06.22.09 :: 8:08 am

my cousin A and I went out for cocktails and bites last night at a neighborhood pub and we gave ourselves side pains laughing about the goings-on in our little gated community in Greece.

Primarily: the very VERY important monthly meetings that occur wherein all of the elders talk about the various maintenance and upkeep issues, aesthetic concerns, etc.

The important thing to remember is that they take these meetings very seriously, and have been, since the community was built in the mid-70's.

They drag their plastic lawn chairs out under the giant olive tree, usually accompanied with snacks and Ouzo. Things get feisty.

"The showers on the beach are breaking free from the wall," someone complains.
And Mrs. Papastefo records the minutes.

"We need new tents for the parking lot; my car is a sauna."

Duly noted.

"Couldn't we have prettier flowers in front of our houses? Geraniums are just so blah."

"We should rename the community, but I don't like any of your suggestions. Maybe we could hire a copywriter."

"Whenever I am swimming and I turn around to look at the houses, it bothers me that I see Mr. Merivani's water heater sticking out like that on the roof. Couldn't he paint it the same color as the house?"

The only one not remotely interested in the proceedings is my very surly, very no-nonsense, very no-fools-suffering uncle.

So to have to listen to the guy who wants to reduce the (very sporadic) traffic noise by building a giant plexiglass wall is very, very annoying.

Another time, someone requested that a miniature church be built by the makeshift basketball court (only one basket, not really a court at all) out by the parking lot.
To which my uncle commented, "I don't recall anyone dying there. Unless there was a particularly brutal game of Horse I wasn't aware of."

I'd love to make a short film about these characters if I had time and money.

Needless to say, I am very very excited to be back home after four miserably long years.

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