Spanakopita, Ouzo and a Bouzouki

Yesterday, for the third time in my life, I attended a Greek food festival. My first time was at a Greek Orthodox church in Wilmington, North Carolina a few years ago. The other two have been here. Each fall, the Holy Mother of God Greek Orthodox Church in Tallahassee hosts the event. The crowds are enormous and the lines can be very long. It is worth the trip and the wait, though.

I also attended the festival in 2008 during my first year of law school, along with some of the new friends I made. Volunteers served most of the food from underneath tents set up outside the church, but the dessert pastries were inside the building. Along with a new friend, I stood in a line that wrapped around the church and then wove inside like a maze before we made it to the sweet stuff. After buying some cookies, my friend and I pushed open a door to exit the church. We almost knocked down an old man standing on the other side. In typical new 1L fashion, I began to recite to my friend why he would be subject to tort liability, and he in turn responded with the standard defenses.

That night in 2008, I ate Spanakopita, a Greek spinach pie, for the first time in my life. I remember how delicious it was. The dozens of dining tables under the tents were all occupied, so I sat down on a cinder block at the corner of a parking lot with my Spanakopita and a can of Pepsi. The weather was fantastic. I watched the crowd, looked up at the stars, tasted my food and drink, and noted that at that moment, I was very happy...

Yesterday, I went back to this same festival with many of my same friends from 2008. This time, we went at lunch because of the smaller crowds and the ability to get a table. Again, I had Spanakopita to eat. Again, it was delicious. My friends also convinced me to try a shot of Ouzo, a clear but fiery Greek liquor flavored with anise. I felt the drink go all the way down my esophagus and into my stomach. One shot was enough to make the guy sitting beside me feel the effects. I was okay after one drink, though I am sure another would have gone to my head a little.

We listened to a Greek band play traditional music. The string player was exceptionally good. During one song, he left the stage, leaped up on a table in front of us and began playing his guitar/banjo type instrument behind his head. The crowd applauded him with rhythmic clapping and shouts. A friend of mine who is also Greek explained that his instrument was called a bouzouki.

So, yesterday was a good day. I had a great meal and listened to my friends talk about things such as their comically bad haunted house tour in Monticello the night before. It was another happy moment from law school and Tallahassee.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn