Me today: Hey, how’s it going?
Me in 30: What?
Me today: I said, hey, how’s it going?
Me in 30: I can’t understand a damn word you’re saying! Speak into my good ear you idiot.
Me today (beginning to get upset): ok…HOW’S IT GOING?
Me in 30: Jesus Christ kid! You don’t have to yell! To answer your question, I’m ok. But my back has been killing me the past few days. Why don’t you be a good boy and get me a beer from the fridge.
Me today (I come back to the living room and pass him the bottle of beer): Here you go.
Me in 30: What the hell do you think you’re doing? Did I say that you could get one for yourself???
Me today (stunned): I thought I…I didn’t think it…I’ll go put it back.
Me in 30 (laughing): Relax kid. It’s not a problem. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I like to joke around. Now pull up a seat and tell me about life. What’s new and exciting in your world?
Me today: Well, I’m just about to graduate with my public relations degree. I’m pretty excited about moving out into the working world.
Me in 30: oh yeah, so what’s the plan after you’re done?
Me today: Not sure yet, I think I’m going to relax for the summer and work part-time. I’ll worry about finding a job for September. How about yourself? What is new and exciting in your world?
Me in 30: Kid, when you get to be my age, the most exciting thing that can happen is that my Habs win the Stanley Cup. It’s been 40 years since they won! These damn players today. They’re a bunch of million dollar babies. They don’t care about wearing the Montreal Canadiens jersey. They don’t care about the tradition. They…
Me today: I’ve obviously struck a nerve. Let’s change the subject.
Me in 30: Sorry if I’ve seemed a little cranky with you. You see, the house just hasn’t been the same without the wife and kids. My wife has been away visiting her family for the past month, while the kids are both off away at university. I’ve been living on Kraft Dinner and hot dogs lately and my kids don’t have the decency to return phone calls. I certainly hope that you don’t end up like this.
Me today: Come on now, it can’t be all that bad.
Me in 30: Actually, I couldn’t be happier with the way things have worked out. I’ve been happily married to an amazing woman for the past 20 years. We met on a resort in Cuba and hit it off right away. Within six months we were married. Crazy. We have two beautiful kids. They got their looks from the wife—Thank god (laughing). The boy is in trade school in Alberta. He wants to be a plumber. My girl is studying to be a dentist in Ontario. Putting the two of them through school is costing me a fortune, but it’s well worth it. Plus, the wife and I have plenty of money, since we hit the jackpot five years ago. We won $20 million playing Lotto 6/49. It sure was nice for both of us to be able to retire in our early 50’s.
Me today: Wow, what an amazing story. I can only be so lucky to have things turn out this way for me. Well, I’ve got to head out. I have a job interview in an hour. It’s been great chatting with you.
Me in 30: Likewise. Good luck with the job interview and with your future endeavors. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.
Me today: Thanks. Ciao.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
OPA
Hello, my name is Peter Panagiotakos and I’m an expert at breaking plates. Before I tell you about myself, let me make it clear to you that I only use Windex on mirrors and windows. Ok, ok, enough of my dry Greek humor. On with the story.
I’m 35 years old and live at home with my dad Dimitri and my mom Litza. We immigrated to Halifax when I was 14 years old. To this day, my friends make fun of me because I still live with my parents. Plus, my dad has been trying to kick me out for years. But how can I leave? My mom treats me like gold. She cooks and cleans for me. Even makes my bed. And I don’t pay a thing. Jealous yet? I know my dad is.
Anyways, I also have two older brothers and one younger sister. They are all married and have children of their own. My brothers are named Dimitri and Peter. When we were younger, they always liked to pick on me. You see, I was Litza’s favorite son. They hated me for that, but mom would always protect me. I loved watching her chase my brothers around the house with the wooden spoon and hit them until they begged for mercy. I can’t count how many wooden spoons my mom broke on them. My sister is named Voula. She was raised to be a traditional Greek housewife. Growing up, she helped mom cook, clean and do laundry.
To help support the family when we immigrated to Halifax, my dad worked as a chef. He learned the trade from his dad Dimitri, who learned from his dad, also named Dimitri (surprise, surprise). My dad was working for a Greek fellow named Peter at his Greek restaurant. Seemed like an ideal job for him right? It wasn’t. Dad, like many Greek men, has a temper. He would constantly fight with his boss over how the food should be prepared—from the type of seasoning used on the souvlaki’s to the lettuce used for the Greek salad. After six months of that nightmare job, dad got fed up and decided that he wanted to be his own boss.
