I
decided to head back to the hotel around 2 a.m., well before anyone else seemed ready to do so. A man asked me why I was going so early and I replied that I was tired. He didn’t understand. “It’s still early,” he urged. I split a cab with two young women — one was carrying a sleeping infant in her arms. Anywhere else that would have seemed odd and maybe even a little inappropriate, but after experiencing a night here I didn’t think much of it. I made an attempt at conversation but the language barrier seemed too difficult to overcome at such an hour. Later, I drifted to sleep thinking how amazing it must be to grow up in such a place. The freedom and carefree attitudes I had just witnessed touched my soul. I wonder if the youth here realize how odd or wonderful their lifestyle seems to some visitors. I assumed, however, that they, just as everywhere else in the world, dream of the spaces beyond; hoping for bigger and better things in the big city of Athens.
“Youth is the best time to be rich, and the best time to be poor.” - Euripides I believe that an ocean breeze is the best cure for a hangover — that and a strong
cup of coffee. I enjoyed both of these the next morning at a sidewalk café across from the water’s edge. Once again, this small town with fewer than 4,000 inhabitants seemed abandoned. I thought back on the night before and how alive this very street had been. At the table next to me, a British guy struck up a conversation. He was writing a book and chose Poros just because of days like this. He had been here before and continued to return when in need of uninterrupted inspiration. I immediately decided that that was also the place I’d choose to write the next great literary masterpiece. A place where the people are pleasant but have no interest in taking up your time, because they are too interested in enjoying theirs. “Time is a game played beautifully by children.” - Heraclitus As I stood, prepared to leave the island no one had heard of, my phone dinged and I got an email telling me that my flight from Athens to New York the next day had been cancelled due to weather. I was in no hurry to reschedule, happy to just stay in Poros and continue to soak in the sleepy days and spectacular nights. I got around to booking a new flight eventually.
HAPPINESS IS THE MEANING AND THE PURPOSE OF LIFE, THE WHOLE AIM AND END OF HUMAN EXISTENCE.” - ARISTOTLE WINTER 2013/2014
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