I'll grab my beer, you grab your Camera

Date: November 29, 2017

Subject: Spontaneous adventure, regional tensions, and contemplation

Not enough sleep, helicopters circling over Athens for hours last night. Nobody knows why. Ada noticed my neglected camera, suggested we go for lovely walk before the sun set. She walked, smiling into the low sunlight, with a beer in hand. This is why I love her. Her free spirit inspires my shy spirit.

Ventured into the back roads of Pagrati and even further back into the Mets, a neighborhood I never ventured into. We were mesmerized by an abandoned house that survived earthquakes and war. But it was the TV that Ada became obsessed with. It was only meant to be that we ventured on private property.

Hours later, returned to apartment. News breaking on local channels, tensions with Turkey getting serious, again. To her balcony we went, cigarettes were smoked over conversations about the complexity of proxy wars. Contemplated silently for a while, what would I do if bombs started falling on my head? Have already witnessed a Turkish coupe and Greece on the verge of civil war. Through it all, I felt calm. Focused. Alert. Said I'd go down with the ship. But what if I don't want to go down with the ship anymore? But, what of my Athenian friends.

Ada half joked, “Can I go to America with you?”

What of this city, I love? But who am I and what could I do? At the end of the day, I am just an observer of chaos. I would very much love to have this conversation with Scott, I wonder what all this would look like through his eyes, and listen to his opinions, philosophies and thoughts.