Friday, June 17, 2011

News from the Skylakis in Athens

Alice met many very important dogs in Greece a few months ago. The people there call them "skylos" (dog) or "skylaki" (doggie).

This week has been unnerving for the skylakis of Syntagma Square in Athens. A normal day there involves getting water and food all day long from nice people, lots of stretching, naps and more naps, and sloooow walks to Sun spots for basking. No one can get a nap there now! Yesterday, some people shot off tear gas after other people starting ripping up the paving stones to throw about. Enough already!!

"That was MY favorite stone for Sun basking, fella!," says this Hellenic relative photographed by an AFP person while dodging angry people waving fabric on sticks at other people. It's time for everyone to calm down, get something decent to eat - maybe some of that fabulous Greek cheese pie?! - and then have a long snooze. Things will look much better then in the morning.

But will the people take the advice of the skylakis?


Here is that same skylos on a normal day. He is the Vice-Mayor of the Hotel Grande Bretagne. The Mayor is a bigger dog who hangs out closer to the doorman. In past lives they've lived through invasions from Persians, Spartans, Romans, Turks, Venecians, Nazis.... This, too, shall pass, and we will still be here with the flower sellers across the corner and the skylakis Otto and Amelia on the other side of the Square.