I just heard on the news that an unscrupulous Russian man lured a confused septuagenarian to Alaska in an apparent elder scam. According to the news, the Russian has posed as a friend of his geriatric mark in order to take advantage of him in the remote, icy setting. "This poor, addled codger isn't playing with a full deck and hasn’t for some time", the news went on to say. "We're afraid that the Russian will trick him into signing something away."
Fortunately, at my age I can afford to ignore the news and just sit on the jetty and enjoy the sunshine on a cold winter's day --- two litres of Greek sunshine, to be exact, known by the name of Retsina Malamatina.
Retsina, a Greek white resinated wine, which has been made for at least 2,000 years, is very much an acquired taste because of its unique flavour which originated from the practice of sealing wine vessels, particularly amphorae, with Aleppo Pine resin in ancient times.
I acquired my taste for it during my Geek salad days all those many years ago when I was still able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. I pour myself a glass of it every time I think back to those glorious days in Greece and elsewhere, and to remind myself of how grateful I ought to be for all the good things that have happened to me in my life.
It's still winter here in Australia - the coldest I've ever experienced at "Riverbend" - and the wind has picked up again. Time to go back inside and double down on my reminiscences by watching "Never on Sunday".
Στην υγειά σου! (Stin iyá su) “To your health!”
