George Karnikis, Born in Greece, Calls Orcas Home

George Karnikis in his home office, where he writes first thing every day

George Karnikis is a citizen of Orcas Island, and of the world.

He relates his story in the newly-published book West of the Parthenon, My Memoir,  and he continues to actively engage with those around him, especially those who may be new to the island – and to the English language.

George will be conducting a class for English Language Learners at the Orcas Public Library on Tuesday evenings, beginning tonight. The class is free of charge, and open to all.

In the 90s, George became certified as an ELL teacher, mostly so that he could prolong his vacation stays in Greece (George and his wife Ingrid go back to George’s birthplace every three years).

But he is passionate about the value of acquiring English language fluency. He has strong opinions and is not afraid to express them publicly. In the 90s, he ran for Congress.

His own command of the English language comes from a lifelong habit of learning other languages, but also because, as Ingrid says, “George is fearless, and never afraid of making a fool of himself. He ‘grabs’ the language and speaks it and he’s a great communicator because of that.”

Karnikis says, “I like to help people [learn English] because I know how it is if you struggle to speak the language and have nothing to help you – it’s very hard.

“The students are very smart, and some have a great education. To see this talent and not be able to use it because of the lack of language – I think it’s a crime.”

The “mix” of students doesn’t hinder the learning, Karnikis says, and he has learned to teach at all levels, using the skills he learned at Western Washington University in Bellingham that he continues to use today.

The classes will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Emmanuel Episcopal Parish Hall. Both the parish and Karnikis are offering the class at no cost.  “I want to make it as easy as possible,” says Karnikis.

As his book, West of the Parthenon, available at Darvill’s Bookstore and the Public Library, relates, George was born near Athens, Greece, at what was then a sleepy little seaport: “West of the Parthenon, by the sea of Keratsini, and by the mountains to the north, is where I saw the first light upon coming in this world.”

His birth was an occasion for fear and sadness, as well as joy, for his grandmother, who assisted his mother at George’s birth, died three days later, and World War II began soon after George was born.

During the war, food supplies in Greece went to the occupying German armies and the Greek people faced starvation. George recalls going as a child, dressed in a pillowcase, to a Red Cross center. When given some food, he snatched it inside the pillowcase to eat.

He learned Greek, English and German in school, and went to work before he was a teenager. He “had the good fortune,” he says,  to fall under the care of an older man, his employer’s father. George made his dinner and conversed with him. The older man was not formally educated but he was well read, and taught George to see the rest of the world beyond his village.

Karnikis was an avid reader and describes, the “beautiful books” available to him at the American Library.  He began to study English with a private tutor.

As a young man he worked as a steward and tour guide on cruise ships. He spent some years in Sweden and Germany. Then, when his boat was in repairs in Boston, he traveled to see a friend in California and met Ingrid. “We were ‘set up,’ – and it took us 25 years before we realized it,” George and Ingrid say.  He was “the Greek boy” and she was ready to tell George “exactly what I think.” They were married in Ojai six weeks later.  They soon traveled to Greece to be married in a Greek Orthodox ceremony.

George was finished with sailing as soon as he married Ingrid and made a home with her. They moved the San Francisco area where he sold life insurance. And then they came to Orcas to vacation and Ingrid, who’d “never felt at home in Ojai,” knew that this is where they must live.

At the time, employment in the Bay area was “terrible,” says George, and so the move to Orcas was also motivated by his opinion that “work is better than no work.” They lived in a very humble dwelling at first, and George made it livable.

Forty years later, and the couple live in the home they built off Pinneo Road. They raised four children, and George has worked mostly in construction.

His passion for reading continued, as did his love of science fiction and in 2008, he published his first book, a science fiction novel entitled, Project Anastrophe.

He writes every morning for at least two hours, mostly “free writing” whatever grabs his fancy. But he always goes back to review and edit his work, and says “Most of it doesn’t pass; only about 10 percent is worthy including.”

He also emphasizes that revision is mental work that is ongoing: “My writing is always on my mind.”

Now he is working on a short story about Greece and the current economic situation, a topical novel where the protagonist finds gold in an underground temple. The book has a surprising finale, George promises.