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 Fellas, April 1, 2001 - August 24, 2011 |
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This website is dedicated to Fellas, my loving companion for over 10 years, who I pray to see again one day reunited with my other loving companion, his brother Peanut.
 Peanut, April 1, 2001 - September 22, 2009 |
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Caution...Caution!
As much as many people may have hoped for an end to left-wing far-out policy, as deemed by the majority of the American people in the recent election, and a return to somewhat of a middle-of-the-aisle normalcy, hold the phone, hold the phone! Caution, caution! What's happening here?
Blinking eyes and scratching heads a bit, it appears that the 'mandate' that supposedly is coming from the American people, although there is no definitive evidence that voters collectively justified a mandate, it seems like the President-elect is using this term to change pretty much everything!
I think it may be fair to assume that most voters, based on exit poll interviews, cited the economy and the border as the top two issues on the table, justifying a mandate to change those policies. Okay, fine. So how then did the Education Department and the Federal Workforce get into the picture?
Apparently, Donald Trump wants to entirely eliminate the Department of Education and substantially reduce the Federal Workforce as well as eliminate remote work, as it has been reported, justifying this by citing the 'mandate.' There is also a report, although unconfirmed, that Trump wants to abolish the Federal Bureau of Investigation. There may be other agencies and policies that are on the chopping block. What is this, a return to 16th Century Henry the Eighth-style politics? Same may apply to the millions of illegals now in this country who apparently are going to be grabbed by the scruff of the neck, uprooted, and thrown out.
Gee whiz, come on, how about a little common sense? Ah yes, common sense, the mantra of the Republican campaign. Great, let's establish a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), but does that mean hitting thousands of Federal workers cold turkey with drastic measure policy? Remote work was instituted in the first place to encourage efficiency because it gave more autonomy to workers to balance their life needs. Did Trump and his DOGE evaluate the efficiency studies done since remote work was authorized, realizing that Federal workers have actually been more efficient since the remote work policy was instituted?!
Abolish the FBI? This agency has been the 'bread and butter' in the likeability department among most Americans who are proud of the approximately 13,000 agents investigating crime and prosecuting criminals. Now it's going to be eliminated? Eh, common sense?
Okay, 10 million illegal aliens have been let into this country. The damage has been done. Bad move on Biden's part. But are we Neanderthal Man that we have to forcefully grab these people and muscle them out, as the new border czar seemingly conveys? Yes, definitely round up the dangerous ones and professionally escort them out of the country. But what about all of the others, who simply came here looking for a better life? These people aren't cattle. These are human beings with hopes, with emotions. How about putting forth a more humane solution befitting of the leader of the free world?
And apart from the rational, reasonable, humane point just made, let's look at the blunt side. Drastic change that is being proposed would mean short-term sacrifice in order to reap the rewards down the road long-term. Eh, how does J.D. Vance feel about all of this shakeup? His campaign for Presidency will begin in just two years! Do you think he'll be popular among voters? I doubt it.
Stepping aside, does all of this seem quite bizarre? This is the greatest nation on the planet. And the best we could do as far as candidates to lead the nation in the last election were Trump, Biden, and Harris? Embarrassingly ridiculous? What happened to the days of steady, middle-of-the-liners like George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton? It seems to me that candidates such as Joe Manchin, Dean Phillips, Tulsi Gabbard, and even Mike Johnson would have been more exemplative of a sound mind to represent the country. Whose fault is it then? The default answer is: We the People. There's talk of eliminating the electoral college. Forget the college, focus on the candidates. How about allowing the American people to vote out a party's candidate, or both of them, if they don't like them? Why must voters have to choose one? How about allowing Americans to choose none and require a threshold number of votes to be reached in order for the candidate to stay on the ballot? Come election day, if the threshold is not reached for both candidates, hey, that means We the People want different candidates.
Yet, ignorance and stupidity continue to rule politics...
Election 2024: Why It Is Already Over
My latest column, prediction, and reasons behind it...
First, apologies if some folks prefer not to read columns of a political nature, however given the absolute criticality of the upcoming election, every one of you should have the right to share your opinion with others. So please do.
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Ladies and Gentlemen,
The time has come. As the immortal Elvis Presley sang, It's Now or Never. What will be the future fate of the United States of America?
For 5 minutes, let's try not to favor or ascribe to any political side, but prefer to remain objective. Neither side may be a clear choice, as both candidates carry 'baggage' of one kind or another, so let's compare each based on fact rather than future fantasy in asking key questions such as:
✓Will law and order be restored to the way it was when we grew up, when police were admired and respected, or, will those in deep blue uniforms be targets of false accusation and money-making lawsuits on top of being defunded?
✓Will our senior citizens' Medicare and Social Security stay intact, or, will health coverage be cut from its present 80% payable to 65% payable, and monthly SS get sliced in order to pay for the 15+ million illegal aliens who were allowed to cross the border over the past few years and who will be given voting rights?
✓Will you get to keep that new all gas-powered vehicle you just purchased, or, will you have to junk it for scrap metal in 10 years due to a planned mandate ban on all gas vehicles which will create a monopoly on EV vehicles made overseas, in effect holding the U.S. hostage to having to purchase them?
✓Will you be able to reap the joys of accomplishment when your daughter, for example, qualifies for a college scholarship because of her superior athletics while on her high school sports team, or, will you have to accept her lifetime defeat at the hands of males who will legally qualify to compete as 'females' and swallow up all the scholarships, prize money, and careers?
✓Will your American Dream find you excited to one day purchase an expanse of acreage to farm and raise cattle or horses, or, will it only be a pipe dream if foreigners are allowed to continue buying up large portions of U.S. real estate?
✓Will you feel secure having an Iron Dome air defense system and secured borders, or, fall prey to space and sea having foreign nuclear satellites above and foreign nuclear submarines below, the latter sitting a scant 2 miles off the Florida coast?
✓Will you be treated equally if you own a religious business and choose a conservative policy for your employees' health care, consistent with your religious belief, or, will you be forced to adopt liberalism like the Little Sisters of the Poor were initially forced to do? As a side note, this point being a perfect example, isn't it ironic that some people liken Trump to Hitler? Ironic because isn't forcing people to adopt a policy, in this case liberalism, akin to what the Nazi's did in forcing people to adopt their policy?
✓Will we finally realize that human life, and all life for that matter, is worth something, cherish it and the sanctity of the procreative process, and elevate our legal maturity beyond 'reproductive rights', or, will we continue to promote low-IQ policy in limiting our degree of intellectual maturity by capping it with 'a woman's right to choose'? Isn't life itself more important than having a right? Without life, there would be no right. Therefore, technically there should be no debate. Because there is debate, it goes to show you that Mankind still doesn't fully value life. Hopefully one day the following legal argument will be made in a courtroom: If Pro-Choice means giving someone a right to choose life or death for an unborn, then by choosing death, the unborn is being denied that same right eventually upon adulthood because its life had been taken away. This equates to denial of rights of a person even before that person is born. So, the unborn fetus will never have the Pro-Choice right to choose when it reaches adulthood simply because it was killed in the womb and never was allowed to reach adulthood to exercise that right. How's that argument for an amateur legal eagle?!
✓Will we continue to respect a conscientious U.S. Supreme Court make-up, or, will we allow it to be stacked to 24 justices where objectivity takes a back seat to partisanship?
✓Will your child be allowed to receive the early education at the place of your choosing, private, public, or at-home, or, will your child be forced to comply with a nationwide education policy which eliminates the pledge of allegiance, prayer, and the usage of any specific holiday greeting like Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, or Happy Kwanzaa?
As pointed out earlier, don't blame the candidates if your pick doesn't win. They and their parties have a right to promote themselves and their policies. We voted the winner into office, blame us.
But whoever wins, who knows what the future will hold? Perhaps Harris will turn out to be good for America, or, perhaps she will convert us into a third-world country. Maybe America will be great again under Trump, or, maybe the nation will experience a second civil war.
All we know is, again being completely objective, Trump already demonstrated his skills as President for 4 years. We had success and the vast majority of folks were happy. All we have to weigh Harris on is her past track record, and, anybody can see that it was not too good.
Objectively speaking then, can anyone in their right mind vote for Harris? Yet, here's the irony: Harris will win. Indeed then, that means that most people are not in their right mind. How so?
Because issues that are out of sight are also out of mind to the average voter. Six months ago the border crisis was a hot-button topic, along with high prices and fentanyl. When was the last time we heard anything hot on these topics? We've heard nothing, zilch, for months. The liberal media is largely to blame for suppression of these topics. And proof-positive of how voters make decisions based on media, did you hear? Both the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times declined to endorse either candidate, resulting in a mass exodus of subscribers to those newspapers. What? That proves that people don't think for themselves and vote based on who the media supports. Bravo to both of these newspapers though, exposing the irony that news is supposed to be objective yet people do not prefer objectivity.
Therefore, absent a hot-button issue, people are not going to favor Trump who would only be picked because of his strongman demeanor in fixing dire problems. Voters don't see dire problems now. Six months ago they did and Trump was leading in the polls by double digits. But now, these problems, although still existing, have been out of sight...and therefore out of mind, so voters aren't inclined to favor Trump.
The blame goes to We the People. But here's the kicker: It may not really be a fault of ours, rather, it's just life. Unless an earthquake of sorts happens over the next few days, such as a massive surge in border crossings or a missile attack on the United States where a disciplined strongman such as Donald Trump would clearly be favored, human tendency will tend to favor the fresh and experimental choice of Harris. Many women especially will vote for Harris merely because she's a woman, so they may feel a connection. Rationalists and realists among us will not understand why voters chose Harris; they'll be angry, and they'll be totally baffled. Most people though are not rationalists and realists - they are Populists. And right now Harris' future-talk is more popular than Trump's fix-it talk, simply because the things needing fixing have been out of sight and out of mind.
Why will Harris win? Because the 3 top issues facing voters, 1) illegal border invasion, 2) the failing economy, and 3) the 1 out of 10 youth death statistic due to fentanyl, have been out of sight for 6 months. (By the way, the abortion issue is not in the top 3 despite the hype). Trump would've won easily 6 months ago, but now...he loses. It's simply a matter of human tendency and inclination based on the present-day popular zeitgeist.
Donald Trump has "one chance" as Steve McQueen said to Big X in The Great Escape, of winning. Should the 2024 election be hacked by cyber criminals, as I believe the 2020 election was in order for Biden to win so that Putin could invade Ukraine, Trump will win, if the hackers favor Trump this time that is. And if you succumb to naivete about computer hacking feasibility, educate yourself to realize that these Oxford-educated computer hacker-geniuses are always, as they say, 'one step ahead of the cops'.
Otherwise...
Harris wins, Trump loses. It's a sad reality of humanity.
I rest my case, and cause...
How He Died
Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., better known as John Denver, died on the afternoon of October 12, 1997, when his light homebuilt aircraft crashed into Monterey Bay near Pacific Grove, California. He was the plane's only occupant.
John was a pilot with over 2,700 hours of experience. He had pilot ratings for single-engine land and sea, multi-engine land, glider and instrument. He had recently purchased the Long-EZ aircraft, made by someone else from a kit, and had taken a half-hour checkout flight with the aircraft the day before his accident.
The post-accident investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) showed that the leading cause of the accident was Denver's inability to switch fuel tanks during flight. The quantity of fuel had been depleted during the plane's flight to Monterey and in several brief practice takeoffs and landings Denver performed at the airport immediately before the final flight. His newly purchased amateur-built Rutan aircraft had an unusual fuel tank selector valve handle configuration. The handle had originally been intended by the plane's designer to be between the pilot's legs. The builder instead put it behind the pilot's left shoulder. The fuel gauge was also placed behind the pilot's seat and was not visible to the person at the controls. An NTSB interview with the aircraft mechanic servicing Denver's plane revealed that he and Denver had discussed the inaccessibility of the cockpit fuel selector valve handle and its resistance to being turned.
Before the flight, Denver and the mechanic had attempted to extend the reach of the handle using a pair of pliers, but this did not solve the problem, and the pilot still could not reach the handle while strapped into his seat. NTSB officials' post-accident investigation showed that because of the fuel selector valve’s positioning, switching fuel tanks required the pilot to turn his body 90 degrees to reach the valve. This created a natural tendency to extend one's right foot against the right rudder pedal to support oneself while turning in the seat, which caused the aircraft to yaw (nose right) and pitch up. You can easily try this at home while sitting in a chair with your legs extended. Reach over your left shoulder with your right arm and turn your head and torso. Do you see what happened to your right foot? It pushed forward.
It was truly a tragic loss, almost unthinkable for such a voice and character who clearly represented genuine Americana...
It's All About Arms and Armour
Next time you find yourself driving through the European countryside, amidst the meadows and rolling farmland in between villages, pull over to the side of the road, exit the vehicle, and hear the birds chirp. It wasn’t that way about 700 years ago however.
Most people don’t realize that a lot of these quaint locations, though picture-postcard perfect, once hosted some of the bloodiest battles in history. God knows how many axes, daggers, and bits of plate armor are buried beneath the flowering white and red poppies dotting the countryside, not to mention the gallons of dried blood residue. By the way, you may see different spellings of the word armor, but the true original spelling was armour.
You may have heard a statistic or two on casualties and perhaps have seen a movie all about that era long ago, but did you ever wonder exactly what soldiers back then used in place of guns? Ironically, the next time someone holds open a door for you or offers you an umbrella, you may owe a word of thanks to those knights of olde. Chivalry, you see, evolved from these warriors donned in plate armor and defending all that they held to be sacred and dear, doing so with sharp carbon-steel weaponry.
The basic weapons of the typical European knight were the sword and the spear, a heavy, thrusting weapon. Besides these, a typical arsenal included a number of small armaments from daggers to battle axes, maces, horseman’s picks, and many others. The European sword was no different than swords used in the West – it was straight, with a long blade having an almond-shaped pommel and a bar crossguard. The spear, in Europe referred to as a 'wood,' was lightweight and had a spearhead of lancet-like or leaf-like shape, but there were also heavier, armor-piercing spearheads.
Defensive armament, on the other hand, first included the gambeson, which was a padded jacket, then developed into the brigandine, which was part steel, followed by the hauberk, which was that familiar-looking shirt made out of chain mail. Breastplates came next, and finally the full-figured panoply, which was an entire suit of armor.
By the end of the 16th century, a European knight gained his perfect form, protecting the whole of his body, and sometimes his horse. There were some differences between the rich knights of, for example, Małopolska, Wielkopolska, Śląsk and those of Mazowsze, Poland who, because they faced enemies from the East, like Old Prussians, Lithuanians, and Tatars, partially adopted their fighting manners, and lighter armament as well. Even their horses were smaller and lighter.
There were many different types of throwing weapons too. The sling went out of use, and the composite bow did not appear until the arrival of the Mongols in the 13th century. Before their invasion, the Europeans used straight, longbows. The crossbow reached Eastern Europe relatively early in the 12th century. Javelins and throwing axes were also in use. During sieges, both defenders and attackers commonly used a variety of heavy hurling machines like catapults and trebuchets, and from the end of the 14th century bombards, arquebuses, and finally cannons.
With increasing tension and fighting along the eastern border, European knights adopted many eastern-style war customs and weapons. This is why the sword was so easily and commonly replaced in the 16th century with the szabla, which is a backsword with a curved blade.
But perhaps the most visible armor transformation in Medieval times was that of the helmet, which changed from a conical shape into a great helm around the 12th century and later into the bascinet, which had a pointed top and mouthpiece to deflect blows.
Which brings us to the men who wielded and wore these things. Wealthy knights of Wielkopolska and Śląsk did not differ much from their western brethren. Novelties in design were accepted quickly. At tournaments in the west, the Polish knight Zawisza Czarny z Garbowa, or 'Zawisza the Black' gained eternal fame and became known for his bravery, chivalry, and his black armor. However, until the battle of Grunwald in 1410, most Polish knights were less armored than their competitors, due to the fact that many of them were relatively poor. In the 15th century however, Polish knights became much wealthier as exports of grains and forest goods grew rapidly during this period which became a source of wealth.
Today, unfortunately all that remains of this grand and glorious age of arms and armor are a few museum collections, a couple of collectibles, some textbooks on the topic, and several acres of poppy-filled fields.
OMG
That's shorthand for Oh My God. Perhaps an appropriate heading for what will transpire early next month. The 2024 Presidential election may truly be a game-changer in how this country evolves, considering the vast differences in policy proposed by both candidates. Always objective, Andrew Ostrowski.com prefers to put forth factual analysis of positions with an eye out for perception, which is something often overlooked. What is perception? Definition: the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses. Given the typical talk of politicians trying to please both sides while doing something completely opposite, one may need to read between the lines before casting a vote next month.
Perhaps the most prudent question to ask in casting a vote is: What have you done for me lately? Objectively speaking, over 10 million people have been allowed to enter this country illegally over the past few years. Not only is that breaking the law, but some may ask if this was insulting to the millions who had to wait in line to enter, not to mention our grandparents who went through the Ellis Island legal protocol.
The teenage kid down the street from me just added to the mortality statistic by dying of a fentanyl overdose, most likely brought in by a chunk of those 10 million.
I just came back from Home Depot needing to buy bars for my elderly mother's home ground floor windows given the surge of break-ins on the rise, but the store ran out of stock.
On a personal note which may not apply to you, as a Catholic, I'm not too pleased when a fellow Catholic who has leadership authority allows late term abortions and vocalizes in support of it. Geez, so much for faith, go figure.
My biologically female friend is a competitive athlete, so if there is no litmus test for a person to wake up one morning, choose to be a woman, and enter a competition, what chance does she have of winning?
So, when asking that prudent question above, I don't know about you, but under Trump we had no wars, eggs were a dollar a dozen and gas was a greenback and a half, kids started the school day by saying the Pledge of Allegiance, the average Joe and Josephine had money in their pockets, and citizens weren't forced to convert to liberalism, rather, they were allowed the freedom to be whatever they wanted. Come to think of it, forcing an ideology on someone, wasn't that what happened in Germany round abouts 1938? Objectively speaking to be fair, I have no idea what Harris will do, good or bad, but can only base my assessment on her last four years.
Trump does not portray himself as the most gracious, humble person. He's more of a street brawler. He's not the best of speakers, curses and swears come out and nuances can be inferred from his choice of words. Not sure if it's just a coincidence but I'm finding myself cursing and swearing too given this country's state of affairs.
Only my opinion, but perhaps if everyone entrusted themselves with the responsibility of promoting objectivity when casting a vote so as to elevate their own intelligence and maturity.
Teardrop of an Eagle
Part I
Little Andrzej seemed somehow to sense the air was not right today. He played in his usual setting, the backyard grassy lot of his parent’s country farm not far from Świebodzice. The building blocks that he had fashioned a week earlier began to crumble, and as they fell to the ground with the slightest disturbance of air, soft pellets of water emerged from within, the result of scattered passing gray storm clouds overhead. Singing softly but erratically his favorite childhood tune, the humble boy of 10 paced the terra firma repeatedly as if some anxious awakening was about to begin. This was evidenced by his mother’s worn and heavy-laden face as she looked out the cracked multi-paned glass window just a short distance away. Littered in her presence were newspapers. Newspapers smothered in talk of War, War, War!
There was no hiding it, everyone knew. From the goats buckling their tethered chains against a semi-fallen picket fence, to the herd of cows opting to stay together as one unit rather than roam freely. Even the song of the chickadee was not of the right pitch. Neighbor upon neighbor, farm after farm, town after town, this was the plight of Poland and its inevitable doom. To marvel at an early morning’s sunrise, or to serenade a loved one at sunset, had no more place in humanity’s purpose it seemed. Long gone and forgotten remnants of an age far, far away…
“verlassen Sie einen kleinen Jungen der Weise!” shouted a man in uniform. As little Andrzej scurried across the cobbled road with frightful anxiety, an anxiety only a small child would know, daring, and inquisitive, he ran to the small hilltop outcropping near the stream where his grandfather taught him to fish. “Stop, stop!” shouted his mother as her echoed words resonated against each pouncing of the boy’s feet. And climbing the hill in haste to see the culmination of his determination, he quickly stumbled, tearing the canvas patch over the left knee of his worn pants. His breath panting… His eyes fully engaged. And reaching hill’s top, overlooking the vast beautiful greenery known only to a poetic phrase, with its early September foliage hinting at the idea of turning a vibrant bronze patina, the little Polish boy saw with his innocent eyes the source of his drive. They had come…
Panzer division AA6 enroute to Wrocław. Luftwaffe squadron 32B flying overhead. Infantry ground Unit 7787 scattered everywhere. This was their first prize: to take this boy’s homeland away from him and claim it for their own. To convert it into a ‘purified’ nation. To conquer humanity. And as a screeching armor-clad tank raced past the boy, yet another followed in its path, and still another. The sounds of metal scraping against metal became commonplace, quickly replacing the chant of melodious birdsong. This was to be the boy’s new tune, that of the Nazi war machine.
