GREECE: Hizzoner the Heelobowie

The Greeks have a word for emigres who, once poverty-stricken, return to visit their native land flush with the prosperity of half a lifetime in the U.S. They call them heelobowie, a rough approximation of "hello boy." In many a Greek village, the returning heelobowie ranks almost as a patron saint; each village strives to outdo its neighbors in providing a lavish welcome for him, and even after his return to the land of his adoption, legends of his largesse live on among the villagers.

Mike Colikas was born 70 years ago in the Greek village of Pyrgi on Chios

Island,...

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