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to the remains of the Parthenon, the temple at the
centre of the Acropolis, the sweat is dripping off me at
such a rate there s a real possibility I ll cause some extra
erosion at this ancient site.
This place is by far the oldest and most awesome
thing I ve seen so far, and it gets me thinking about
what parts of Perth might be preserved in thousands of
years. Maybe back when this place was constructed it
seemed ordinary also. I find some shade and decide to
people-watch a while as I rehydrate myself with some
expensive water.
Soon I get listening to a tiny old Greek guy, better
than any museum, who tells me something about his
country s proud performances in the great battles of
World War II and Euro 2004. Apparently the Greeks
initially defeated the Italians, in the war that is, and both
Mussolini and Hitler were real pissed off. It caused the
Germans planned invasion of Russia to be postponed for
six weeks, by which time winter gripped Moscow and the
invading forces, not used to the freezing conditions, were
halted. Like most older folk, who are familiar with more
successful wars than recent ones, he doesn t mind that I m
a foreigner, and is pleased that I might spread the word of
how influential the Greeks have been, not just when this
place was constructed but also in his very lifetime.
230
Other tourists start to gather around the old guy as
if he s holding an umbrella in the air, and I m crowded
out of my own shade. Now that I ve got my dose of
history first hand, I m pretty well done with looking at
what was, and sweat my way back to the metro. Once
I m back in Piraeus I make for the internet cafe so I can
be disappointed by the shy Drina one more time. Even
after what happened between me and Miller in Berlin,
something tells me that some good might come out of
knowing more about his mum.
Dear Mr Smith,
Thanks for your message that was forwarded to me.
I am still available for bookings and hope to have
the opportunity to perform in your club soon. Below
are all my contact details.
Best regards, Drina Balcescu
I read the email several times, in amazement that
it s worked. She s even given me her phone number
and home address in Sydney. My initial reaction is to
call her immediately, but I take a moment and remind
myself there s still the possibility this Drina may just be
a singer and not the real deal. Like a Las Vegas Elvis.
How exactly can I establish if she s in fact Miller s
mother before she hangs up on discovering that there s
going to be no cabaret set for her to wail through? As
I steel myself for making the call, I check for other
email messages. Apart from the endless spam about
making it bigger and keeping it up longer, there s
nothing. I stall some more by Googling around on the
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internet and then send a general blast to all the IDS
addresses I can remember: Evan, Amelia, Modern
Bride, Practical Parenting, Fortune, Pet Problems,
even Cynthia. Somehow I stuff up the message and
instead of my upbeat note about the sights of Athens
being complemented with a link to a cool site about
the Acropolis, I ve instead attached a link to a recipe for
keftedes I d been checking out. That should reassure
them that I remain a loser, irrespective of what country
I m in.
Finally I purchase a phone card and take a shot at
calling Drina. Thinking too much about exactly what
I m going to say might seem like a good idea, but I
steadfastly ignore it. The phone rings a bunch of times
and then, Hello. The drowsiness of her voice suddenly
reminds me that this world is too large to squeeze into
one time zone. Fuck. Too late now.
Drina Balcescu?
Yes. Who is this?
My name is Ash. I m a friend of Miller s. I decide
that the whole thing about Mr Smith s nightclub and a
possible gig is just not going to cut it, given it s probably
two in the morning or thereabouts.
Who? She is very tired and not up for overstretching
her vocabulary.
Oh, I mean Jet.
And now I wait.
Why are you calling me? The way she says this, her
head becoming clearer as she becomes closer to awake,
tells me she is the right Drina after all.
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Jet does not know that I am calling you. I just
wanted to make contact on his behalf, I say, realising
that I m not really going to be able to establish if she s
better in or out of Miller s life by talking to her on the
phone, in the middle of the night, half a world away.
How did you get my number? Drina is now well
awake.
I don t want to come across as a stalker, so I say I
used a phone directory. Like in the olden days.
I ain t listed, fella, she says, and being called fella
has me flummoxed for a second.
The internet, I say crisply, to avoid further
questioning.
Do you know what time it is?
It s half past one, I say, but I m in Greece.
The musical?
Oh, man! Athens, Greece, I reply.
Why?
Well, since you enquire, we re in Athens because
Miller wants to make sure some other five-year-old gets to
stay with his mum. I think but don t say. And in Greece
because I want to take a shot at something I haven t
succeeded at before. I keep this thought to myself
as well I m sure Drina couldn t care less about my
love life.
Me and Jet are travelling around Europe, I tell
Drina, and hope that this will personalise things to the
point she ll offer me more clues as to what she s like,
other than vague when drowsy.
So how is he doing? At last, some interest. She s
taking the hook.
233
He s doing good. He s really happy and loving the
trip, I say excitedly.
I mean how is he doing with work and all? She may
not care so much for his mood as for his finances.
He does really well, I say, presuming this will keep
her on the line.
Well that s nice. Get him to call me himself. During
the daytime preferably. And out.
It s going to take me a while to get my head around
that exchange and decide if that s what I wanted
or not.
Miller is already running things by the time I arrive
at the pool hall, Georgina having gone. As he keeps his
eye on the only table that has chicks playing, a couple
of friendly New Zealand backpackers apparently, I fill
him in on my day without mentioning the fact I d just
chatted with the woman who chose to leave him to
pursue a life singing in cheap clubs.
Let s rack them up we have six hours to fill, says
Miller, all the while watching the healthy-looking Kiwi
girls make one euro last till their boat is ready.
I know what I want for dinner, I proclaim.
Let me guess. Keftedes? Miller suggests.
No surprises from me today! I declare, taking the
opening shot and scattering the balls without sinking
any just yet.
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36
thens shrinks behind a mist of sea spray, providing
Ame and Miller with the warmest shower we ve had
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| Cytat |
Dobre pomysły nie mają przeszłości, mają tylko przyszłość. Robert Mallet
De minimis - o najmniejszych rzeczach.
Dobroć jest ważniejsza niż mądrość, a uznanie tej prawdy to pierwszy krok do mądrości. Theodore Isaac Rubin
Dobro to tylko to, co szlachetne, zło to tylko to, co haniebne.
Dla człowieka nie tylko świat otaczający jest zagadką; jest on nią sam dla siebie. I z obu tajemnic bardziej dręczącą wydaje się ta druga. Antoni Kępiński (1918-1972)
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