as well as low-tax jurisdictions within the EU. Many other companies are seeking to avoid the related unfavorable public and government scrutiny that has arisen recently. The third and potentially most far-reaching development is the rethinking American banking and financial institutions have been forced to undertake in light of the recent movement toward a Euro-zone banking union. Up until now, most US and Asian banks have chosen to base their European operations in London because it has
given them an automatic passport to carry out their services across all 28 countries in the EU. But an eventual banking union with the European Central Bank (ECB) exercising greater authority over banks within the euro-zone may lead Britain to resist ECB authority or possibly even to leave the European Union altogether. (Britain is already challenging an ECB policy in the European Court of Justice that would force clearing houses handling euro-denominated transactions to decamp from London to the euro zone.) This would greatly complicate the operations of American banks that use the UK as their corporate headquarters. Consequently, as reported recently by the Financial Times, Wall Street banks are drawing up preliminary plans to move some London-based activities to Ireland or other EU jurisdictions to address concerns that the UK is drifting apart from the EU. Of course, some of the purported fears about a possible “Brexit” may prove to be hyperbole. Nonetheless, they do provide an opportunity to introduce Cyprus into the US corporate conversation about the best jurisdictions for locating corporate activities. Ireland is reported to be viewed as particularly attractive for US corporations because: 1) It has a low corporate tax rate, 2) It has an English-style legal system and an English speaking population. 3) Euro-zone membership. It should be noted that all the attributes that make Ireland an attractive jurisdiction are similar if not identical to those that can be offered by Cyprus. Moreover, our strategic geographic location, low operating costs and excellent infrastructure of professional service providers combined with the low level of taxation constitute Cyprus an ideal home for multinationals; And our progressive tax system, combined with our expansive network of double tax treaties, make Cyprus the perfect jurisdiction for establishing a base from where to consolidate and manage international investments.
*Aristos Constantine is Trade Commissioner of The Republic of Cyprus, Cyprus Embassy Trade Center – New York
8
NOVEMBER 2014
ECONOMY
Prince Alexander, Princess Katherine and her Sister with Dr. and Mrs. Smith, the hosts of the benefit dinner
A “HOMEMADE“ FUNDRAISER by Cindy Klimek FOR GREEK CHILDREN Dr. Spyros Smith and his wife Litsa hosted a fundraiser for the “Mαζί για το Παιδί” charity at their home in Connecticut. The Athens-based organization, which translates to “Together for Children,” is a collection of 10 non-profits committed to the medical wellbeing of Greek children in need. “They provide incubators for neo-nates, beds, respiratory machines, you name it,” says Dr. Smith.
Among the fundraiser’s 120 attendees were Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia and Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia (who the Smiths were introduced to through a mutual friend), Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, Focus Features’ ex-CEO Andrew Karpen, Photronics Inc. CEO Constantine Macricostas, singer Serapheim Lazos,
D. Smith and his wife Litsa with the Governor of Connecticut Dannel Malloy
“Governor Malloy usually stays from 20 minutes to a half an hour. This time he stayed for two and a half hours.” Dr. Smith attributes the evening’s low key vibe and close-knit guest list to its success. Though most of the attendees were not Greek, they were inspired to donate to the Greek-based Together for Children both because of their friendship with the hosts and because the event “was very home feeling for everybody.”
Princess Katherine with boys & girls who helped at the event
Dr. Smith introduces Dr. Bartzokas, President of "Together for Children"
Primadona Jadrank Jovanovic with troubadour Seraphim Lazos
Though the Smiths had given to charity in the past, with this fundraiser, “we decided to get off our butts and do something,” he says with a laugh. As the medical chairman of patient experience at Danbury Hostpital, Dr. Smith is no stranger to planning events. However, he admits it’s a bit more stressful when the event is taking place at your home. “Let’s put it this way, five months of sleepless nights!” he jokes. “At the hospital, you can go to people and say ‘here, do this’. At home, you’re the one doing,” he explains. Rather than go for glitz and glamour, the Smiths wanted the event to have a personal touch. To achieve this, the couple meticulously planned every aspect of the it, Mrs. Smith prepared most of the food herself, and the guest list was made up of family and close friends. “It was a personal touch endeavor. It was a family-oriented affair and everybody there was very dear to us,” he says. 10
NOVEMBER 2014
COMMUNITY
and Dr. Christos Bartzokas, the president of Together for Children, who flew in from Athens specially. The crowd was entertained by Jadranka Jovanovic, the primadonna of the Serbian opera, who played a dual role of performer and attendee. Aside from just fundraising at the event, the Smiths also put together a vacation raffle. Mrs. Smith offered a stay at her hotel in Greece, and also called upon friends with hotels in places such as Santorini, Rhodes, and Turkey to donate. At the end of the night, all the baskets had sold and the event had raised over $48,000, an amount that astounded planners and attendees alike. “We expected to raise about half of that, about $25,000-$30,000 and we would have been really happy with that,” says Dr. Smith. Another indication that the event was a success?
Dr. Smith with Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton
Dr. Batzokas and his wife
According to Dr. Smith, the next step in the process is making sure the money gets put in the right hands. To this end, they are keeping in close contact with the organization’s founder, Dr. Bartzokas. When asked if he and Mrs. Smith would host another event, he said that, despite the stress and sleepless nights, the couple is indeed planning on throwing another fundraiser in the next few years, though probably on a smaller scale.
At the invitation of the Republic of Cyprus’s Press and Information Office (PIO), Rossides made a book presentation at the Press Club, October 8. He also, accompanied by AHI President Nick Larigakis, met with President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades, U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus John Koenig, and Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulidis.
President of the Cypriot House of Representatives Omirou presents AHI Founder Rossides with the highest award the House can bestow upon an individual.