13 Months Pass
“Ale potrzebuję (chcieć) zèby walczyć!” exclaimed vehemently did Andrzej’s older brother Stanislaus in the war-torn ramshackles of their once quaint farmhouse. His parents could stop him no longer. Bidding farewell to his family, Stanislaus’ fate was set. And soon began another chapter of the Polish underground resistance movement. Taking refuge in a secret shelter underneath Krakow’s St. Mary’s Church, he and his compatriots were assigned the task of printing resistance leaflets. Day after day they toiled, night after night they kept vigil. In the passing shadows of the moonlit evening sky did the young man contemplate his past, his present, and that of his future…
And always at the forefront on his priority list was his devotion to the Catholic Church. Here was his sanctuary, of which no Panzer division, nor Luftwaffe air fleet, nor ground infantry troop could invade. Though his body may die, his soul was untouchable, and he cherished the time he spent now in this Church. And little did Stanislaus know but at a future moment in time another Pole would think the same while standing in line at a concentration camp… His name was Maximilian Kolbe.
“Bless me Father for I have sinned” expressed young Stanislaus while in the Confessional, sincere in his words and seeking strength from the Father as he had done on a monthly basis. And as his lips spoke his soul’s bidding, looking up for an instant, and just out of the corner of his eye, he realized that…something was not right! An overwhelming sense of evil filled the boy’s presence. It had not been Father Marek whom he was confessing to, instead, someone had been disguised and had overtaken the priest’s role. Then, suddenly he saw! ...2 gold symbols on the man’s lapel: Schutzstaffel!!
Part II
“Keep moving, keep moving, march, you swine!” ridiculed the Nazi officer in charge. And as the now crestfallen and broken soul of Stanislaus struggled to place one foot in front of the next enroute to his new home surrounded by barbed wire, he looked up whilst underneath its black iron gate to read the welcoming scrolled words written in his captor’s tongue yet interpreted with no difficulty: Arbeit Macht Frei (Work Makes Free).
Life and death stood side by side, each taking turns with the rising and the setting of the sun. One prisoner was hung by the neck daily at the entrance to the camp to set the example; an example for obedience, an example for submissiveness. At the far end, echoes of rifle fire and a pock-marked brick wall reinforced the ‘Master plan’. Dare not you look upon your keeper with the slightest tweak in your eye. Keep your head low, your eyes fixed on your work. Speak to no one, hope not, merely consider yourself already dead…
Yet there remained one thing that could not be captured. Nor could it be controlled. Continually resonating in the mind of this young man, like some spiritual mantra playing itself over and over again, were the thoughts of his past. The long, cool days spent walking in the fields; the smell of wood burning; the firm handshake of a friend; and the Eucharist upon his tongue. His life meant nothing without them. In essence, he was to surrender himself to the burning cauldrons of the crematorium, or find himself in the bottomless pit of cadavers.
But no! “This is not me! This will not be my fate!” silently screamed the young man inaudibly to himself as bullets of sweat streamed down his face! Quickly flashing thoughts of radical upheaval and mutiny invaded the young man’s mind. His eyes dilating, his heart racing… And in the silence of his own mind, Stanislaus meticulously fashioned his escape plan…
“Hmm, hmm…Ej, Przelecial Ptaszek...Hmm, hmm, la de da da…” serenely whispered an old aged, white bearded gentleman in his humble hilltop dwelling overlooking a rolling meadow below, not far from Łowicz. And as an eagle flew overhead amidst tiny pellets of raindrop, the elderly man’s quiet, contemplative chant seemed to beckon the silent wind, as it meandered its way through the windowless abode. The sounds of silence were never so beautiful. And cut against its backdrop, sitting contentedly by the old man’s side with violin and bow in hand, and interjecting single notes of melody against each poorly sung phrase, was the face of a little boy. To paint a portrait of serenity, no artist could ever do. Despite the world around them, heaven was in their midst. In some way, the two became inseparable. To extract one from the other would be unthinkable. In some way, to the two of them, and perhaps to us all, Poland would never die. …And as their journeysong came to its conclusion, the old man warmly smiled and softly spoke: “Andrzej, Przybwają tutaj!” as the boy eagerly embraced him.
What destiny would have it, to learn of one man’s fate and another man’s doom? For every child fortunate enough, there were tenfold not so fortunate. And in the midst of war, what becomes of the family, of the values we hold so dear? Why must the building blocks crumble? Where is the glory? Where is the honor? To think that a species would wage war on itself, to annihilate one another. Brother against brother. A displaced little boy, a prisoner of war, or a lifeless body of bones thrown into a pile and covered in dirt. What have we done? Where are we going? Have we not learned?
And as little Andrzej ran his feet between the littered rubble of a war-torn town nearby, kicking aside remnants of fallen concrete mixed with personal belongings as was his daily doing, his vision became fixed on the gait he was striding. As his head drooped down, his eyes swayed back and forth upon the earthen remains in a meaningless, haphazard fashion. Careless of this day’s destiny, discouraged, and disheartened…
And returning once again on the cobbled road to the old man’s dwelling, the boy glanced back for an instant to see the specter of a solo figure in the distance. It moved in and out of the shade sporadically, as if in wanton search for its destiny. The little boy periodically turned to see as the specter gradually drew nearer and nearer; it waving a single arm back and forth. And, just before the gray overcast skies opened, little Andrzej realized what he was seeing. As he ran towards the figure in haste, his eyes began to water in sheer love for whom he was about to embrace. His prayers were answered. As if the embodiment of all of Poland were within. Though war be waged upon them, even then will they trust… “Stanislaus, my dear Stanislaus!”…
Part I
Little Andrzej seemed somehow to sense the air was not right today. He played in his usual setting, the backyard grassy lot of his parent’s country farm not far from Świebodzice. The building blocks that he had fashioned a week earlier began to crumble, and as they fell to the ground with the slightest disturbance of air, soft pellets of water emerged from within, the result of scattered passing gray storm clouds overhead. Singing softly but erratically his favorite childhood tune, the humble boy of 10 paced the terra firma repeatedly as if some anxious awakening was about to begin. This was evidenced by his mother’s worn and heavy-laden face as she looked out the cracked multi-paned glass window just a short distance away. Littered in her presence were newspapers. Newspapers smothered in talk of War, War, War!
There was no hiding it, everyone knew. From the goats buckling their tethered chains against a semi-fallen picket fence, to the herd of cows opting to stay together as one unit rather than roam freely. Even the song of the chickadee was not of the right pitch. Neighbor upon neighbor, farm after farm, town after town, this was the plight of Poland and its inevitable doom. To marvel at an early morning’s sunrise, or to serenade a loved one at sunset, had no more place in humanity’s purpose it seemed. Long gone and forgotten remnants of an age far, far away…
“verlassen Sie einen kleinen Jungen der Weise!” shouted a man in uniform. As little Andrzej scurried across the cobbled road with frightful anxiety, an anxiety only a small child would know, daring, and inquisitive, he ran to the small hilltop outcropping near the stream where his grandfather taught him to fish. “Stop, stop!” shouted his mother as her echoed words resonated against each pouncing of the boy’s feet. And climbing the hill in haste to see the culmination of his determination, he quickly stumbled, tearing the canvas patch over the left knee of his worn pants. His breath panting… His eyes fully engaged. And reaching hill’s top, overlooking the vast beautiful greenery known only to a poetic phrase, with its early September foliage hinting at the idea of turning a vibrant bronze patina, the little Polish boy saw with his innocent eyes the source of his drive. They had come…
Panzer division AA6 enroute to Wrocław. Luftwaffe squadron 32B flying overhead. Infantry ground Unit 7787 scattered everywhere. This was their first prize: to take this boy’s homeland away from him and claim it for their own. To convert it into a ‘purified’ nation. To conquer humanity. And as a screeching armor-clad tank raced past the boy, yet another followed in its path, and still another. The sounds of metal scraping against metal became commonplace, quickly replacing the chant of melodious birdsong. This was to be the boy’s new tune, that of the Nazi war machine.
13 Months Pass
“Ale potrzebuję (chcieć) zèby walczyć!” exclaimed vehemently did Andrzej’s older brother Stanislaus in the war-torn ramshackles of their once quaint farmhouse. His parents could stop him no longer. Bidding farewell to his family, Stanislaus’ fate was set. And soon began another chapter of the Polish underground resistance movement. Taking refuge in a secret shelter underneath Krakow’s St. Mary’s Church, he and his compatriots were assigned the task of printing resistance leaflets. Day after day they toiled, night after night they kept vigil. In the passing shadows of the moonlit evening sky did the young man contemplate his past, his present, and that of his future…
And always at the forefront on his priority list was his devotion to the Catholic Church. Here was his sanctuary, of which no Panzer division, nor Luftwaffe air fleet, nor ground infantry troop could invade. Though his body may die, his soul was untouchable, and he cherished the time he spent now in this Church. And little did Stanislaus know but at a future moment in time another Pole would think the same while standing in line at a concentration camp… His name was Maximilian Kolbe.
“Bless me Father for I have sinned” expressed young Stanislaus while in the Confessional, sincere in his words and seeking strength from the Father as he had done on a monthly basis. And as his lips spoke his soul’s bidding, looking up for an instant, and just out of the corner of his eye, he realized that…something was not right! An overwhelming sense of evil filled the boy’s presence. It had not been Father Marek whom he was confessing to, instead, someone had been disguised and had overtaken the priest’s role. Then, suddenly he saw! ...2 gold symbols on the man’s lapel: Schutzstaffel!!
Part II
“Keep moving, keep moving, march, you swine!” ridiculed the Nazi officer in charge. And as the now crestfallen and broken soul of Stanislaus struggled to place one foot in front of the next enroute to his new home surrounded by barbed wire, he looked up whilst underneath its black iron gate to read the welcoming scrolled words written in his captor’s tongue yet interpreted with no difficulty: Arbeit Macht Frei (Work Makes Free).
Life and death stood side by side, each taking turns with the rising and the setting of the sun. One prisoner was hung by the neck daily at the entrance to the camp to set the example; an example for obedience, an example for submissiveness. At the far end, echoes of rifle fire and a pock-marked brick wall reinforced the ‘Master plan’. Dare not you look upon your keeper with the slightest tweak in your eye. Keep your head low, your eyes fixed on your work. Speak to no one, hope not, merely consider yourself already dead…
Yet there remained one thing that could not be captured. Nor could it be controlled. Continually resonating in the mind of this young man, like some spiritual mantra playing itself over and over again, were the thoughts of his past. The long, cool days spent walking in the fields; the smell of wood burning; the firm handshake of a friend; and the Eucharist upon his tongue. His life meant nothing without them. In essence, he was to surrender himself to the burning cauldrons of the crematorium, or find himself in the bottomless pit of cadavers.
But no! “This is not me! This will not be my fate!” silently screamed the young man inaudibly to himself as bullets of sweat streamed down his face! Quickly flashing thoughts of radical upheaval and mutiny invaded the young man’s mind. His eyes dilating, his heart racing… And in the silence of his own mind, Stanislaus meticulously fashioned his escape plan…
“Hmm, hmm…Ej, Przelecial Ptaszek...Hmm, hmm, la de da da…” serenely whispered an old aged, white bearded gentleman in his humble hilltop dwelling overlooking a rolling meadow below, not far from Łowicz. And as an eagle flew overhead amidst tiny pellets of raindrop, the elderly man’s quiet, contemplative chant seemed to beckon the silent wind, as it meandered its way through the windowless abode. The sounds of silence were never so beautiful. And cut against its backdrop, sitting contentedly by the old man’s side with violin and bow in hand, and interjecting single notes of melody against each poorly sung phrase, was the face of a little boy. To paint a portrait of serenity, no artist could ever do. Despite the world around them, heaven was in their midst. In some way, the two became inseparable. To extract one from the other would be unthinkable. In some way, to the two of them, and perhaps to us all, Poland would never die. …And as their journeysong came to its conclusion, the old man warmly smiled and softly spoke: “Andrzej, Przybwają tutaj!” as the boy eagerly embraced him.
What destiny would have it, to learn of one man’s fate and another man’s doom? For every child fortunate enough, there were tenfold not so fortunate. And in the midst of war, what becomes of the family, of the values we hold so dear? Why must the building blocks crumble? Where is the glory? Where is the honor? To think that a species would wage war on itself, to annihilate one another. Brother against brother. A displaced little boy, a prisoner of war, or a lifeless body of bones thrown into a pile and covered in dirt. What have we done? Where are we going? Have we not learned?
And as little Andrzej ran his feet between the littered rubble of a war-torn town nearby, kicking aside remnants of fallen concrete mixed with personal belongings as was his daily doing, his vision became fixed on the gait he was striding. As his head drooped down, his eyes swayed back and forth upon the earthen remains in a meaningless, haphazard fashion. Careless of this day’s destiny, discouraged, and disheartened…
And returning once again on the cobbled road to the old man’s dwelling, the boy glanced back for an instant to see the specter of a solo figure in the distance. It moved in and out of the shade sporadically, as if in wanton search for its destiny. The little boy periodically turned to see as the specter gradually drew nearer and nearer; it waving a single arm back and forth. And, just before the gray overcast skies opened, little Andrzej realized what he was seeing. As he ran towards the figure in haste, his eyes began to water in sheer love for whom he was about to embrace. His prayers were answered. As if the embodiment of all of Poland were within. Though war be waged upon them, even then will they trust… “Stanislaus, my dear Stanislaus!”…
Mon Dieu
I always thought France was known for fine wine and fine art. But now it looks like radicalization of traditional norms has been added to the ad campaign. If you missed the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics, save yourself the heartburn. What a disaster. With the exception of the novel parade of athletes which was quite nice to see even though it rained, how ironic that in the shadow of Notre Dame Cathedral, the supposed icon of France along with the Eiffel Tower, leftist lunacy prevailed in the interim music videos, climaxing in the mockery of the Last Supper. It was all over the news, outrage everywhere, and deservedly so. At least there are still some defenders of tradition in our world!
You know, it's perfectly fair to have represented a diversity of identity issues like LGBTQ+, it's respectful. But to absolutely eliminate traditional gender identity roles and showcase exclusively alternate lifestyles is not a bit off the edge, it's way off the cliff. Amidst all of the artistic videos obviously promoting relationships, I do not recall seeing one with a male and a female embracing, kissing, or conveying a relationship. Instead, the entirety of variety was pushing alternative lifestyles. Now with Emmanuel Macron being voted out of office soon and the far-leftists taking over, say goodbye to that traditional l'amour associated with French romance. Even the famed Tour de France, which for eons had two beautiful women standing and kissing the male winner on the podium after each day's race, now has a guy and a gal beside the winner. You can bet France will never again be selected to host an Olympic Games, either summer or winter. But then again, at this rate who can say? Mon Dieu, where does it end?
An interesting and decisive issue indeed. No matter what stance you favor, perhaps the most noble response came from a longtime retired Catholic priest friend of mine. As I excerpted some of his thoughts to compose this writing, one can seek rational reasons behind actions, yet, humanity is arguably more about suggestion, inference, and implication. People are affected by these more so than by logical conclusion.
Regarding the two issues with the Opening showpiece, first, as I stated earlier, alternative lifestyles such as LGBTQ+ should be represented and respected at all venues. No one should be passing judgement on how others choose to live a relationship. The specific issue in the Opening Olympic showpiece was that the traditional lifestyle was entirely obliterated from being represented. That would seem to indicate purposeful intent of an agenda. Had there been equal diversity of both traditional and alternative lifestyles, that would have been ideal and with no complaints.
Second, as explained earlier citing the power of suggestion, this actually places moral and ethical responsibility on the doer, not the receiver. Just because the Olympic committee put out a statement citing its showpiece was a Greek fable or the like, does not mean it is justified. That would be equivalent to having someone utter slander at another person, and, because it is untrue, it's okay to do so. Certainly, the doer needs to be called-out and counseled. It then becomes hard to justify an artistic group from apparently being ignorant of the visual reception, inference, and implication that billions of Christians would have to their show, which was inferred as a mockery of the Last Supper. Again, moral and ethical responsibility.
As we've seen a 'beaucoup des mots' shared on this topic, let's try to remember that human thinking and reaction does not have to come off of assembly line robotics of right and wrong, but rather, is full of hidden emotion and implication largely based on external influence. Perhaps the great Wizard of Oz said it perfectly, as we are talking about doer/receiver, in that "a heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others."
I always thought France was known for fine wine and fine art. But now it looks like radicalization of traditional norms has been added to the ad campaign. If you missed the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics, save yourself the heartburn. What a disaster. With the exception of the novel parade of athletes which was quite nice to see even though it rained, how ironic that in the shadow of Notre Dame Cathedral, the supposed icon of France along with the Eiffel Tower, leftist lunacy prevailed in the interim music videos, climaxing in the mockery of the Last Supper. It was all over the news, outrage everywhere, and deservedly so. At least there are still some defenders of tradition in our world!
You know, it's perfectly fair to have represented a diversity of identity issues like LGBTQ+, it's respectful. But to absolutely eliminate traditional gender identity roles and showcase exclusively alternate lifestyles is not a bit off the edge, it's way off the cliff. Amidst all of the artistic videos obviously promoting relationships, I do not recall seeing one with a male and a female embracing, kissing, or conveying a relationship. Instead, the entirety of variety was pushing alternative lifestyles. Now with Emmanuel Macron being voted out of office soon and the far-leftists taking over, say goodbye to that traditional l'amour associated with French romance. Even the famed Tour de France, which for eons had two beautiful women standing and kissing the male winner on the podium after each day's race, now has a guy and a gal beside the winner. You can bet France will never again be selected to host an Olympic Games, either summer or winter. But then again, at this rate who can say? Mon Dieu, where does it end?
An interesting and decisive issue indeed. No matter what stance you favor, perhaps the most noble response came from a longtime retired Catholic priest friend of mine. As I excerpted some of his thoughts to compose this writing, one can seek rational reasons behind actions, yet, humanity is arguably more about suggestion, inference, and implication. People are affected by these more so than by logical conclusion.
Regarding the two issues with the Opening showpiece, first, as I stated earlier, alternative lifestyles such as LGBTQ+ should be represented and respected at all venues. No one should be passing judgement on how others choose to live a relationship. The specific issue in the Opening Olympic showpiece was that the traditional lifestyle was entirely obliterated from being represented. That would seem to indicate purposeful intent of an agenda. Had there been equal diversity of both traditional and alternative lifestyles, that would have been ideal and with no complaints.
Second, as explained earlier citing the power of suggestion, this actually places moral and ethical responsibility on the doer, not the receiver. Just because the Olympic committee put out a statement citing its showpiece was a Greek fable or the like, does not mean it is justified. That would be equivalent to having someone utter slander at another person, and, because it is untrue, it's okay to do so. Certainly, the doer needs to be called-out and counseled. It then becomes hard to justify an artistic group from apparently being ignorant of the visual reception, inference, and implication that billions of Christians would have to their show, which was inferred as a mockery of the Last Supper. Again, moral and ethical responsibility.
As we've seen a 'beaucoup des mots' shared on this topic, let's try to remember that human thinking and reaction does not have to come off of assembly line robotics of right and wrong, but rather, is full of hidden emotion and implication largely based on external influence. Perhaps the great Wizard of Oz said it perfectly, as we are talking about doer/receiver, in that "a heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others."
*NEWSFLASH: Press Release
Common sense: the antithesis at the Olympics
It was nothing short of a battle royale, and I believe that word has French origins. Those who might have received my monthly email blast of last week certainly got treated to an absolute dichotomy of sorts when multiple people on the email chain reacted to the horrific ignorance of French organizers in releasing the controversial “Last Supper” mockery sequence. It was no secret, in fact, the entire global world reacted to the on-air Opening Ceremonies which by now needs no further explanation. Even the very objective British commentator Piers Morgan dropped some curse words when he saw the show, highly uncharacteristic of this dignified gentleman.
But back and forth the emails came, quickly morphing into a cultural and political feud. Most stayed silent, but those that replied to the email thread expressed quite a bi-polar branding of their stances on LGBTQ+ and Christianity. Fortunately, a few intellectuals chimed-in with their sound replies to everyone on the email chain, such as Dr. Sebastian Gorka who was the former deputy assistant to President Trump, a couple tenured professors, three Catholic priests, an Orthodox Jewish man, and a Hindu scholar, all acquaintances of mine. When was rational objectivity ever needed more on this highly controversial issue?
It was an interesting and decisive issue indeed. No matter what stance you favored, perhaps the most noble response came from a longtime retired Catholic priest friend of mine. As I excerpted some of his thoughts to compose my original email, one can seek rational reasons behind actions, yet, humanity is arguably more about suggestion, inference, and implication. People are affected by these more so than by logical conclusion.
Regarding the two issues with the Opening showpiece, first, alternative lifestyles such as LGBTQ+ should be represented and respected at all venues. No one should be passing judgement on how others choose to live a relationship. The specific problem however in the Olympic Opening showpiece was that the traditional man and woman relationship was entirely obliterated from being represented. That would seem to indicate purposeful intent of an agenda. Had there been equal diversity of both traditional and alternative lifestyles, perhaps that would have been ideal and with no complaints from the global audience.
Second, it doesn’t take a lofty IQ to realize that the power of suggestion probably has a bigger effect on people than cold facts. People are stimulus-sensitive, and if you show them a live recreation of an obscure 17th century Dutch painting of a Greek fable that looks pretty much like the familiar Last Supper, which is instantly recognizable, the correlation is made. No one is going to research the painting first and then come to a conclusion. In fact, if you compare the Olympic showpiece with a typical Last Supper image, you see a crowned drag queen at the very center of the table, with just about the same number of ‘apostles’ sitting to the right and left. Just because the Olympic committee, in reaction to the outrage, put out a statement citing its showpiece was a Greek fable does not mean it is justified. But, that’s par for the course in today’s world, right? You can say or display anything you want because the burden of proof falls on the receiver instead of the doer. My God, wherefore art thou, moral and ethical responsibility?
Certainly, the doer of these controversial deeds needs to be called-out and counseled. It then becomes hard to justify a French artistic group, the Olympic Committee, and NBC for being ignorant of the visual reception, inference, and implication that billions of Christians worldwide would have to their show, which was inferred as a mockery of the Last Supper. As of this writing, Pope Francis has remained silent. In my opinion this too is an added outrage. Saint John Paul II would have condemned this immediately!
In responding separately to a friend, it became clear to us that it wasn’t too long ago that citizens of global societies respected a good degree of dignity in things, how they dressed, what they wore, what words they used to communicate. But lately, this ‘institution’ has apparently been fading away. We saw it in the Thanksgiving Day Parade, when the Santa Claus float got less airtime than some female hip-hop artist bearing so much cleavage that she might as well have taken off her blouse. We saw it at the NYC Fourth of July fireworks show, when more focus was paid to the stage singers than the actual fireworks in the sky and 99% of the music sung was anything but traditional tunes from the U.S. Armed Forces. Yes, my friend and I were scratching our heads a bit, because you would think that the opposite would occur as our world grows older, becomes smarter, and more mature. Common sense. Ironically, that is not the case…
Political Poop
Q: I've yet to hear a possible reason why Joe Biden seems so bent on remaining in the race. Did anybody consider that an elderly man who has been ensconced in this business for 50 years might want to go out in traditional fashion in an election, should he lose? For the party to tell him to leave is kind of inconsiderate of them and no doubt why he would feel betrayed. Proves that they are merely thinking of themselves and the party. Strategically asking him to leave seems logical to the youngsters in the party, but to some, especially traditional elders, it may be taken as disrespectful. This may be another example of how our culture simply does not give ample merit to the elderly. In other cultures, such as the American Indian and those of the Far East, this would be absolutely unheard of. Sometimes cultures see honor in tradition, such as with the Japanese, by falling on one's sword, literally in that case, rather than to yield. The heart of this Biden matter seems to reveal a lot about our Westernized 'win' mindset. Not one newscaster has proposed this cause. It's a shame. Additionally, scratching my head a bit, can anyone comprehend the vehement opposition so many people have to a Trump presidency? Yes, at times the guy says stupid things, may seem a bit bullyish, and appears authoritarian. Humility may not be his cup of tea. Yet, we’re talking about someone tasked with leading 341 million people up against a domestic and international collection of competitors and cut-throats. Should we really give a damn about his demeanor? Objectively speaking, from 2015-2020, his demeanor was far worse. Yet, he was voted in as President. Did it affect his judgement? Were there any wars, economic turmoil, or domestic crises? No. Rather, everybody seemed to be prospering and growing, like that 'shining city on a hill.' Interestingly too, those against a border wall may want to recall that fairy-tale legend of King Arthur and Camelot, which everybody admires as being noble and honorable, right? Eh, Camelot was a fortified city protected by a wall. I prefer not to take sides, nor be for or against any political candidate, but rather, observe objectively various stances taken and offer both positive and negative critique where deserving. What do you think? - AndrewOstrowski.com
A: Speaking not as a Republican but as an American, I am deeply ashamed of the Democratic Party leadership.
It is painfully obvious how demented Joe Biden has become, and how swiftly his condition is deteriorating. However, there is no need to publicly humiliate the President of the United States. The heads of other nations are appalled. No matter if he loses the election, he is still the President until Inauguration Day, a half a year away. Unless, of course, the Party hacks invoke the 25th Amendment. That, I believe, is their game plan, to put Harris into the Oval Office now, and on the slate. The media, Schumer, Pelosi, Nadler, et al, led by the opportunist puppeteer Obama, have made Joe Biden the laughingstock of the world. Shame on them! If I never liked Obama before, I haven't an iota of respect for him now. The Democratic elders should have quietly met with the President and his family, and not played their hand to the media. You may not like Joe Biden the man, but you have to respect the Office. - Krysia, NY
A: What appears probable to us may or may not come to pass, because politics is not made at conventions, press conferences, via surveys or in the media. The seasoned politician is far more discreet and works behind the scenes away from snooping reporters and their cameras. Palms are greased and deals are struck far from the realm of public scrutiny, hence surprises are not uncommon. Suffice it to mobilize the right lobbyists, get Soros and his ilk to cough up a few extra millions and pull the right strings for things to happen. I used to naively think that such shadowy things mainly take place in totalitarian states, but in reality they can and do occur anywhere. Especially since most formerly democratic states have moved closer to totalitarianism than ever before. Believe me, spending 20 years behind the iron curtain at Warsaw's Reuters Bureau was a far better education than three PhDs in Political Science. - Robert, Poland
A: It's all a bunch of hogwash. You can't trust anybody anymore. Now we got rigged elections and who knows what computer hackers can do to alter electronic election results as they come in. Imagine if the two parties could actually run the country together, not have 1 President from 1 political party? When are they going to drop the bitter disagreements, witch hunts, and negative ads and learn to compromise when ruling? I think the country would welcome a dual-run Presidency of negotiation on issues and compromise. - Frank, NY
Common sense: the antithesis at the Olympics
It was nothing short of a battle royale, and I believe that word has French origins. Those who might have received my monthly email blast of last week certainly got treated to an absolute dichotomy of sorts when multiple people on the email chain reacted to the horrific ignorance of French organizers in releasing the controversial “Last Supper” mockery sequence. It was no secret, in fact, the entire global world reacted to the on-air Opening Ceremonies which by now needs no further explanation. Even the very objective British commentator Piers Morgan dropped some curse words when he saw the show, highly uncharacteristic of this dignified gentleman.
But back and forth the emails came, quickly morphing into a cultural and political feud. Most stayed silent, but those that replied to the email thread expressed quite a bi-polar branding of their stances on LGBTQ+ and Christianity. Fortunately, a few intellectuals chimed-in with their sound replies to everyone on the email chain, such as Dr. Sebastian Gorka who was the former deputy assistant to President Trump, a couple tenured professors, three Catholic priests, an Orthodox Jewish man, and a Hindu scholar, all acquaintances of mine. When was rational objectivity ever needed more on this highly controversial issue?
It was an interesting and decisive issue indeed. No matter what stance you favored, perhaps the most noble response came from a longtime retired Catholic priest friend of mine. As I excerpted some of his thoughts to compose my original email, one can seek rational reasons behind actions, yet, humanity is arguably more about suggestion, inference, and implication. People are affected by these more so than by logical conclusion.
Regarding the two issues with the Opening showpiece, first, alternative lifestyles such as LGBTQ+ should be represented and respected at all venues. No one should be passing judgement on how others choose to live a relationship. The specific problem however in the Olympic Opening showpiece was that the traditional man and woman relationship was entirely obliterated from being represented. That would seem to indicate purposeful intent of an agenda. Had there been equal diversity of both traditional and alternative lifestyles, perhaps that would have been ideal and with no complaints from the global audience.
Second, it doesn’t take a lofty IQ to realize that the power of suggestion probably has a bigger effect on people than cold facts. People are stimulus-sensitive, and if you show them a live recreation of an obscure 17th century Dutch painting of a Greek fable that looks pretty much like the familiar Last Supper, which is instantly recognizable, the correlation is made. No one is going to research the painting first and then come to a conclusion. In fact, if you compare the Olympic showpiece with a typical Last Supper image, you see a crowned drag queen at the very center of the table, with just about the same number of ‘apostles’ sitting to the right and left. Just because the Olympic committee, in reaction to the outrage, put out a statement citing its showpiece was a Greek fable does not mean it is justified. But, that’s par for the course in today’s world, right? You can say or display anything you want because the burden of proof falls on the receiver instead of the doer. My God, wherefore art thou, moral and ethical responsibility?
Certainly, the doer of these controversial deeds needs to be called-out and counseled. It then becomes hard to justify a French artistic group, the Olympic Committee, and NBC for being ignorant of the visual reception, inference, and implication that billions of Christians worldwide would have to their show, which was inferred as a mockery of the Last Supper. As of this writing, Pope Francis has remained silent. In my opinion this too is an added outrage. Saint John Paul II would have condemned this immediately!
In responding separately to a friend, it became clear to us that it wasn’t too long ago that citizens of global societies respected a good degree of dignity in things, how they dressed, what they wore, what words they used to communicate. But lately, this ‘institution’ has apparently been fading away. We saw it in the Thanksgiving Day Parade, when the Santa Claus float got less airtime than some female hip-hop artist bearing so much cleavage that she might as well have taken off her blouse. We saw it at the NYC Fourth of July fireworks show, when more focus was paid to the stage singers than the actual fireworks in the sky and 99% of the music sung was anything but traditional tunes from the U.S. Armed Forces. Yes, my friend and I were scratching our heads a bit, because you would think that the opposite would occur as our world grows older, becomes smarter, and more mature. Common sense. Ironically, that is not the case…
Political Poop
Q: I've yet to hear a possible reason why Joe Biden seems so bent on remaining in the race. Did anybody consider that an elderly man who has been ensconced in this business for 50 years might want to go out in traditional fashion in an election, should he lose? For the party to tell him to leave is kind of inconsiderate of them and no doubt why he would feel betrayed. Proves that they are merely thinking of themselves and the party. Strategically asking him to leave seems logical to the youngsters in the party, but to some, especially traditional elders, it may be taken as disrespectful. This may be another example of how our culture simply does not give ample merit to the elderly. In other cultures, such as the American Indian and those of the Far East, this would be absolutely unheard of. Sometimes cultures see honor in tradition, such as with the Japanese, by falling on one's sword, literally in that case, rather than to yield. The heart of this Biden matter seems to reveal a lot about our Westernized 'win' mindset. Not one newscaster has proposed this cause. It's a shame. Additionally, scratching my head a bit, can anyone comprehend the vehement opposition so many people have to a Trump presidency? Yes, at times the guy says stupid things, may seem a bit bullyish, and appears authoritarian. Humility may not be his cup of tea. Yet, we’re talking about someone tasked with leading 341 million people up against a domestic and international collection of competitors and cut-throats. Should we really give a damn about his demeanor? Objectively speaking, from 2015-2020, his demeanor was far worse. Yet, he was voted in as President. Did it affect his judgement? Were there any wars, economic turmoil, or domestic crises? No. Rather, everybody seemed to be prospering and growing, like that 'shining city on a hill.' Interestingly too, those against a border wall may want to recall that fairy-tale legend of King Arthur and Camelot, which everybody admires as being noble and honorable, right? Eh, Camelot was a fortified city protected by a wall. I prefer not to take sides, nor be for or against any political candidate, but rather, observe objectively various stances taken and offer both positive and negative critique where deserving. What do you think? - AndrewOstrowski.com
A: Speaking not as a Republican but as an American, I am deeply ashamed of the Democratic Party leadership.
It is painfully obvious how demented Joe Biden has become, and how swiftly his condition is deteriorating. However, there is no need to publicly humiliate the President of the United States. The heads of other nations are appalled. No matter if he loses the election, he is still the President until Inauguration Day, a half a year away. Unless, of course, the Party hacks invoke the 25th Amendment. That, I believe, is their game plan, to put Harris into the Oval Office now, and on the slate. The media, Schumer, Pelosi, Nadler, et al, led by the opportunist puppeteer Obama, have made Joe Biden the laughingstock of the world. Shame on them! If I never liked Obama before, I haven't an iota of respect for him now. The Democratic elders should have quietly met with the President and his family, and not played their hand to the media. You may not like Joe Biden the man, but you have to respect the Office. - Krysia, NY
A: What appears probable to us may or may not come to pass, because politics is not made at conventions, press conferences, via surveys or in the media. The seasoned politician is far more discreet and works behind the scenes away from snooping reporters and their cameras. Palms are greased and deals are struck far from the realm of public scrutiny, hence surprises are not uncommon. Suffice it to mobilize the right lobbyists, get Soros and his ilk to cough up a few extra millions and pull the right strings for things to happen. I used to naively think that such shadowy things mainly take place in totalitarian states, but in reality they can and do occur anywhere. Especially since most formerly democratic states have moved closer to totalitarianism than ever before. Believe me, spending 20 years behind the iron curtain at Warsaw's Reuters Bureau was a far better education than three PhDs in Political Science. - Robert, Poland
A: It's all a bunch of hogwash. You can't trust anybody anymore. Now we got rigged elections and who knows what computer hackers can do to alter electronic election results as they come in. Imagine if the two parties could actually run the country together, not have 1 President from 1 political party? When are they going to drop the bitter disagreements, witch hunts, and negative ads and learn to compromise when ruling? I think the country would welcome a dual-run Presidency of negotiation on issues and compromise. - Frank, NY
Got Question?
Q: Is the newspaper discontinuing online news? For some reason I do not get the latest week’s news and I am not sure if the fault is my old computer maybe. Can you tell me if the paper has closed its internet website? – Frank, NY
A: Frank, thanks for the cyber patronage, but hold off on buying a new computer. I believe there has been an issue with the website host but not sure if and when it will be back up to date. Alternately, there’s always the hard copy version which can be mailed via a subscription. If you don’t already receive the paper version, please call the office at 716-835-9454 if interested.
Q: I think Donald Trump is getting more positive than negative publicity from the hush-money trial and may win him the election. What I find absurd is that the Republicans are not campaigning on positive changes for America but are only hammering on Biden’s failures. I think people want to hear solutions. – Stephen, NY
A: Good observation Stephen. My 96-year-old mother even said that because Trump has so much talkability talent, he automatically connects with people. As far as the campaign strategy, I couldn’t agree with you more. The news networks are doing the same also. Evening prime-time Fox News does nothing but bash Biden left and right. Fine, but let’s hear too about what the Republicans are going to do if they win the White House.
Q: Your VP pick Kristi Noem is finished my friend, not only as potential VP, but maybe as South Dakota governor. Awful news about the pup. – Tom, NY
A: Really sad. I’m trying to reason how this kind of action can be processed in one’s mind. I can see someone killing a pet in a sudden rage when the mind loses it, but if the news reports are right, the governor actually premeditated on this in bringing the pooch to a gravel pit and shooting it. And then to offer an excuse that South Dakota permits putting down an animal? Allegedly she killed an unruly goat as well. Animals are typically put down because of terminal illness or severe pain with no hope for recovery. This was a 14-month-old puppy with behavioral problems. Okay, how about working to solve the problem? It’s beyond me how some people can be so heartless. She's no longer my VP pick!
Q: I agree with your reader that tradition is in danger of dying. Today everything is done with no thought process. Machines and computers do all the work and now are able to make decisions. People sit back and push a button for the world to operate. I would be interested to read any research findings of Polish scientists on this topic. – Stanley, NY
A: Well said, Stanley, thank you. Unfortunately I’d imagine that such efforts to warn Mankind of this future tragedy would get overtaken by the surge of engineered artificial intelligence. There has been some degree of ‘warning’ put out by governments, but the private sector isn’t bound too tightly by hindrances to make money. Such is the price we pay for living in a Capitalistic society.
Q: Thanks for your latest email posting. Wow, an incredible possibility with Gabbard on the ticket! – Donny, PA
A: That might be an understatement, Donny. For those folks not part of my free monthly emailed news-takes which you can ask for via Spindleless@aol.com, the word from the grapevine is that Tulsi Gabbard, an Independent, may be Donald Trump’s pick for Vice Presidential running mate. If so, it would be historic and, arguably, hard to beat. Gabbard recently left the Democratic party, citing their failures, and has already said she’d be honored to be Trump’s pick. She’s 43, seems level-headed and professional, and takes a moderate stance on most issues. As an Independent, she’d probably take votes away from RFK too. Gabbard did vote to impeach Trump back when that was brewing, but considering what she brings to the ticket, I think ‘The Donald’ will let it slide. Oh, did I mention that she also surfs the waves of Hawaii in her spare time! We could be looking at the very first future female President. Somebody make some popcorn to go along with all this excitement!
Got Tour Question?
On the 29th of June, the 111th edition of the Tour de France will hit the country's storied streets to the tune of 2,169 miles from start to finish. Below is an array of your top Tour questions plus a few general racing questions, and answers accumulated over the years to supplement your 'chenin blanc' when catching the coverage on television.
Q: Any funny stories to share of your riding days? - Tony, New York
A: Funniest story I can recall was the first day that I went out on a training ride with my friend Gerard. He arrived at my sister's house, got out of his car, and stripped completely naked to put on his cycling garb. I was in the kitchen looking out the window with my mouth open in awe as I relayed the news to my sister who was washing dishes. She just shrugged her shoulders as if that was the norm for country life! Anyway, we headed out to the town of St. Girons far in the distance but miscalculated the kilometers and ended up riding home in the pitch blackness of night, steering clear of roadside ditches and waiting for cars to pass being that there are no streetlights in France anywhere.
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Q: I read that Maciej Bodnar used a 60-tooth crank on his bike to finish runner-up in the time trial race against the clock. Was that legal? - Robbie, New York
A: Perfectly legal Robbie, thanks. The only things that officials inspect to comply with the Tour de France rules are bike weight and wheel circumference.
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Q: How much did you eat day to day during your racing career in France? - Joan, New York
A: Thanks for the gastronomical inquiry Joan! Let's see, a couple of croissants upon boarding the bike for breakfast, and after six hours in the saddle with lunch being the big meal of the day in France, it was not uncommon to begin with fougasse bread and soup, followed by salad, and then a bowl of pasta mixed with herbs and a side show of greens. Camembert cheese and red wine was definitely the highlight of the meal, followed of course by dessert.
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Q: I heard that the French are rude to Americans, did you notice that? - Barbara, New Jersey
A: Never Barb, I can't say that I ever did. Actually, the opposite was true. I remember my friend took me to a night club where the word went around that an American racer was there. We were immediately swarmed by people and it was nuts, you couldn't see further than three feet in front of you due to the cigarette smoke. Only Formula One race car drivers get treated more royally. We got showered with everything, including liquor and women. I opted to pass on the latter being that I had a girlfriend!
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Q: Do you still have the bike you raced with back in the 1980s? - Stephen, New York
A: As part of protocol, bikes were typically given to charitable organizations to be auctioned off which was a nice gesture. Bits and pieces of mine may very well be hanging from someone's living room wall right now. I have our team jersey though, forever in my custody!
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Q: Who was the very first Pole to stand out at the Tour de France? - Frank, New York
A: Thanks for your question Frank. That's got to be Lech Piasecki, who held the fastest time on opening day at the 1987 Tour until being beaten by a Czech. Piasecki is remembered for yet another feat, that being his insistence that a supply of Italian bicycles be given to Poland in exchange for his signature on a racing contract for an Italian team. Nice tactic!
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Q: How did you rank among other racers on your team? Did you get to know any of the stars? - Joanne, Pennsylvania
A: In my early days I rode alongside Jean-Francois Bernard, who would later become the French iconic star. As far as rank, I was just another sacrificial slave as were 90 percent of all riders. Each team had upwards of two dozen guys, and although the pro team was highly paid, guys on both the amateur and pro squads bore the brunt of the effort in helping the team leader. Today, rider autonomy has greatly expanded and although Rafal Majka, for example, is technically a slave as well, he is a star in his own right.
