Descent

Yesterday I had occasion to sit at a coffeeshop by myself, and so I was left to my own devices to order what I wanted. I still don’t do well when it comes to speaking Greek, I would certainly do better if all communication was written instead of spoken. When I placed my order, I could tell by the look on the waiter’s face that my dull pronunciation of his native tongue had certainly caused some kind of neural misfiring in his brain, yet he seemed to understand me because I ended up with my fresh squeezed orange juice just the same. At this point I figure I might as well speak Greek with a Southern accent, since pronouncing things correctly seems an insuperable task. “Ef-ahhhh-rees-toe, y’all!” Eh, it works for some people.

It was raining, and rain doesn’t seem to stop people from walking up and down the square, although it does seem to make them move a bit quicker if they are caught sans umbrella. There was the usual cadre of strange and unusual characters, including a young man walking around with a bow and a quiver full of arrows. I thought perhaps my mind had lost the ability to separate myth from reality – a common problem with people who play MMORPGs. But no, he was definitely real, not some errant ranger from the land of Norrath. He seemed amiable enough, I don’t think he was an assassin of some kind, although I guess it is possible. There were no shocking bow and arrow incidents on the news today, at least.

As summer slowly fades into autumn, I will spend many days people watching, until they begin to hide beneath their winter wear and fail to linger longingly as they stroll down the sloping square towards the sea. I never thought I’d find the coming winter so melancholy as a Demeter, but I know, just as Persephone will emerge again in the spring, so will the wandering throngs on my beloved square.