Rhea’s Story. Part 16.

“…no matter what my romantic inclinations were, I probably wouldn’t have left San Francisco at all if things were still as they were in their heyday. (In the 1960s and 1970s) San Francisco teamed with exotic night life and after hours clubs. People went from one club to another: Casbah, Bagdad, Greek Taverna, Minerva Taverna, and Plaka Taverna. If they could still stand, they crossed the San Francisco Bay Bridge to go the Jack London Square and take in the Taverna Athena, where the Farfisa player kept a gun under his electric organ in case any irate, cuckolded husbands wanted to get even.

There are no words to describe those days. All that was missing was Al Capone and bathtub gin. My goodness, we had fun in those days of wine and roses. And money! The dancers wore furs (before we knew better), had salon hairdos, wore designer dresses, and bought Parisienne perfume. We took pride in making our own costumes. We went out for breakfast with the high rollers after the show and got together for two-martini lunches to discuss any gossip we might have missed in the preceding eight hours. Would I leave San Francisco then? No way!”

Excerpted from Rhea Interview with Phaedra Ameerah in the Gilded Serpent

Mom felt a primal connection with Greece when she first visited in 1976. The ancient city in particular felt electric, magnetic. True to her instincts - with the exploratory optimistic fire of Sagittarius (her sun) and the persistent & practical will of Capricorn (rising)- she lives still in chosen beloved city of Athens, a stone’s throw from the Acropolis.