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Q: What is VO2 Max and how much did Eddie Borysewicz teach the team about it? - John, New York
A: John, VO2 Max is the measure of how your body processes oxygen during exercise. The great 'Eddie B' first introduced everyone to the method right after coaching the U.S. Olympic team. The idea is to develop a high threshold of oxygen intake at the point just before you cease input and begin exercising anaerobically, or without oxygen.
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Q: Your girlfriend is beautiful. When and where did you meet her? - Donna, New York
A: Much obliged, Donna. We met at a cassoulet dinner in my sister's town the first year I was there. I was not yet a vegetarian so the dish was a unique treat. Have to passive-tense the first part of your question however. She is probably still as beautiful as ever but we are no longer together as the rigors of the sport were no match for an American. She was a University grad which landed her a good job with the French Interior Ministry, but I needed to return to the States to find a job. The Eight Year Dream, a chapter in my book The Layman's Guide to the Tour de France, explains the whole situation.
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Q: Did you ever quit a race or crash? - Tom, New York
A: Never quit Tom, yay! The saddest moment for any rider is having to abandon a race. I remember Bruno Wojtinek, a French rider who my sister told me about and I had wanted to meet, pulled to the side of the road at the '87 Tour and abandoned. He was completely spent and had no fuel left in his tank. I only fell twice, on training rides. Once while going over a speed bump at 1mph, I locked my front brake and somersaulted over, landing on my helmet which did its job and cracked, instead of my skull, and also my right shoulder which took three months to heal. The other time was going around a corner which had some road grime. I still have the scar on my hip!
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Q: Michal Kwiatkowski knows how to win bike races and kisses too! – Izabela, New York
A: I agree Iza! He held the Tour de France white jersey of Best Young Rider for several days, just lost it to a Colombian mountain climber. Not bad for a 22-year-old Polish pro cycling rookie though! You’re next in line to kiss him my friend…
Live Free or Die
"When the people are afraid of the government, that’s tyranny. But when the government is afraid of the people, that’s liberty.” Finding no solace in sleep last night, these words of Jefferson immediately came to my mind after the absolute disaster witnessed in the New York State judicial system. Something like this is supposed to occur in third-world countries where dictatorships rule and corruption is the norm; North Korea, Rwanda, and Chile come to mind where strongmen assert power and if you dare to utter a word of resistance, you get imprisoned or dismembered.
I'm thinking back to learning all about U.S. heritage and honor when taught to us in grammar school. Saluting the flag and the pledge of allegiance. How the colonies united to form states. "Government of the people, by the people, and for the people," as Lincoln wrote. Granted, hiccups occur along the way, varying opinions are exchanged and compromises are reached in how we govern; this is healthy. Because whenever you have two or more people, it's normal to have two or more viewpoints. Application of the law is supposed to be borne out of all of these healthy aspects.
A big part of the American Dream is knowing that your worth is cherished by a system of governance where all parties are equally in harmony for the sake of the whole. After all, the country was not founded for the sake of a few, but for the betterment of the whole. This has always been the core foundation upon which our way of life rests. Business, personal, political, industrial, artistic, religious...you name it, all is supposed to be rooted in this selfless ideal. Again, it's not about the few, it's about the whole.
"When ten men tell you you're drunk, you'd better sit down" as Colonel Pritchard said in the Battle of the Bulge. How appropriate a statement when you consider that every learned legal scholar out there considered the Trump hush-money trial to be a complete farse. Alan Dershowitz, for example, who is a tenured Harvard law professor and probably the best legal mind in the industry, called this trial an absolute disgrace which should have never been initiated. Dershowitz is also a Democrat no less! Countless other legal eagles have condemned this trial as well.
So how was this farse ever allowed to occur? What happened to that patriotic ideal mentioned above that puts country ahead of self? This is what happens when we lose oversight of the ideal. Granted, each citizen under the ideal strives to seek self-betterment, but when that incentive crosses over into the judicial system for personal or party gain at the expense of another, clearly this undermines the entire process meant to fairly govern. Make no mistake, we're not talking about some lawyer applying his or her courtroom strategy skills so that he or she can win a case, get notoriety, and make more money. In the Trump trial, we're talking about a District Attorney who made it his priority to take down a Presidential candidate, despite more credible courts dismissing the idea altogether, with judicial accomplices hand-picked to increase a particular outcome by piecemealing together expired beyond-statute material as well as out-of-scope testimony. Literally, clawing for any way to take someone down.
Some may ask, well, wasn't it the jury's decision? Of course, and the system is designed to work fairly through jurors. We should be proud of that. But if a decision is made by jurors under intentionally subjective conditions such as venue, which was purely Democratic, and a judge, who was a Democratic supporter, all the while being spoon-fed instructions clearly favoring the prosecution, how, may ask the founding fathers of our country from their graves, can jurisprudence be fairly administered?
Aside from the obvious systemic tragedy, because we realize that mistakes are part of life, perhaps the bigger tragedy may be not doing anything to prevent it from happening in the future. This was, without a doubt, an example of judicial abuse of power and violation of constitutional rights, and if not attended to, will undoubtedly permeate the entire judicial system, wreaking havoc and unconfidence among all parties whether a Democrat, Republican, or Independent is on trial.
Let's hope and pray (before it becomes brought to court as a 'crime' to do so) that an overseeing committee such as the Supreme Court or one made up equally of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, will step in and police the system for any abuse of power so as to restore confidence in that now seemingly old-fashioned ideal that the country was founded upon. Said General Stark of the American Continental Army, "live free or die."
Right now, however, I am ashamed to be an American.
Holy Wars and Fake Authors
Q: Who are the Shriners? I am considering donating to their children’s hospital but have no idea what faith belief they are, if any. – Dorothy, NJ
A: A noble pursuit, Dorothy. The Shriners are members of the Freemason Society, one of the oldest in the United States and worldwide. Several of our founding fathers, such as Washington, were ‘Shriners.’ Objectively speaking, I however cannot help but to critique today’s ‘battle of benevolence’ between this organization, who hold God as supreme, and the Catholic Church-sponsored ones such as St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Ironically, despite both groups looking to help children with cancer, efforts have turned into competition. I’m sure you’ve seen the dueling commercials aired on television. This is the epitome of lost perspective, in my view. Drop the ‘holier than thou’ curtain for Christ’s sake, and join together as one, is my advice to both of them.
Q: I like to reflect on homilies given by Popes at Easter. I think Francis spoke the most direct about our world’s present issues. Benedict and John Paul II had good homilies but they were not as direct. Is there any explanation for the differences? – Donna, NY
A: Curious question, thanks Donna. Francis had always distinguished himself with a basic, down-to-earth approach. He wasn’t afraid to expose inconsistencies even among Church hierarchy, whereas some of the previous Popes may have been a bit reluctant. But Popes, like our own Presidents, don’t write their homilies and speeches. Instead, there is a crew of writers who piece together focus points they specialize in. For example, one writer may specialize in political ideologies, another in social welfare, and another in Church history, and so forth. The pieces are written, arranged, reviewed, and then delivered by the Pope. By the way, we often hear that some well-known person has just written a book. In reality, that person didn’t write it; it was contracted out to a professional writer.
Flower Town
April showers bring May flowers, but also some April flowers. Have you ever visited the little village of Zalipie, Poland located about halfway between Kraków and Rzeszów, and ranked as the most beautiful village in all of Poland? Perfect timing, now that flowers are the topic of talk.
As soon as the visitor arrives into town, bouquets of flowers are all over the place. But we’re not necessarily talking about those little pretties of horticulture that grow in the ground, rather, Zalipie is famous for its floral motifs painted almost everywhere around town.
Tradition has it that back in the 1800’s, residents of Zalipie tried to hide the black soot and ash residue produced from their wood-burning stoves, which some of us who still use oil heat can relate to, as it gradually scarred the walls of their home.
Women came up with an ingenious idea to cover the soot by painting flowers over it, even making their own brushes out of cow hair and making paint out of cooking fat mixed with dye.
By the turn of the century, the old-world wood-burning stoves were replaced with more efficient heating and cooking systems. Chimneys were used for ventilation, eliminating the floral cover-up technique. But instead of dying out, the old flower-painting practice took on a whole new meaning.
Decorative tradition became part of Zalipie’s ‘identity’ and with the evolution of better paints and more varied colors, the rustic floral patterns expanded into vibrant illustrations of art. The paintings also began to spread from the walls of personal homes out onto nearly every blank surface in town. In fact, it’s hard to find a house, barn, shed, church, tree, chicken coop, or doghouse not covered in a floral design!
The tradition continues to endure, and each spring since 1948 and following Corpus Christi, villagers host the Painted Cottage competition, or Malowana Chata. The starting date of this event has special significance, as it began soon after World War II ended. Poland was devastated during the war and this was an attempt by officials to alleviate some of the grief.
Today, the town of Zalipie attracts visitors from all over the world who come to soak in the colorful atmosphere. One former resident, Felicja Curyłowa, who passed away in 1974, had her three-bedroom painted cottage transformed into a museum space where visitors could appreciate her work. Curyłowa even went as far as having her eating utensils and light bulbs painted in a floral design, attesting to the fact that Zalipie, Poland is without a doubt the most beautiful town around.
A Few Crumbs
- An interesting study found that people respond more actively, not to content, but to cosmetics. In one experiment, the same exact message was composed by 3 people who each emailed it to 25 friends of theirs who beforehand were told that a new friend would be sending them an interesting email. The experimenters used 3 different AI head shot thumbnail icons, you know, the little circle which appears next to a sender's email address. The first headshot was a clean cut, perfectly symmetrical semi-smiling male face with a nice, neat combed black haircut. The second headshot was a slightly chubby male face, straightforward and plain with curly dirty blond hair. The third headshot was a skinny guy's face wearing glasses and slightly balding. And the response tally? Whereas the sent email using the first face got 16 out of 25 replies, the skinny balding guy's email got only 3. The chubby guy's email did a little better with 8 replies. What does this mean? It may mean that people are either consciously or unconsciously forming opinions of a person based on their looks, and seem to gravitate to images of people that they deem 'acceptable.' Discrimination? Not quite, it actually may be worse than that. With discrimination, the offender usually knows what they are doing in their reaction. In this case, this seems to be a responder's subliminal tendency to let appearances overrule courtesy in replying. This was the whole basis of the termed 'blind' and also 'double-blind' experiment, where both experimenters and those experimented on are masked to some extent, eliminating bias. On a sad note, isn't this a disgrace? It doesn't say too much about human maturity.
- Armed teachers? News Nation, arguably the only objective broadcasting station still in existence, recently had a pair of debaters battle it out regarding teachers being able to have a sidearm on them in the classroom, obviously stemming from these mass shootings we seem to have once a month. As much as I thought it was backwards thinking a few years ago when, to solve the problem of teenage pregnancy, NYC public schools wanted to take the easy road by promoting a policy of passing out condoms to students rather than demonstrate intelligence by instructing students on the sanctity of the life giving-process so as to teach them to respect their bodies, it looks like this new debate involving guns confirm that IQs have plummeted back to roughly...the caveman days. It was nice to see one debater exposing the stupidity of the other, who, analogous to that Archie Bunker episode when Archie offers his solution to end all hijacking by telling airlines to "pass out the pistols to every passenger before the trip and collect them afterwards," this proponent of arming teachers was an example of sheer stupidity and limited intellect. What happened to IQs? Instead of pushing pistols on teachers to solve the problem of gun violence in schools, how about stepping up intellect in pushing a program that teaches kids how to value life? Or, is that the stuff found only in fairytales?
- Why not just tell it like it is? Who will be the first to reveal the reason why all of these protests across the country are allowed to instill fear and engage agitation between Israeli and Palestinian supporters here in the U.S.? Any other subject matter would have been stamped out by school admin officials, local police, and politicians. Yet, this subject matter is allowed to fester. Just like with the border crossing disaster, nobody is exposing the real reason why many millions have already illegally entered this country. With the protests, gotta be careful right, can't denounce either side too much or too little. Gotta make it seem like you are for and against both sides simultaneously depending on which direction the wind is blowing. If you call the cops to arrest agitators, you are praised by one side but now hated by the other. If you do nothing like James Buchanan did in allowing the South to secede from the Union and create their own law, ending up with a Civil War, you can't be blamed because you did not make a move to act on either side, right? Even Abe Lincoln initially stayed silent on the slavery issue yet is credited with ending it, but John Brown, who vehemently opposed it from the beginning in all righteousness, was hung by the neck. How is that for crazy irony? But with these protests, let's also look at who's protesting. It's a bunch of college kids! Do we see fully developed mature minds screaming and yelling? No, instead, it boils down to basically kids who typically have a lot of energy and are hot under the collar about newly emerging issues as opposed to taking a more reserved, contemplative approach to problems. Hey, we were all kids once, that's the way kids are. These same kids are the ones who want the green new deal to happen like next week, ignorant of the fact that such an action would cripple the economy since so many manufactured products are dependent on fossil fuels. Kids, you see, don't consider this, they just want to get noticed for loudmouth protests so they feel that they actively did something to make a difference. Differences are made using intelligence, where thinking precedes speaking, however. But shhh...mums the word when it comes to educating ourselves about the real reasons for protests. Come on, let's fess up, it's all political, isn't it?
Rubber Soul
Annually we all celebrate and commemorate events of the past. And it's a good thing to keep an original occasion’s memory alive and thriving. For example, on the 4th of July, Americans recall the independence of their country with fireworks and barbeques. The same folks will remember, on Memorial Day, all those who served in the Armed Forces and perished in war. Although social and secular occasions are for the most part ‘static’ memories of events, that is, they are not proactively evolving, have we been applying the same protocol to spiritual occasions?
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that we have. Year after year, religions of the world observe protocols of remembrance which indeed are noble and honorable actions. For example, Christians are amidst Holy Week, recalling Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection, as their faith teaches. Pretty much the same protocol applies to probably every religion of the world. Noble, honorable? Definitely yes, but…something's not quite right here.
Stepping outside the box, so to speak, which is a good practice that everyone should occasionally do to 'see' themselves, are these rituals sufficient to the degree of significance to what they are commemorating? Objectively speaking, when it comes to the greatest mystery out there, the one that nearly everybody says they believe in, we’d have to honestly say the answer is no. For example, the typical ‘devout’ Catholic will attend weekly Sunday Mass, lasting one hour, and then return to an entirely secular life until the following week. Holy days pop up here and there and are attended to, but once again, a return to the secular scene follows. If this seems to you more like an assembly-line, robotic process, it would be difficult to argue against you. Apparently, that’s what spirituality has become, a year in and year out regular recurring ritual. We seem to live our lives according to a calendar. Human life, however, is not cyclical like a calendar is. It is linear. Why then do we fail to evolve in spirituality, but instead go around in a circle?
One may argue, well, spiritual leaders such as priests, rabbis, and mullahs are supplementing these static rituals by instilling motivation into their congregation by, for example, sacred text readings or their homilies given during service. Certainly, it may be argued, by supplementing the ritual, ideally the recipient leaves the service, in this case, with a week’s worth of ‘spiritual ammunition’ to fight sin and become a holier person. Perhaps we need a reality check.
How many people, having attended a service on a weekend for example, remember a sacred text reading or a priest’s homily enough to learn and activate its message, say, by mid-week? How many people remember the same homily or reading, even twenty minutes after leaving the service? Sadly, the answer may be obvious.
Now that we’ve established more of a social-psychological observation of human retention reality, let’s focus on what we’re talking about…the biggest mystery out there, religion!
If we were talking about outer space, the current spiritual situation would be analogous to us being perfectly content with knowing that we are the third planet away from the sun and that there are seven other planets in our solar system. We’re not interested in reaching beyond, instead, we’re satisfied with that, we don’t need to know any more, we can sleep soundly at night because we now know all that needs to be known. Sound familiar?
Are we content to be just like every other civilization that comes and goes, following a protocol of the spirituality 1+1=2 equation and perfectly satisfied with committing our life to a simple formula, thinking that when we die, we will go to heaven because we followed that formula? It seems so. Babylonians, Sumerians, Egyptians, Aztecs...and every other civilization followed this formula. They were entirely confident with their spiritual practices, never questioning themselves, never admitting that life after death is a mystery. Sadly, we're following the same formula.
And we forget something that nobody wants to hear because it clashes with the formula...Religion is based in total mystery! To be clear, it is perfectly encouraging to base one's life on faith, this is a good thing. The problem comes when we get stuck in a stagnated rite that defines a religion as being true, thus alienating other beliefs of faith as well as those that do not believe, and in the process discouraging further exploration of the mystery. We don’t like to hear this because it upsets the ‘apple cart’ of formality and protocol, right? Questioning one's faith is unpopular. Certainly all religious institutions consider this fact a taboo, and it’s easy to see why. Just think if an institution’s followers were encouraged to ask questions about God and what happens to us after we die. Forget it, the institution would soon lose plenty of its followers, due to human inquisitiveness, growth, and truth-seeking simply because these folks would soon realize that religion is indeed a pure mystery that warrants further exploration. By the way, half of my book, e-Notes and Anecdotes, available on Amazon.com, explores this fact with the final chapter asking the question which nobody dares to ask: Who is God?
And this is the whole problem with today’s spirituality, isn't it? Complacency has become an act of robotics. Let's be clear. Religious celebrations and commemorations are great efforts by worshippers to strengthen and sustain their faith, all quite honorable and should continue for all faiths. But when these practices take the place of proactive responsiveness to a mystery...Houston, we have a problem. Spirituality, sadly, then becomes as robotic as brushing one's teeth in the morning. Indeed, if you really think about it, such complacency to approach spirituality is actually an insult to the deity we are worshipping, is it not? Putting ourselves in the place of the deity, what would we think about our followers simply going through the repetitive motions of, for example, attending weekly services, but not growing and evolving by using the mind that I, as deity, gave them? I'd be insulted as a deity! Is it enough for spirituality to be a once-a-week 1-hour event, or for example an annual occurrence like Good Friday or Yom Kippur? Or rather, if we were truly spiritually authentic, shouldn't every day be a Good Friday or a Yom Kippur, so to speak? Yet, too many of us sleep soundly at night perfectly content with the status quo, all the while never contemplating, never questioning, never growing in the exploration of ironically the biggest mystery out there, spirituality. As the Beatles aptly named one of their albums, perhaps we are satisfied with a Rubber Soul, not entirely ensconced in full-fledged exploratory development but rather, easily bouncing off temporary token worship.
There are a few folks formulating responses to this story so looking forward to their take! One response mentioned the example of the Rosary, but repetitive recitation should not be confused with robotics. Rather, it is a method of channeling one's faith. The robotics that I'm referring to have to do with the bigger picture. Overall takeaway being, religion and spirituality continue to follow, as they have for eons, more or less of a superficial existence. Ironically, religion has become merely a 'part' of life, instead of life itself. I'm not saying people should be 'holy rollers' day in and day out, but surely devotion to the mystery of life after death deserves much, much more than ritualistic compliance which apparently is at the heart of today's religions. Nobody in the religious hierarchy is telling their flock to explore what the afterlife might be, what exactly God might be, instead, instructions are to follow 1+1 protocols and you'll get 2, and if you do, you're guaranteed entry to heaven. Sadly, that's what people, and the institutions that represent religion, seem to hold at the head of their priority list. That's what I mean by complacency. We've given up exploring the mystery and have resigned ourselves to robotics, and when you do that, learning and growth cease. Look, we just concluded our annual devotion to Holy Week. By Tuesday, sadly, for most observers the spirituality of Holy Week will probably be out of sight, out of mind, until next year. We seem to have lost perspective of the bigger picture. We say that we believe in an afterlife, but are resigned not to think about it too much, just periodically, as I said earlier, going to worship services 1 hour a week, or once a year Easter services, for example. Spirituality probably holds the record as being the most important thing ever that received the least amount of attention. Gee whiz, doesn't it deserve more?
While visiting friends in Toledo, Spain, I recall entering a small chapel in the city where a little old lady was kneeling down by a side altar. I could see her lips moving but no sound could be heard. You could hear a pin drop in there, in the dim light with only candles burning. The question then becomes, what about all of this logical talk above, how can it apply to this humble old woman who knows nothing except how to give her heart in prayer. What then is the right course of action to take when adopting a spiritual belief? Should it be blind allegiance? Should it be 'no questions asked'? Should it be think-less, like this woman was exhibiting? Perhaps the answer lies in each of us, just as much as religion is a mystery, our approach to that mystery might be better off being boundless.
What do you think?
