Hello America and Greece! The temp outside here in Harrisburg is 59 (F) and is predicted to rise into the 80s (F).
So, let me tell you about Greece. It was amazing! Great views! Great history! I had so much fun, and learned so much. Did you know that the root word for "gym" means naked? Now tell me, doesn't that add a whole new meaning to the word gymnastics? And I'm betting that from now on, every time someone uses the word gym, you're going to mentally substitute the word naked. I'm betting this bit of information is going to make it into my next book, The Body in History. And how did an athlete clean himself off after a good naked workout? With olive oil and scrapping tools.
One of the people who made this tour so amazing was our Tour Leader, Christos. So, what does a young man with a degree in Math and Physics do when he decides he doesn't want to teach? Become a Tour Leader for Explore.com. He is much more patient than I am. He stayed with me on that rigorous 999 step climb up to the Palamidi Fortress. Believe me when I tell you that I thought my legs were in shape for anything and discovered they weren't. On the Mani peninsula, as we were deciding which of us were going to participate in another rigorous hike over rugged terrain to the lighthouse on Cape Tenaro, and even though he was wearing sunglasses, I saw an "oh, shit," moment flash across his eyes when I said, "I'm going." There is nothing wrong with testing yourself. Never relegate yourself to the sidelines because you think something might be too difficult. I don't think he remembers, but I actually laughed out loud at that moment. Here's Christos.
There were 11 members in my group, and on the last day we were asked what was our favorite moment. That question was so difficult. Mycenae was amazing! I took pictures inside the tomb to show a friend at work because it's exactly the same as the tombs in Assassin's Creed, Odyssey. The frescoes in the chapels at Mystra. The way those colors popped after so many thousands of years was incredible. For me, however, what impacted me most was walking into that big room of the Olympia Museum and seeing all of those statues that had adorned the top of Zeus's Temple. As tears welled up in my eyes, I found it almost overwhelming.
And, of course, there was Delphi. Since The Body in History takes place in Delphi, I became very analytical. How was this location going to fit into the story? The town is small, a little over 3000 people, and there are only 3 streets, and I immediately began twisting the story tighter. One of the first things I did was text a picture to Cori, my cover artist, saying, "this needs to be changed." The Tholos of Athena is about a mile away from the archeological site. I thought it was part of the site itself. It's actually next to the gymnasium (also known as the naked training area). So, I guess the question you'll be pondering until the book cover is revealed, is how will this play into the cover art.
And finally, there was supposedly another possible assassination attempt on the Orange Anus yesterday. This makes number two. This one comes after the "eating dogs and eating cats" scandal, and after the bad debate, and after Vance admitted on TV that he will make up lies to change the topic of conversation. I'm beginning to wonder if we're going to have one of these every time the shit gets too real for Trump's campaign team.