Gene Rossides Awarded Cypriot Parliaments’ Highest Honor American Hellenic Institute Founder Eugene T. Rossides received the highest honor bestowed upon an individual by the Republic of Cyprus House of Representatives. President of the House Yiannakis Omirou presented a medal to Rossides as a token of the country’s gratitude for a lifetime of dedication to Cyprus and its cause. “As the protagonist in convincing the U.S. Congress to impose an arms embargo on Turkey following the 1974 Turkish invasion and occupation of Cyprus and as the frontrunner in the fight in Congress to uphold the rule of law in American foreign policy, Mr. Rossides has proved an important asset for Cyprus and Greece, but also to the United States,” Omirou said. “His untiring advocacy for human rights, the rule of law and democratic principles make him a crossborder precious role model for generations to come.” Rossides received the honor while on a book tour of Cyprus and Greece, October 6 to 16, 2014. His latest work is titled, Kissinger and Cyprus: A Study
of Lawlessness. His book explores four themes: 1) then National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger's responsibility for the Cyprus tragedy of 1974 and its aftermath; 2) Cyprus’s importance as a strategic, economic, and political asset to Europe and the U.S.; 3) Turkey's actions as a rogue state; and 4) the Rule of Law and the United States.
President of Greece Karolos Papoulias and AHI Founder Rossides discuss Rossides’ latest book and developments in the eastern Mediterranean.
In Greece, book presentations were made in Athens and Thessaloniki. ELIAMEP (Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy) sponsored the first presentation as part of a larger discussion titled, “The American Role in Cyprus: Past, Present and Future.” DEREE – The American College of Greece also sponsored a book presentation on its campus and more than 250 persons attended the event. AHI-Athens President George Economou hosted a dinner in Rossides’ honor where 50 close friends and associates came out to pay tribute to Rossides at the Athens Club. “My sincere gratitude to AHI-Athens President Economou for hosting a marvelous event,” Rossides said. “I was deeply touched by it, and I was truly moved to see so many close friends and colleagues.” While in Athens, Rossides and Larigakis met with President of Hellenic Republic Kostas Papoulias and Deputy Foreign Minister Kyriakos Gerontopoulos. In Thessalonki, Anatolia College and AHI sponsored a book presentation at the Officer’s Club. There, Lt. General Ilias Leontaris, commander, C' Army Corps and HQ NATO Rapid Deployable Corps-Greece, hosted Rossides for a private dinner.
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Endy Zemenides is the Executive Director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC), a national advocacy organization for the Greek American community. To learn more about HALC, visit www.hellenicleaders.com emenide by Endy Z
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GREECE SUBSIDIZING WESTERN NATIONAL SECURITY At the end of October, Greece’s Minister of Public Order and Citizen Protection Vassilis Kikilias visited the United States to coordinate antiterrorism policy with the Department of Justice, the CIA, FBI, State Department and National Security Council. As the minister responsible for Greece’s borders, developments in the Eastern Mediterranean must leave him dizzy. Just in the past few months, the region has faced the threats of Hamas and the Islamic State, has seen a Western ally – Turkey – turn into a force of instability, and has left every stakeholder in the region searching for some – for ANY – good news. During the minister’s meeting with the CIA, Director John Brennan honored Kikilias’ professional basketball background by presenting him a basketball with Michael Jordan’s signature. Brennan should have included Dikembe Mutombo’s signature, because it is such a defensive role that Kikilias and Greece are playing for the West. According to the CIA’s World Factbook, Greece is the world’s 11th largest country measured by coastline – surpassed only by countries that have 2 to 100 times its land area. This coastline gives migrants multiple opportunities for entry into the country, and thus the European Union, and Greece has been faced with an unprecedented number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean and Aegean to reach her shores. Then, consider Greece’s neighbors in the Mediterranean – Minister Kikilias would be wise to be constantly on guard against what might come his way from Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Libya. This brings us to the Western fight against the Islamic State. The enlistment of citizens of the UK, the US and other European countries into the ranks of the Islamic State is well documented. Now that massive pressure has been applied to Ankara to cut Turkey off as a source of transit for
these jihadists, they are looking for alternatives. Greece is therefore is emerging as a potentially crucial counterterrorism partner amid fears that European- and America-born Islamic State fighters seeking to return from the region to carry out attacks in their native lands. In an interview with The Washington Times, the minister said “While we don’t have a specific problem in Greece with jihadists and extremists, we have been monitoring people passing by from Europe going to third countries and from Africa or [the Middle East] going back to Europe.” In the same interview the minister said his meetings with top U.S. officials made it “obvious” that the movement of such extremists is “a primary issue for the U.S. government.”
immigration, compared with less than $4 million contributed to the effort by border agencies from other European nations. These costs should factor into the debt relief discussions between Athens and the Troika. 62% of Greece’s debt is held by the Troika – and there is more owed to other EU states. Their price for lending to Greece has been an “austerity first” policy. However, with the Mediterranean – and thus Greece’s borders – a porous transit point for Islamic State fighters, this is an area where neither the US nor the EU can afford Greece to cut. This is an idea that everyone can rally around – groups concerned with the economic recovery of Greece, groups concerned primarily with the
Greece’s Minister of Public Order and Citizen Protection Vassilis Kikilias (right) with US Attorney General Eric Holder So, the good news from the region for us Americans is that Greece is stepping and protecting its borders – and not only for its own sake, but for ours. Greece is not the ultimate destination for the jihadists traversing the region, yet she is bearing the lion’s share of the responsibility and the cost for tracking and interdicting them. The Washington Times cited a report that noted that Greece had spent more than $80 million on efforts to prevent illegal
national security of Greece, groups that focus on the national security of the US and the fight against the Islamic State. Minister Kikilias made it clear on several stops that Greece is committed to protecting the borders of the West, but to do more it needs more resources. Give Greece some level of credit/debt relief for the amount that it spends on border patrol – and thus on subsidizing our security in the US and the rest of Europe – and we will all be safer.
The Colombos Family - Efthimios, Alexandra, Amalia, Michael and Nicholas
BUYING AND SELLING REAL ESTATE: A COLOMBOS FAMILY TRADITION by Cindy Klimek
16
NOVEMBER 2014
COVER STORY
Despite only covering approximately 22 square miles, the island of Manhattan keeps hundreds of Real Estate agents employed. However, few have had the career and lineage of Nicholas Colombos, a fourth generation salesperson with nearly two decades of experience in the business. Born in Athens in 1968, Colombos came to the US when he was seven months old. As a child, he often accompanied his father to work, thereby learning the ins and outs of the business. “I always had a love for all aspects of the real estate business,” he says. “I was at my father’s side on the weekends watching and learning from him. We walked through the properties together talking about all the details that go into the day to day operation of a building.” Though the young Colombos had dreams of being an actor when he grew up, he admits, “the first time I listened to my father negotiate a deal I was hooked.” He would eventually enroll in Pace University, where he got his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Finance. During his college years, he also worked part-time at a real estate management office that handled his family’s personal holdings. “I was drawn to New York City real estate, particularly the downtown area, so I hit the pavement as an agent at Sopher Realty,” he says. Though Colombos has been in the real estate business for almost 20 years now, he still remembers his first sale. “It was a two bedroom loft apartment at 77 Bleecker Street. I felt a big sense of accomplishment because it was my first time negotiating a deal between the buyer, the
Aside from being a real estate agent, impressive impact Greeks have made in history.” Colombos also likes to be the buyer. Besides Greek values, Colombos and his wife are “I grew up with a real love for the art also making sure their children have a connection of putting a deal together, of buying to Greece as a country. The family spends their and renovating a great building and summers in Nafpaktos, a seaside town in the o f f i n d i n g t h e n e x t b i g southwest. neighborhood,” he says. “After all these years, I now own real estate in Part of the secret to his success is his ability to Queens, Long Island, Harlem, and blend the past, present, and future. He has four the West Village of Manhattan. One generations of experience and nearly 20 years in of my favorite recent projects was the business to rely on, an “ideal fit” at his current The Colombos-Dooley Team at Douglas Elliman purchasing an old Alessandro Troia, Angela Dooley, Nicholas Colombos townhouse and restoring it and Casey Markowski to its former glory. I pay particular attention to the details of the architecture seller and their respective attorneys. Anything and of the building.” everything can be negotiated in order to secure a transaction. It is very exciting to constantly think As a fourth generation real estate outside the box, to handle last minute obstacles salesperson, Colombos had the business and to maintain calm between all the parties passed down to him like a beloved family involved.” heirloom, and perhaps his love of discovery was given to him in the same Colombos would eventually become the manager way. Colombos’s father is from the town at the downtown office of Swift and Watson Realty. of Pirgi on the island of Chios, a rumored However, perhaps due to traveling to properties birthplace of Christopher Columbus with his father as a child and pounding the where the famed explorer kept a house. With parents, Michael and Amalia Colombos pavement at Sopher, he wasn’t happy being When asked about the next generation, cooped up in the office. “My passion was the art of his two sons and daughter, he says, “I would like agency, and an eye on what’s to come. “I believe the prices, particularly in New York, will continue the deal and not being at a for them to follow the to rise. More and more international buyers will desk all day,” he admits. “I family tradition and be investing their money in the United States.” enjoy meeting different enter the real estate When asked how the real estate business has people and matching the business, but only if changed since he first started, Colombos says, “it right property with the t h e y h a v e a t r u e tends to be more of a buyer-driven market because client. The negotiations and interest in it. I take the all information is accessible to the buyer through meeting of the minds keep time to public websites. The me engaged during the s h o w pressure is on the broker to entire process.” His next t h e m provide a service that a buyer career move brought him to around or seller cannot find on their Douglas Elliman Real Estate, t h e Nicholas Colombos welcoming his guests own. A successful broker is where he has remained ever properties at The Colombos-Dooley Fall Fete Event able to offer listings before since. we own they hit the market and they and explain how things work so they have established Today, Colombos works out of Douglas Elliman’s can respect the process and the relationships with other 17th Street office in Manhattan as well as its business. But it is important for them brokers in the industry.” Plandome office in Manhasset, New York, where to make a career in a field that they are he leads a team with his partner Angela Dooley. truly passionate about.” As for Colombos’s own “Between us, we are able to cover the real estate future, he says he’d like to be market from Manhattan to the Hamptons” he says. Colombos is clearly a family-oriented Angela Dooley, Yankees “continuing to invest in “Leading a team of realtors with my partner is very man. Aside from teaching his children Player Carlos Beltran Manhattan and Queens and rewarding. We depend on each other on a day-to- about the real estate business, he and and Nicholas Colombos hopefully my children will day basis and bounce ideas off each other. A team his wife Alexandra are also raising stand beside me and run the structure is imperative to building a successful them to honor their culture. “Being Greek gives family business. I just want them to be happy in real estate career because you are able to take on you a sense of responsibility to honor the life, this is most important.” more clients and serve all their business needs.” reputation of your culture and heritage. I am always aware that my actions Colombos’s day begins at 6:00am when he logs on and choices represent that and I to the internet to check the markets and latest w a n t t o l i v e u p t o t h a t listings. He then helps his children get ready for reputation in my life and in my school and out the door before heading off to work,” he states. “It also gives work. Though most of his mornings begin the you a heightened sense of same way, that is where the routine ends. “My day business savviness which comes is never typical because my schedule changes from my innate Hellenism and throughout the day and I have to be available to all from the way my family raised my clients. Juggling all of that keeps things me. I grew up in a traditional exciting and challenging,” he says. Also, though he Greek-American family that "My father, Michael enjoys spending time with his family, playing placed a lot of emphasis on Colombos with tennis, going to the theater, and traveling, he’s Greek customs. My wife and I my grandparents, rarely completely off the clock. “The real estate are instilling these Greek ideals Nicholas and Evangelia business never stops so I am available and i n o u r c h i l d r e n . I h a v e Colombos, at the family constantly in touch with clients and the market.” enormous pride in my heritage deli on East 72nd" and am very aware of what an COVER STORY