The Sorrowful Scars Upon Żagań
Not to sound like a broken record, but you know every year at this time I feature a story about the greatest prisoner of war (POW) breakout in the annals of warfare. Instantly you may recognize that to be none other than The Great Escape. Of course, the 1963 film starring Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Garner and an assortment of other top movie stars bears the same name, and it should. The true story of this calculated and costly blitz actually occurred in the early morning of March 25th, 80 years ago in the town of Żagań. But is this the only story needing to be told year after year about Żagań? Let’s take a look.
A bit of geography first to align its whereabouts. Żagań is located about 100 miles from the big city of Wrocław, about 6o miles from the border with the Czech Republic, and about 25 miles from the border with Germany. The rural district of Żagań still surrounds the town on its northern, eastern, and southern sides, so you can understand how easy it was for the Nazi’s to establish a prison camp there.
The town’s name means 'place of the burnt forest,' possibly referring to the burning of primaeval forests by early settlers. In 1939, soon after invading Poland, the Nazi’s established a system of POW camps in and around Żagań. In total, the Stammlager, or Stalag for short which means 'Main,' camps held over 300,000 prisoners from 30 different countries. Can you imagine a picturesque Polish town of the 1940’s having multiple POW camps all around it? That’s what happened.
After Stalag VIII-C was built specifically to hold Polish prisoners from the 1939 offensive, the Nazi’s stripped these prisoners of their POW status and forced them into labor camps where many of them died. This may be a hidden tragedy that unfortunately got overlooked by the magnitude of attention that Stalag Luft III received after 200 men lined up to escape, 76 of whom actually did so before most were caught and killed. More about that camp in a bit.
After moving the Poles out of Stalag VIII-C, the camp was backfilled with French, Belgian, British, Canadian, Greek, and Yugoslavian prisoners, followed by Soviet prisoners from Operation Barbarossa. By late 1941, nearly 50,000 prisoners were crowded into a space designed for one third that number. Conditions became atrocious as starvation, epidemics, and ill-treatment took many lives. By early 1942, the Soviet prisoners had been transferred to other camps, especially Stalag VIII-E just 9 miles down the road from Żagań. Imagine being a resident of Żagań with all this happening around you?
By 1942, it was estimated that around 120,000 POWs in the Żagań area died of hunger, disease, and maltreatment. Then, an additional camp was set up in Żagań, specifically for Allied pilots. That of course was Stalag Luft III, where McQueen and company re-enacted the story so vividly in the film.
Luft, short for Luftwaffe, meant that the camp was under the control of the German air command which perhaps proved favorable for the prisoners. Had the Gestapo or Schutzstaffel (SS) been involved, you would probably not be reading about a great escape. You know from past columns how the escape happened, but you may not have known that there was actually a fourth tunnel in the making.
Tom, Dick, and Harry of course were the three post-war publicized tunnels, dug mainly might I add by Polish musclemen POWs from the Royal Air Force, called tunnel kings. However, nobody, including the Germans, knew until relatively recently where a fourth tunnel, called George, was located.
Got a ticket to the show? George ran from under the camp’s theater towards the section of the camp where the guards were housed. Who would have ‘thunk’ it, being a quite counterintuitive choice if your plan is to escape? But according to one surviving prisoner, George was apparently not meant to stage another escape, but rather to be used 'for emergencies only.' After the Germans ended the great escape and blew up the tunnels, the remaining POWs readied George and were planning another blitz, but liberation came in 1945.
After Nazi Germany’s defeat, Żagań again became part of Poland as a result of the border changes decided at the Potsdam Conference. The town’s German population was expelled and it was repopulated by Poles. In 1967, a museum dedicated to the history of POWs of the Stalag VIII-C camp was established. More recently, business and industry are booming thanks to the earlier grass-roots effort made in the aftermath of all that death.
The grounds of Stalag Luft III, once entertained for purchase by my brother and me, have been cleared of its weeds and thankfully made into a museum. POW artifacts of the camp, such as a group of watercolors, a diary, and a Rolex watch worn by RAF airman Jack Williams were sold at auction. Said Williams, who was among the 76 who briefly escaped, to a remaining POW on the night of the great escape, “I know I’ll not get away, I couldn’t possibly get away…but if by any chance I do, would you kindly take my wrist watch home?”
The watch made it home and recently went for $246,000. Williams, sadly did not. He was executed by the Gestapo and cremated with 50 others whose ashes were brought back to Stalag Luft 3 as a deterrent, thus joining the thousands of others never making it out of Żagań, Poland.
Almost Green
This month is one of the biggest sporting events of the year, the Masters golf tournament. This crown jewel on the calendar attracts players from all over the world. Everybody wants to win the coveted ‘Green Jacket.’ Of course being super-competitive, to be invited to play, a golfer must have either won a major championship, been a past Masters winner, be a top-ranked player, or be an Amateur champion. The Masters committee also sends out invitations to players who may not meet the above criteria but have won a professional golfers association (PGA) tournament during the year. Additionally, there are qualifying tournaments held for local ‘club pros’ to give them a shot at fame. Given all of this exclusive criteria, let’s take a look at how a 27-year-old kid born on the West Coast and schooled in Texas found himself leading this prestigious event.
With cloudy skies and calls for rain, Paul Stankowski stepped up to the tee on the first hole of the 1997 Masters tournament, undoubtedly nervous and jittery as many players are on this first of four days around, arguably, the toughest golf course in the world. Stankowski earned his invitation to the prestigious event by winning the Hawaiian Open tournament at the beginning of the year where he fired a blistering 17-under-par to get into a playoff with two prominent players, only to beat them both and take home the $216,000 winner’s check. Not a bad way to start the Masters, huh?
Stankowski teed up his ball, took a practice swing, aimed, and executed a clean drive down the right side of the first fairway that narrowly cleared a sand trap, then managed to secure par. He went on to post pars on the next two holes, which included a monstrous par 5. At this point, Stankowski may have had visions of Albert Watrous, the New York Polish-American pro who came close to winning the event in 1937. Stankowski would go on to better Watrous’ performance by actually leading the Masters. However, approaching the fourth hole, called Flowering Crab Apple, a name taken from the surrounding vegetation, Stankowski was staring down a 240-yard stout par three that required a long iron and is often made harder by deceptive winds, with two bunkers, front right and front left that guard the green which slopes from back to front. The Texan pulled out a 4-iron but came up short, ending up making bogey.
But as famous pro Tom Watson, who was Stankowski’s idol, always said, the best golfers are “the ones who make the fewest mistakes.” Stankowski gathered himself and parred the next three holes, then approached Yellow Jasmine, the 570-yard 8th hole named for the beautiful trumpet-shaped yellow flowers emerging from vines all along the fairway. An accurate drive is needed to avoid the fairway bunker on the right side of this uphill hole. The long, narrow green is bunker-less. It is guarded instead by a series of mounds, the biggest of which line its left side. No records show what club Albert Watrous pulled out to hit his second shot to the green here, and few folks are still alive to remember. But, they remember Stankowski.
As much as the first shot is critical on this hole, the second shot is probably harder to hit. Because it’s a par-5, original course designers Alister MacKenzie and Bobby Jones offered a handsome reward to any player choosing to go for the green in two. By crafting a slightly right to left second shot using a fairway wood, or, even a driver from the fairway, a player could reach the green in two and have a put for eagle, which is 2 shots better than par. Nobody should have been surprised then to see Stankowski, who had been a three-time All American on the University of Texas golf team, and as a pro was ranked as one of the longest drivers on Tour, give everyone a lesson in guts. His second shot was perfectly placed onto the undulating green, enabling him to sink the putt for eagle and take the lead in the tournament.
Stankowski parred the 9th hole and continued superb play on the remaining back-9 holes that day, which included a birdie-par-birdie run through the famous three holes of 11, 12, and 13. These three holes are aptly called ‘Amen Corner’ which was a name taken from a 1930s jazz song sung by Mildred Bailey and applied to this stretch of golf course by Sports Illustrated writer Herbert Warren Wind while watching Arnold Palmer battle the course and go on to win in 1958. Yes, after surviving these three holes, what better word than ‘Amen’ would apply? Stankowski also birdied the final two holes and carded a 68 after round one. Only one other player beat him on that back-9 and came in with a 67. Stankowski’s next three days carded him with two 74s and a 69, landing him in a tie for fifth place and pocketing $102,600, behind overall winner Tiger Woods.
With Easter this month, Paul Stankowski is sure to treasure the day. He first played golf on Easter Sunday in 1978, when he was just eight years old. Eighteen years later, he won his first professional event. The 54-year-old, who earned over $7 million in prize money, lives outside of Dallas, TX with his wife and two children.
Summing it all up, Stankowski realizes that his days in the sun are realistically dwindling, despite a few perks of late. “There’s an old saying about two things that don’t last very long: Dogs who chase cars, and golfers who putt for pars. And I’ve kind of been in that boat until recently.”
The Castaway-Kayaker
Gotta admit, he bears an uncanny resemblance to Tom Hanks in the film Castaway. In that remarkable film, the bronze-bearded Hanks of course finally escapes a deserted island after five lonesome years, and does so via a makeshift raft that eventually ran amuck out at sea. And if you’ve ever seen or read anything about the late Polish adventurer Aleksander Doba, you may have immediately made a connection to Hanks.
Doba has been featured in this column in years past, but today is the third anniversary of his death, and what better time to pay tribute to an incredible person.
Born in September 1946 to a mechanic-father and a homemaker-mother near the city of Poznań, Doba grew up ice skating on ponds and skiing through forests. His first endurance test was at 15 years of age, riding across Poland on a bicycle that his father built from scrap parts.
In the early 1970s, he graduated from Poznan University of Technology, where he studied mechanical engineering. A few years later, he married, settled in the town of Police which is in the upper northwest of Poland, and got a job at a chemical plant. Then in 1980, with Police being near Poland’s second-longest river, the Oder, his co-workers asked him if he wanted to join their kayaking club, and soon he was spending all of his weekends out on the water.
By the turn of the Millenium, Doba was a skilled kayaker and adventurer, evidenced in his 80-day trek around the Baltic Sea as well as jumping 14 times with a parachute from piloted gliders. Keep in mind, this was no spring chicken. Doba was closing in on 60 years of age!
In 2003, he won the gold medal at the Open Academic Polish Championships in Whitewater Kayaking and defended the title the next year. Sooner or later it would be no wonder then to find Doba in the Guinness Book of Records as well as being named Adventurer of the Year by National Geographic.
We’ve all heard about Charles Lindbergh, but Aleksander Doba?
Doba’s first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean was from Senegal to Brazil in 2010 and spanned 3,352 miles. He was 65 years old when he made this trip. It set a record for the longest open-water crossing ever undertaken by a kayaker, at roughly 99 days. During the trip, Doba’s skin broke out in salt-induced rashes, his fingernails nearly peeled off, and his eyes suffered from conjunctivitis.
While it was not the first transatlantic kayak crossing in history, Doba was the first one to travel this way from continent to continent, not from island to island. Ha! It’s easy if you’ve got island paradises to stop over on, but Doba didn’t stop off on any island. Sort of like Tom Hanks on a raft, all or nothing?
In his 2013 adventure from Portugal to Florida which took 196 days and covered 6,300 miles, a Greek tanker made the mistake of trying to rescue him. Shouted Doba: “Me, fine,” giving a thumbs-up. The ship’s crew offered to throw him ropes. He refused.
During his voyages, Doba admired the majesty of the sea and cherished wonders that he alone witnessed. He saw shooting stars at night and playfully tapped the shells of turtles that swam alongside him. When he became convinced that someone was watching him, he studied the water closely. “Then I saw it, a huge head, sticking out of the ocean,” he told Canoe & Kayak magazine. “The whale swam here, and there, all around my kayak. Its 20-meter-long tail was wagging. And then, suddenly, the whale went down and disappeared into the ocean.”
Sound like the same scene in Castaway? You might think the Hollywood made-up movie was based on Doba’s real experiences. But incredibly, no, the opposite is true. Doba actually relived the seafaring part of the movie, which was made years earlier!
In 2017, Doba completed his third solo transatlantic kayak trip when he went from Barnegat Bay, New Jersey to Le Conquet, France. He was at sea for 110 consecutive days. He used a 23-foot kayak, weighing 1,500 pounds. And just like in the Hanks film, during the trip, he struggled against storms and his rudder was damaged.
He became the first person to kayak across the Atlantic from North America to Europe and, let’s reverse that, also the first person to kayak across the Atlantic from Europe to North America. He was 71 years old by this time. Perhaps most folks at that age prefer to live the easy life. Not Aleksander Doba.
But how did such a senior survive for months at sea time after time? Stocking his kayak with jars of his wife’s plum jam, he supplemented that with freeze-dried goulash and porridge, chocolate bars and homemade wine. And when flying fish landed on his deck, he snacked on them alive. “Very fine,” said Doba, “better than sushi.”
Sadly, on this day in 2021, Aleksander Doba passed away from asphyxia resulting from high-altitude pulmonary edema after reaching the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro at 19,341 feet. The comforting fact being that it was Doba’s desire, according to his son Czeslaw, because “He said many times that he didn’t want to die in his bed. From what we gather, he was euphoric to reach the summit. Then he sat down, took in the view, fell asleep and passed away.”
Sights and Sounds of Good Friday
Good Friday is a big day. But let’s be honest, isn’t it a shame that the events recalled are often forgotten about in a matter of days? Borrowing a sporting line, this ‘hurry-up offense’ to get to Easter may seem joyous and the height of our faith, yet if it wasn’t for Good Friday, we really wouldn’t be able to connect the dots of the Passion. Let’s dwell a bit on the photo of the month, above, a crucifix from the 19th century given to me by Helen Zagajewski, for a sight and sound experience.
The Sight
A - The Cross
The actual cross that Jesus hung upon was most likely a T-shaped structure made from two heavy-gauge olive wood tree trunks. The Romans already had vertical pieces present at the execution site, used from previous crucifixions, but the horizontal piece of the cross was carried on the shoulders of the accused criminal who was paraded through the streets. It should be pointed out that this horizontal piece weighed in excess of 100 lbs.
B - Nails in the Feet
Were the feet crossed or nailed individually? Nobody really knows, but there is a high probability that Christ’s two feet were nailed together, one on top of the other. In fact, there is an even higher probability that his right foot was on top of his left foot. How so? In all likelihood, the Roman soldier doing the nailing was probably right-handed. Therefore, as he kneeled down to complete the job, his left hand would naturally grab Christ’s right foot and place it on top of the left foot, holding them together with the left hand which also held the nail, then grabbing a hammer and nailing the feet together. One nail was probably used for both feet because nails were made out of iron which was expensive and could be better used for weapons. It’s just a theory but it makes sense.
C - Naked or Clothed
If it were up to the Romans, Christ’s body would have been naked on the cross to humiliate him. However, because of strict Jewish rule, even for condemned prisoners, a naked body was viewed as a desecration in close proximity to the Temple. Therefore, to keep the political peace, the Romans kept in place the dressing that covered Christ’s waist area.
D - Nails in the Wrists
Yes, because if the nails went through Christ’s hands, the weight of his torso would have eventually caused the hands to rip. Therefore, positioning the nails into the wrist enabled the body to be supported more. What about the stigmata that St. Padre Pio experienced which were in the hands? Because the hands are symbolic vehicles of our good works, a stigmata of the hands symbolizes a Christ-like sacrifice. This is the reason why most crucifixes show nails in the hands. Interestingly, the famous Shroud of Turin image actually shows Christ’s wrists being pierced which adds to its authenticity.
The Sound
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
The conclusion is straightforward: Christ is petitioning the Father to forgive his torturers because they don’t realize what they’re doing by crucifying him. Christ is not referring to the superficial fact of him being executed by the Romans, but rather he is referring to mankind. Is it not us who continue to ‘crucify’ him by our thoughts and actions? Do we make use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation?
“I assure you, this day you will be with me in paradise.”
Christ was crucified with two thieves, one to his right, called Dismas, the other to his left, called Gestas. When Gestas criticizes Christ by looking for proof in telling him to save himself, Dismas offers the opposite by asking Christ to remember him in his kingdom. Do these two thieves on opposite sides of Christ, physically and spiritually, portray the entire story of mankind? Indeed. We therefore have a choice.
“There is your son, there is your mother.”
Christ establishes the apostle John as the new ‘son’ of his mother Mary, and Mary as the new ‘mother’ of John. This was to point out that all of his followers, represented by John, are first to look to their mothers in recognition of life, and second, that his followers are to regard Mary as the supreme example of obedience in carrying out God’s will. And who could be more approachable than a woman of the flesh just like you and me, but spared from sin, who we can come to with all our troubles? No wonder Saint John Paul II adored Mary so much!
“Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani?”
Or, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” How would you know pain, guilt, fear, and rejection if you couldn’t relate to them yourself? And how could people relate to you? This is essentially why God incarnated into Man, so we could relate to him. It’s no wonder then why Christ questioned his own being, even though he was also divine.
“I thirst.”
Quenching one’s thirst is usually associated with someone who has expended an amount of energy and is in need of a refresher. So was the case with Christ, however, rather than being refreshed, he was offered vinegar. Again, we see the human side of Christ instinctively seeking to save itself as we all would do. It was up to us to alleviate his suffering somewhat by giving him a refreshing drink, but we didn’t. Do we still offer him ‘vinegar’?
“Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit.”
Here we see Christ, who could have easily opted not to say anything in the state he was in, utter words of dependence on the Father. What reward would there be if we didn’t depend? Surrendering one’s soul and trusting that our life will justify our destiny. Does your life justify your soul’s destiny?
“It is finished.”
The final three words spoken by Christ before his death and resurrection. Clearly this expression sums up the entirety of his whole mission. What meaning would his life’s end have if he did not impart his mission onto us? What are your last words going to be?
Unceasing Ceasefires
It’s hard not to notice the barrage of bizarredom, if I may invent a new word, invading our news lately, wouldn’t you agree? Reports are in that All in the Family has once again hit the prime-time television screens having no sooner been served with lawsuit after lawsuit claiming bigotry and discrimination. What are the complainants aiming to achieve, a ceasefire of thinking and speaking about controversial issues such as race, gender, nationality, and a whole host of other things? A good friend of mine, who is Orthodox Jewish, enjoys watching the show as much as I do and we have concluded that, in light of Archie Bunker’s horrendously bigoted remarks about Jewish, Polish, Catholic, African-American, gay, lesbian, and nearly all other focus points of his, those opposed to the airing of the show have missed the whole point. We theorize that people take delight and laugh at witnessing the show’s ‘now forbidden’ remarks, but not because they agree and feel the same way as Archie does. Rather, they are laughing because they can’t believe reality is being portrayed on television. ‘Archie’ is the guy living a few doors away from us, down the street, or somebody we bumped into recently, right? We probably all know an Archie Bunker. All in the Family was not a sitcom, it was arguably the first reality television show to appear. Sadly, some of us don’t want to accept reality.
Cries for another type of ceasefire continue to ring out from world leaders looking to take sides in the Israeli-Hamas war. Of course, should we be surprised that France’s President Emmanuel Macron was among the first to demand a ceasefire? France, of course, has been a longtime abode for Islamic fundamentalists, some of them probably being radicals. So, why upset the apple cart, right? It’s interesting to discover that since this war, there has yet to be one single demand from any of these world leaders for Hamas to surrender themselves and release the hostages. It’s unbelievable. The never-ending message from these politicians is for Israel to stop, constantly putting the nation on the defensive as if it needs to meticulously justify itself. Where’s the message for Hamas? Fortunately, noble-blooded Jonathan Conricus of the Israeli Defense Forces provides clarity and exposure to counter the politically motivated one-sidedness that global leaders continue to take.
6-Shooter Overflow
Q: Will Israel have a team in this year's Tour de France given all the turmoil in Gaza? I'd bet not. - Stephen, NY
A: Bet again my friend. Apologies first, I was not able to fit yours and others' questions in my column so this is the overflow space! Yes, the Israel Premier Tech Team is scheduled to enter. I understand your point, and it's a good one. Not sure if their multi-million-dollar rider salaries will be enough to keep fear away. It has always been impossible for police to fully protect the riders from fans at an arm's length away, especially on narrow roads in the mountains when speeds are minimal. Let's hope for the best.
Q: Wtorek is craving the outdoors! Is it okay to take her for a short walk every day in my backyard? Or should indoor cats be isolated from outdoors and outdoor cats? - Elizabeth, NY
A: Tough question, Elizabeth. I would advise caution. Assuming Wtorek has been spayed and got her shots, there's still a risk of feline leukemia transmission. This virus is quite contagious and need only be sniffed from an airborne particle or ground droplet left by another cat to be lethal. If you know for sure that there are no outdoor feral cats around, then it might be okay. I would try to please her by opening a window so she can perch herself on the sill.
