This is a photo of my Pappou Niko Stamatas, his brother (whom we all called Pappou Yianni), and myself. During Pappou Yianni’s month-long visit to the United States in early nineties, part of the tour included a stop in Brigantine, NJ—where the Voutsakis side of my family has a summer home. My Pappou Niko’s feelings for Brigantine always seemed to be bittersweet. While I’m sure the proximity to the sea evoked comforting feelings of his home on the island of Skiathos, those same feelings must have also induced a deep longing for the Aegean paradise.