Short Autobiography
Paths I have followed in my life, experiences I have collected!
Excerpts from an unpublished work in progress ... :)
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The early years
The early years
1958 was a year that was characterized as a milestone for technology and culture! In January, Sputnik 1, the Soviet Union's first artificial satellite, which had just launched the space age, was thrown out of orbit and fell to Earth. Luckily he was small so no one complained that it fell on his head.
Nine months later I came into the world, contributing to the increase in the world population, decisively helping the path towards the goal of three billion. With my presence, we reached 2,925,686,705 people, according to United Nations data. Today, 67 years after this shocking event, I still can't understand why everyone remembers 1958 because of the Russians!
I was born into a very loving family!
My father, a sweet, patient, and extremely strong-hand man, made men's heads look more presentable, and was by far the best storyteller in the world.
My mother (who always had a great weakness for me), a truly holy person (whom I put into great temptations with my mischief), did everything to please us (me more than others), and she was by far the most amazing and beautiful housewife in the world.
My little sister (four years older), a spunky dancer, a hustler, and a terrible tease, was my best friend, and had her own special way of teaching me a lot of things (in case you were wondering, yes, she is the best sister in the world).
I grew up in a neighborhood where there were large playgrounds and lots of kids! The best combination for endless play, all sorts of achievements, and friendships that last to this day. But my best moments were always spent on my mother's island, the beautiful Samos, with my beloved cousins and the Pagonda's children's gang!
The years in Elementary school
The years in Elementary school
Thanks to my mother and sister, I learned to read long before I went to elementary school! In first grade, when other kids were learning to spell, I could read entire books. So it was no surprise that I was an excellent, high-achieving student, which made our wonderful teacher proud.
Being a teacher at that time was a real feat. If my mother was a saint, managing to cope with two children of her own, Mrs. Eleni, our teacher, was a real goddess, since every day, she had forty-five little devils around her! There are no words to describe the kindness, gentleness, interest, and love that she showed to all of us (me more than others), without making the slightest exception!
In the 3rd grade, 1966-1967, 45 little devils and a wonderful teacher, Mrs. Eleni !!! • {Credit: SoL Archive}
Our teacher taught me to write and express my thoughts. Of course, my first essays were about the summers in my mother's hometown, Samos! I never wrote about my father's hometown, Burnova, Izmir, but I promise one day I will!
Many amazing things happened during my years in elementary school.
When I was in the second grade, thanks to my mother's insistence, I started English lessons. What is now common for children of this age was then something extremely rare, gave me a head start, and broadened my horizons.
In the third grade, I started working! My father took me to his barbershop in Athens to do odd jobs. I started getting around on the buses by myself, while with errands and tips, I gained a remarkable financial independence. I could buy a lot of things, to be exact, delicacies, and a lot of books and magazines! In one hand, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and in the other, Stelios Anemodouras. From Ivan Denisovich, to George Thalassis, the legendary Ghost Child. Awesome years! … :)
In the fourth grade, came the terrible shock of separation from our beloved Teacher, at least we saw her during breaks and we knew that some other children were happy with her. Thanks to the love of our next teachers, we managed to get over it! They may have taken us away from Eleni the goddess, but I was lucky enough to have Eleni the saint at home, so I got over it more easily than the others!
Then the amazing period of Scouting life began. Together with Giannis, my beloved friend and companion in games and explorations, we would put on our uniforms and have wonderful moments with the great company of the other Scouts..
My years in elementary school ended with the honor of being our school's flag bearer, which brought moments of emotion and pride to my family!
Oops, I almost forgot, while I was in elementary school, there was a dictatorship as I heard in whispered conversations, or a revolution as I read in the newspapers and heard on the radio (we may have been the most loved family in the world, but we didn't have a television). Of course, back then, for us as children, dictatorship or revolution didn't make much of a difference (later it did).
The years in High school
The years in High school
With the laurels of my brilliant career in elementary school fresh, it was time for high school. I admit that what I encountered caught me somewhat unprepared. We changed teachers every hour, or rather professors, as we learned to call them in high school, at first this seemed bad to me, then I got used to it. But the worst of all was that we didn't have a single teacher named Eleni, a truly terrible misfortune!
In the first few years, I met a lot of kids from other neighborhoods and made a lot of new friends. With them, I started going to track and field at the National Stadium, near Zappeion. I was the favorite of the gymnasts, for my excellent performance in the warm-up (we had to move very slowly with small steps), I did it perfectly, and they always put me in charge, to set the pace. Then, when the run started, I usually came last, but since I was showing them the way, I didn't mind at all. Besides, it's rather boring, to be the first in everything!
Many amazing things happened during my years in high school.