Q: My son took a liking to the film, How Green Was My Valley, and tries to tell his friends to share peace with the unruly kids in the class who try to pick fights in the schoolyard. I'm glad I didn't have to teach him fist fighting like in that film! - Tom, NY
A: Nice, Tom! I like the analogy! Great film too. Ah, Roddy McDowall's early days, Donald Crisp, and Maureen O'Hara. Tom, why didn't you name your daughter Angharad?! But it appears your son is learning the quality of reciprocation, which sadly is lacking among today's friendships, relationships, and even marriages. He must have borrowed one of your Beatles' albums and listened to that George Harrison tune, I Me Mine, realizing the selfishness of people whose lives travel on one-way streets. Now you've got me dying to see that film again!
Q: Happy upcoming Valentine's Day to you! Thank you for all you do! So happy to know you in the face of so many heartless people in our world today. You make me shine! - Donna, NY
A: Thank you so much Donna and Happy upcoming Valentine's Day to you too! Isn't it sad that so many people today go through life with no bother of conscience? If only they would...have a heart. Thank God there are still some people who abandon themselves for the sake of others. Actually, it's people like you who make me shine and I treasure knowing you.
Q: We went to the Pro-Life rally and had a great time, not too cold this year although my hot cocoa did the trick! My kids know all about the abortion issue, but I'm struggling with the day when I have to talk to them about married life and contraception. Is there a universal view from all of the world's religions? - Janine, NY
A: Cocoa goes good with snow, Janine, maybe next year? Thanks for the inquiry. Globally, mainstream religions do have a 'general' consensus about the sanctity of life and its process. However, there are subtle differences among the faiths. Perhaps a good approach for you to take with your kids is to first realize that we are driven by both intellectual and emotional drivers. Keeping in mind a religious directive on contraception is a noble pursuit, but because we are human beings who can at times become deeply absorbed in emotional love beyond our thinking control, 'emergency' use of contraception should really be part of any directive. Since emotion is the absolute pinnacle of Humanity, it's difficult to harness that with any kind of intellectual decree.
Q: Goin' for broke in asking if you can please please get me a pass to the Spring Fashion show in NYC like you did last year? I definitely want to meet Chaz Dean this time! - Izabela, NY
A: A double please? That's double the pressure. I'll try my best my friend but it's however the cards play out with my designer-friend's allotment of free passes. As you know, sometimes she has a lot, sometimes she has a little. Besides, when are you yourself going to stroll the cat-walk runways clad in Louis Vuitton or Coco Chanel? C'mon, put your best foot forward, literally!
2023: The Year in Review
From language to land, let’s not make haste to begin 2024 without a recap sampling of some of the more notable highlights we covered in two columns over the span of the past year. Sound like a tough task? You bet. Steady fans of these columns will recollect these samples, so if you fail to recollect, be sure to start 2024 on a steady note!
January
Q: Can someone please set the record straight on the origins of chruściki? – Sasha, NY
A: Short of starting a neighborhood ethnicity riot, my guess would be that several cultures have legitimate claims to the ‘rights’ of this baked delight.
Q: Still not sure of your stance on Chuck Zukowski. Do you believe in alien life? – Bobby, NJ
A: My stance on Zukowski is that he’s a guy promoting UFO existence. However, I don’t see any evidence that aliens have visited the Earth. I think it’s wishful thinking, just as Bigfoot, Yeti, and your state’s Jersey Devil are.
February
“This better be fast. I don’t know about you but I happen to have tickets to that ball game tonight, Yanks vs. Cleveland. We got this new kid, Modzelewski, on the mound. He’s a real bull, this kid,” stated Juror #7. It was the 1957 drama film classic 12 Angry Men. Researching, I discovered that Modzelewski was not a real pitcher for the Yankees anytime during the 1950s. It seems somebody on the film set was a Cleveland Browns football fan who borrowed the name of Ed Modzelewski, who played for the Browns at the time!
March
Q: I saw a show called Mysteries of the Deep in which a Polish American scientist aired. It was very intriguing. Just wanted to let you know. – Donna, NY
A: Thanks Donna. I’ll bet you Monopoly money that it was Mateusz Polakowski if the name rings a bell. Polakowski is a Marine Biologist affiliated with the University of Southampton in England and studies ancient warships.
April
We’ve seen them on prayer cards, wall hangings, and key chains. We can relate to the nun, but where did the painting come from, how many hands has it been in, and, as we’ve seen various renditions of the image, how do we know which one is true-blue? As Divine Mercy Sunday is upon us, let’s take a peek at the real, original painting directed by the person who actually did the witnessing, Saint Maria Faustina.
Q: I would be interested in learning more about Officer Twarowski who catches drug smugglers at the airport. One television show I watched said they only find a small percentage of hidden drugs. Maybe in ten years they will legalize all drugs like they did with pot. – Frank, NY
A: So Twarowski doesn’t lose his job, hopefully it’d occur in twenty years when he is retired!
May
Q: I’m looking to find the expiration date on a pack of Żywiec beers that my husband forgot we had stored in a trunk in our cellar. All I see is the sequence L2159616F1847 on the bottom of the cans. Should we discard the pack or take a chance on getting ill? – Regina, NY
A: Thanks Regina, but I doubt you’d get ill even if the beer was expired. Expiration dates are a science in themselves it seems. The letters and numbers correspond to certain months and years but it’s not obvious.
Q: Is Rembrandt’s Man with the Golden Helmet supposed to be a Polish military man? – Ronald, NY
A: The painting was done in 1650 and the helmet bears some degree of resemblance to either an eastern European or Spanish military man. By the look of the face though, the guy probably lived in a cold and rugged environment. Poland? Could be, but my first guess would be east of Poland somewhere.
June
“The time has come. I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last,” said Pat Sajak. That’s right, Pat Sajak is calling it quits. Obviously, a stunning shocker considering Sajak’s likeability and ease when hosting Wheel of Fortune.
July
Q: Can you help me find information about Marian Pisarek who was a Polish fighter pilot ace during World War 2? – Eddie, NY
A: Eddie, I dug up a British website that expanded a bit more on Pisarek. Rather than summarize the content, I’ll relay the website address to you. It is www.britishpoles.uk. Thanks Eddie.
Where’s the gold? Although the many years-long hunt for a hidden Nazi train supposedly buried under earth in the Owl Mountains of southern Poland hasn’t yet turned up the purported treasure chest of stolen riches, at least one man still thinks the fabled story is true. Zbigniew Grocki, a 38-year-old upstart entrepreneur from Poznań, Poland has resurrected the failed quest for the elusive lost train.
August
Q: I haven’t been to Buffalo in awhile but there used to be a hat maker on one of the main streets who was Polish. I remember going into his store with my friend who liked to wear hats. Any information on this man would be nice to read about. – Susan, MI
A: My first thought would be that you might be referring to Gary Witkowski of The Custom Hatter which was located at 1318 Broadway. We’ll have to dispatch a newsboy to see if he’s still around, as it looks like his website is no longer secure.
Q: What is the Polish ritual of pół-czarnej? – Rita, MA
A: Rita, this is more of an evening custom where guests arrive at the host’s home and are met with a table spread of cold cuts, bread, and fruit cakes. The goal is to enliven the night as guests share stories and camaraderie.
September
September always brings back memories. It’s hard not to recall my family’s trip back in September of 2001 to one of the craftiest towns in all of Poland, Kazimierz Dolny. The town has long been a hotspot for painters, writers, musicians, and a host of artistically inclined individuals. What better place to witness Poland at its culturally expressive best?
Q: Hugs and kisses to you for the checklist for Czestochowa! My hubby and I are doing the drive, about 3 hours as we calculate, on September 10. We can’t wait to sample the food and song and to take in a Mass at the Shrine! – Patricia, NJ
A: You’re welcome Patricia! Enjoy the experience and treat yourself to a funnel cake!
October
Q: In response to an earlier question, close but no cigar. Sauerkraut is Kapusta Kiszona; Kapusta is cabbage. All sauerkraut is cabbage but not all cabbage is sauerkraut. Got it? – Krysia, NY
A: Krysia, can you say that next-to-last sentence ten times fast? I think I got it. Thanks!
If you thought New York City was an overpopulated colossus on any given day of the week, your opinion may now narrow down to one day during the first week of October. That’s because this past Sunday, once again, throngs of Polonia descended upon the Big Apple to catch a glimpse of the famous Pulaski Day Parade.
November
Q: An Israeli Army spokesperson I understand has Polish heritage, is that correct? I heard him speak to a news anchor and he mentioned it. – Frank, NY
A: Good catch, Frank. Yes, Jonathan Conricus was a former Lieutenant Colonel with the Israeli Defense Forces and now serves as one of their spokespersons. His father is Swedish but his mother is Polish-Jewish.
Q: A recipe I’m looking at, Grzyby Duszone, calls for 5 tablespoons of lemon juice. How many lemons do I need? – Cynthia, NY
A: Fall is a great time for cooking, thanks Cynthia. I never liked mushrooms, but it looks like you’ll need 1 1/2 lemons to yield 5 Tbs of its juice.
December
We’re down to just eleven days until the big event, and for those last-minute shoppers, this year’s Polish gift idea compilation is designed for you. Special attention should be paid to expected delivery dates, as it’s crunch time!
Tip o' the Hat to Tridentine?
Q: I was disappointed at the Pope’s decision to eliminate the Latin Mass, still don’t know why. This had always been a cherished and unique tradition in our parish. Have we Catholics become any different than the Protestants? – Barbara, NJ
A: Thank you for your input, Barbara. However, celebration of the Latin, or Tridentine, Mass has not been eliminated, only further restricted with the need for a higher chain of approval. I agree that it certainly is a unique and cherished tradition for all Catholics. As for the reasons, I believe Pope Francis felt that, to better galvanize Catholicism and to promote more unification, variations such as the Latin Mass, which were encouraged by John Paul II and Benedict XVI, may have actually ended up causing slight divisions in the Church, finding mainstream Catholicism trying to affect modern-day society while Tridentine traditionalists grow apart. That’s apples and oranges, not a good combo.
It's One or the Other
Q: I agree with your views about the ideological problem in the Middle East, but for the sake of life, Israel should stop and negotiate for the lives of the hostages. Life is supposed to be our main focus after all. – Donna, NY
A: Respectfully, Donna, I disagree. I do agree with life being the main focus, but where is the rationale in negotiating with a group of people who commit atrocious massacre, then strip a girl naked and parade her through the streets in the back of a pickup truck while apparently Gazans, including kids as seen in the video released by Hamas, spit at her, culminating in her being beheaded? It’s interesting however, we see some networks magnifying coverage of the moans and groans and tears of the Gazans who have lost children and loved ones in the battle. Perhaps there is a silver lining to this tragedy of reportedly 10,000 civilians killed, in that hopefully now given all these Gazan deaths, life will mean something and cause Gazans to rise up and evict any group among them who do not value human life.
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Q: Responding to your reader Donna who does not know the reality of war. People are going to die. You can’t have a war where everyone lives. Israel has won this war against these terrorists, and yes it costs lives. – Kurt, NY
A: Thanks for your comment, Kurt. I think Donna’s main point was to convey the importance of life, where death can often be relegated to a mere byproduct of war. However, I disagree with you as well. I think that Israel has essentially lost the war. What is likely to happen, in my opinion, is that Hamas will continue to trickle out hostages in exchange for pauses, reorganize after a couple weeks, and then keep about 25 hostages and declare that these innocents will die unless Israel backs away. Does the Israeli Army start battling again? Probably not, with the hostages’ lives on the line. That is why a government should never ever negotiate for hostages, it’s sad of course, but by doing so the enemy capitalizes on it. To take back the upper hand, Israel should offer Hamas two options: release all hostages and leave the territory peacefully, never to return, or, face death. Unfortunately, these jihadists are usurped by an outdated 7th century religious edict and are willing to die for the cause, thinking that their actions will ‘get them to heaven’ and so, given this, Israel cannot both defeat Hamas and get back the hostages. It’s one or the other, sadly.
The Real Story of the Kenosha Kickers
If you thought Polska’s claim-to-fame scene in the ever-popular Christmastime film favorite, Home Alone, was just another Hollywood holiday flick, let the truth be told.
If you saw the film, you’ll recall the scene when, at Scranton Airport on Christmas Eve, Kate McCallister, who is the mother of Kevin, the kid-star in the film, begs the airline ticketing desk clerk to get her a ticket back to Chicago since Kevin was home alone. Unfortunately all the flights were booked, but overhearing her anguish, Polka band leader Gus Polinski, played by the actor John Candy, offers to drive her to Chicago with his band, the Kenosha Kickers, who were headed to Milwaukee via truck being that their flight was cancelled. She accepts the offer.
During the truck ride, the band starts playing Christmas tunes in Polka-style but what is really key is the interaction between Kate and Gus. The Polka band leader, as you can probably visualize, is so full of cheer and absorbed in the whole aura of Polka music that he tries repeatedly to encourage Kate to pick up a clarinet and play along with the band. The scene goes on to reinforce the power of polka music in a cute way, when Gus points out that he and his bandmates hardly ever see their own families. One guy even had trouble remembering the names of his own kids, and another guy says he never even met his own kids. However, if you’ve seen the scene, your takeaway may be that this was a rare occasion when something, in this case perhaps parental irresponsibility, is conveyed to be sort of semi-absolved in a way due to the whole realm of the band’s dedication to cheerful music. What can we say, the power of Polka music perhaps?
But where did the idea to put a Polka band into a Home Alone film come from? It might have had a lot to do with the film’s writer and filmmaker, John Hughes, who grew up in suburban Chicago. Obviously a mecca for all-things Polonia including Polka music, it’s interesting to see that this clearly factored into the film. That is, the setting could have easily taken place in California, Florida, or any other state, but because of Hughes’ childhood experiences growing up on the outskirts of Chicago, undoubtedly where plenty of Polish-Americans live, adding such a scene involving a Polka band was fortunate.
In addition to the actor John Candy, were these band players all actors themselves? Nope. You guessed it, they were real Polka band players, from where else but suburban Chicago! The band was known as Eddie Korosa Jr. and the Boys from Illinois.
But perhaps all credit goes to Korosa’s father, Eddie Sr., who had been a huge Chicago Polka king. Korosa built his fame on Chicago’s Southwest Side, where he was born, one of seven children. He began playing music at age 8 when his father gave him an accordion. Within two years, Korosa was playing at neighborhood parties and taverns, including one owned by his parents, and played with his band, the Merry Makers, until he joined the Army in 1940.
After the war, Korosa resumed his musical career, recording the Baby Doll Polka in 1951, a hit that remains a polka staple. Three years later, he opened the Baby Doll Polka Club in Chicago.
Korosa recorded seven albums and hosted a radio show from his club and the Eddie Korosa Polka Party. For five decades, Korosa was America’s Prince of Polka, part of a family that kept people dancing across the U.S. with songs such as ‘Daj Mi Buzi Polka’ (also known as Kiss Me Polka), ‘Deck the Halls,’ ‘Polka, Polka, Polka,’ ‘Polka Twist,’ and ‘Twin Lakes Polka.’
Some film tidbits. John Candy improvised most of his lines in the film and all of his scenes were filmed in a total of 23 hours. He was paid $414 for his appearance in the film, which he did as a favor to John Hughes. In the original script, Candy was actually the accordion player. And this wasn’t the first time Candy got picked to play a part as a member of a Polka band. Before acting in Home Alone, he played on television as a clarinet player in a fictional polka band, the Schmenge Brothers.
Getting back to Korosa Jr. and the Boys from Illinois who appeared alongside Candy, they were Eddie Bruzan on Saxophone, Frank ‘Franko’ Cernugel on Double Bass, Eddie Korosa Jr. on Accordion, Bob Okrzesik on Clarinet, Leo Perion on Trumpet, and Vince Waidzulis on Drums…hey, stand aside for a moment Gene Krupa! Their known songs are A Holly Jolly Christmas and the I Don’t Want Her You Can Take Her She Can’t Stuff the Kielbasa Polka.
Hughes, Candy, and the Korosa connection. A pretty good post-Thanksgiving recipe…
What About the Others?
Q: I’m considering getting Wtorek a companion but I’d prefer to adopt a cat that really needs it. The shelter where I got her doesn’t exist any more and all I see in the animal welfare adoption places are healthy-looking cats. Where can I adopt a former sickly, bruised-up cat that really needs a loving home? – Elizabeth, NY
A: You touch on an unpopular and unadvertised issue I’m afraid. Many so-called ‘animal welfare’ places indeed do a sincere job of taking feral cats off the streets, getting them fixed up, and ready to adopt. However, they pat themselves on the back for doing a fine job, but what about the others, the feral cats that are unattractive, have asymmetrical color patterns, or are noticeably blind in one eye? Do you see those cats in the adoption places or are they bypassed and left on the street? It’s a terrible shame because these welfare agencies are actually degrading the welfare aspect by encouraging the adoption of only good-looking cats. How ironic. Now, to be fair, such needed benevolence also depends on veterinarian care. Obviously, a badly beat-up and bruised feral cat, like the one pictured above where a neighbor and I chipped-in and paid over $1000 for its 2-week stay in the hospital, will require more than topical treatment, with internal examinations, x-rays, blood work, etc. probably necessary. Ah, there it is, isn't it? Does this mean that $$$ is preventing unowned, homeless sickly animals from being adequately attended to? Just look at how many vets are offering free services for the spaying/neutering of feral cats? You can count the number of doctors on one hand. Okay, it's acknowledged that a vet's time spent on a street cat means time taken away from paying customers' cats. But, what happened to the Hippocratic Oath? Why can't vets lend their services for free to help these poor cats who have no one to care for them? Where's the heart? Or, has our medical industry completely lost perspective? I remember going on a walking tour with a British group to visit a monastery cut into a cliff near the city of Jericho, in the West Bank of Israel. Upon day's end, while descending the switchback rocky path, the tour guide tripped on a rock and broke her ankle. Her ankle bone actually broke through her skin and she was screaming in pain. The ambulance came and the whole group of about 15 headed to the local hospital in Jericho. Three hours later, the guide, having had all the necessary medical tests with her ankle set in a cast, was released and of course headed home the next day. I was astonished to learn that the entire medical procedure cost...$40. The exact same scenario, if occurred in the U.S., would probably cost closer to $4000. Go figure. Again, have we completely lost perspective? Check with the ASPCA, they at least take in abused, sickly animals which might be adoptable. Further thoughts...
100 Years and Still Rolling
Under sunny skies, a suburban New York City community of Catholics recently took to their hilltop sanctuary known as the Church of St. Stanislaus Kostka to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding.
The Church, located at the top of a hill, has had a lengthy history of roller-coaster-like upswings and downswings since 1921, when a group of local Polish-American residents petitioned the Archbishop’s office for a Polish parish of their own. The proposal was rejected right on the spot, as the need wasn’t deemed justifiable.
But the group’s zeal and bravado persisted, and finally in early 1923 their request was granted, having Fr. John Gloss appointed as Pastor commissioned to build the church. Getting approval to build was a rather miraculous feat in itself when you think about the financial struggles of the early ’20s, when even the Archdiocese of New York needed to pinch pennies.
Construction began on the Church in speedy fashion, with the cornerstone being laid in late summer 1923. The massive undertaking included voluntary work by local residents, many of whom donned work gloves and shovels. The big day came in the fall of 1924 when Patrick Cardinal Hayes consecrated the new Church. A huge plus for the new parish was the creation of a Parochial school for Polish-American youths, many being the children of immigrating Poles. It was a dream come true, and provided the youngsters of the parish with a sound Catholic education.
Sadly though, reality hit hard in the 1930s. The Great Depression took its toll everywhere it seemed, even at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church. The school was forced to close. Fr. Gloss then passed away soon after.
Entering a new era, the parish welcomed Fr. Stan Malinowski as Pastor. Faced with a debt of nearly $200,000 which in those days was quite a sum, Fr. Stan rose to the occasion and a massive fundraising campaign was begun. Eventually the huge debt was paid off.
After Fr. Stan retired, Msgr. Arthur Rojek took command as the new Pastor. At times offering the curious eye a glance at his arm, during World War II, Msgr. Rojek was captured by the Nazis and imprisoned in Dachau concentration camp. Suffering the unspeakable for five years, he was branded on the arm like so many others, but fortunately survived.