NOVEMBER 2014
17
hellenes without borders by Alexander Billinis
Modern Greece and Greeks ...InWhose Image? Many Greeks and foreigners consider today’s Hellas to be the resurrection of a lost ancient polity, Classical Greece. The Greece that emerged from Ottoman rule after a chaotic, heroic yet haphazard war of independence received a measure of independence in 1830. The three Great Powers, Britain, Russia, and France which midwifed Greece’s birth (or rebirth if you prefer) sought to create this state in their own image. While one of the three guarantors, Orthodox Christian Imperial Russia, was well disposed to a resurrected Greece with a Byzantine identity (particularly if they could control it), the other two guaranteeing powers, Britain and France, together with the rest of Roman Catholic or Protestant Europe, certainly had no great love for Orthodoxy and Byzantium. Further, the Western Philhellenes, first and foremost the martyred Lord Byron, but also the marble-loving Lord Elgin, were motivated by a love for Classical Greece rather than its high medieval version, Byzantium. In this, they were joined by many Greek Diaspora figures in the West, merchants in Vienna, Venice, London, and Paris, and key intellectuals such as the linguist Ioannis Koraes, who championed a Classical Greek language and identity much admired by Enlightenment Europeans. The Byzantine, panOrthodox, more diverse and mosaic view of people like Rigas Pheraios (see my article “Rigas Pheraios: My Kind of Hero,” in November 2013 Neo Magazine) partially lost out to the Classical vision. That the new state ipso spatially possessed many of the key Classical Greek sites so beloved of the West, most notably the semi-intact and still sublime Parthenon, and that the people, though dressed in oriental costumes, often (italics mine and deliberate) spoke a demotic version of the beloved ancient tongue, was enough to baptize the new state as a rebirth of Classical Greece. After the unfortunate demise of Kapodistrias to an assassin’s bullet, the king chosen for Greece, Otto of Bavaria, came from a family of Classical devotees. Parts of Munich looked as if pulled from ancient Greek blueprints, and the Bavarian regime sought to re-make Greece into that image. For symbolic reasons the capital was moved from the relatively large and developed city of Nauplion to the hardscrabble village of Athens. Neoclassical architecture sprung up in the dusty village, competing cheek and jowl with ancient monuments, squat Byzantine churches, and the hulks of now congregation-less mosques, to create a city in Europe’s image of Greece, rather than Greece’s image of itself. Alphabet armies teaching a Greek purged of foreign words descended on towns, villages, and islands to teach a population where illiteracy was the vast norm. In some cases, such as my island of 18
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HELLENISM
Hydra and elsewhere in the Peloponnesus, Evia, Thebes, and Athens itself, the spoken language was a Tosk version of Albanian called Arvanitika. Some of the mosaic left over from 400 years of Ottoman and Venetian rule was allowed to remain, such as the well-established Roman Catholic communities in the Cyclades, but the few Muslims who survived the massacres of the revolution generally “returned” to the fold. Among them, from a village above Monemvasia, was a 26 year old from a mixed Christian-Muslim marriage named Haralambos, newly baptized into the Greek Orthodox Church in 1836 (see my article “Unofficial Histories: 1821” in April 2014 Neo Magazine). He was my grandfather’s grandfather. His surname, Meimetis, still common in the area, reflects this former Muslim identity which my grandfather changed to his mother’s maiden name, the Venetian-derived Billinis! Name changes don’t just occur at Ellis Island, sometimes they happened before.
Alexander Billinis is a writer and banker currently living in Serbia. His book "The Eagle has Two Faces: Journeys through Byzantine Europe," is available on amazon.com
to use a Balkan village term, “only an onion skin” had separated Greeks from these peoples in the past was conveniently forgotten. Walls of identity went up, and non-conforming had to conform. This nation-building process was mirrored in other Balkan countries, where the ByzantineOttoman mosaic was selectively reformed or deformed to create titular homogeneous states, often done with horrific violence to neighbors and minorities, who would not forget, and would seek revenge. Orthodox Bulgarians, Greeks, and Serbs expelled or selectively assimilated local Muslims, or Bulgarians and Greeks slaughtered each other from disputes over their local church’s language, and therefore the local ethnic identity. Icons and frescoes would not be spared if the writing in question was of the “others’” language; defacing Cyrillic or Hellenic, depending on the vandal, was common enough. Then of course, there are the Turks’ genocidal campaigns. By the time my late father was born, in 1924, this dual Byzantine-Classical identity had endured two Balkan Wars, and the Greek identity then incorporated the equivalent of nearly a quarter of its population from Asia Minor, Thrace, and Bulgaria, often survivors of genocide, assimilating these Byzantines often with different traditions and even languages. School and army did its part to forge Hellenes, many of whom, like my late father, then went abroad. In America the Greeks carried both a deep attraction for their home region and an often highly official version of Greek history, bolstered by the Greek Orthodox Church education system, then and now. A Greek identity emerged in the Diaspora not much different than that depicted in “The Big Fat Greek Wedding,” where the Ancient Greeks are a badge of pride, the Church’s holy water can make WASP Ian Miller a “Greek,” and every word, whether Kimono, Miller, or Portokalos, “comes from the Greek.”
This is called nation building, and every nation does it, whether massive melting pots such as America or Australia, or more homogeneous nations such as Greece, Bulgaria or Italy. All derive from mosaics, and all, to some degree or another, are acts of state, faith, fiat, and force. The Greek State was based on Hellenizing elements of the Byzantine-Ottoman mosaic that did not conform to the official state religion, Orthodoxy, or the official language, Greek, and emphasizing the Classical rather than Byzantine inheritance of the “reborn” state. This identity was based on a continuity of Greece from Classical times, and the uniqueness of the Greek people from others, particularly from Greece’s nearest neighbors, Turks, Albanians, Balkan Slavs, and Romanians/Vlachs. The fact that,
I always had to laugh about the last word, “Portokalos.” Portokalli is orange in Greek—and Bulgarian—and Romanian—and Turkish—and is likely derived from the Arabic portugul, the word for Portugal! It is a silly example, but one that shows how we are interconnected. Greece is part of a larger region, and so much of that history is shared. Our Byzantine (and Ottoman) mosaic, only partially acknowledged in Greece’s and Greeks’ self-identification, is a real link to our neighbors, Balkan and Turkish. It is a bridge rather than a barrier, if presented correctly. If nothing else, the fact of our commonality should preclude extreme nationalism of Golden Dawn, or some fantasies about genetically pure descent from Pericles and Leonidas. It should make us more human and cosmopolitan, which hardly makes us less Greek.
