“Good Morning, Dave” and the Cheese Pastizzi

GUEST POST: Thomas Hicks is an exotic beach vacation expert who spent some time in Malta doing backflips into the Meditteranean and eating cheese pastizzis.

For the better part of a decade, my morning ritual consisted of a backflip into the Mediterranean followed by a black coffee and a pastizzi. It was a simple way to start a simple life in Malta. Wake up, hit the coffee machine and a couple minutes later hop in the elevator. The flat was located directly across the street from the water. From closing the door of my third floor apartment to splashing into the sea, took on average about a minute.

Next door to the building was a pastizzeria on the ground floor. It was manned by my friend Joseph. He spoke no English other than “Good Morning”. In the endearing, but incredibly stubborn way the Maltese have, he had no intention of learning to speak any more English than absolutely required.

For more than 5 years he said “Good morning, Dave” to me. My name is not and…