My long and arduous life journey began in the south of Greece on the Mediterranean Sea, where I grew up surrounded by sand and water. From a very young age I was fascinated by what water could do when mixed with other materials. I watched a neighbour making lime at his kiln, and excitedly observed the reaction that occurred when I poured water on a piece of discarded lime and it made a fizzing noise and let off white fumes. I curiously looked on as builders mixed lime with sand and water to make a lime mortar that they used for binding stones together. When my Great Aunt Ioanna made soap, I waited impatiently to see the foaming reaction that was generated when she mixed all the ingredients. And I loved watching the grape must in the wine barrel when it started to ferment, bubbling and gurgling and sometimes overflowing. All these observations triggered my curiosity for chemistry long before I knew what chemistry was.
Growing up in post-War rural Greece, where everyone was poor, also sparked in me a strong inclination for making money. I started my first business with two friends at the age of 9, hauling sacks of sand by donkey from the beach to the main road, and selling it to a stone builder for making lime mortar. When I was 10, I made and sold pasteli (honey sesame seed bars) with a friend at a festival. Sometimes in August, after the grape harvest, I used to go through our vineyards and pick any remaining grapes, which I dried into currants and sold to a middleman for a meager sum. It didn’t matter how much I earned. The excitement of making money is what counted. Success requires patience, perseverance, discipline, an analytical mind, focus and experience.
One of the best decisions I ever made in my life was to pursue graduate studies at the University of Akron, Ohio, U.S.A. I was fortunate to receive financial support from the University, and spent 9 semesters as a graduate student before earning my PhD in Chemistry. I will cherish forever the memories for the years I spent at the University of Akron.
The existence of life on our planet is a miracle thanks to the presence of water. Because water is a lightweight molecule, it should exist only as a gas, like oxygen. However, because of its special physical and chemical properties, water exists as a liquid and sustains life as we know it on earth. My life journey has been very exciting because of my fascination with all the miracles of chemistry in our world, and with the thrill of building financial wealth.
Life is a challenging journey, full of struggles and adventures, which is what makes it interesting. There is so much to do, and we experience only a small part of what life has to offer. In the end, we only take with us the collection of our memories.
Although the book is mainly a personal account, it contains some topics of general interest for readers, including:
1. The Tsonis Ancestry and Genealogical Tree
2. Life in Rural Greece, in the early 20th century, especially in Tsonaika, Loutsa and Finikounda.
*Agriculture, Fishing, Domestic Crafts
*Status of Rural Women
*Marriage
*Religious Feasts and Festival
*Childhood years
*Education
*Hygiene and Healthcare
3. Greek Diaspora
*Early Greek immigration and settlements in U.S.A.,
*The First Tsonis Immigrants to the U.S.A.
*First and second wave of Greek immigration to Australia and Canada.
The reader can read the book free of charge in the PDF form by using the link below, or convert it to an iBook for easier reading. Press the link and wait for two minutes to see the image.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=18sb5QQkWv5HUQnuJ2H7qr-ZagKscXp3e
Christos P. Tsonis 