Medical World
THE EBOLA VIRUS CRAZE: The Facts The disease caused by the Ebola virus in humans is similar in its clinical manifestations, differing only in severity and case-fatality rate. Of note, despite the traditional name of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, bleeding is not a common finding, and is typically seen only in the terminal phase of illness. In the West Africa epidemic the term Ebola virus disease has been used rather than the name Ebola hemorrhagic fever. Incubation period — Patients with Ebola virus disease typically have an abrupt onset of symptoms 8 to 12 days after exposure. There is no evidence that asymptomatic persons still in the incubation period are infectious to others. However, all symptomatic individuals should be assumed to have high levels of virus in the blood and other body fluids and appropriate safety precautions should be taken.
Patients who survive infection with Ebola virus typically show signs of clinical improvement during the second week of illness. In these patients, viremia also resolves during the second week, in association with the appearance of virusspecific antibodies. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
By Dr. Nicholas Kaloudis as hiccups, chest pain, shortness of breath, headache, confusion, seizures, and/or cerebral edema. Conjunctival injection and dark red discoloration of the soft palate are common physical findings. Pregnant women may experience spontaneous miscarriages.
The largest outbreak of Ebola virus disease is the West African outbreak caused by the Zaire species of the virus. This outbreak started in the West African nation of Guinea in late 2013 and was confirmed by the World Health Organization in March 2014. The countries with widespread transmission include Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra
In non-fatal cases, patients typically improve approximately 6 days after the onset of symptoms. The formation of antigen-antibody complexes during recovery may cause acute arthralgias and other symptoms.
Leone. Cases of Ebola virus disease related to this outbreak have also been reported outside of West Africa (eg, Spain and United States). These cases have occurred in healthcare workers caring for patients with Ebola virus disease, as well as a returning traveler.
Ÿ
Symptoms and signs — Patients with Ebola virus disease initially present with non-specific influenza-like symptoms and can progress to multi-organ failure and septic shock. The most common signs and symptoms reported from West Africa during the 2014 outbreak include: fever (87 percent), fatigue (76 percent), vomiting (68 percent), diarrhea (66 percent), and loss of appetite (65 percent). Important clinical findings of patients with Ebola virus disease are as follows: Nonspecific flu-like symptoms — Ebola typically begins with the abrupt onset of fever, chills, and general malaise. Other signs and symptoms include weakness, anorexia, severe headache, and pain in the muscles of the trunk and lower back. A nonproductive cough and pharyngitis, with the sensation of a lump or "ball" in the throat, are also frequently present. Ÿ
Ÿ Rash — Some patients develop a diffuse erythematous, nonpruritic maculopapular rash by day five to seven of illness. The rash usually involves the face, neck, trunk, and arms.
Gastrointestinal — Gastrointestinal signs and symptoms usually develop several days after the initial presentation. These include watery diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Ÿ
Ÿ Hemorrhage — Bleeding is often not observed in the early phase of illness, but may manifest later in the course of disease as petechiae, ecchymosis/bruising, oozing from venipuncture sites, and/or mucosal hemorrhage. Frank hemorrhage is seen most commonly in the terminal phase of illness. During the outbreak in West Africa, approximately 20 percent of patients had unexplained bleeding, which is most commonly manifested as blood in the stool (about 6 percent). Ÿ Other findings — Patients with Ebola virus disease can present with additional findings such 20
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Fatal disease has been characterized by more severe clinical signs early during infection and progression to multiorgan failure and septic shock. Death typically occurs between days 6 and 16. Prognostic factors — Certain clinical and laboratory findings may be able to inform prognosis. Patients who have evidence of severe dehydration, metabolic abnormalities, and impaired oxygen delivery are most likely to have a poor outcome. Signs and symptoms that are manifestations of these abnormalities include fast breathing, minimal urine, delirium, coma, and irreversible shock. In addition, patients with persistently high or increasing Ebola virus RNA levels in the bloodstream are likely to die.
Ÿ Person-to-person transmission requires direct contact with blood or other virus-containing body fluids. It is not transmitted through the air, and therefore is not an airborne virus. Ÿ The incubation period is typically 8 to 12 days, but can range from 2 to 21 days. Ÿ Patients with the Ebola virus disease usually have an abrupt onset of non-specific symptoms, such as fever, malaise, and myalgias. As the illness progresses, patients develop worsening prostration, stupor, and hypotension. Ÿ Ebola virus can persist for some time in certain bodily fluids, such as semen and breast milk. In one known instance, viral persistence in semen led to virus transmission through sexual contact.
About Author
Dr. Nicholas Kaloudis is a highly regarded, board certified endocrinologist. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and owner of EndoHealthMD, in Manhasset, NY. His center provides comprehensive specialty care using current evidence-based practices, and the latest advances in medical aesthetics. He holds an appointment as Associate Clinical Professor at North Shore University in Manhasset. He has received numerous awards, and he has published articles in the field of Endocrinology. For more information and a listing of services provided call: 516 365 1150.
From right, Peter Mesologites and his wife Kathy with friends and the Ted & Christina Malgarinos couple (left) at last year's Christmas event
AHEPA’s Gold Coast Chapter Decks the Halls for its Annual Gala by Cindy Klimek
Nearly every family has a holiday tradition. Whether it be setting up the tree, going to midnight mass, outdoing last year’s photo, or singing carols, the list can go on and on. For the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association’s District 6 Gold Coast Chapter No. 456, the coming of the holidays means it’s time for their annual Christmas Dinner/Dance fundraiser. This year’s event will be held on December 10th at the North Hills Country Club in Manhasset, NY.
According to Levas, there is no special planning committee for the event; it’s a product of the chapter coming together as a whole. However, despite throwing a Christmas party every year, he says there’s no pressure to one-up themselves. “It’s usually a carbon copy from year to year,” he explains. “It’s not like we’re a corporation where you have to improve sales every year. I’ll give you an
Steve Michailidis and Leonard Zangas
That’s the way I look at it,” he says with a laugh.
