My dad

My dad has always been "dad" to us!! A coach, support person extraordinaire, and whatever else we needed, dad was (and is) there for us. He has many names from others: Pete, Paniayotis(Greek for Pete), Mbarico (from his childhood buddies), Panayo, and of course "dad". He is the first generation of Greek immigrants from the Kalamata area of Greece. Greek was his spoken language at home and he would get in trouble for speaking English (his parents didn't understand, so he spoke Greek at home). He quickly learned the English language and was paid a nickel to help one of his friends learn English.

Today, he told me that his aunt would bring hand-me-down clothes to their home for the children to wear. They were a poor family living in the Pryor Street/Central Ave. area of Atlanta. It was a nice size Greek community with the church on Pryor Street. Today, he told the story that when he was in the 5th grade his mama made him wear some hand-me-down knickers (golf pants below the knee) to school. Needless to say, he was mortified, yet had to wear them as there were no choices really (and what mama said, you did). He was afraid that the other kids would laugh or make fun of him (which wasn't an unusual occurrence for all of the Greek children of immigrants). It was a few days after that when my dad went to his uncles soda fountain store and became gainfully employed! He hasn't quit working since and he thanks his mom for making him wear those gosh darn pants!! It's why he has such a strong work ethic.

Dad and my uncle went to the principal of their school and told him that they would wash the dishes in return for lunch at school. The principal asked if they knew how to operate the machine and both boys nodded enthusiastically (they had no idea how to operate the machine, but being fast learners, they found out in a hurry). So, meals in exchange for washing dishes!!

Working at the soda fountain, gave dad the opportunity to fine tune his math skills. He has been adding/subtracting numbers in his head since he was a child. One teacher would have a math problem of the day and which ever student could get the answer would get a nickel or dime (depending on the difficulty). Needless to say, dad was able to get quite a bit of change. Most of his earnings went to the family fund. If the family needed money for food, it came from anyone that was working in the family. I did not inherit my dad's gift for numbers and he always helped me with my math homework. Dad will never forget the day that my third grade teacher sent home the note that read: "Please do not help Lisa with her homework. We are learning the "new" math." Dad had the correct answers and could probably do any math problem faster than my teacher. In his 80s now, dad will still add items in his head when a clerk scans them. He thinks it's fun (my worst nightmare).

I do have a strong work ethic too and have always been a saver of money. I started baby sitting in elementary school and I would save my money (...so my brothers could borrow a few bucks HAHA). Dad taught me a lot about saving money, not spending foolishly, yet saving so that I can enjoy the things I do want to purchase. He has come a long way from being a soda "jerk" and has enjoyed the fruits of his labor.