Msgr. Rojek greatly sought to incorporate the timeless Polish folk traditions into his new parish. Coffee and cake were served after Sunday Masses, the Gala Polka Dance was organized, and at Christmas, a manger was constructed as carols were sung. But little did anyone know when Cardinal Karol Wojtyla came to St. Stanislaus Kostka Church to say Mass with his good friend Msgr. Rojek, that the Cardinal would later become Saint John Paul II. In fact, a chair that the Saint sat in still adorns the altar at the Church. Much to the sadness of his then good friend Pope John Paul II, Msgr. Rojek suffered a fatal heart attack. His vigor however is still felt in the parish.
Some Staten Islanders may refer to the York Ave. mainstay as the ‘Working Girl Church.’ In 1988, Hollywood came to film the movie, The Working Girl. The Church was used as a wedding set in the film. Newly appointed Pastor Msgr. Leo Waszak humorously mentioned to the star Melanie Griffith: “If I perform the ceremony, you’re really married.” Msgr. Waszak previously served as a chaplain at West Point Military Academy. His untimely death within a year’s time was a shock to all.
St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, now with increasing fame, welcomed Fr. Joseph Tokarczyk as its newest head. Fr. Joe brought a fresh spiritual look to the parish, and a physical one too. He was in his mid-thirties when he took on the task. Fr. Tokarczyk was the first Marshal of the Pulaski Day Parade, leading a group of Polish Islanders up 5th Avenue. As more and more young Poles became inspired by his presence, they naturally flocked to the Church. Fr. Joe also worked diligently with a team of parishioners in setting up an English language school.
As the tide turned once again, Fr. Joe moved on, and in his place came Fr. Marek Suchocki. With a determined businesslike approach, Fr. Marek was keen to involve local politicians in expansion efforts, which included securing a parking lot for parishioners. But occasionally it happens, as in Fr. Marek’s case, some priests do resign and pursue a different vocation. Yet emerging as his replacement is the current Pastor, Fr. Jacek Wozny, who has proven to be a huge factor in bolstering parishioner confidence and sustainability in the wake of Fr. Marek’s departure.
Fr. Jacek, along with parishioners, was instrumental in securing relics of St. John Paul II by special permission from Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, who as we know was the former Pope’s right-hand man. The Saint’s relics sit in a specially designated chapel in the Church. And just last year, because of his Herculean efforts, Fr. Jacek was awarded the Gold Cross of Merit by Poland’s President, Andrzej Duda.
Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, came to celebrate the Anniversary Mass to a standing-room only crowd of parishioners. “Starting with the very moment of its inception, your parish has been characterized by heroic priests, fastidious religious, and dedicated parishioners committed to the same powerful dream,” he noted.
Flipping through the 100th Anniversary commemorative booklet created for the occasion, one is left simply awestruck seeing so many vintage photos of this Church’s undying tradition. The people, the togetherness, and the realm of religious mystery all intertwine into quite a remarkable life experience. The Polish expression, Sto Lat, was never more evident.
It's All About Ideology
Q: Israel and Palestine have been at this battle since my boy was in diapers, now he's getting to be an old man. I have a two-part question. First, why doesn't the United Nations step in to cut a long-lasting deal over the land? Second, why aren't the Palestinian people rising up to oust Hamas in favor of a democracy? - Frank, NY
A: Thanks for your inquiry on this, Frank. For starters, I think it's fair to say that the United Nations has proven to be a useless entity. Its purpose was to be a union of countries standing together for the betterment of the whole. But, time and time again, war across the globe has raged on and instead of saving lives, they sit in a room and...talk talk talk. Secondly, Palestinians are more or less subservient to Hamas, and to an extent, Hezbollah. These two 'H' groups are equivalent to cartels or mafia having a stronghold on them. That's the big problem. If the two 'H's' were taken out of the equation, there might be hope for a two-state solution. But here's where the true heart of the issue lies, a sort of double dilemma: Western minds may misunderstand the real causal factor of the Mid East turmoil: ideology. Western minds may tend to apply judgement in a conflict based on their own value system of right and wrong, good and evil. However, peoples in other regions of the world may have different value systems. What we see as definitively wrong, another society or group may not. Look at the Aztecs. Human sacrifice was a normal routine in society. To Cortes, who conquered them, such practice was outlandish. To the average Aztec however, the ritual was not deemed to be wrong in their value system. Now, the ultimate question is, shouldn't Natural Law, which is based on the commonality of human nature, be universal? Sadly, it's not, and that's why peoples can be outraged at the actions of other peoples, and vice versa. Personally, in the Mid East conflict, I would consider any degree of innocent civilian death to be clearly wrong. In addition to this viewpoint, I would also seek to learn the 'why's' behind why certain bands of people do what they do, to fully grasp the issue. Unfortunately, not too many observers take that second step to ask why. When it comes to reacting to an incident, we're not talking about lone wolves where it would be easy to understand why a single person committed a murderous rampage, possibly because they went nuts or were brought up badly, but rather, there could possibly be thousands if not millions of people whose value system may judge certain actions quite differently than we do. Unfortunately, most people tend to be on auto-pilot when judging moral and ethical issues in cultures outside of their own simply because they are living in a culture that has contributed to their belief system, case in point, Cortes v. the Aztecs, when it may serve their intellect better if they asked the 'why' question when evaluating actions caused by ideological differences. Can some of the world's ideologies, fueled by religion, be obstructive to peace? The answer might be yes, sadly. Although religion has many benefits, unfortunately it has a negative aspect as well. Because religion is an unproven mystery, anyone can gear their thoughts and actions to justify them with their faith. There is no definitive proven set of rules when it comes to religion, just what we think there should be. That's the big problem. So, as you know throughout history, we've seen people killing others in the name of religion, then sleeping soundly at night with no feeling of wrongdoing. How do you stop this protocol from happening? It may be almost impossible, again, given that religion is an unproven mystery, continuing to be interpreted in as many ways as imaginable. Perhaps only the evolution of time in mental advancement will elevate thinking so as to correlate spirituality with life instead of death, where human reasoning and rationale acknowledge the mystery of religion instead of being usurped by it. When you see an incident or a conflict, keep asking the question: Why do people do what they do? Overlooking the 'why' question is a terrible and ignorant mental dilemma, compounding the terribly tragic deaths occurring in war. So essentially what we are witnessing in the Mid East is a longstanding land-rights dispute by three groups of people, Israelis, Palestinians, and the hardliner H's, each having opposing value systems to varying degrees. That is a recipe for disaster anywhere it occurs. Having been to the region a few times, seeing its people and talking with them, I sincerely believe Israelis and Palestinians want to coexist peacefully. I grieve for both Israelis and Palestinians who are the real victims of these two extremist H-groups. Unfortunately, just looking at the history of this age-old conflict, only the evolution of time will tell if the commonality of cultural value systems outweigh the differences so as to share life in peace.
Top Town on the Vistula
September always brings back memories, perhaps egged-on by that famous See You In September song by the Paterson, NJ quartet, The Happenings. Or was it Art Garfunkel’s angelic voice singing the song line, September, I’ll remember, a love once new has now grown old…? Whatever the impetus, it’s hard not to recall my family’s trip back in September of 2001 to one of the craftiest towns in all of Poland, Kazimierz Dolny.
The town has long been a hotspot for painters, writers, musicians, and a host of artistically inclined individuals. What better place to witness Poland at its culturally expressive best? Arriving, visitors are greeted by troubadours on almost every corner, offering their latest composition in hopes of gathering needy donations. If you think you’ve stepped back in time, you practically have, as the town hasn’t changed much since enjoying its greatest prosperity in the 16th and 17th century due to the trade in grain conducted along the Vistula. In fact, the town is one of Poland’s official national Historic Monuments, as designated in September of 1994.
For history buffs, the town dates back to the 11th century, when Prince Casimir II the Just handed a Benedictine settlement in the area to a group of nuns from Krakow for them to take over. The nuns opened a convent and changed the settlement’s name to Kazimierz, in honor of the prince, and it became a town. Later on, the adjective Dolny (Lower) was added to distinguish the town from another town named Kazimierz. In the early 14th century, the town became a royal possession when King Władysław I the Short founded a parish church there. By the way, some people have interesting titles it seems!
All the pizazz ended however in 1656 when during the Deluge, Swedish troops burned and ransacked the town. The number of inhabitants declined, but King John III Sobieski tried to improve the situation by allowing Armenian, Greek, and Jewish merchants to settle there. The lucrative Vistula River trade came to an end though because there was no demand for Polish grains in Western Europe. By the late 18th century, as a result of the Partitions of Poland, Kazimierz Dolny was turned into a town of minor importance. Riches to rags, you might say.
After about 100 years of weed growth along the Vistula and not much ado in the town, affluent residents of Lublin and Warsaw, looking to escape city life, started to build properties in the area and by 1927, Kazimierz Dolny once again became a town ‘on the map.’
Ah, September of 1939. Another tragedy for the town of course occurred when the Nazis invaded. Of particular note was that the population at the time included about 1800 Jews, some 40 percent of the population. The Nazis forced labor on them in the form of road reconstruction and rock quarrying. Sadly, they were forced to pave roads using tombstones from the local Jewish cemetery. In 1942, those Jews who had survived were taken to the Belzec extermination camp, not too far away, where they were immediately gassed on arrival. It’s baffling at times, I find, to see such a transposition of scenery, in this case having the bliss of a peaceful river’s town clash side by side against the unthinkable horrors of war. Fewer than twenty of Kazimierz Dolny’s Jewish inhabitants are thought to have survived the war. After the Holocaust, a memorial wall was erected using pieces of tombstones from what was left in the Jewish cemetery.
Well, after a delicious bowl of bean soup at a local restaurant, my family and I meandered our way to the outskirts of town and spotted the ruins of a castle high on a hill. To get there, we opted to take the scenic route by climbing almost vertically to its summit via a series of switchback paths.
Once at the top, the view was absolutely astonishing, seeing the length of the Vistula snaking its way north and south. No architect could have planned a more suitable dwelling place than where this castle once stood. And, despite its fallen walls, as a testament to its heraldry and surrounding beauty, a stage was constructed right on the spot which played host to village concerts and theatrical performances.
Descending a narrow set of stone stairs expecting to see a damp, abandoned basement chamber, we instead entered the first of several artist dens in town. It was the gallery of Lech Szypa, a local Polish artist, who greeted us with his very meek and humble voice. All around us hung Szypa’s works using various mediums like oil, water, and charcoal. Big, bold differentiation of colors hung side by side with the monotonality of black and white adding to the mix. I took a fancy to one of his sketches of the town, pictured, and purchased it.
After touring the rest of the town at water’s edge, upon our exit, lo and behold, we spotted a procession of nuns in song, pictured, carrying the icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa. Incredible, they were from the same convent mentioned above that was established in the 11th century. The same place that started it all and gave this place its name. Indeed, looks like we actually did step back in time…
Migrants, Schemes, and High Heels
Q: Curious editorial on stewardship. My question is, are we being stewards of Christ in how we are reacting to the migrant crisis? I see violent protests in the streets of NYC aimed at these poor people. Is it their fault that they need to escape their homeland? Is our problem with immigration, or with morality? – Jeannie, NY
A: Thank you for your question, Jeannie. Just to clarify, I believe the editorial was focused on the failure of our political leaders to correctly manage the crisis after assuring us that everything was under control. It’s almost like the migrants are pawns in the process of politicalization, and that is the real tragedy. Actually, those political leaders may be the ones who could use a lesson in stewardship, but your point is well taken, and I believe such violent reactions from the public are partly borne out of this failure on the whole. Deep down I don’t think protesters hate migrants, rather, they hate the consequences of the failed process. Also, an important point to make concerns the distinction between migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees. Technically, the latter two categories involve people who have been persecuted by their government. Migrants, on the other hand, are people who just wish to live a better life. Difficulty comes when migrants claim asylum, a failsafe method to enter the U.S., which has been on the rise.
Q: Does the Am-Pol Eagle recommend any life insurance companies? My biggest concern is getting locked into a plan which turns out to be costly. – Regina, NY
A: Thanks Regina. I’m not sure the paper endorses any particular company. Businesses can run ads of course which you might see. Best bet might be to ask folks who are already enrolled with a company. Also check online reviews to see what customers say. Beware of companies though who’ll promise you a guaranteed rate never to increase. Make sure they guarantee the same coverage at the same rate. Scheming strategy with some insurance companies is to guarantee a fixed rate, but later to chisel away at some of the coverage parameters, telling you that if you still want a particular feature of your original plan, it’s been elevated to a better plan and you’ll have to pay extra for it.
Q: I was infuriated by a reader comment regarding Christian stewardship towards illegal aliens. Charity begins at home. What about our elderly, our veterans, our schoolchildren, our homeless, our orphaned? Simple question for your reader: How many immigrants are you housing in your home? – Krysia, NY
A: Thank you Krysia. It’s indeed a dicey issue as we are witnessing. Reviewing the question from our reader Jeannie, I believe the objective of her submission was to alert us, in the face of an obviously screwed-up political process, to be on guard not to fall victim morally and ethically ourselves in how we are reacting to the mishap. If the migrant process was planned properly, we probably wouldn’t see such explosive public reaction. As a side note, this reaction may be analogous to the January 2021 so-called ‘uprising’ at the White House. In both situations, normal everyday people were reacting violently to a result caused by politicians. Your points are all valid, but let’s focus the blame on these politicians.
Q: Fantastic! That’s the only word I can say! I had a wonderful time at the Fashion show. I actually stood next to Chaz Dean who was running around helping with the hairstyles. Wish he could’ve done my hair! I bumped into two strikingly gorgeous models with black eyeshadow talking in Polish and I’m kicking myself for not speaking to them. I definitely want to attend the Spring show when it’s here. Can you get me a pass again? Thank you so much! – Izabela, NY
A: Great to hear! You see, you’re right at home in the world of Polish stunningly scary beauty. Next step is for you to apply to be a femme fatale yourself so that our readers can come and bump into you and hold their mouths open in awe. I believe the next show is in April. I can try but I can’t guarantee availability of another pass. Don’t bite off all of your fingernails anxiously in the interim.
Good God, Goodbye Ellis Island
Q: Biden is claiming victory for a low unemployment rate, but wait another six months. Who’s going to hire U.S. citizens and pay legal wages when migrant workers can be hired for below minimum wage? – Tom, NY
A: Interesting observation, thanks Tom. It’s a joke. First of all, the unemployment rate not only reflects full-time positions but also temporarily-filled jobs, so it’s not entirely valid to claim victory when a slew of jobs will be short-lived. Second, I believe the so-called ‘benevolence’ being claimed by the Democrats allowing the influx of these migrants will actually backfire on them when the average blue-collar ‘Joe the Plumber’ has to declare bankruptcy and the money he thought he could make to allocate to his kid’s college education simply can’t be made due to blue-collar migrants being hired for dirt cheap wages. But let’s tell it like it is. Arguably, does the real reason the Dems are allowing these people into this country have anything to do with benevolence, or is it to grant them amnesty and voting rights, thereby increasing Democratic chances of winning elections? Somebody bring back the proper protocol of Ellis Island.
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Q: Concerning the identity of God you wrote of, it is revealed in Jesus so there is no mystery as you say. We know who Jesus is from Gospel accounts. It is not hidden. If we look at Jesus, we are looking at God. – Joanne, NY
A: Thanks for your feedback Joanne. It’s an argument one can try to make, however ultimately when analyzing the identity issue, the point is that even though systemically Jesus and God may be the same, we tend to favor talking about Jesus’ physical life as discussed in the Gospels and allocate that to identifying God. We seem to never want to talk about what exactly Godly life is. The reason why we identify with Christ and not with God may be because we can relate to Christ’s physical stories but we have trouble relating to the supernatural so we ditch any exploration of God because it’s too hard to figure out. Until something is figured out, it’s called a mystery.
Golden Autumn
Cooped-up, cranky, and kind of itching to take a break? Although summer is typically the time for vacation, in case you haven’t quite taken advantage of the season and still have a few vacation days left, there’s a summer supplement right around the corner. It’s officially known as The Golden Polish Autumn, and it’s probably one of the most eventful seasons in all of Poland, yet known only among the savviest of tourists.
This year, the already attractive Fall season begins on September 23 and ends on December 22, but within that date range lies the ‘Golden’ period, running from the very end of September through the first week of October. You need not be a hiker to appreciate the most noticeable spectacle when trees change their colors into pure brilliance and drop their leaves in preparation for winter. Feel free to go ahead and tumble among the fallen foliage like you did when you were a kid! While it lasts, this brief period turns Poland into a stirring and sensational mélange of colors, breathtaking vistas, and seasonal flavors. It’s the time when nature has its most elegant and alluring appeal.
Although days become shorter and temperatures begin to drop, you’ll find that you can actually do more because the roads are pretty empty. That’s because kids are back in school and most of the tourists have gone home. There’s nothing quite like driving your rental car down a deserted country road going to nowhere and ending up at a chicken farm, like I experienced once. Undiscoverable at any other time of year!
In addition to the countryside, this is the best time to venture into Poland’s forests, parks, and Baltic beaches. The Bieszczady Mountains, located in the southeast and not too far away from the Am-Pol Eagle-affiliated town of Rzeszów, and incidentally just a few stone-throws away from where my babci grew up, are synonymous with hiking, exploring, and interacting with wild nature. During Golden Autumn, the mountainsides glow with a fantastic palette of greens, yellows, and red hues echoed by the rusty yellow of mountain pastures.
Northwest of Warsaw lies the Tuchola Forest which is Poland’s second-largest forest. Like mushrooms? You’ll enjoy the art of picking as it is a long-practiced and honored tradition in Poland. Local lakes too offer solitude for those looking to fish or kick back and relax somewhere near the water. The sights and smells of the forest, lichen, and moss will be a perpetual reminder of your golden autumn spent in Poland.
On the topic of sights and smells, you won’t want to ignore a distinctively man-made experience in purposely stopping off on the country roadside when you see smoke and smell nature burning. Since it’s harvest time, many farmers practice a kind of ‘slash and burn’ technique to ready their fields for the next season. It may look primitive, but there’s actually a whole science behind it.
The Golden Polish Autumn is also a great time for a trip to the Polish seaside. The Baltic coast is stunningly magnificent at this time of year as crests of waves emerge nonchalantly from the sea’s surface, the sun shines in warmer tones, and sandy beaches still retain warmth from the heat of the recent summer.
How did that Paul Masson commercial go, starring Orson Welles? “We will sell no wine before its time.” The grape harvest is a perfect opportunity to visit a local vineyard. Poland may not rank at the top of the wine country destinations, but long winemaking tradition has been making a tremendous comeback. Polish wineries from the Lubusz and West Pomerania regions, through Lower Silesia, Małopolska, and Świętokrzyskie, all the way to the Podlasie, Lublin, and Podkarpacie regions are producing quality wines. Polish wines quickly make a name for themselves and surprise in blind taste-tests against rivals with much richer winemaking traditions. You’ll find that local winemakers are very welcoming and happy to share genuine Polish hospitality and passion for cultivating grapes and making delicious wines.
We all know food in Poland is already delicious. Now combine excellent recipes with fresh seasonal ingredients and it becomes hard to beat. During The Golden Autumn, cuisine is focused around root vegetables such as cabbage, pumpkin, potatoes, carrots, and beets. There is also a variety of fresh fruits including apples, pears, peaches, and plums. Restaurants serve up delicious meals using these fresh ingredients so be sure to intentionally order them!
Listen, don’t worry, the trip won’t break the bank. Because summer is the high season, prices for hotels and other attractions are at their peak then. But if you choose to visit Poland during The Golden Autumn, not only will you be experiencing the blissfulness described above, but you won’t have to pay much for it. There will also be more availability at hotels. When my family and I visited one September, we drove around the country and every hotel we found had available rooms.
The Golden Polish Autumn. What are you waiting for?
Failed Fireworks
OMG. For those who don’t know, that’s short for ‘Oh My God.’ If you viewed last month’s Macy’s Fourth of July fireworks show aired by NBC at about 9:25pm, perhaps you found your mouth open, eyes in unbelief, and a few wrinkles running across your forehead, as I did. Arguably, this year’s show might have been the most distasteful and downright dirty performance ever put on by the company and the network, in my opinion.
Of course, typically the show begins an hour or so before the actual fireworks are lit and more or less showcases musical numbers put on by guest performing artists. Before the actual fireworks finale, I thought I’d take a peek at what was on stage leading into the big event. Some woman-singer, or really more of a yeller, came on bearing more than enough cleavage and was, I guess, what the organizers felt was the best way to please the live crowd present as well as the millions who viewed it on television. I mean, it’s one thing for a woman to wear a dress having a low chest cut in good taste, but quite another to obviously advertise it in front of teenage kids while bouncing up and down during a song. Is this what drives our culture today?