Paul Macropoulos, John Levas and Ted Malgarinos at last year's Christmas gala
Says Chapter President John Levas: “It’s very laid back. Everybody does what they want to do.” Cocktails begin at 6:30pm with dinner to follow. Though 456 is the largest chapter on Long Island and the second largest in the state of New York, Levas says it will be a close-knit affair made up of members and their spouses, visitors from other chapters, and a few non-member friends. He is expecting about 150 attendees. 24
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example. The chapter in New Rochelle is the largest chapter in the state. We’re the second largest. Everybody says to me, ‘don’t you want to become the largest?’ I say ‘no. absolutely not.’ I want to be that small town in Mississippi that nobody bothers with and everybody knows everybody. I’m under the radar. I don’t want to be number one. Let somebody else be number one. I’ll be number two and nobody will bother me.
Besides the Christmas party, Chapter 456 holds several other events throughout the year. They have monthly meetings, a golf outing, a shotgun tournament where competitors shoot at clay pigeons, and a Texas Hold ‘Em night, to name a few. When asked what event he likes best, Levas responds in true politician fashion. “I like them all. I’m the president so I’ve got to be impartial to all of them. But I do like them all and I do attend them all.” Levas may be impartial when it comes to his chapter’s events, but there’s no question what his favorite part of the Christmas gala is: “no speeches.” He adds, “Everybody gets together for the holidays. We used to do it on a Friday or a Saturday night and we found that doing it during the week it was more enjoyable because everybody got together. Usually it’s family time on
Owners and staff of Nissos Restaurant in Syosset, NY. Antonios Farozes & wife Georgia, son Harry, Denise Skoufis and Socrates
the weekends. It’s a way that everybody can just really mingle and have a good time throughout the whole evening without having to sit there listening to speeches and applauding all night long.” He credits the relaxed, speech-free atmosphere of the event for its success, adding that most attendees stay late into the night. “You go there, you have your cocktails, you have your appetizers, you have your sit-down dinner, and then you dance the night away,” he says. And as for next year? Levas and his chapter plan to do the whole thing over again. “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, right?” he says with a laugh.
Gus Skoufis, Paul Macropoulos and Tom Dushas at the chapter's diner in Nissos Restaurant AHEPA’s mission is to promote Hellenism, Education, Philanthropy, Civic Responsibility, Family and Individual Excellence. It was founded in 1922 in Atlanta, Georgia and now has over 20 districts in the United States (most with multiple chapters), as well as in Canada, Greece, and Australia. The organization offers approximately $500,000 in college
George and son John Levas scholarships every year and past philanthropic deeds have included taking part in the restoration of the Statue of Liberty and sending care packages to troops overseas. Though most members are of Hellenic descent, membership is open to anyone who believes in the organization’s mission statement. To learn more about AHEPA Chapter 456 or to purchase tickets to the Christmas party, please contact President Levas at AHEPA456@gmail.com. Tickets are $150 in advance or $200 at the door.
Omonia Square , then as a seller of roasted chestnuts at open markets and as a laborer at the Nea Ionia textile mills. His life changed when the owner of a factory which was located in Perissos working district gave him a guitar. He spent long hours playing music. In July 1952 he made his first recording. Stelios Kazantzidis collaborated with some of the biggest names in Greek music among them, Vassilis Tsitsanis, Giannis Papaioannou, Manolis Chiotis, Manos Hadjidakis, Mikis Theodorakis and Stavros Xarhakos. In 1964 he married renown Greek singer Marinella and they toured in Germany and the United States. In 1965, at the height of his career, he decided to stop appearing in night clubs. He did not sing in public again for the rest of his life and for the next 10 years he only released studio albums.
Tribute Concert for Legendary Stelios Kazantzidis in Astoria
Kazantzidis died of a brain tumor in 2001. His death was an emotional event for Greece.
Α tribute concert to the legendary singer Stelios Kazantzidis will take place on Friday, December 12 , at the Stathakion Cultural Center (22-51 29th Street, Astoria, NY ), featuring vocalists Eleni Andreou and Elias Makrynos with a special guest appearance by Christoforos Zissoulis.
His music was also loved by the Greek diaspora, all over the world capturing the people’s sentiment in the difficult post war period. As the operator of Radio Agapi, a radio station playing Greek music, stated, “Kazantzidis was the voice of the people, the weary, the exploited, the betrayed and the voice of the refuges and the émigrés too.”
Stelios Kazantzidis was born in Nea Ionia in Athens, Greece. His parents came from Asia Minor. At the age of 13, he lost his father, a member of the Greek Resistance who was tortured to death. This forced young Stelio into the workforce, working as a baggage carrier at
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Striving to provide faster customer service and provide better information to its customers, EYDAP is dynamically redefining its internet presence. Thanks to the redesign of its website (www.eydap.gr), EYDAP now provides through an easy and functional environment all the information needed by citizens, as well as a range of innovative online services. The new website includes: Ÿ Easy, safe and fast online bill payments, Ÿ Detailed information on the conditions and terms of the social invoice, Ÿ In depth and clear information of all the water supply and sanitation services, Ÿ Social and Investor information of EYDAPs activities. All the above are contained in the new functional and easy to use website of EYDAP. EYDAP in conjunction with its 24hour customer service line, 1022, is always there for the consumer with high quality services and sustainable social sensitivity.
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KOUROUNIA Portrait of a Greek Village The village of Kourounia in Chios, Greece captured in stunning photographs by native son George Michalakis shows the lost world of the Greek countryside both haunting and beautiful George Michalakis is a software engineer who grew up in Kenya and now lives in Athens, Greece. But his parents Dimitri and Maria were born and raised in the village of Kourounia in the mountains of Chios, Greece. George often visited the village when he was young and he
visits it today—but this time he comes with his camera—and someday he hopes to retire there. “My visits have become more frequent,” he says, “because in Kourounia I find a calm, a peace, a world of traditional values, and a love and respect for nature. I’ve learned to share both my
property and emotions. When I visit, I try to ‘live’ each moment and capture it with my photographs, because I know these moments are fleeting and I’ll never see them again. At the same time, this sacred place manages to show me something new and different each time.”
