After Zenetta learned English, she got a job at Tech High in Omaha. A man who worked there always greeted Zenetta when he walked past her desk. For one reason or another, he irritated Zenetta. One afternoon, at the end of a particularly irritating day, she wrote Skatá! on a poster board and hung it behind her desk. The next morning, the man stopped and asked Zenetta what it meant.
"It's a general greeting in Greece. Like Shalom."
"Well then! Skatá, Zenetta," he said.
"Skatá to you too!" she replied.
The man was very pleased to learn this Greek word. For the next six months, every day he came in and wished Zenetta skatá. And every day, Zenetta smiled and said, "Skatá to you too!"
The very last time she ever saw him, on the last day of the school year, he told her he was going to see a Greek friend who lived in Texas. "I'm going to tell him skatá!"
"He will be very impressed," Zenetta said, never regretting that she didn't reveal to him the true meaning of the word.*
*Shit.
"It's a general greeting in Greece. Like Shalom."
"Well then! Skatá, Zenetta," he said.
"Skatá to you too!" she replied.
The man was very pleased to learn this Greek word. For the next six months, every day he came in and wished Zenetta skatá. And every day, Zenetta smiled and said, "Skatá to you too!"
The very last time she ever saw him, on the last day of the school year, he told her he was going to see a Greek friend who lived in Texas. "I'm going to tell him skatá!"
"He will be very impressed," Zenetta said, never regretting that she didn't reveal to him the true meaning of the word.*
*Shit.
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