Many good things will be said about Panagiotis, because he deserves them… but I’m going to write about the early years… back when we met in the first-grade classrooms at the Dilavereios School in Potamos and became a close-knit group. We hung out in the classroom, but also in the schoolyard and on the school field during recess and playtime, in the shelter formed by the big awning, at the communal meal with yellow cheese and delicious powdered milk that we «cooked» ourselves, chopping wood for the school’s wood-burning stoves, watering the garden with water we pumped from the well using the hand pump, planting so many trees all around, our little field trips to Charoupia and the Potamos sports field, but also the longer ones, to Galani on May Day to make the huge wreath with the intoxicating sage, and to Agia Pelagia to climb aboard the enormous windmill until we reached Avlemonas and watch the palamida fishing, as well as the magic show by the magician who came to the school with his trained dogs and the beautiful Julia, along with the gymnastics classes and the competitions during the gymnastics demonstrations, as well as our parades honoring General Koronaios and the caroling with the big star at the top of the pole that we held. But what I remember most is his on-the-spot dribbling and his knack for scoring. We all wanted the charismatic Panagiotis on our team. Most Saturday afternoons, we’d pick up the ball from the River and run all the way to the big stadium, passing the ball back and forth across the street, all the way until we reached the open field with the goalposts. Years later, I ran into Panagiotis again at the field, still playing in a soccer game. I was thrilled and said to him, ’Way to go, Panagiotis!« and he replied: »Now, Kosmas, I play soccer with my head.« Now, Panagiotis, you’re playing soccer with the stars. Who knows? Wait… maybe we’ll rebuild A.O.P.
