I think my sister is in Mykonos...

Walkway in Mykonos, white & blue

In the spring semester of my first year of seminary, on a rainy San Francisco Bay Area afternoon, I received a phone call from my sister.  She and her husband liked to vacation in Greece, specifically the Greek isle of Mykonos.  They had been there multiple times, staying for two or three months each summer.

And with this phone call, my sister invited me to to Mykonos for the summer.  She said I could stay as long as I wanted with them at their condo, I just had to get myself to Greece.        (!)

I just couldn't resist, I said, "Well let me check my schedule..."...(pretending to check)... "Well... OK!"    She knew I was teasing.  Of course I was delighted to be invited and very excited to come and visit them in Greece!  I had never been there before.

And although I really could not afford a plane ticket to Athens on my graduate student's budget, I did it anyway.

And I am so very glad I did. For now this trip was twenty plus years ago ... and now my sister is gone, having passed away a few years ago. 

And so when that first year of seminary spring semester ended, off I flew to Athens, Greece.  My sister met me at the airport.

We spent a few days in Athens seeing the sites and then we flew to Mykonos.  Her husband was there with all their friends and their little bar he had become partial owner with a Greek resident.

How do I describe Mykonos?  The place was an island, sort of deserty and stark.  The buildings in the little town and harbor were painted white, and the doors and trim of many balconies and window shutters were painted ocean blue.  In the town, there were very narrow walkways, no streets.  Lots of little shops, restaurants and bars.  And of course, the harbor.

This painting captures the essence of Mykonos

There were many tourists there, mostly Europeans on "holiday" arriving on plane and from the many ships that came in to the harbor everyday.  It seemed to be a place that attracted the jet set and wealthy types who liked to party and drink all day and all night.

The Thomas McNight painting to left looks so much like the patio view of the town and harbor in Mykonos from my sister's condo. 

As for the Greek people who lived there, they seemed to tolerate the tourists, but also seemed to keep their distance.

The island was dotted with cute little Greek Orthodox Chapels.  Teeny tiny.  Many people had chapels in their back yard, their own private chapel!   As well, there were cats everywhere.  The Greeks love cats.  People put food out for them near their doorsteps every day.

One day my sister and I took a Dolphin boat that zoomed across the Mediterranean Sea to the islands of Tinos and Delos.

In Delos we visited the temple where Artemis and Apollo were born.  There were also countless other temples of Dionysus and the remnants of ancient Greek houses, many with mosaic tile floors still there.

Greek blue doors

On the island of Tinos, there was a Greek Orthodox monastery where an apparition of the Virgin Mary had occurred.  My sister and I ate lunch (Greek salads with calamari of course) at a restaurant in the harbor and watched some Greek people arrive on boats.  Upon disembarking, they got down on their hands and knees and began to crawl up the four block cobble stone little road toward the monastery.

We were intrigued.  So after lunch we headed up the road towards the monastery.

As we walked up the road, we stopped in a few shops.  A little old Greek lady with a slight mustache smiled at us and pointed her finger back and forth at us.  "Sisters?"  she asked.  We knodded.  "Deutschland?" she asked.  We smiled,"No, America".

We wound up buying these six foot long giant, thin candles from her shop.  She said people lit them in the monastery for prayers.

There was a line of people to get in.  We waited in line.  When we got to the initial entrance, it looked like a darkened small stone room where people were lighting their giant candles and placing them in these large racks.   On the walls were large icons.  The place had a very solemn, holy feel.

My sister and I lit our candles and placed them in the racks, pausing to pray.  Being that were were not dressed appropriately (we were wearing shorts and shirts) we were not allowed to go any further.  But what we did get to experience was pretty amazing.

There were other adventures.  I stayed in Mykonos with my sister and her husband for almost three weeks.

And as I said above, all this was a long time ago.

At the time, it seemed like the price a plane ticket was beyond what I could afford back then, but now I know...the trip was priceless.    For now, my sister is gone.  But the love stays, the memories stay.  

For those who are reading this little story, the lesson is...go!  Travel!  Get out there!  Go do things and go places with your loved ones!   For someday, you may not be able to...

Over the years since my sister's passing,  I have wondered how she is, what she is doing...where she is...  

Perhaps she is in her version of heaven...her little Greek island paradise.  Mykonos.

Yes, I think my sister just might be...in Mykonos.