” How simple a thing is happiness: a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea. All that is required to feel that here and now is happiness is a simple heart.”
Zorba
I was only 8 years old when my mother decides to introduce me to the ‘ Sirtaki Dance” . A newly realeased musical in Italy starring Anthony Queen based on the novel ” Zorba the Greek ” by Nikos Kazantzakis had won my mother’s heart.
Watching her graciously dance at the beginning , she looked absolutely off boundaries, but slowly at an increasingly contagious sound of her record player ( not an I- Pod yet ) I found myself following her footsteps in a 4/4, tempo increasing, and changing the signature 2/4 in the fastest part.
Accordingly, the dance began with slower, smoother actions, gradually transforming into faster, vivid ones, often including hops and leaps. After a while, I did not realize I was transported in a circle with my hands held on my mother’s and the housekeeper’s shoulders taking over me all afternoon.
The sound of ending laughters and my dad coming back from work reminded me that the fantasy was over and lots geometry homework was waiting for me in another room without music. ” I will get back to it” I said to myself annoyed ,” and next time no one will tell me when to quit.”
A few decades have passed and my passion for the Mediterranean sea and the culture of it’s people hasn’t diminished at all. On my fresh honeymoon I want once more to feel the contagion of never having to stop dancing and laugh.
I look at the world map in one of my sophisticated Mac Widgets : ” It is said that an island was named after the local hero Mykons, who was worshipped in antiquity and was considered to be a son or a grandson of the god Apollo.The island’s principal town is Mykonos town, also called “Chora”. Chora actually means “town’ in Greek. I hear from many that clapping and dance over there are quite popular.
Let’s celebrate life in Chora then, like once did Zorba the Greek in Cyprus. Our flight and hotel are already booked.
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