It has been over a month-and-a-half since I last posted and so much has happened in the world and I have taken so many notes that I do not know where to begin. The political news has made me almost numb to the idiocies of the American President and his sometimes-dangerously bizarre antics. The heat waves and weather changes obvious here on Paros are indicative of the Anthropocene. That I have been able to compile, and look forward to printing, four new photography portfolios is a real plus. I will begin printing in September. The typing and collating of my mother’s newspaper articles is ongoing. I am struggling to learn the Bookwright software from Blurb. I hope to figure it out. I think there is something I am not doing that will make it easy. Someday the book will be made. So it’s bullet points this time.
–“Drumpf”–We all know it. It is a fine example of onomatopoeia…the flatulent early-warning of someone who eats too much red meat…the sound of a fat drunk collapsing at the bottom of the stairs…the porcine grunt of a hog at the trough…a bamboozled public scoffing at the truth…the slow con hustle of the American Dream.
–I have been biking and swimming a lot. Xionidaki and Kiri Marmalada start squeaking for their breakfast early, so I am up around 06:00. Coffee, vitamins, email, the morning scan of the news…I am out on the bike by 07:00, swimming afterwards, coffee at a favourite cafe after that. Obviously the routine is not that precise. Suffice to say I am finished before it becomes too hot to exercise. And it has been hot. A few weeks ago Athens hit the mid-40sC and Paros was not far behind. I had to use the AC in my flat, something I am not keen on doing since it increases my carbon footprint. It was either that or not sleep. Thankfully is has been dry. The prediction for next week is more heat.
Xionidaki snoozing in the shade
–I have some work in a small group show this October in Hudson, New York. I sent the 13 photos, matted and framed, a few weeks ago and they all arrived safely. I will not be attending. I also now have a good contact on the island of Antiparos for the photo show next summer. She really likes what I do and wants to hang it. I was impressed by what I saw at the exhibit this year. I still have a couple of irons in the fire for some events in between now and then. I shall keep poking at them.
Kiri Marmalada
–Fish and vegetables. That’s what I eat these days. The local produce here on Paros is stunning. Melons, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini…the cherry season seems to have lasted forever and I eagerly await the fresh figs in a couple of weeks.
–Oh yes…perhaps most important is that this month marks the first full summer I will have spent on Paros. In the previous years I have always gone back to America to see my mother. When August 12th comes around it will be a full year outside the walls of the Fortress. I am happy for this. It feels solid and right.
Out biking…07:30 or so…
–I had a contrast MRI a few weeks ago in Athens to determine if there was anything I didn’t know about my Meniere’s Syndrome. It was an easy procedure and I was in the clinic in the morning and back on Paros in time for supper. Thank the gods for cheap flights! The results are…nothing! No tumors, no cysts, no aneurysms, no brain clouds, no small dwarves, no swelling of either labyrinth. According to the ENT specialist, I have what they like to call a “Meniere’s-like Syndrome.” Ha! This will be the last investigation I will do. I have the CD-ROM with the pictures but I do not have a DVD player or the required software to look at them. I promise you all, I will sort this out.
After all, who doesn’t want to see the inside of their head?
–JDCM