My dad opened his own authentic Greek restaurant in the south end of Halifax and has never looked back. You may have heard of it. It’s called The Broken Plate. My family has been successfully running the restaurant for the past 20 years. Mom handles the cash, while my sister is the hostess. My oldest brother Dimitri is the manager, while Peter and I work in the kitchen with dad. My nieces, Litza and Maria, and nephews, Dimitri, Peter and George are the servers. I don’t want to brag, but we have the best Greek food in town. It is often imitated, but never duplicated.
You’re probably wondering how I put up with my family when I spend pretty much every waking moment with them. Honestly, working with the family is great, but sometimes, they can drive me crazy. Mom and dad keep asking me when I’m going to get married. They wonder if there is something wrong with me. It’s gotten so bad that my mom tries to introduce me to the single women around my age at the Greek church every Sunday. How embarrassing. A 35 year old man getting introduced to women by his mom. Real attractive.
Things are looking up in the woman department though. I just started dating this great Greek girl, her name is Toula. She is amazing. I think she may be a better cook than mom. But I’d never tell her that.
Well, I’d love to keep the story going, but mom is yelling for me to go and help her bring in the groceries.
If you happen to be in the neighbourhood, feel free to pop into the restaurant. It’s right across from the main entrance of Point Pleasant Park. You can’t miss it. I can introduce you to the whole Panagiotakos family and share more stories over a bottle of ouzo.
*please mark this one.
I’m 35 years old and live at home with my dad Dimitri and my mom Litza. We immigrated to Halifax when I was 14 years old. To this day, my friends make fun of me because I still live with my parents. Plus, my dad has been trying to kick me out for years. But how can I leave? My mom treats me like gold. She cooks and cleans for me. Even makes my bed. And I don’t pay a thing. Jealous yet? I know my dad is.
Anyways, I also have two older brothers and one younger sister. They are all married and have children of their own. My brothers are named Dimitri and Peter. When we were younger, they always liked to pick on me. You see, I was Litza’s favorite son. They hated me for that, but mom would always protect me. I loved watching her chase my brothers around the house with the wooden spoon and hit them until they begged for mercy. I can’t count how many wooden spoons my mom broke on them. My sister is named Voula. She was raised to be a traditional Greek housewife. Growing up, she helped mom cook, clean and do laundry.
To help support the family when we immigrated to Halifax, my dad worked as a chef. He learned the trade from his dad Dimitri, who learned from his dad, also named Dimitri (surprise, surprise). My dad was working for a Greek fellow named Peter at his Greek restaurant. Seemed like an ideal job for him right? It wasn’t. Dad, like many Greek men, has a temper. He would constantly fight with his boss over how the food should be prepared—from the type of seasoning used on the souvlaki’s to the lettuce used for the Greek salad. After six months of that nightmare job, dad got fed up and decided that he wanted to be his own boss.
My dad opened his own authentic Greek restaurant in the south end of Halifax and has never looked back. You may have heard of it. It’s called The Broken Plate. My family has been successfully running the restaurant for the past 20 years. Mom handles the cash, while my sister is the hostess. My oldest brother Dimitri is the manager, while Peter and I work in the kitchen with dad. My nieces, Litza and Maria, and nephews, Dimitri, Peter and George are the servers. I don’t want to brag, but we have the best Greek food in town. It is often imitated, but never duplicated.
You’re probably wondering how I put up with my family when I spend pretty much every waking moment with them. Honestly, working with the family is great, but sometimes, they can drive me crazy. Mom and dad keep asking me when I’m going to get married. They wonder if there is something wrong with me. It’s gotten so bad that my mom tries to introduce me to the single women around my age at the Greek church every Sunday. How embarrassing. A 35 year old man getting introduced to women by his mom. Real attractive.
Things are looking up in the woman department though. I just started dating this great Greek girl, her name is Toula. She is amazing. I think she may be a better cook than mom. But I’d never tell her that.
Well, I’d love to keep the story going, but mom is yelling for me to go and help her bring in the groceries.
If you happen to be in the neighbourhood, feel free to pop into the restaurant. It’s right across from the main entrance of Point Pleasant Park. You can’t miss it. I can introduce you to the whole Panagiotakos family and share more stories over a bottle of ouzo.
*please mark this one.
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