In English, I was very advanced, I had made many pen pals from different countries, and we understood each other perfectly. At school we studied French, while thanks to my mother's insistence, I started German lessons at the Goethe Institute. In case you have the question, how could four languages fit in one head, I can easily answer it for you ... They didn't!
It was the time when the echoes of Woodstock, the Vietnam War, and Easy Rider were reaching Greece. It was the era of the hippies (the Flower Children, as we learned to call them here), the fashion for long hair, and the slogan “MAKE LOVE NOT WAR”.
I knew a lot about wars, we played with the kids in the neighborhood all the time, and after the Trojan War, I memorized the entire history of World War II while I was in elementary school. So, for “... NOT WAR” I completely agreed. War was a terrible thing, and I started drawing the peace sign everywhere. But what was difficult for me was “MAKE LOVE ...”, there I had complete ignorance, something like black midnight, I didn’t have the slightest idea! But in order not to be left behind, I would put a beautiful “LOVE” next to the sign, I would also put the bird with the branch in its mouth, and so everything was perfect!
Where I did quite well in high school was with my hair! I convinced my father that he should stop the habit of making my head look like a good-looking globe, so very soon, I finally adapted to the fashion of the time.
Indicative evolution of hair length in high school … :)
Photos from Student ID cards from the High School years • {Credit: SoL Archive}
Just as I had succeeded, the problems began. For some incomprehensible and stupid reason, the junta (the nickname for the dictatorship or revolution) launched a general hair-cutting hunt. To put it more correctly, they started hunting anyone with long hair (if you were lucky enough to be a girl, you were spared). In case you may need it, the solution to the problem is simple: at night, you wet your hair, rub it with lemon, put a pair of women's tights on your head, and sleep. In the morning, your hair is stuck to your head, and so you look like you've had a haircut. I managed to get away with this trick, several times during the morning inspections at school!
When I was in the fourth grade, the terrible events of the Polytechnic School broke out. That afternoon I happened to have a German class, from Phidiou to Stournari, it was just a short walk, so I jumped out to see with my own eyes what was happening. When I arrived, there were a lot of people and a terrible atmosphere, for a moment I even thought about going inside, but I would definitely be late coming back. This temptation would probably cause my mother to permanently lose the title of saint, so I watched the events from the outside. For the next two days, together with other classmates, even for a short while in secret, we were there. Shocking moments, which I will remember forever, and they officially inaugurated the era of my politicization.
At that time, I did not have the ability and opportunity to write reports on the tragic events of the Polytechnic University, the new junta, the invasion and occupation of Cyprus, the military mobilization, and the transition to democracy, but I promise that one day I will!
The last two grades in high school*, I remember very vaguely! Most of the time at school, I literally slept through it! The rest of the day until dawn the next day, my only concern was politics and the student movement. How I was able to finish school, is a small miracle! It was probably due to the silent favor that my teachers showed me, in order to get rid of me, as quickly as possible. Whatever happened ... I am grateful to them, for their understanding, kindness and above all for their immense patience!
The years in high school ended with the Panhellenic exams, where of course there was not the slightest case of favoritism. Another small miracle happened then! It is certain that it happened thanks to the beneficial effects of two years of hypnotherapy and a two-month intensive study! The result was my entrance to the CHTE**, a great success, since only four students from the school managed to pass the exams at that time. When they heard my name (at that time the results were announced on the radio), there was great excitement and moments of emotion and pride in my family!
Oops, I almost forgot, when I participated in the student movement, I joined MODNE, the most massive student organization, in the first years after the fall of the junta! Through truly democratic procedures, I was elected its General Secretary (the first and only one). For someone, who not long ago was a regular listener of the show “In the Spider’s Web***”, it is a rather memorable achievement!
~•~
* Back then, high schools had six classes!
** Centers of Higher Technical Education!
*** One of the most cult radio shows during the junta period, of course, was anti-communist in content! It had stories with suspenseful plots, and action enriched with sound effects. It had a very impressive introduction, with a horror background music, while the theatricality and pomp of the announcer was unparalleled: «In the Spider's Web. Unlucky is he who gets caught in the spider's invisible webs. The price of his carelessness is death. Slow, horrible, awful. A death without justification». Radio at its best … :)
Seeking direction
Seeking direction
I still remember the first day after high school! I woke up with the strangest feeling I had ever felt, I still have trouble describing it today. While previously I was in a great hurry to finish my classes and mandatory attendance, now I felt a strange nostalgia for the normality of student life. Gone are the morning wake-ups, the running to catch the first class, the meeting with the other classmates on the way to school!
To the huge spontaneous and hanging question, “what happens now?”, the answer was "the world is waiting for you to conquer it ...". So, let his wish come true … :)
Continued ...
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