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Dr. Demetrios Markouizos
On April 2014, the Hellenic Medical Society’s Executive Committee headed by its President, Dr. Nicholas Mezitis, approved the mission of vaccinating underprivileged Greek children in Athens, Greece. Dr. Demetrios Markouizos was assigned by the committee the supervision and execution of the entire mission. Greece continues to suffer from the aftermath of the economic crisis of 2008. Unemployment rate is as high as 29%. As poverty rose, children became more vulnerable. Their hunger was alarmingly evident and health coverage for children diminished. Vaccination is the best way to prevent illness and protect these children from highly communicable and/or preventable maladies. The crisis brought these children to this imminent threat of becoming exposed to a variety of illness with no protection. The mortality and morbidity rate of an illness increases exponentially if disease is not prevented. “Our mission was to protect the children - the future of Greece,” says Dr. Marquizos. “The mission was coordinated with the cooperation of Doctors of the World of Greece. We bought a large supply of Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccines, with a grant from Hellenic Medical Society, to vaccinate children within the area outside of Athens, Perama, a very poor neighborhood, comprised of underprivileged Greek children and immigrants.” Mrs. Thanou, a representative from The Doctors of the World and Dr. Kratimemos, a member of the
Hellenic Medical Society and Dr. Marquizos went to a health clinic in Perama to initiate the vaccinations of the children. There, they met with Dr. Maili, a pediatrician and the Director of The Doctors of the World, who explained the dire situation of health coverage and shortage of vaccines in Greece. “This mission represented an initial outreach in providing these children with necessary and compassionate medical care. Hopefully with the cooperation of the Greece’s health sector, Doctors of the World, Doctors Without Borders, and ‘Omada Agaiou’ we will continue to support and effectuate such efforts,” says Dr. Marquizos. “I hope in the future, with the cooperation of our organization and other Greek American entities in New York, we will raise the requisite funds to improve the health and thus protect the underprivileged children in Greece.” Dr. Demetrios Markouizos is a board certified pediatrician who has practiced in Astoria, New York for over twenty-five years. He obtained his M.D. from Aristotle’s University in Greece, performed his Pediatric Residency at Methodist Hospital of Brooklyn, N.Y., and was awarded a Fellowship in Medical Genetics at SUNY Health Science Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. He is also a Clinical Assistant Professor at Cornell and is an Attending Physician at NorthShore-LIJ Health System and Cornell. Dr. Markouizos is the author of numerous abstracts and peer reviewed publications.
Gallo winemaster remembers odyssey from Cyprus George Thoukis came to study wines in America and decided to stay By Dimitri C. Michalakis His father Kyprianos was a distiller of ouzo and brandy in Cyprus and his mother's family owned vineyards. And when George Thoukis graduated high school it was understood that he would get into the business.
but a fantastic person") and later worked closely with Ernest, who in his nineties still came to work every day. "In fact, I reported to him," says Thoukis, and adds with a chuckle: "He liked to have older people around him for comfort."
"But because he never had any higher education, my father felt I should have some scientific background to help him in his business," remembers George. "At the time, Cyprus was a British colony and we had a government enologist who had been to California and was very excited about the technology at the University of California. In fact, he had sent his son there to study chemistry."
In the ‘60s, Thoukis offered his services to the Cyprus wine industry. “In fact, I think I wrote to Archbishop Makarios, who, when I was in high school, was our local bishop. They wrote me back: ‘Well, we have your letter, if anything develops, we’ll let you know.’ I never heard from them.”
So young George did the same. With his parents' blessing and savings, he left Greece and sailed to America on the U.S.S. America. He arrived in New York, didn't know a soul, and boarded a train for California. He got to Davis, California just as the Korean War was breaking out and he enrolled as an undergraduate student at the university while he picked peaches for $1 an hour to earn his keep. "It was tough work, but it didn't bother me at all," he remembers. "I was nineteen and needed the money."
Thoukis graduated with his enology degree in 1953 from the University of California at Davis and was due to return to Cyprus. "But there was guerrilla warfare going on and I knew if I went back I would get involved in the struggle myself," he explains. When a professor offered him an appointment to graduate school and a job as a research assistant, he took it. "My God, and it wasn't even Christmas yet," he still marvels. He went on to get his Ph.D. in agricultural chemistry (his research was on wine) and then was faced with the same decision of returning to Cyprus, when he was introduced to Ernest Gallo of the famous winemaking brothers (with Julio). "And he said, 'What do you want to do? If you want to stay here, you might as well get a job,'" Thoukis recalls. "'With your science background, one of the best places to go would be the Gallo winery.' So I applied, and they accepted me, and I've been here ever since." And in the 40 years since, Thoukis has risen to become a winemaster for Gallo Wines, the largest winery in the world, which produces one of every four bottles consumed in the United States ("We're big, but we're good," Thoukis emphasizes). He not only supervised the creation of Gallo table wines like Hearty Burgundy, but also the new crop of premium wines such as Turning Leaf, and his own G. Thoukis label.
He spoke English, of course, because Cyprus was then ruled by the British. "They started teaching us English in our schools at the sixth grade," he recalls. "They were Greek schools, but the British financed the schools and they demanded we take as many classes in English as in Greek."
