We’ve finished the Palikari Project as a labor or love for the man who taught me everything:

My father.

Yea, he had a thick Greek accent, and sometimes invented new words that would make us laugh, words like “feet-fingers” for “toes” and “villiganeers” for “villagers.” But remove the accent and his story is a profoundly American story. It is essentially American.

If you click on the links above–either in the photo or  in red letters in the text–you can hear in his own words how much he loved the United States of America. He taught us how to work hard without complaint, to get to work early, to stay until work was done.

And to always have love and respect for the kindness and optimism of the American people.