Return to Our Roots

By Yiannis S. Saroukos

Just a young Greek boy full of hope to one day become a lawyer and become someone that this family could be proud of, turns into endless pain and hopeless dreams.

Tragedy strikes when his wife of 24 1/2 years suddenly gets diagnosed with Leukemia and fights for her life with only her children and husband by her side. Through many obstacles life presented him, he managed to over come them with God by his side.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Aug 27, 2012
• ISBN: 9781466953055

Yiannis S. Saroukos

?? ???µ? µ?? e??a? ??????? "G??????" Saroukos, ? ???? t?? Sp???? ?a? Nomiki. ?ateßa??? ap? t?? ?at?stas? t?? ??de?a??s??, ????da, ?a? ap? t? ??s? t?? sf????a??d??, ? ????µ???, ? ?p??a e??a? ?a? ?a pa?aµe??e? p??ta st?? ?a?d?? ?a? t?? ???? µ??. ??s????µa? t?? ?p?????s? ?a e?p????se? µ?a ?p?s?es? p?? ?d?sa se ??a p??s?p? p??, d?st????, de? e??a? s?µe?a µa?? µa?, ? ???a??a µ??, ? ??sp???a, ? µ?t??a t?? pa?d??? µ??. Ta a????? t?? ?a?d?? µ?? ?a d?????? µ?a a?????? ?st???a, ????? f?ß? ?a? p????, ??a t? ??? µ??. ? t?t??? t?? ?st???a? e??a? ? ep?st??f? st?? ???e? µa?, ?a? af?e???? a?t? st? s????? µ??, ??sp???a ?? µ??µe??? ?a? ta t??a pa?d?? µ??, t?? ??????, t?? ?a?te??, ?a? Nomiki? ??? ???-se-??µ?? µ??, ?a???t? ?a? John ?e?te???? ?a? ta e?????a, Saßß??a, ??sp???a, Rinoula, ?a? ? µ????? ?t? ? pe?a???? ?a f??e? st? µ?s? t?? ??????? 2012.

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Copyright 2012 Yiannis S. Saroukos.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-4669-5304-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4669-5306-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4669-5305-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012915039

Trafford rev. 08/22/2012

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Contents

1946

1969

JANUARY 6, 1970

EARLY OCTOBER, 1970

OCTOBER 7, 1970

OCTOBER 8, 1970

OCTOBER 8, 1970, THURSDAY AFTERNOON ABOUT 5:00 P.M.

NOVEMBER 1, 1970

NOVEMBER 1, 1970, AFTERNOON

SUNDAY AFTERNOON OF SEPTEMBER 19, 1971

OCTOBER 4, 1971

END OF JULY, 1973

SEPTEMBER 4, 1974, WEDNESDAY, 7:11 A.M.

MAY 5, 1977, THURSDAY

NOVEMBER 23, 1979

1983

MARCH, 1985

IN APRIL, 1986, MY CHILDREN ARRIVED TO THE UNITED STATES

EARLY JUNE, 1986

JULY 21, 1986

DECEMBER 22, 1986

NOVEMBER 17, 1988

FEBRUARY, 1990-1994

FEBRUARY, 1994

MARCH 22, 1994

MARCH 22, 1994

MARCH 22, 1 994

MARCH 22, 1994

MARCH 29, 1994

APRIL 22, 1994, FRIDAY

APRIL 23, 1994, THE DAY OF LAZARUS

APRIL 25, 1994, HOLY MONDAY

MAY 1, 1994, EASTER DAY

MAY 1, 1994, DAY OF THE FLOWERS

MAY 4, 1994, WEDNESDAY

MAY 5, 1994

MAY 8, 1994

MAY 18, 1994

MAY 25, 1994

JULY 30, 1994

AUGUST 12, 1994, FRIDAY

SEPTEMBER 8, 1994

SEPTEMBER 23, 1994, FRIDAY NIGHT

NOVEMBER 3, 1994

NOVEMBER 10, 1994

NOVEMBER 10, 1994, THURSDAY AFTERNOON

NOVEMBER 24, 1994, THANKSGIVING DAY

EARLY DECEMBER, 1994

DECEMBER 8, 1994

DECEMBER 20, 1994

DECEMBER 22, 1994

DECEMBER 22, 1994

DECEMBER 25,1994 CHRISTMAS DAY

DECEMBER 25, 1994 CHRISTMAS DAY

DECEMBER 28, 1994

JANUARY 2, 1995 IN THE AFTERNOON, AND EXACTLY 7:30 P.M.

JANUARY 3, 1995, 6:30 A.M.

JANUARY 4, 1995

JANUARY 5, 1995—EPIPHANY EVE

JANUARY 5, 1995—2:00 P.M.

JANUARY 3, 1995

EPIPHANY, 1995

JANUARY 6, 1995

JULY 11, 1995

FEBRUARY, 1997

JUNE 7, 1997

JUNE 25, 1997

JUNE 30, 1997, 8:00 P.M.

SEPTEMBER 28, 1997

1998

END OF AUGUST, 2000

NOVEMBER, 2002

NOVEMBER 6, 2005

FEBRUARY 19, 2006

FEBRUARY 20, 2006, MONDAY MORNING

NOVEMBER 30, 2006, 7:00 P.M.

DECEMBER, 2006

DECEMBER 14, 1976

DECEMBER 18, 1994

DECEMBER 22, 1986

DECEMBER 26, 1969

JANUARY 3, 1995

DECEMBER 13, 2006

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2007, ABOUT 12:40 P.M.

NOVEMBER 12, 2007

SEPTEMBER 26, 2008

DECEMBER 17, 2009, THURSDAY, ABOUT 9:30-10:00 P.M.