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"Which is only distributed from time to time at some of the prestigious hotels, including Westin and Hilton," he explains proudly. "It's just for certain hotels that want to serve it by the glass." He worked closely with Julio Gallo for over thirty years ("He was like a father to me--tough as nails,
He says about Greek and Cypriot wine: “I tasted some cabernet in Porto Karas and it was very beautiful, French-style. But on the average, they still pursue the local varieties that have been grown for a long time.” The inheritance laws, however, are imperiling the future of Greek and Cypriot vineyards, however: “There has been this subdivision of land, so people have this very small piece of land, and it’s not workable. You have to change the inheritance laws to bring these small packages together, to establish a sizable 100, 200 acre vineyard. Then you could go out and buy machinery and equipment and make a living farming.” His own knowledge of wine, he says, came naturally because, “Mediterranean people, including the Greeks, always have a glass of wine with their family meals. It’s no big deal. You drink it, it’s another beverage. Don’t get intimidated, don’t be afraid of it. The main thing is to enjoy it.” As for being a Greek in the wine business: “For Greeks, wine is in their blood. Julio Gallo used to hire people and if their parents had any vineyards, he felt that was a good match. Because he felt it had to be in their blood.” The Thoukis name, by the way, he explains derives from the historian Thucydides and was shortened over the ages. Talias and Thoukis was the name of his father’s distillery in Limassol, which is the center of wine production on Cyprus. Thoukis would help to bottle his father’s ouzo “and do just about everything.” When he returns to Greece now, he often drinks retsina like the natives, but rarely when he returns to America. “Retsina is not really one of the famed wines of Greece,” he insists.
periXscope About one third of eligible to vote Americans exercised their constitutional right this past midterm election! But don’t expect me to shed crocodile tears about the low turnout: au contraire, I would say it is a disgrace that so many did so! Once more those who managed to outspend the others (not just during this campaign, it’s a longer-term investment) got elected: we choose our “representatives” based on name recognition, like we do when we purchase one toilet paper over another, not on issues, although we might fool ourselves by pretending to take into consideration how soft or hard is one candidate (or toilet paper) on crime (or on our ...ass)! I hate prognosticating when it comes to politics, because unlike the weather and sports, they have become contemptibly predictable, but in the near future officials will buy their positions, same way bishops did in the Middle Ages, and then extracted unbearable tributes from the people in order to make back the money they spent. In our time tributes are called taxes and the Middle Ages ...Middle Class! Now regarding numbers and cents, I don’t know what’s worse: the election result, or having the "pundits" talking about it for next two years! You tell me, as I had enough already and they just started! To me the silent majority of the two thirds who didn’t vote is the real winner and that’s why the country is the real loser. This sounds like a contradiction, as in the previous paragraphs I appeared to applaud the low turnout, but the fact remains that the system is plagued with flaws that make our democracy look like an oligarchy even when it comes to voting numbers!
Will two minuses make one plus?
It is imperative that we all start working and contributing into remaking our system in a way that reflects our evolving reality-which happens to be different from that of the founding fathers. One first and simple step would be to change the day of voting and the location. We need to bring the polls where the people are and not vice versa. Saturday is the ideal day and hair salons the perfect venue because that is where people concentrate in massive numbers before they hit the clubs or gala events (if they are Greek Americans).
least when it comes to the sheer volume of what’s out there. President Obama may not want “to read the tea leaves” as he said during his after election day press conference, but the fact is that the Tea Party won and Democrats suffered big losses. However, If the President wants to see the election results in mathematical terms, there is more than a glimpse of hope: two minuses (Republican House and Republican Senate) make one plus. What that plus could turn out to be, it remains to be seen ...
Now, by proposing something like that I will certainly be accused of favoring Hillary Clinton and the Democrats in general, but that is not case, you have my ...words for it! I’m just trying to be creative for the ...shake of our democracy! Speaking of frappucino, Starbucks could be another location and why not McDonald’s. Better ...latte than never!
dondemetrio@neomagazine.com
I mentioned before post-election analyses and my dismay about what I hear and see from various experts, but I can’t resist offering mine too, especially as that is my prerogative as I remain in full command of this post. Besides, one more piece of “wisdom” won’t make a difference, at
by Demetrios Rhompotis
P.S. 1) Truth doesn't necessarily sets you free, it usually sets you up ... 2) Wisdom should always be a starting point, not a destination or an end ... 3) Historic novels are by definition contradictory! You can't be both "historic" (old) and "novel" (new)! Unless you are ...the Rolling Stones!
Song of My Life A Memoir
Harry Mark Petrakis With the discipline of a surgeon performing a critical operation, acclaimed storyteller Harry Mark Petrakis strips away layers of his nine decades of life to expose the blood and bone of a human being in his third memoir and twenty-fifth book, Song of My Life. Petrakis is unsparing in exposing his own flaws, from a youthful gambling addiction, to the enormous lie of his military draft, to a midlife suicidal depression. Yet he is compassionate in depicting the foibles of others around him. Petrakis writes with love about his parents and five siblings, with nostalgia as he describes the Greek neighborhoods and cramped Chicago apartments of his childhood, and with deep affection for his wife and sons as he recalls with candor, comedy, and charity a writer's long, fully-lived life. Petrakis recounts a near-fatal childhood illness, which confined him to bed for two years and, through hours of reading during the day and night, nurtured his imagination and compulsion toward storytelling. A high school dropout, Petrakis also recalls his work journey in the steel mills, railroad depots, and shabby diners of the city. There is farce and comedy in the pages as he describes the intricate framework of lies that drove his courtship of Diana, who has been his wife of sixty-nine loving years. Petrakis shares his struggles for over a decade to write and publish and, finally, poignantly describes the matchless instant when he holds his
first published book in his hands. The chapters on his experiences in Hollywood, where he had gone to write the screenplay of his best-selling novel A Dream of Kings are as revealing of the machinations and egos of moviemaking as any Oliver Stone documentary. Petrakis's individual story, as fraught with drama and revelation as the adventures of Odysseus, comes to an elegiac conclusion when, at the age of ninety, he ruminates on his life and its approaching end. With a profound and searing honesty, this selfexploration of a solitary writer's life helps us understand our own existences and the tapestry of lives connecting us together in our shared human journey. Harry Mark Petrakis published his first story, "Pericles on 31st Street," in the Atlantic Monthly in 1957. Since then he has written twenty-five books of fiction, essays, and memoirs, and he has twice been nominated for the National Book Award in fiction. Petrakis has been honored with the O. Henry Award, the Chicago Public Library's Carl Sandburg Award, and awards from the Friends of American Writers, Friends of Literature, and the Society of Midland Authors. Petrakis has adapted his stories and novels for film and television and has lectured on storytelling before colleges and clubs across the United States. He and his wife, Diana, have three sons and four grandchildren.
In what he calls his coda the quintessential Greek American storyteller revisits his family, faith, home, and heritage