Democrats Abroad Greece has just added another recurring event on a Tuesday. See the banner just above? It's for last week's Kafeneion. Here's how it fits in.
We’re all pretty well accustomed to the Happy Hours in Athens and Thessaloniki on the 2nd Tuesday of the month. DAGR ExCom (board) meets on the 3rd Tuesday of every month. And now, there’s the revived Kafeneion web call on the 4th Tuesday.
Chair Alkman has suggested we could think of this as a regular ‘day of engagement.’ Here's the whole picture that's shaping up.
2nd Tuesday
To recap, there are Happy Hour gatherings in our two chapter cities, Athens and Thessaloniki on the 2nd Tuesday. ThessChap got it going and settled on the every-2nd rhythm. It seemed like a good idea, so Athens followed suit, and it’s become something you can count on. Both chapters have settled into known eateries (drinkeries), for now. Things can change. But the important thing is that we know we can get together, in person to meet/greet and chat over the issues of the day (month). That’s the second Tuesday. Every month.
Might we add that members in other areas of the country don’t need our permission to have a Happy Hour of your own? We’ve got two or three fair-sized cities that could accommodate a Happy Hour. Think Ioannina, Irakleion, Kastoria, Kalamata and parts in between! Alexandria! And, how about an island? Anybody out there want to get together and talk 2027 recovery? 2028 prospects?
See! We thought you’d get the idea!
3rd Tuesday
Then, there’s 3rd Tuesday. The monthly ExCom meeting. You might think it’s dry stuff, plans, rules, requirements, what global wants us to do. Sigh. Dry. But what if you have an idea that global DA might need to move on. Or send to the DNC? Or you’ve thought about running for a position on the Executive Committee (ExCom for short) and want to know that that might entail. What better way to find out what that’s like?
Did you know you have the right to sit in on ExCom meetings even if you’re not a voting officer? No? Well, now you do!
4th Tuesday
The 4th Tuesday has been staked out for revival of the DAGR Kafeneion.
This online meeting, one of those Covid-era needs, was an idea shared by then-member Rebecca Lieb and past Vice Chair Sarajane Kidd Leone. Sarajane birthed it into life, spanked it to breathe and taught it to walk. Those productions are available on the DAGR YouTube channel.
Then, Sarajane’s life trajectory, as is fairly common for folks abroad, also changed. She comes back to visit and help out, and/but is mostly our gift to DA Italy now. So, the lights went out at Kafeneion. And it waited for someone to turn them back on.
Click! Kafeneion is back, a counterpart to Happy Hour. We need and want live interaction. Happy Hours provide that. But there’s also a need for online connection. Some of us are too far out in the hinterlands to travel to a live event. Some of us are elder, less able to travel even to a local event. Some of us don’t really have time for an evening out. But we do have time for a crisp hour online to stay in touch, wrestle with the knotty issues of the day and … well, yeah … just catch up with a few friends who are in the same boat.
And don't forget. There's a Tuesday coming up on Nov. 24. We're looking at how to deal with Corruption ... unless, of course, the White House comes up with something more compelling.
1st Tuesday
Okay, that’s 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Tuesday. What about 1st Tuesday? The problem is these pesky Americans keep setting our elections on 1st Tuesdays. So, well, it does make sense to keep them open. They’re obviously not going to change the schedule just for those of us in DAGR.
BTW, there’s one of those Tuesdays coming up in two days. On the 3rd.
You’ve voted, right?
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