1946

IT IS THE seventh day of the month of December, and just before the beginning of winter, birth of fourth child of the seven children of the multimembered family of Spiros and Nomiki Saroukos . . . . Yiannis.

I started to feel and to remember my life, from the time I was six years old, and with much detail. In other words, from first grade when I first sat at a desk of the sixth elementary school Parthenagogiou Kalymnou of 1952.

My teachers gave me the first lessons of life and I thank them. These teachers are: Ms. Kolettis, Olympitou, Galouzi, Amorginou; Mr. Kassaras, and Kolettis.

My home country, Greece, was destroyed after the WWII, and even more than the Civil War. It accepted help from its allies, in order to rebuild and re-establish the country.

I remember, indeed, during my elementary education, they gave us every morning milk and cheese which came from the United States. They also gave us clothes.

My elementary education finished in June of 1959, and in September of that year, I enrolled in Nikiforio High School, Kalymnou.

I loved school, literature and I wanted to continue my education to become something in my life to have a better life than my parents; this is also what my late father wanted. He would be by my side for everything I needed.

My first two years of high school were splendid. I was one of the best of my class.

When I went to the third year of high school, things changed, because my oldest brother bought a coffee shop and I was obligated, according to his opinion, to work in the shop after school. I ended up doing everything.

Around 11:00 p.m., I went home, tired, and I read. But how could I read when my eyes closed. Many times I didn’t even get to open a book.

My grades went from an A to an F. I felt that even my brother was trying to turn me into a coffee shop worker, and not let me get the education that my father and I wanted me to get.

When I complained to my brother that sometimes I was falling behind, he would get angry and many times would hit me.

I was skinny, and I didn’t have the strength and courage to fight back. He was a monster in my life.

In fact, when I was in the third grade, I went from an A student to a student that failed the class. I took a test in September and I passed and went to fourth grade.

Whenever my father came back from the ships in which he worked on in the ocean, he was a seaman, I wouldn’t tell him anything because I was afraid of him. I knew that when he would leave again, my life would be a living hell.

My life would be worse, so I kept my mouth shut to avoid any problems. In other words, I was my brother’s victim.

Thank God the coffee shop sold, and my life became normal. I was saved from his influence and I again was able to continue school, so that I could recover anything and everything I lost.

DURING THE SUMMERS when school closed, I worked in construction as a porter, and also a waiter in restaurants in Kalymnos and in Kos. In fact, the first job I ever had was when I was ten years old. I worked in a restaurant on my island by the name of Paradisos, that was owned by the late Costas Maglis. The money I made from the different jobs helped me pay for my expenses, and I also helped my mother out, economically. Whenever I had the opportunity, I also went to get tutored in any subject that I was weak in. This always happened without my brother knowing about it, as if he was the one paying for it.

My childhood years were not easy. My recreation was soccer. There was no money to buy balls. Buying a ball at that time was a luxury. Boys my same age gathered and we chased a small, plastic ball, or a ball made from old clothes. We played barefoot and our feet would bleed, so that we wouldn’t ruin our shoes that we guarded as if they were our eyes.

Along with soccer, the only other thing we did for entertainment was to go see a movie. On my island there were two movie theaters, the Splendid, owned by M. Billiris, and the Apollo, owned by Mr. Maragos. The tickets cost 3 drachmas per person. And every Sunday afternoon, we gathered at my friend’s produce store, Mama Paschalis, to hear the soccer games on the radio.

They were very poor times, but happy ones, and warmer ones. I miss them so much, because today every year that arrives is worse.

I love my county very much, along with my mother, and brothers. I never wanted or thought that I would live away from them some day.

At age 18, when I was in the last year of high school, I fell in love. For the first time in my life my heart beat for a young 13-year-old girl and a student in the first year of high school.

To this day, this girl, God is my witness, has never left my thoughts or from my mind, and most of all my heart, even if I am 65 years old today. Her initials were X.S., and they are still engraved in my heart and have never left even after all of these years.

IN JUNE OF 1965, I finished high school and I was studying for my final exams. My mind, however, was in turmoil. I didn’t know what to do.

Will I pass my tests or will I postpone taking them, until after I finished my service in army. I didn’t know what to do. After many days of thinking, I opted for the army. And that’s what I did, without regrets. I didn’t tell anyone, I kept it a secret all these years.

This was my secret and now I will reveal it. In this way, I would make my father take me with him on the ships to work for a couple of years so that I can save money to continue my education without being a burden to anyone.

To be honest with you, my father wanted me to continue my studies, regardless of the result of my tests.

I did not want this. I felt sorry for my father. He worked for a multimembered family.

He was a good family man, he took care of his home, his wife, and his children. I did not want to burden him with my expenses (this is what I thought). I felt that I could do this on my own, however, I would need to postpone my education for two years.

Finally, on July 30, 1966, I went to Corinth to serve in the Greek army. After two months, I was transferred to Haithari in Athens, from there I went to Ioannina, and finally, to the Greek/Albanian border at the town of Konitsa, and there I received my army discharge papers on August 2, 1968. Prior on April 21, 1967, the government changed from regular to army government.

After a few days, on August 5, 1968, I arrived again as a citizen to my island.

There, I learned some sad news, that would change my life. The girl that I was in love with had gotten married and she moved to Africa. I was numb and mute like a statue, and I went to her house to see if this was true.

I found her mother and I asked her if the news was true about her daughter, X . . . . Her answer to me proved that the news was true.

She told me, My dear Yianni, she married to escape poverty, and she showed me her daughter’s wedding picture. And at that point, the I realized the truth. The question in my heart was Why.