July 6^th, 2022

Kalimera Rich,

Man, it’s hard to believe you only have two more months!  The day you leave is going to be a sad one.  And if I were a betting man, I’d say there gonna be some crying faces in the office.  Especially that Mike fellow.  100 bucks says he starts blubbering like a baby!  “Oh, Rich, I’m sorry I gave you such a hard time about being a Cowboys fan.  They’re not so bad, really!  Rich… Please don’t leave me…”  And then there’s Tara.  She’s going to go crazy without you to keep things in check.  In fact, I don’t think there’s a qualified employee in the entire government that can do the job you do of reigning all of us in day after day.

Things are going pretty good over here.  I ended up getting an offer for the facilities management job over at the embassy, so I’m pretty excited about that.  The only thing now is that I have to do another background investigation, which I’m not too worried about, except I hope it’s not one of those where they make you take a polygraph and ask about who you know.  You know me, Rich.  I can’t lie about these types of things.  “YES, I admit it!  I know him!  I worked with Mike, and God forbid, I once even liked the guy too!  Please have mercy on my soul!!!”

It may cost me a couple points here and there, but I’m not going to make the same mistake that Peter guy made in the bible when he denied Jesus three times in a row.  He’s just lucky that Jesus was such a forgiving guy!

At the end of the day though, any mention of your name should put me in good graces with the investigators, so at least I have that to my advantage.

We went to the beach for the 4th of July weekend to this place called Tolo.  It was beautiful over there, and the water was crystal clear, but let me tell ya, it was hotter than Max Scherzer’s arm during the World Series a few years back!  And not only that, but I decided to put on my swim trunks for the first time since Covid, and boy oh boy was I in for a surprise.  You know me, I used to be an exercise machine, running home from work on the daily!  But according to my wife, I have one of these things called “A Dad Bod” now.  Not exactly sure how it came about, but it makes me less flattering to look at now whenever I need to take my shirt off.  Not sure if it’s reversable or not, but only time will tell.

Even with my new Dad Bod, I still had a good weekend relaxing at the beach.  The little guy didn’t take too kindly to his first encounter with the sea, but I’ll work on him a little bit.  He sure did enjoy his beach toys, however.

One thing I was a little disappointed with the Greeks about was their lack of fervor for the 4th.  For some reason, it just wasn’t the same this year for some reason.  No fireworks, no bbq’s, no nothin’!  At least we got the day off to relax and reflect.  I’ll tell ya, the older I get, the more respect I have for those founding fathers.  Boy did they have guts standing up to King George the way they did.  Maybe next year, the Greeks will get their act together and celebrate, but I have a feeling it’s going to be up to me to get the party started…

Give my regards to my old workmates.  It’s hard to believe it’s almost been a year since we moved here!  But keep doing the good work you do, and keep sending those pics!  Love seeing you guys enjoy the Nats.

Very Respectfully,

August 12^th, 2022

Kalimera Rich,

Boy, it saddens me a little to know that this will be my last life update before you retire.  Just thinking about it almost brings a tear to my eye.  And I’ll tell you what, I don’t even want to HEAR IT from that Mike Cannon fellow.  I can just see him giving me a hard time for days, so I’m not going to do it!  At least not right now.

August is typically a pretty quiet month over here in Athens.  Everybody goes on vacation, and when I say everybody, I mean everybody, so the city is pretty empty.  But that’s alright with me!  I can live with less traffic for a little while, except it is a bit of a nuisance when you need to go to the pharmacy or your favorite restaurant, only to find out they’re all closed for two weeks.  But boy, wouldn’t it be nice if everybody decided to leave DC for a month?  Think about how easy it would be to get into the office every day! Oh, and none of those stinkin’ protestors to deal with, blocking the Key Bridge, the Memorial Bridge, the 14th Street Bridge, the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, they’re always causing trouble!!!

With things quieting down, I finally got out to see a movie the other weekend, and you know I had to see the new Top Gun!  A little late to the party, I know, but better late than never!  That’s my motto.

The movie theatre was outdoors, and I had to wait until 10:30 to watch the movie, which was a little late for an old fart like me, but because it was the Navy, I had a duty to watch it, and my wife understood, or as they say in Greek, “katalaveno.”  

The seats weren’t the greatest in the world, but the price for beer more than made up for that.  Only 4 Euros for this big old thing!  Stella Artois too, which hey, not my favorite, but isn’t a bad beer by any means.  You’d be lucky to pay double that in DC, and when you’re talking prices at a movie theatre, forget it!

Had to spend last week scrambling to get the paperwork ready for another background investigation.  I do it because it’s the right thing to do, but let me tell ya, it drives me nuts!  They only give you a week to complete the darn thing, and you gotta remember all the places you lived, all the countries you went to, all the schools you went to, gather all your references… and on top of that, I had to get my fingerprints taken and send them back!  No kidding, I was down to the wire yesterday putting it all together!  Then, I find out they want me to add an another reference for somebody who knew me at DAU, but I was like, “Geez Louis!  I didn’t even go there!  I took everything online!”  After some research, I found out I could put down somebody I worked with during the time, and no joke Rich, I almost chose you.  Hey, I’m only picking the most honorable references, and I know you wouldn’t let me down.  But then I thought, “Rich is about to retire, and I’m going slap another work assignment on him right before he leaves?”  I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I did.  Luckily, our good friend Jen stepped up to the plate.  Being as busy as she is, she may not be able to make it back to DC before you leave, so make sure our buddy Mike buys here some lunch on behalf of me (we know he’ll do it, because he’s a good guy after all).

Long story short, now I know how you felt whenever I screwed up on my travel orders and I came to you last minute to fix them!  No wonder you chewed my butt out all those times!

The little guy’s doing good.  Loves going to the park and he’s starting to climb on everything he sees, which is a little worrisome, and boy does he get mad when we try to stop him.  I guess they don’t call it the terrible two’s for nothin’!

Now, it’s quite ok when we’re at the playground as you can see (of which the Greeks do alright with). But since it’s blistering hot out most of the time, we had to come up with another solution. So, we got him a play structure, thanks to Grandma.  I was able to get it together with a little blood sweat and tears (and maybe a few swears here and there), but overall, I think he likes it.

Lastly, since this is your final month at the office, I just want to thank you for your service and all your help over the last several years.  Ever since COVID hit, it’s been a wakeup call for me to be grateful for the blessings I’ve received in my life, and I don’t think there’s any doubt that you’ve been a blessing to all of us who’ve worked with you in the Navy Yard, past and present.  And what a delight it was to see your face in the office when we finally started coming back into the yard.  As the late great Ronald Reagan once famously described, you were like that shining city on the hill, and it always filled me with joy when I got to come into the office and catch up and even banter a little bit after working from home for so many months.  There’s a reason the Good Lord put you in this office to work with us and to be a part of our lives, and I thank him for giving me the opportunity to know you (And great, now I AM started to get a little teary eyed.  I don’t care what Mike says about it!).

The only bad part is, now I’m going to have to send updates to Mike… oh great…  I just hope he’s as responsive as you are (fingers crossed).

All in all, your legacy will live on in the Navy Yard, so enjoy your retirement, Rich.  It’s well deserved.  Fair well, and fair seas.

Very Respectfully,

Zack

Part 5: Fall 2022