As some of you may remember, Animated Meat first came to life in 2008 as a way to document some sights that managed to slip through the cracks of most popular travel websites. You may also remember that the original website was built on Apple's now defunct iWeb. From there, it migrated over to WordPress where it met an untimely demise at the hands of Russian hackers. Many of those old, pre-2012 entries have found a new home here in the Before the Now section. I would consider these posts as my starting place as a writer, probably comparable to a musician's first demo tapes. They are very rough, but I took them all seriously and wrote each one with passion. While I would like to believe that I have matured in my abilities as a writer, it is my hope that I carry this same blind passion into all of my new efforts.

The Mad Greek - Originally Published 2010

July 3, 2018

If the Mad Greek would have tried to get his business going these days, it probably wouldn’t have happened. You see, with the number of doctors all too happy to prescribe mood stabilizers, the Mad Greek would be known as the Well Balanced Greek As Long As He Doesn’t Go Off His Meds.

The Well Balanced Greek would have never had the vision to open a Mediterranean restaurant in the middle of the California desert. He would have done something considerably more conservative, like work for the city as an accountant. Something steady where he would have a pension, a dental plan, and a few weeks of vacation. Sure, he might be boring but at least he wouldn’t be prone to flights of fancy.

But apparently, modern psychiatry hasn’t yet got a hold of our Mad Greek. Instead, he resides in the town of Baker and serves up all kinds of Mediterranean eats. I’m sure that at times, his toaster talks to him, but he also makes one of the richest, densest milkshakes I have ever had.