John Kass's Odyssey by John Kass

Author:John Kass
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Agate Publishing
Published: 2012-05-14T00:00:00+00:00

Adriana Kaldis Tolis, a former Chicagoan, looks on as her son John pulls some soft-serve frozen dessert for a neighborhood boy at the Tolis Sweet Shop in a working-class area near Athens.

Yes, they sell delicious stuff – and, yes, I made a serious study of her wares. It seemed that every customer was picking up a loaf of the sweet bread called tsoureki, which is sold during the Easter season.

I’m partial to tsoureki toast and tea and feta cheese, my traditional breakfast on Easter Sunday morning as I sit out in my backyard, roasting that lamb. But since I’ll still be traveling Sunday when the Greek Orthodox Church celebrates that holy day, I won’t be able to do the Easter lamb at home.

“Feta on tsoureki?” said Adriana.

And why not? What’s wrong with sweet and salty?

But enough of toast. Adriana friended me on Facebook months ago, imploring me to come to Greece to tell the story of the ruined economy. She also had a message.

“Hey, Chicago!” she said. “Hello to the Northwest Side and to everybody back home.”

“Has it been tough? Sure,” said Adriana. “Sales are down about 20 percent, but I think we can make it. My sons are working here, and they’ve built a little factory to make everything you see. And we all live together, the Greek way, so that cuts down on expenses. We’ll get through it.”

Adriana says that what she’s most concerned about is the people losing confidence.

“People are down,” she said. “This country had been through so much. But hey, life goes on. One of my sons is getting married in a few weeks. Everybody from Chicago is coming. I’m so excited. This is what I mean. Life goes on.

“People in America see the rock throwers on TV, yes, but do they see the weddings?”

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