Yiannis is in a bad mood. He asks me where I put the medicinal shots laying on the counter. I haven't touched anything beyond pigeon boxes for the past hour.
"Foolish people. Foolish people move things and it confuses me." I insist that I haven't moved anything and he accepts my answer but adds, "There is no more food for animals. We must go to town." I've been working since 8 AM. Driving Yiannis around isn't appealing but I can't say no.
The gaslight is blinking in the Fiat, "It's OK for a trip down and trip back up mountain. Pavlos left without giving gas money. Once Pavlos comes back, we get gas money."
Yiannis has a bucket on his lap. He caught a mouse and wants to set it free:
"Ahhh I want to poot the mouse in the grass but this car is here. Foolish people."
"Maybe set it free up here....no, no, a car again. Foolish people." At the bottom of the hill, there's a truck but Yiannis believes the mouse will be fine here.
On to the fish market. A truck drives fast towards us, it steers left to center. "Be carefool." I shift down and the truck speeds by, "Malaka. Asshole. Foolish, foolish people."
The usual up next: fish market and supermarket dumpster. The dumpster is a success today. Yiannis finds a box of wrapped apricot croissants ("Help yoourself") along with veggies, meat, cardboard and cheese.
It's dark...hopefully we are going home now. I'm worried we won't have enough gas to get up the mountain.
"One more quick stop at the small grocery and we go back." It's cold and I'm exhausted when Yiannis starts riffling through the next store's old vegetables. I stay in the car which is now filled to the roof. Something adjusts in the back. I check the plywood-it's secure-and continue to zone out. Something rattles. At the exact moment I turn to my right, a dark figure jumps onto the passenger "seat". It has a tail. It's a rat.
I scramble out and tell Yiannis. He says he's almost finished. He's unfazed by my discovery. He loads up the Fiat. I think he's going to find the rat and put him outside but he doesn't. He climbs in and closes the door, "OK let's go."
"I'm not driving with a rat in the car."
"Why not? It is just a rat. More afraid of you."
"What if it bites me while I'm driving? And I cause an accident?"
"It will not bite you. It will stay hidden." Uhhhh I don't want to drive with a rat in the car but Yiannis is not relenting. After more banter about rats, I slide in. Yiannis tries to comfort me the only way he knows how, "If he comes out I will grab him. Don't panic if he crawls near you. But he will not. He iz like a snake. Snakes will stay hidden. They wait 'til all is still and then they slide away."
The gaslight is glowing in my face, I'm waiting for a rat to bite me and I'm surrounded by garbage.
A fitful ending to the Ekpaz segment of my trip.
"Foolish people. Foolish people move things and it confuses me." I insist that I haven't moved anything and he accepts my answer but adds, "There is no more food for animals. We must go to town." I've been working since 8 AM. Driving Yiannis around isn't appealing but I can't say no.
The gaslight is blinking in the Fiat, "It's OK for a trip down and trip back up mountain. Pavlos left without giving gas money. Once Pavlos comes back, we get gas money."
Yiannis has a bucket on his lap. He caught a mouse and wants to set it free:
"Ahhh I want to poot the mouse in the grass but this car is here. Foolish people."
"Maybe set it free up here....no, no, a car again. Foolish people." At the bottom of the hill, there's a truck but Yiannis believes the mouse will be fine here.
On to the fish market. A truck drives fast towards us, it steers left to center. "Be carefool." I shift down and the truck speeds by, "Malaka. Asshole. Foolish, foolish people."
The usual up next: fish market and supermarket dumpster. The dumpster is a success today. Yiannis finds a box of wrapped apricot croissants ("Help yoourself") along with veggies, meat, cardboard and cheese.
It's dark...hopefully we are going home now. I'm worried we won't have enough gas to get up the mountain.
"One more quick stop at the small grocery and we go back." It's cold and I'm exhausted when Yiannis starts riffling through the next store's old vegetables. I stay in the car which is now filled to the roof. Something adjusts in the back. I check the plywood-it's secure-and continue to zone out. Something rattles. At the exact moment I turn to my right, a dark figure jumps onto the passenger "seat". It has a tail. It's a rat.
I scramble out and tell Yiannis. He says he's almost finished. He's unfazed by my discovery. He loads up the Fiat. I think he's going to find the rat and put him outside but he doesn't. He climbs in and closes the door, "OK let's go."
"I'm not driving with a rat in the car."
"Why not? It is just a rat. More afraid of you."
"What if it bites me while I'm driving? And I cause an accident?"
"It will not bite you. It will stay hidden." Uhhhh I don't want to drive with a rat in the car but Yiannis is not relenting. After more banter about rats, I slide in. Yiannis tries to comfort me the only way he knows how, "If he comes out I will grab him. Don't panic if he crawls near you. But he will not. He iz like a snake. Snakes will stay hidden. They wait 'til all is still and then they slide away."
The gaslight is glowing in my face, I'm waiting for a rat to bite me and I'm surrounded by garbage.
A fitful ending to the Ekpaz segment of my trip.
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