RICHARD BRANSON?

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You will recall I mentioned two or three exceptionally lovely women who appeared to be hearing and/or speaking impaired. Their beauty was exceptional. Model types. They communicated via sign language.

I initially saw the ladies at Mythos. I have seen them there several times since. They are always with a man. The same man. He looked familiar. I could not place him. Last night, it dawned on me. He appeared to be Richard Branson! CEO/major owner of Virgin Airlines and a multitude off other international corporations.

Am I correct? I do not know. I will ask Vangelis and let you know. It looks like him. The sun bronzed face, golden hair and bright smile. If you are familiar with Branson’s background, you are aware he has been a huge supporter world wide of the hearing and speaking impaired. So it fits.

Yesterday was another slow day. I am not complaining. I enjoy them. My favorite activity has always been doing nothing. I never seemed to have time to do it.

I spent a couple of hours at a water front café sipping two freddo cappucinos. Cold cappuccinos. I was screwing around on my computer at the same time. Reading an Amazon Kindle book. London. I was half way through it. Somehow, I lost London and another book I have not yet read. I could not get them back. What to do now?

When I returned to my apartment, I decided to go into the water. The lovely Aegean Sea. Water clear blue. It was cold! Once my body adjusted, refreshing replaced cold.

There are some serious swimmers visiting and living on this island. Mostly middle aged and older. They swim far out and for a long time. I envy them. Out of my league!

Body shapes here on Amorgos are the same as in the United States. All sizes and shapes. It is not uncommon to see men and women with bellies. So much different from Italy. Everyone was thin in Italy!

The Greeks are warmer than the Italians, however. They are welcoming and open armed. Whereas, Italians avoided even eye contact.

Dinner at Mythos again last night. Why not, the restaurant is a winner. I enjoyed a large plate of smelts. Small tiny ones. Two to 2 1/2 inches. Fried crispy. My grandmother and mother would have been proud of me.

Vangelis had a Greek group playing at Mythos last night. Greek music. It must have been outstanding. Mostly Greeks in the audience. The group was given huge applause at the conclusion of each number.

Saw something unusual. Two women at differnet tables, each rolling their cigarettes. Not joints. For real tobacco. I could smell nothing unusual. Both Greek. I wondered why a person would want to roll their own when they can buy them ready made?

I prod. Ask questions. Gently, of course. It is hard this year to get people to open up about Greek politics. Most appear to be looking over their shoulders as they talk with me.

Enjoy your day!

I AM 78 YEARS OLD!

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Happy birthday day to me. Seventy eight years!

I remember when my father was 40, I thought he was old. When he was 78, I thought he was really old!

A mistake. Now I feel badly that on occasion I treated my Dad as an old man. He probably never was. Even though he lived to 98.

The mind stays young. I peg mine at 35. The body is the problem. It breaks down. Hopefully, slowly. You keep seeing the doctors and fixing things. I worry about the day something may not be fixable.

The last time a birthday bothered me was when I turned 50. This 78th is bothering me. Why, I do not know.

Spent four hours yesterday in the internet store. Had two days to report on. There is only one internet store in Katopolis. Charges 3 euro an hour. Expensive. I was only paying 1 euro in Santorini. I suspect the differences in prices is that there was competition in Santorini. An internet store around every corner. Here there is only one internet store.

Lunch was interesting and enjoyable.

I was dying for ham and eggs. I settled for bacon and eggs. Every now and then I need a shot of American food.
I was at an outdoor cafe. Nearby were 8 men and a woman. By the time three hours had expired, there were at least 25 persons.

There is a festival here today or tomorrow. The group was from another island. They were here to sing and play music. All ages. Guitars and violins. Even a priest. A Greek Orthodox one. Gray robes, black tall hat and a long black beard. He sang, played the violin, smoked and drank beer. Good for him!

Occasionally, some would stand and start dancing. Other times merely sitting and waving their arms.

Happy people! Getting ready for their concert. It was obvious they enjoyed singing and playing. I doubt it was their lives. After work, perhaps. These were ordinary people.

A happy, exuberant bunch. They spent the afternoon eating and drinking, doing what they enjoyed best.

I plan on watching whatever type event they perform. It is right on the port where the boats come in. In front of my favorite restaurant.

It is windy! Day and night. Sun is hot. At night, another story. Cold! I need a sweat shirt. The outdoor cafes are all wrapped in plastic drapes to divert the wind.

I met a British woman yesterday. Her name is Alice. She lives in a place called St. Albans which she told me is just outside London. She has been visiting Amorgos for 27 years.

The conversation got into lamb chops. She said no, goat chops. I was right. The lamb chops are really goat chops. She said if I went to the northern point of the island and up the hill, I would see hundreds of goats. Short in stature. Long haired. Dark brown and black. Beauties.

I had dinner last night at my usual restaurant. Went for the egg plant, zucchini, tomato and potato in oil as a start. Delicious! Ate it with thick slices of bread. Cleaned the plate!

Dinner was veal. For some reason, I opted to avoid the lamb chops. The veal was terrific. Cooked in a red sauce. A cheap cut. However, boiled long enough that the meat fell apart as soon as my fork hit it.

Six of the men singing in the afternoon showed up for dinner.

Smelts are small fish deep fried. The fish are really tiny. You eat the whole fish. Head and all.

Someone two tables away was served a dish of smelts. I went crazy. Love them! My grandmother and mother made them. Even my former wife. I asked the waiter if they were smelts. He did not understand. The Greek gentleman who ordered them did. He spoke English. He walked over to my table with the plate of smelts in hand. He said, eat. And walked away. I filled a small plate and returned the dish to him. With a smiling thank you, of course.

The confusion was the name. What I know and call smelts in Greek are called aferina. I hope I spelled it correctly.

I was grossly disappointed this morning. I have not been able to find Google news on the computer the past few days. This morning, I found out why. It is no more. Google has discontinued the service. Facebook and Twitter took too much business from them. I feel bad. Used the Google news service everyday.

I have to get out of the internet store. It is close to 2, closing time. I have been here 4.5 hours. Did next week’s KONK Life column first: Reflections.

Enjoy your day!