“In the final months of her journey towards death, she fearfully let go the chisel, and saw me take it up and throw it away. (We had no need of that chisel now.)…

“The masks we choose say as much about us as the faces we cover with them.”—Helen Noakes Waking Point By Helen Noakes “Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with…

“The question, ‘Why?’ forms at the moment you see your first death. It never goes away. It’s never answered.”—Helen Noakes Waking Point By Helen Noakes “Monsters exist, but they are too few in…

“You’re mine by virtue of love and perseverance, by the force of sheer determination. For your grandmother and I held onto our friendship through political upheavals which hurled our families to opposite ends…

“This non-verbal lingo exists in every culture. One cannot be completely fluent in a language until and unless one learns the intricacies of jargon conveyed through the nuance of gestures, posture, and facial…

“Achileas’ yearly celebration of a country he would never see again was so deeply felt, as young as I was, it made an imprint. Did he know he’d never see his beloved Aegean,…

“You taught me that patience and stoicism have a kind of dignity; that self-respect is essential to respecting others. From you, I inherited my looks and my disposition, my love of Greece, of…

“The advantages of getting older—why do so few explore the blessings of age?—are experience and, through experience, acceptance. If we accept age as a gift of acquired wisdom, there is an added bonus:…

“Often, I’m burdened by the cruel madness of some in this world, at my immediate anger with them. But I stop and consider those who give of themselves, create beauty and share it,…

“As a child, I measured the rhythm of the year by the scope of preparations for and celebrations of each of our holy days. The month leading up to Christmas and the one…