Mary M. Tius

When I Lived in Kavala Mary M. Tius

When I Lived In Kavala is a memoir of my 26 years in Greece. It was begun in 1973 for the purpose of explaining Greece--and myself--to a young relative and has been re-written at least five times, though, in truth, I have lost count of the exact number of re-writings. I found as I revised my manuscript again and again, that, while I was living in Greece, I had been very hesitant--or perhaps craven is the word--about criticizing Greece and Greeks. This final version is both harsher and more truthful. Nevertheless, I was, and continue to be, grateful that my son was able to grow up in Greece. Kavala, and probably all of Greece, was a good place for children and a good place for adults, too. It was also a beautiful place, though I make no mention of that in my memoir, which deals mainly with people. Like small towns everywhere, Kavala was full of 'characters': people who would have seemed eccentric no matter where they happened to be; and people who seemed eccentric to us only because we were not Greek. The reader must judge which group can claim the characters whose remarks are quoted.