Αναθεώρηση Part 1: People . .

Lots of people have really been important to me in 2011 for many different reasons, so picking 11 people for my “review” of last year was hard. Of course I resorted to cheating in the same way TIME Magazine did with its person of the year  – using a category to provide a collective group (The Protestor) – and one of my most important people (#10) is a fictional character. . . so what the hell?!?

Anyway - here goes, in no particular order:

1. My Brother

My brother is my first person of 2011. That would surprise him and many others. To say we do not enjoy a close relationship is a substantial understatement, as it is also woefully inadequate to say that we have had difficulty in communicating for most of our lives.

But I recently had an epiphany regarding my relationship with my brother. On December 23^rd to be precise. It was not a “religious” moment – before anybody starts worrying that a Christmas spirit reached out and turned me – but a moment of clarity.

Along with my mother and late father, my brother is my immediate family and the most important and closest bond I could have. We share blood and history.

In 2012 I will be making a concerted effort to build a relationship of some kind with my brother and to begin to communicate better with him. Because I want to know him.

2. My Mother

My mother has had a tough year with surgeries and illness that have really taken it out of her but she has been her usual remarkably resilient self.

I know from my own surgeries and illnesses that after a while being less than fit becomes enormously frustrating and debilitating and it’s hard to stay positive.

Luckily my mum has gallons of spirit and has gotten through the tough stuff once more. She has continued her technological progress and while rejecting the laptop, she has fallen in love with her iPad and emails badly typed missives with even more regularity now she can keep the tablet on her lap while watching the racing or listening to the radio.

She has also continued to be a great friend to me and as I head towards middle age, she and I get along just great. I’m only sorry she has to go through all this medical trauma and also that she still worries about me so much. I’ll try not to stress her too much next year.

3. Mugabe 

Mugabe lives on the other couch in my house. Mugabe makes me laugh, makes me tea and is one of my best friends. Thanks for being there Mugabe and sorry you had such a tough time this year. I hope 2012 is kinder to you, that your mum gets better, and that you learn how to cook.

4. The Other Sugar Tits

Along with Mugabe, the other two “sugar tits” have been real bricks this year and we’ve had a lot of laughs as well as pulled each other through the tough times that each of us has had. The longevity of friendships & relationships is less important than the quality of them I think – and I am lucky to have friends who know when to make fun, when to be serious and who act with respect, sensitivity and dignity. Thanks guys. Tidy.

5. Maggie from the Village

My fellow part time insomniac, sometime travelling companion and friend - Maggie from the Village – reappeared in 2011 and we spent a fair amount of time together virtually or in reality discussing life, the human soul and philosophizing (Maggie is Greek after all, so philosophy comes naturally).

For some reason of synchronicity, Maggie was always there this year. To deliver me home after an evening of preposterous drunkenness, to chat at 4am as we both lay in our respective countries wide awake and wired, to travel up mountains, to take me to the “Star”, to explain things I couldn’t understand and to give me books and guides to find my way. We talked a great deal about “now-ness” and she gave me lots of courage. Thank you Maggie from the Village.

6. My Beloved Ex-Wife 

My Beloved Ex-Wife (for this is how we refer to each other) moved to the other side of the world this year and started a new job, career and life in New York City. A far cry from Athens, the Big Bagel seems to be treating her well and I am really happy that she has grabbed an opportunity with both hands and taken the plunge.

As we grow older it is sometimes easy to become captive to our habits and comforts, to doubt we have it in us to change, to lack the courage of the young, arrogant and naïve.

Well she proved to herself and to others that this isn’t the case. And while no doubt it is tough making these kind of changes at our age and stage in life, I am sure she will make a success of it and most importantly take a lot of great experience and learning. Good luck “BE-W” – I’m proud of you.

7. Mrs. Bucket

This year saw me lose one of my dearest colleagues - Mrs. Bucket as she is known to some. We’ve worked together for the last seven years and very closely for the last three. Moreover we’re great friends and have had some of the best moments of laughter I can recall in the work place. Often involving Mrs. Bucket dissolving into peels of giggles punctuated by grunts and snorts of a distinctly porcine nature.

With classic British humour she dealt with some of the most enormously stressful situations and with aplomb. I was glad to be her Consigliere on many matters, and to enjoy a trusting and warm professional relationship.

I am very sad to no longer be able to work together and share the woes of the world, but am very glad we will remain friends and that I will see her and her husband much more frequently where the sole purpose will be imbibing and consuming great food, while laughing our backsides off (punctuated by the occasional porcine snort no doubt).

Good luck Mrs. Bucket and thanks for everything – I learned a lot, admired even more and am grateful for your patience, friendship and trust.

8. The Larded Hippo

Lard (or “Larded Hippo”) – as she is affectionately known – is one of my oldest friends. We worked out this year that we have known each other for 25 years. 2011 was a year that we spent quite a bit of time together for birthdays, holidays and other events and which proved the depth of our friendship as we both helped each other through difficult times as well as enjoying much celebration and mirth. Although we are polar opposites in terms of personality, habits and nature, Lard is always there, quiet and thoughtful, gentle and warm. I always like to find balance in life, and I was glad to be able to be there also for Lard this year and wish her all the best with the road ahead. Fellow travellers are never far away Lard. Be good and trust your self.

9. Leaina. .

Three dots vs two. One too many for now. That third dot takes a lot of work and courage. Good luck with that.

10. J. Alfred Prufrock
In 2011 I also became reacquainted with J. Alfred Prufrock.

“Prufrock . . . cannot reconcile his thoughts and understanding with his feelings and will.”

I dared to disturb the universe this year. As a result it seems I simply became old and wore my trousers rolled. . .

One quote I found about T.S. Eliot says it all: “His early poetry, including “Prufrock,” deals with spiritually exhausted people who exist in the impersonal modern city.”

I ended 2011 spiritually exhausted and there is no more impersonal a modern city than the one I exist in. Maybe this is why Prufrock spoke to me so much at the end of 2011.

11. The People That Are Struggling

Finally 2011 was a year for me that was characterized by “the people that are struggling”.

By this I mean everything from the protesters in Arab Spring, struggling for human rights, democracy and equality, to the protestors in Athens struggling against an increasingly brutal state machine and austerity measures that have brought a country to its knees.

I also mean all the people dealing with personal struggles in their lives. Struggles of confidence, struggles of trust, struggles of growing up, struggles of dealing with abandonment, loneliness, rejection and fear. Struggles of identity, struggles of anxiety, struggles of depression, struggles of illness, struggles of purpose, struggles of faith.

As someone who struggles from time to time, I can both sympathize and often empathize.

For anyone who is struggling or who has struggled, I have only two things to recommend – act with compassion and don’t abandon faith. Faith in life.

Keep up the struggle in 2012 – it’s worth it.