Biweekly Update From Ira's Intercontinental March on Fighting Back #8

Kalispera (good afternoon/evening in Greek), The top three updates from the last two weeks were: <ol> <li>The Acropolis - the first picture linked below shows the two gentlemen I waited to go on tour of the Acropolis with. These guys were great, they're experts at getting you just tipsy enough to then get you drunk. So instead of waiting around pathetically for the walking tour that would never come due to abysmal public interest (rip being guided through some of the most ancient sites on Earth), I took a guided tour of these two mens' minds: they talked about how though nature isn't always comfortable it's fair which they prefer to disingenuous cities that they weren't sure how to fight back against. The cool stone ladies holding up the naked men on top of the Parthenon were cool, but it's tough to beat meeting such cool people in such spontaneity.</li> <li>Getting naked in Crete - I was sure I had the theme for this update the morning after I got to Crete when the old man in the hostel got out of the shower (needlessly?) naked to ask me to pass him the shampoo. I've always respected boomers for being so suave about getting naked, I usually have to override some warning in my brain before I take the plunge but this guy really didn't care. He motivated me to hit the nudist beach and represent the under-50s and it was grand floating around in the Mediterranean at the foot of the mountains with all the boomers booming back on shore. So grand that I was further inspired to lead the skinny dipping charge with the folks from the hostel that night and I can't think of a better way to get in touch with the great Greek philosophers and democracy buffs of the past than putting some time in back in my birthday suit.</li> <li>Taking on the five jacked bouncers - the getting naked theme went to die when I got the chance to fight back. Last Friday the hostel receptionist and the bunch of us staying in Santorini set the intention to dance, which meant The Two Brothers was our only option (what the hell kind of Greek guy only has one brother?? Big red flag). When we got there though they wouldn't let any of us in, the reason had something to do with us turning up too hard on the line. The receptionist was able to sweet talk his way in along with the ladies in the group but apparently the bouncers were convinced that I was on drugs from the way I was dancing so they weren't going to let me in; so, I decided to show them what turning up too hard looks like for real. From the YMCA and whipping/nae naeing to walking it by myself and putting my hips on tap for these guys, I turned their little club-front into Ira's Cabaret for two hours. Dancing on the chairs and drumming along to the beat on the tables, I kept reminding the bouncers that Greece was a free country and that the next time they want to abuse their power to be the arbiters of who can and cannot dance, they should talk to the person first. I was flattered when the Irish chick and guy from Staten Island told me I had balls, and even more flattered when the jacked bouncers started coming up to me to try and justify their decision to which I just kept dancing. It got a little tense every time they reminded me how bad it was going to get if I touched one of them but if felt like the right way to fight back, the right balance between non-violence and not being submissive. Sometimes the best tool we have to fight the nonsense is to just make it string a little for people who make poor decisions which would otherwise go unpunished.</li> </ol> It's cool how quickly we all start calling each other friends along the way and the litbomb sunsets, one night after the next, in Santorini are also among the most beautiful things I've seen. The Greek islands have the best mix of beaches, mountains, and city life altogether now that I've seen yet, you can find the proof in evidence. I'm writing from Milos and on my way back to Athens tomorrow to commence the northern leg of Greece, but if you couldn't tell, I'm in no particular rush. Oopah, Ira