Journey of an Aching HEart 2
The final part of a man’s travelogue as he continues his arduous Orthodox Christian pilgrimage from Belgrade to Rome and back to Greece.
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Author Interviews
New Martyr Press written interview (2026)
The Policeman in Greece
Someone eventually led me to a police station in a very small village and said that the
police would help me. I had my doubts, but I was tired, hungry, and wanted to rest. I
walked into the police station and told them about my journey. They did not know what
to make of me. One officer went through my small pack and found a pair of scissors.
“What’s this,” he said as if he were holding a dangerous weapon. “For my beard,” I
responded. It seemed to be a good enough reason, so he slowly put them back in my
pack. Then, there was an interrogation. I answered the questions honestly and then we
finally reached the question that changed everything. “Why did you leave Mount
Athos,” he asked with a serious expression. “Because I missed women,” I said. “When I
was getting off the boat at Ouranoupolis, I was thanking God for women. Mount Athos
made me appreciate females and the way they approach life. Three weeks of being
surrounded by only men was rough.” Policemen are impressively skilled at keeping a
straight face, but I observed how this bit of information was working on him as he
remained silent for a moment. He seemed to be holding back some hearty laughter. He
told me to come with him. We got into his car and he took me to a bus station. He said
that there was a monastery further down the coast and that the bus would take me only
part of the way. He said that since I was on a pilgrimage, I was a matter belonging to the
Church, not the state. Just like the person said, the police helped me indeed. When the
policeman was buying my bus ticket, he told the woman behind the counter why I left
Mount Athos. She blushed while he had a nice laugh. I smiled when I realized that he
was making fun of me, and happily accepted the ticket. He went back to a straight face
and left without telling me goodbye.