John Saltas

In September I'll join the annual City Weekly Trip to Greece in order to get my bearings straight, relax, hit a beach, have an ouzo if I want and to otherwise cavort pretty carefree, as anyone would do on their own vacation.

In commemoration of City Weekly's 40th anniversary, we are digging into our archives to celebrate. Each week, we FLASHBACK to a story or column from our past in honor of four decades of local alt-journalism. Whether the names and issues are familiar or new, we are grateful to have this unique newspaper to contain them all.

Today I celebrate—along with my youngest son Mikey—National Lefthanders Day. Given the nature of our country in these charged times, I'm hesitant to celebrate with lefthanders around the globe, lest I am deemed to be one of those, you know, left-wing anti-American globalists.

This week's column is going to be more difficult to read than normal. It's never easy to read in the first place.

Well, September sure came and left. I've just now returned stateside, after a month of drinking ouzo and beer visiting from one side of Greece (Olympia, plus the islands of Cephalonia and Lefkada) to the next (the islands of Tinos, Syros and Naxos).

One year ago today—October 15, 2023—my mother Stella Nepolis Saltas died. All of her children were there. Everyone had been at her side those last ominous days, starting not long prior when she was pulled over for speeding while driving home from bingo. The day before—October 14, 2023—was her 96th birthday. Happy birthday, Mama.

Private Eye

By the time you read this you will know the results of Tuesday's election, so there's no point in me waxing about how you might consider voting this way or that. What Election Day means to me, today—like all others since 1972—is that I can rest assured that my ballot was duly cast and duly collected. My vote will be counted and verified and I'm confident that nobody cheated.

The Usual "Best of Utah" Fallout

It's only been two weeks since election day—and just 206 weeks away from our next presidential election (should we even have another)—and, by golly, it appears winter did indeed come early to Utah. They are not completely silent, but it's noticeable that the formerly upbeat folks (including moi) who predicted a Kamala Harris win over Donald Trump are a bit less rosy-cheeked these days.