It's always Black or White...well...until it's GREEK!

When thinking about what I was going to blog about today, I stopped...mid-thought.... and realized that some of my readers / followers are not GREEK.  You may say, "So what!", but sometimes, I'm going to say something and it's going to be misinterpreted because you're not GREEK.  Let me explain.  I am Geek.  I am also American and I was born and raised in the USA!!!  Now sometimes I might be talking to Angie (my sister-in-law) and I might say, "....blah, blah, blah...they're American, blah, blah..."   NOW, I'm not referring to the fact that they were born and raised in the USA, but rather that they are not Greek.  Or, during the Spring, I may say, "When is Easter this year?  Is it the same day as American Easter?"  Again, we are all American (or at least some of us) but I am not referring to Easter in the sense of the big bunny, jelly beans and hard boiled eggs, but rather the Greek thing again.  See if you didn't know, Greek Easter aka Orthodox Easter is not always on the same day as American Easter aka Western Christian Easter.  See, the Greek's have it all figured out.  We base Easter on when it happened originally....if you look back thousands of years...the first Easter was on the; The First Sunday, after the full moon, after Jewish Passover (please God let that be accurate, or I'm gonna hear about it..remember, my Father, brother and nephew (as of this Fall) are all Orthodox priests!).  So when the Greek's decide what day Easter will fall on each year, they do that little calculation and there's the date.  Not sure how White people (ooops...another instance of the Greek thing.  I will explain in a minute...let me try to finish a thought for once!!!) aka Western Christian's figure it out.  If guessing...it's based upon when the weather will be nice and a good 'ole Easter egg can be enjoyed by all.  Now I'm not trying to DIS "American" Easter, but, come on...what other holiday have a CONSTANTLY floating date?  Virtually none.  Maybe you could say Thanksgiving, but it's always the 3rd Thursday of November.  WESTERN CHRISTIAN'S get with it.  Pick a day.

So I really digressed from the original topic...Black and White.  So people of Greek descent are called Greeks...people of non-Greek descent are called Americans (even though they may be born and/or born and raised in America) OR White people.  I know what you're thinking..."Aren't Greek people White?"  Well, yes, of course...well kind of...there is no distinction for Olive complexion.  So I may be having that same conversation with Tina and refer to someone as a White person....I do not mean "White" in the sense of non-hispanic or non-black....but rather, non-Greek.  It's this weird fraternal order or something.  I know that the Movie, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" gave everyone in America this weird view of Greeks.  You have to keep in mind that an author does take some creative liberties in making a movie funny...after all, I never remember eating bundt cakes as a kid and never remember using Windex to cure ailments....that part was fiction, people.  The house I grew up in did not look like the Parthenon....although if my oldest nephew (Evan - the soon to be priest) and his wife, my niece-in-law (Maria - beautiful, by the way) had their choice...their house would look like the Parthenon and there would be statues all around and Greek music would be playing 24/7. Back to the point, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" did not help to break the distinction from Greeks vs Americans or Greeks vs Whites.  Now, if you go to Astoria, NY....totally different story.  The author of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" probably should be sued for using them as a prototype....Astoria is that movie times a ZILLION.  It's one of the few places in America where everyone is related (weeeiiiiirrrrrddddd).  If you tell ANYONE something there, the WHOLE city will know in a matter of minutes....possibly seconds.  It will be a completely different story...but everyone will know.  If you cannot hear a relative, or see a relative from your own porch...something is wrong.  It's the place you should go to if you really want to take a trip to Greece, but cannot afford it.  Just blindfold yourself, fly to NY, drive to Astoria and asked to be dropped off at Greek Town.  What will you find?  Greek restaurants as far as you can see.  Men sitting around drinking coffee and playing backgammon, and water (just like Greece).  What will you hear?  You won't even hear yourself think, because Greek's are LOUD.  Whether they're happy, sad, angry, mad....it's all the same tone...ESPECIALLY in Astoria...LOUD.

So today, more than any blog so far, I really got off track.  The real point of the story was that when I say "White People" or "Americans" make sure that you READ the context.  I am probably NOT talking about non-Hispanics / non-Blacks or people that are born in raised in America.  Remember, you may think "It's always Black or White"....but sometimes....IT'S GREEK!!!!!