DAY 23

I can’t wait to get out of Dodge!

In the past two days, I have been in an automobile accident and fallen two times.

The accident you already know about. The falls are another story.

I have been falling on a frequent basis this past year. Generally stub my toe going up stairs. Forget there is one or two more steps going down.

My first fall yesterday had nothing to do with stairs. Chaise lounges have become a problem, also.

Around lunch time yesterday, I was getting up off a lounge chair by the pool. Rising from low levels has become as much of a problem as the stair bit. I lost my balance in the process. Turned to grab the back of the lounge. Spun myself around to avoid falling. Still fell. Sprained my lower right back. I still am having spasms. Also must have strained something inside in the area of the appendix. Hurts getting up. I no longer have an appendix, however.

Last night, I decided to walk down to Chora for dinner. The previous two nights had been spent eating in the hotel. Pain and all, I was on my way.

My hotel is below street level. A dozen steps to the top and the street. I stubbed my toe on the last step. Down I went. Hard. Tried to break my fall. Somehow my right wrist got in the way. I felt something snap. Terrific! Just what I need, I thought. A broken wrist.

Three ladies were walking along the road nearby. They rushed over and attended to me. They looked scared. In spite of my protestations that I was alright. My right wrist hurt. I wanted to get up. I have already told you I have problems getting up from low levels. Especially the ground itself. I explained this to the ladies. Two of them helped me up.

No going down the hill to Chora for me last night!

I went into the hotel dining room instead. My friend Christina was running the shop. Told her I needed an ice bag and the Beefeater bottle immediately. Yes, my hotel is one of the few places in Mykonos that carries Beefeater. I believe they went out and bought it special for me.

I covered the wrist in ice. Poured my first gin. I wanted to be pain free as much as possible. Did not want to get involved with a hospital till I knew I really needed one. Like tomorrow morning.

Gin #2 followed soon after gin #1. Drank it a bit slower.Then went to gin # 3. Drank that one even slower.

By this time, between the ice and gin, I was feeling no pain.

I had no appetite. Offered my thanks and headed off to bed.

This morning told the tale. No break, fortunately. Wrist swollen. Hurts. No discoloration. Back spasms worse.

About twenty years ago, I rented a house on Block Island for a couple of weeks. The whole family came! They were sleeping everywhere!

Block Island is off the coast of Rhode Island. A terrific summer vacation place. Sun, beaches, clams, lobster, etc.

One morning my father and I were walking in town. I noticed that his head was always down as he walked. I asked him why. To see where I am stepping…..so I do not fall. He was starting to fall a lot around that time.

There was a problem in looking down all the time to see where to step and avoid a fall. He was bumping into people constantly.

I watched. My father started to get mad. He said these people are impolite. They keep bumping into me. I told him it was he who was causing the problem. He could not watch his feet and see where he was going at the same time. He refused to accept my judgment. But that is what was occurring.

I have started to have falling problems about the same time as my father did in his life. Though I am not yet at the stage where I always watch my feet. I will concede however it might help to watch them when I am going up and down stairs.

There is a point to this story about my Dad. Maybe more about me. I am my father’s son. And proud of it in spite of the adverse circumstances awaiting me.

I was up at noon. Felt pretty good. Spasms still there. Wrtist still hurting.

This is my last day in Mykonos. Hopefully. The boat people told me they are not sure the boats will be going to Amorgos tomorrow because of the continuing weather. However, they suggested a back up. Crete! Great! My Facebook friend Jimmy Brown lives on Crete. I would love to hook up with him.

I did not want to stay in bed my last day in Mykonos. I headed for Elia Beach. First time I had been there. The nicest of the three beaches I have visited. Horseshoe shaped. Towering cliffs on each side. Beautifully clear water.

And it is that kind of place! Nudity on the agenda big time!

I have eye strain.

Tonight my last meal in Mykonos. It is to be Nikos again. I was there three nights ago and loved the place. It was lamb shank buried in greens covered in a thick lemon sauce.

I who always had to know precisely where I was going, when I would arrive, where I would stay, etc. am taking everything in stride this trip. I am not sure which island tomorrow. Nor do I have a reservation at any hotel. The two islands are accustomed to travelers like me knocking on their door looking for a room.

I have changed.

Enjoy your day!

DAY 21

Today could be the most significant day in history since the close of World War II. The Greek elections are being held.

The issue boils down to whether the Greeks want to continue operating with the euro as money or would they prefer a return to the drachma. I have talked with many since I arrived in Greece. I am getting divergent opinions.

