Kali Parea, a Fun Group Made up

of Cherry Hill St. Thomas’ Seniors

by Bob Nicolaides

The group-appointed moderator Jerry Kαrapalidis indicated it was Nick Pappas’ turn to speak, so Nick peered over his writings. It was a poem he had scribbled the year before about the Kali Parea. He had implemented it with another he wrote recently on how to cure loneliness and he was now reading it to the old palikaria who gathered every Wednesday morning at the basement of the St. Thomas church in Cherry Hill, NJ to share a cup of coffee, cookies and an occasional liqueur. Strangely enough there were no interruptions when Nick was reading his stuff, which is not to say some of the old gents gave up the custom of this Greek trait called interruption.  

It isn’t anything bad however, the practice that is,  nothing beyond benevolent  impulse, for some of the Kali Parea members have so much to say within the two hour interval of the Wednesday gathering, that some even went as far as proposing that meetings were held twice a week so as to enjoy double the time. Why, at a recent meeting, celebrations went as far as listening to bouzouki music, compliments of bouzouki player Nicholas Hondros, and spirits got high enough for Thomas  Pousatis and Louie Choriatis for  the two seniors, that as if they were  youngsters got up and did a zeibekiko for the pleasure of the group.

At the same meeting even the history of Kali Parea’s inception was heard, as one of the pioneers of the group related  that it was by chance, after trying unsuccessfully to partake of an event, that two or three of them decided to go to the Moorestown Mall for a cup of coffee. It became tradition for them, being joined by another, then another and so on, until the group designated the church as the meeting place, since their number had ballooned to the point that one table for ten could no longer contain them. Today, Kali Parea is privileged to claim upward from forty members who religiously gather every Wednesday, as early as 10 am not only to share a cup of coffee with their peers, but to exchange stories, experiences, jokes that sometimes reach the limits of risqué, and to reminisce about the old times of their youth. 

There are times that this two hour gathering extends to a luncheon served by some of the resident cooks who prepare delicious sandwiches compliments of some of their Kali Parea colleagues, while other times, most members decide to make a group to visit a particular restaurant and break bread with their friends. There’s also an expert in the preparation of ghalaktoboureko who doesn’t miss an occasion to oblige his fellow members of the group. He is the Senior Citizen Organization of St. Thomas president  Pousatis. And often enough, the TV producer of the Greek Spirit TV show which now can be heard all the way to New York, George Burlotos, camera on hand, is there to record unforgettable moments of a lifetime.

Often members bring guests with them, young and old, who have something to say or is making a non-monetary contribution to the group, such as the son of George Kappatos who crafted a plaque immortalizing Kali Parea which was hung in the room where the group meets. He ended up with a citation plaque himself since he would think of accepting a pecuniary retribution.  There are occasional guests from other churches who come for ideas in the hope of fashioning their own Kali Parea.

Kali Parea is all about Camaraderie for some of the Senior Citizen organization members who want to remain active and close to their contemporaries, be they pals who worked with them helping the church or once colleagues in the place of employment.  One can surmise that seventy percent of the members are old hands in the dining industry who often had worked together creating special friendships. But there are retired-and some active- physicians among them, one psychologist to boot, two teachers, many WWII veterans, one of whom is an Okinawa campaign survivor and who now is a TV show producer. In addition  there is an editor, a former Superintendent Civil Engineer from California, a small craft pilot, an attorney, some skilled craftsmen as well as the group’s stand-up comic. This last one has earned this label for standing up every so often to tell a joke he just recalled in the midst of someone else’s time.

The make-up of the group is a swath representing most of the homeland, many of which come from the islands of Andros in the Aegean and Cephalonia in the Ionian, some from the island with the secret of longevity, Ikaria, but count in Cyprus in as well. Let’s not discount too, that philanthropy is in their bones, recently having donated $500 from their treasury to the St. Irene Philoptochos of this New Jersey church they belong to.

What does a regular session of Kali Parea sound like? Gathered around in close proximity to what would be considered as the Knights of the Square Table, the experts they are, take on the task of reviewing and analyzing the headlines of the National Herald, not to overlook poetry which is much part of the agenda, and the reading of essays authored by members, and that’s on top of the group’s sharing stories of nostalgia from the days of their youth, with a sprinkling of salty jokes to inject some laughter into the session. Regardless the interruptions, the meetings are structured and from the perspective of the seating arrangement, everyone gets their turn to speak, cued in by the group’s moderator.