When the first splash of berry-flavored smoothie landed on his tongue, Giannis didn’t know what to think. As John Henson looked on expectantly, Giannis swallowed and smacked his lips, then pondered for a little bit. “It’s tasty,” he finally said. “What flavor it is?”
“Berry,” John answered. “I think it’s strawberry and blueberry, and, uh, blackberry probably,” he continued, furrowing his eyebrows and ticking off the listed berries on his fingers. “And maybe some other kinds.”
Giannis, emboldened by the pleasant fruity taste of the drink, took another, larger slurp. Then another. And another. “This things are really good!” he exclaimed after the third gulp, which had depleted half of the smoothie. “Do you think they have them in Greece?”
Pausing the enjoyment of his mango smoothie, John considered the question. “Probably. But you said you never want to the malls over there. There was probably a bunch of stuff over there that you never got to try out.”
Scowling, Giannis murmured, “I hate being poor.” Then the smile returned to his face. “But now I am in NBA, and no purchase is outside my money limit. I can try everything.” He took a satisfied sip of his smoothie, the half-eaten Chipotle burrito now lying forgotten on the tray in front of him. “Man, I not believe how tasty is this smoothie.”
John chuckled. “Yeah, they’re pretty good, right? But seeing you freak out over it is making me feel like I’m not appreciating mine enough.”
As John talked, Giannis busily gulped down the rest of his drink. When he finished, he noisily set down the cup and leaned back in the plastic food court chair. “What a fun day with friend John,” he said. “We buy me new scarf, and get burritos, and now this new drink for me, a smoothie! I should tell other friends about this.” Struggling to fit his overlarge hand into his pocket, he finally retrieved his iPhone and opened the Twitter app.
“I just taste for the first time a smothie..MAN GOD BLESS AMERICA,” he typed. Meanwhile, John looked at his own Twitter app.
“Dude, you spelled ‘smoothie’ wrong, but you already got three retweets.”
Giannis smiled sheepishly. “On Twitter nobody care how I spell. But, how much money do I have to give to you for smoothie cost?” He was prepared to pay ten or even fifteen dollars for such an exquisite culinary delight, and to only indulge in them on special occasions, in line with his frugal lifestyle. When John informed him that the whole smoothie had only cost five dollars, he almost fell out of his chair. He immediately wanted to buy another one, but also didn’t want to spoil the novelty of the new beverage. Instead he offered, “Let go back to your apartment and play more FIFA.”
–
Giannis lay in his bed, feeling sleepy but too excited by his wonderful day out to go immediately to sleep. Thoughts of the smoothie would not leave him, no matter how many times he told himself that he had to get up early for practice. How could something so delicious have evaded his knowledge for so long? And how could John have not shared in his own wonderment?
Like many Americans, John was not properly thankful for the simple things in his life. He had enjoyed his smoothie, yes, but had not relished its sublime flavors in the way Giannis had. Giannis reminded himself, as he did often, to give proper thanks for all the blessings in his life, big or small, smoothie or non-smoothie. He would enjoy every smoothie as if it were his first. And his last.