Yes, I saw grown men and women spit on the ground when they heard Merkle’s name at a protest rally in Athens. That is not all of it however. I have found the bankers and very affluent support continuing with the euros. Why not. They are doing terrific under it. Making money!.

Then there are the small businessmen. They are struggling. They want a return to the drachma like yesterday. They also want out of the European Union.

Then come the people. The Jims and Janes on the streets. Those going to work every day to put food on the table. They feel the oppression of the euro. But I suspect they will not vote in large numbers. They claim it is too late. The Mafia is controlling everything.

I find it surprising that people still revert to the Italian wrongdoers of old to blame. I think they do not really mean Mafia per se. What I sense is that they believe that government has been bought by big business. Believing that, I suspect most will not vote. Simply because they believe their votes will mean nothing. The banks and big business will control in the end no matter who wins.

Sense a similarity with the USA?

Germany could ease the pressure. Germany is making money with the euro. Germany has become in effect the banker for the rest of the euro nations. Which includes Greece.

Germans as a people tend to be anal. Black and white. By the book. Greeks on the other hand go with the flow. They take everything in stride. Are not as serious about things as they probably should be. Like money.

Germany is in a position of power. The third time they have so been in less than 100 years. The Kaiser in 1914 and Hitler in l939 were two instances. Germany felt it was omnipotent. Two world wars resulted.

This Germany/Greece thing is a war that is erupting. Except this time it is with money instead of bullets. Each can have a devastating effect. This euro thing can result in a world wide recession of a sort never before experienced.

I have a suspicion. It is based on what I have experienced and read over the past three weeks. I believe the euro people will win. Why? Because they will vote. They are doing well as indicated hereinbefore under the euro. The people on the street appear to have already given up. They will not turn out in the numbers necessary to throw out the euro and return to the drachma.

I cannot wait till later tonight to see if I have called this correctly.

The trip caught up with me yesterday. I have been at this three weeks. All of a sudden I was tired. Dead tired.

I walked into town and had lunch. Something I have not done since arriving. I then sat in the shade at the sidewalk cafe where I had lunched and watched the world walk by.

Eventually, I got back to my hotel. And my bed. I slept the afternoon away.

I was still tired when I woke. Opted to remain at my hotel and dine in its dining room. Glad I did. A great meal! The service unusually spectacular. I am staying at a small hotel. I have gotten to know everyone. This was the first time they had the opportunity to show me what they could do. They wanted to show me, to please me.

And please me they did! I won’t go through all the specifics, except to relate that the meal was heavy with tomatoes, olives, cheeses and oil. Dessert was a Greek chremboule. Two gins. Beefeater. One of the few places in Mykonos that stocks it. And a shot of something after dinner on the house.

I could not thank them enough.

I was up and out early this morning. Needed a manicure and pedicure desperately. The last ones were more than 3 weeks ago.

I had to walk up the highway about a quarter of a mile. A beautiful salon for nails and massages in a small strip mall. I was their first customer. Everyone sitting around. Ergo, I had three ladies working on me at one time. One on the toes and the other two each had a hand a piece.

A good job! I was pleased.

I asked them if they had voted. They said no. I asked if they were going to vote. They said no. Why, I asked. Mafia!

Not a bright response, but that is the way it is. Again, I have heard that same response many times over the past three weeks.

Now for the fun part of this morning.

I got hit by a car.

There are no sidewalks. The driving lanes are narrow. Drivers speed constantly. The only place for pedestrian traffic is on the edges of the road.

I was in an area that had a three foot stone wall running on both sides of the highway. Between the road edge and the wall was two feet. No more.

I was casually walking down the road against traffic. Staying in my little two feet. All of a sudden this guy came around a curve. There was no oncoming traffic. He had a good fifty feet after the curve to see me. He never tried to avoid me. He clipped my right arm with his passenger door mirror. I went flying over the wall. I looked up to see the car speed away. The driver had to feel the impact and hear its sound. The thud was loud.

I was concerned. The last thing I want is to be sick in a foreign country. There was no one around who saw or could help me. I eventually got up. My right arm beneath the elbow was sore. As was the right side of my neck.

I walked back to my hotel with no difficulty. It has been about two hours since the event and all I am experiencing is pain in the two areas I complained about. I lucked out.

So far on this trip I have survived three earthquakes and one auto accident.

I still have three weeks to go.

A beach day again today. Paradise Beach. The one two days ago was Super Paradise Beach. Two separate beaches. One old, one new. I am going to the older one today.

Enjoy your day! And be careful as you walk.