Fortunately, the song was short and although some viewers might have been relieved to close their astonished open mouths, no sooner did the fireworks show start than did those troubled wrinkles probably begin to appear on foreheads. What happened to the fireworks?
Basically, this year’s anticipated fireworks show was a continuation of the musical on-stage acts preceding the show. Now and then the camera turned to the sky to glimpse the colorful pyrotechnic explosions, but terribly it was all about rap, hip hop, and 1950s rhythm and blues music, and oh, one or two notable traditional military songs were thrown in. I guess in the liberal democratic state of New York, they had to include a token sampling of traditional tunes so as not to neglect the minority of decent, patriotic, morally and ethically conscientious viewers retaining traditional values across the country. Gee, had I known what to expect, I would have preferred to use the time to clean out my cats’ litter box.
Sixteen and Stupid
Q: They just released the math and reading proficiency scores for adolescent school children and the results are worse than ever. They think that the pandemic caused it but this decline has been going on since before Covid came. It’s now a triple tragedy. Kids don’t connect to faith, they don’t want a calculator, and when was the last time a kid picked up a book to read? – Donna, NY
A: Bad news, Donna. This country may be headed backwards, specifically by ethnic segregation. I just saw a National Spelling Bee on one of the sports channels a couple of weeks ago. Out of the bunch of finalists, most if not all of them clearly came from families of distinctive ethnic nationalities like India, South Korea, and places in the Far East. Where were the WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) kids, in a manner or speaking? What does this mean? It may mean that first-generation immigrant families from afar are retaining the education discipline from their homeland’s spoiled-free culture and instilling this value into their children. It’s really not hard to understand when you consider that today’s ‘Americana’ kids are far too spoiled and caught up in fast-thrills and immediate rewards that anything long-term or requiring contemplation doesn’t seem appealing. Just look at the ethnic makeup of medical interns in hospitals. Again, not too many WASPs in there. Of course, America has always been made up of immigrants and kudos to any kid from any nationality that can rise to the top intellectually. The main point being, something unfortunate is happening to kids ensconced in U.S. culture over time, meaning the culture may be to blame. Let’s be real in proposing that the longer a kid gets influenced by Westernized values, the more likely those test scores will drop.
Q: Catching up on some back-issues of the paper and noticed a comment by Donna who mentioned that spiritual celebrations such as Easter are sadly forgotten about by parishioners within days when ‘normal’ life returns. I know that seminaries have been instructing that homilies now be more applicable to everyday life so the Church is fixing this problem. But your point about youngsters not being engaged is the biggest problem the Church faces and that too is being addressed. – Fr. Ryszard, NY
A: Thank you Fr. Ryszard. I wish I shared your optimism for these problems to be fixed. Plainly speaking, perhaps we need to jump into an average 16-year-old’s mind to realize that, sadly, probably very few, if any, teenagers find enthusiasm in the Mass. How can we expect teenagers, who are being bombarded on a gargantuan level by materialistic, hedonistic, and sexual secular values 24 hours a day, to somehow miraculously find favor in the opposite effect of the institution of the Mass? I’m not in favor of liberating theology in order to please these kids, but to reach these kids the Church needs to evolve out of what kids probably see as stagnant, age-old ritualism and into age-focused proactive charismatic growth. Christ’s message can still get across to kids, but it can’t be done with incense, colored vestments, and repetitive recitation from the Roman Missal, in my opinion.
In the Outfield
They both wore the Polish colors of white and red for the same major league baseball team. The predecessor wasn’t Polish, but the successor was. They both played their entire career with the same team. They both played left field. And oddly enough, and a rarity as well, they both were lefty batters but righty throwers. If you’re a baseball fan, you may have guessed who we’re talking about. The great Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski.
Stepping into our time machine, it was the fall of 1960 when 41-year-old Ted Williams played his last game, ending his career with a home run in his last at-bat. He wore number 9 on his Boston Red Sox team uniform; the number being officially retired in 1984. But by the time spring training came around a few months later in 1961, Williams took it upon himself to mentor his successor in left field who would have to learn the defensive tricks of how a baseball bounced off of the famous Green Monster wall at Fenway Park Stadium. That successor was a 21-year-old kid from a potato farm in Long Island named Carl Yastrzemski, sporting number 8 for the Red Sox.
Was it the consecutive number sequence on both team uniforms that did it, or perhaps the brilliance of Williams’ tutelage that made Yastrzemski the ideal replacement? Yastrzemski went on become an 18-time All-Star, the holder of seven Gold Gloves, a member of the 3,000 hit club, and the first American League player in that club to accumulate over 400 home runs. He is second on the all-time list for games played, Pete Rose being the first, and third for total at-bats. He is the team’s all-time leader in career RBIs, runs, hits, singles, doubles, total bases, and games played, and is third on the team’s list for home runs, behind David Ortiz and, you might have guessed who’s first…Ted Williams.
Okay, time for tough talk. Yastrzemski is still alive, retired, and probably eating plenty of placki and doing fine. But what about Williams? In his last years, after suffering a series of strokes and congestive heart failure, he died of cardiac arrest at the age of 83 in July, 2002. Though his Will stated his desire to be cremated and his ashes scattered in the Florida Keys, after a heated court battle it was proven that Williams later arranged a ‘pact’ with his son and daughter and chose to have his remains…frozen cryonically. Huh?
Cryonics is a process of low-temperature freezing, usually at -320°F, and storage of human remains with the speculative hope that bodily resurrection may be possible in the future. The body of Ted Williams presently stands upright in a liquid nitrogen-filled 9-foot cylinder, in a cryonics facility in Arizona. It was brought there immediately after his death. Part of the procedure involved decapitation, and Williams’ head is actually in a separate smaller cylinder next to his body. The purpose of freezing bodies cryonically, as proponents say, is to halt decay and preserve the body in as intact a form as possible, in the hope that someday medicine will be able to cure the dead person’s illnesses and reverse the aging process. When that day comes, the person can be thawed out, resuscitated, and restored to a second youthful, vigorous life. And you thought Frankenstein was far-fetched.
However, for the morally and ethically minded among us, one cannot help but to hone-in on the main issue of this story. That being, life and death. Incidentally, although there is some degree of commonality in morals and ethics, technically one need not be moral to be ethical, and vice versa. Additionally, this controversial issue is presented to neither condone nor condemn it, but rather to expose opposing viewpoints.
Although Williams was an atheist, such a stance on spirituality may be beside the point. For example, let’s assume that a thousand years from now, modern medicine finds a way to cure an illness, stop the aging process and, as stated above, successfully resurrect a dead body. Can we be that confident that, once alive again, physical life would continue fruitfully and even be eternal? It’s one thing to bring a body back to life, and perhaps another to keep it alive. Arguably though, a thousand years ago, nobody ever dreamed of a heart bypass, liver transplant, or stereotactic radiosurgery. Today, we prolong lives all the time using these methods. So, to be fair, it is plausible to assume that one day science may find a way to perpetuate everlasting physical life. In theory, nobody will die.
Flipping off the secular and onto the spiritual opens up another entirely troublesome scenario for traditional religious foundational beliefs. Yet, had it not been for cryonics, perhaps we’d never be forced to explore the following questions. Specifically, now that he’s dead, where is Ted Williams’ soul? Traditional religious teachings of the global world tell us that, after death, a soul goes to such places as heaven, hell, purgatory, or is reincarnated, etc., to name the most common. But what happens if cryonics revives Williams’ now soul-less body? Does his soul leave heaven, hell, purgatory, or another host venue and rejoin his body? Or, would Williams be walking around on Earth while his soul remains elsewhere? Frightfully, it seems nobody, especially in the religious community, wants to broach the topic. Might our silence be due to our culture’s spiritual complacency in assuring ourselves that we have ‘all the right answers’ to the mysteries of life and death so there is no need to entertain the topic? Hmm…
Said Ted’s daughter, “Cryonics was like a religion, something we could have faith in, no different from holding the belief that you might be reunited with your loved ones in heaven.” Sadly a subject segregated to the ‘outfield,’ the moral and ethical implications of cryonics may very well never evolve our thinking, regardless of whether it’s right or wrong, simply because we don’t want to think about it. How many other controversial topics do we sweep under the carpet?
Ted Williams may have paved the way for Carl Yastrzemski in hardball, but little did we know, his preserved body and head, along with the other 207 preserved bodies at the Arizona facility, might have given us an opportunity to dig deeper into the existential meaning of life and death.
Cranks and Kisses
On the first of July, the 110th edition of the Tour de France will hit the country's storied streets to the tune of 2,115 miles from start to finish. Below is an array of readers' top Tour questions and answers accumulated over the years to supplement your 'chenin blanc' when catching the coverage on TV.
Q: I read that Maciej Bodnar used a 60-tooth crank on his bike to finish runner-up in the time trial race against the clock. Was that legal? - Robbie, New York
A: Perfectly legal Robbie, thanks. The only things that officials inspect to comply with the Tour de France rules are bike weight and wheel circumference.
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Q: Were any of the Poles riding in the race ever kicked out for drug taking like Lance Armstrong was? - Bob, South Carolina
A: Negative Bob. Poles have had the distinction of being key components of Tour teams and doing so cleanly. Incidentally, Armstrong's doping was not unique, rather he was simply caught doing what unfortunately many other riders did to some extent.
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Q: How much did you eat day to day during your racing career in France? - Joan, New York
A: Thanks for the gastronomical inquiry Joan! Let's see, a couple of croissants upon boarding the bike for breakfast, and after six hours in the saddle with lunch being the big meal of the day in France, it was not uncommon to begin with fougasse bread and soup, followed by salad, and then a bowl of pasta mixed with herbs and a side show of greens. Camembert cheese and red wine was definitely the highlight of the meal, followed of course by dessert.
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Q: Do you still have the bike you raced with back in the 1980's? - Stephen, New York
A: As part of protocol, bikes were typically given to charitable organizations to be auctioned off which was a nice gesture. Bits and pieces of mine may very well be hanging from someone's living room wall right now. I have our team jersey though, forever in my custody!
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Q: Who was the very first Pole to stand out at the Tour de France? - Frank, New York
A: Thanks for your question Frank. That's got to be Lech Piasecki, who held the fastest time on opening day at the 1987 Tour until being beaten by a Czech. Piasecki is remembered for yet another feat, that being his insistence that a supply of Italian bicycles be given to Poland in exchange for his signature on a racing contract for an Italian team. Nice tactic!
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Q: How did you rank among other racers on your team? Did you get to know any of the stars? - Joanne, Pennsylvania
A: In my early days I rode alongside Jean-Francois Bernard, who would later become the French iconic star. As far as rank, I was just another sacrificial slave as were 90 percent of all riders. Each team had upwards of two dozen guys, and although highly paid, all bore the brunt of the effort in helping the team leader. Today, rider autonomy has greatly expanded and although Rafal Majka, for example, is technically a slave as well, he is a star in his own right.
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Q: What is VO2 Max and how much did Eddie Borysewicz teach the team about it? - John, New York
A: John, VO2 Max is the measure of how your body processes oxygen during exercise. The great 'Eddie B' first introduced everyone to the method right after coaching the U.S. Olympic team. The idea is to develop a high threshold of oxygen intake at the point just before you cease input and begin exercising anaerobically, or without oxygen.
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Q: Did you ever quit a race? - Tom, New York
A: Never Tom, yay! The saddest moment for any rider is having to abandon a race. I remember Bruno Wojtinek, a Polish-French rider who my sister told me about and I had wanted to meet, pulled to the side of the road at the '87 Tour and abandoned. He was completely spent and had no fuel left in his tank.
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Q: Michal Kwiatkowski knows how to win bike races and kisses too! – Izabela, New York
A: I agree Iza! He held the Tour de France white jersey of Best Young Rider for several days, just lost it to a Colombian mountain climber. Not bad for a 22-year-old Polish pro cycling rookie though! You’re next in line to kiss him my friend…
Protocol in the Midnight Garden
“The yard is nothing but a fence, the sun just hurts my eyes somewhere. It must be time for penitence, gardening at night, it’s never worked. Gardening at night, gardening at night…” Alternative rock ‘n roll fans may recognize those lyrics to the catchy R.E.M. band song Gardening at Night. And as it’s June, perhaps a perfect tune to whistle as you plant your seedbeds! Not sure about you, but I’ve actually tried to garden at night using my backyard spotlight in the peacefulness and tranquility of the moonlit hours around midnight. That’s until a nosey neighbor started watching from a second-floor window. So much for the blissfulness of the moment.
Browsing a few clips in the newspaper from ages past, I discovered that some folks seem to have a knack for gardening. Authors of some of the articles traded successes with failures, citing soil conditions and water levels as probable factors affecting their crops. It never fails though, as I silently agreed with one writer who tried growing practically every tomato plant in the book with no luck. I too have experimented with these plants, which look so pretty when they’re about 10 inches tall, but in order to yield, the plant must be big, and if disease suddenly strikes, you’ve just wasted a sizeable chunk of real estate in your garden. Though always finding success with Juliet tomatoes, I lost track of how many other stricken varieties I had to uproot. Hey, why go to Vegas when your summer garden can be a roulette wheel?
Disease, insects, drought, and even too much sun, shade, and rain are the unknowns every gardener must accept. Some plants won’t make it, but the more you realize the risk, the better your garden turns out. I like picking up unique rarities if spotted at the nursery, such as chamomile and apple mint perennials. Typically, perennials have ‘built-in’ safeguards to ensure they grow year after year. It’s only June and I’ve already harvested an oregano plant which was planted ten years ago. Perfect for my weekly homemade pizza pie.
My uncle Stanley was a big gardener. Like the five loaves and two fishes biblical story, all I can remember from family visits to his home in summer was the never-ending miraculous abundance of straight-eight variety cukes coming out of his basket and into our hands. I mean, he had the entire back side of his home adjacent to a garage, which faced westward, trellised for cucumber plants. It was a delicious jungle.
Let’s not forget about flowers. Since you’re getting your fingers dirty anyway, why not reach for some seeds of the Corn Poppy. It’s quite hardy and requires minimal care, taking root even in shady spots. Get ready for its bright red flower blooms from spring to fall. Or, reach for Siberian Iris seeds. This extremely cold-hardy plant produces white, yellow, pink, purple, and blue flowers all the way through summer’s end.
The Trollius europaeus, or Globe flower is another spectacle waiting to be seen. This tightly bunched, bright yellow flower-producing plant is actually a member of the buttercup family. Commonly found along riverbanks, this little gem requires really wet soil to thrive so keep checking the soil if planted in full sun.
I recently bought a deodorant that one reviewer wrote smelled like baby throw-up. Good thing it was a lone review and untrue. Speaking of, Baby’s Breath is probably the longest blooming flower seed you can get. Marked by its tiny white flowers, this sun-loving plant continues to bloom until the first frost.
Lastly, since we began with the subject of gardening at night, I continue to seek evidence of the ‘gardening by the moon’ protocol. Unless I’m mistaken, old farming folklore says absolutely nothing about planting vegetable seeds in your garden on particular days depending on the moon’s phase, but some farmers swear by this method.
A glance at a moon-growing calendar finds certain days in May and June as being entirely off-limits for planting seeds. In fact, the suggestion conveyed seems to tell people not even to step foot into their garden on these days, but to do transplanting and weeding instead. Alternately, the calendar points to good days, many in fact right next to bad days, as being excellent days for planting seeds.
Allegedly, it appears, when a full moon is out, its force draws a buried seedling to emerge more vigorously, resulting in a healthier plant and thus a more bountiful harvest. Plant your green beans on a specific day, so say the soothsayers, and you’re bound to harvest hoards of veggies when the time comes months later.
Having no training in rocket science, I figure that a typical string bean seed, for example, takes 7-14 days to sprout, depending on moisture and temperature. Within that one-to-two-week period, the moon will typically go through several good day and bad day phases. Logically then, what difference would it make what day you planted the seed on? I wonder what the tried and true farmer protocol has to say about all of this. A whole lot of lunar-tic gardening?
Another Q Trio
Q: Another day, another shooting. Too bad the suspect died being that Texas has a death penalty. I would have pulled the switch on this lunatic. – Izabela, NY
A: Sadness yes. I don’t share your solution though. Simply killing someone because of a crime seems like a lost opportunity for society to evolve its maturity. Imagine if this ‘lunatic’ could have been rehabilitated and his soul saved, done so by our church-going culture? Ironically, the same folks who’d kneel down in prayer on Sunday find no discord to pull the switch on Monday. Go figure.
Q: Do you recommend brushing a cat’s teeth and if so can I use Colgate? – Maryanne, unknown state
A: Yes and no Maryanne. It’s definitely a good idea to brush a cat’s teeth to cut down on tarter, plaque, gingivitis, and periodontal disease. Once those maladies happen, not only are the teeth in jeopardy but the internal organs get affected as well. It’s a tough job though, some cats open wide and allow their teeth to be brushed, while others require themselves to be wrapped in a towel to keep from going berserk! Never ever use human toothpaste, or practically everything else for that matter, on an animal. Animals have quite a different physiology and require specific treatments, in this case, enzymatic toothpaste.
Q: Do you have an update about Professor Poplawski? I am curious to know more about his opinion of God. Do you think scientists like him believe in God? What is your opinion please. – Alan, NY
A: Thanks Alan. He recently was interviewed by the Daily Star in the United Kingdom and further elaborated on his black hole theory. I think we’d need more room in this paper to dig into that though! As far as I can tell, based on his interview with the Am-Pol Eagle back in September of 2017, he still offers the question, how do we define God? While Poplawski, a theoretical physicist, sees God in the workings of the Universe, you may see God differently, and I too. My own opinion is that God’s true identity is never a topic of interest because mainstream religions prefer to equate God with their founders, messiahs, and prophets such as Jesus, Buddha, and Mohammed being that these people were factual figures. That’s perfectly fine, but there’s still the higher question of who or what God exactly is? In my humble opinion, I think the film Star Wars comes the closest to identifying what God is. I believe God is not a detached entity like we think, but rather as portrayed in the film, an all-powerful force for creative good already existing in absolutely everything. I can relate to Poplawski’s opinion.
The Painting and The Person
We’ve seen them hundreds of times. On prayer cards, wall hangings, and key chains. There’s even a life-sized image in the Church of St. Stanislaus Kostka in Staten Island, painted by its pastor Fr. Jacek Wozny, an amateur artist no less! We can relate to the nun, but where did the painting come from, how many hands has it been in, and, as we’ve seen various renditions of the image, how do we know which one is true-blue?
As Divine Mercy Sunday is upon us, let’s take a peek at the real, original painting directed by the person who actually did the witnessing, Saint Maria Faustina.
First, a quick crash course on Faustina. She was born Helena Kowalska in 1905 near Łódź, Poland, the third of ten children. Her father was a carpenter, and the family was pretty poor. Little Helena first felt a calling to the religious life when she was just seven years old, while she attended an Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. She wanted to enter a convent after she completed school, but her parents wouldn’t let her. When the adolescent Helena reached the age of sweet-sixteen, she went to work as a housekeeper to help support the family.
In 1924, at the age of eighteen, Helena went to a dance in Łódź and while there, had a vision of a suffering Jesus. She then went to the Łódź Cathedral, where according to her testimony, Jesus instructed her to depart for Warsaw immediately and to enter a convent. Without asking her parents’ permission and with no baggage, Helena took off for Warsaw. Upon arrival, she entered the first church that she saw and ultimately befriended a woman who gave her a room.
The poor and meek Helena inquired at several convents in Warsaw but was visually turned down each time, in one case being told that “we don’t accept maids here” due to the ragged clothing she wore. Nice attitude, huh? Finally, after several weeks of searching, the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy decided to give Helena a chance. In April 1926, at the age of 20, Helena was clothed in the habit and received the religious name of Sister Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament. Her parents eventually accepted their daughter’s fate, one that wouldn’t last for long, and were present when Helena made her vows.
After bouncing around a couple of convents working as a cook-nun, Sister Faustina arrived in the congregation’s convent in Płock, Poland in 1930. But the young nun developed a mild tuberculosis and was sent to rest for several months in a nearby farmhouse owned by the congregation. After her recovery, she returned to Płock.
Getting back to the image, in her diary Sister Faustina wrote that on a Sunday night while she was in her room, Jesus appeared wearing a white garment, with red and white rays emanating from his heart, and told her: “Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: ‘Jezu, ufam Tobie’ or ‘Jesus, I trust in You.’ I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and then throughout the world. I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish.”
There was just one problem. Faustina didn’t know how to paint. She asked some of the nuns at the convent, but nobody knew how to paint either. Hopeless, but having the image burned into her mind, three years passed until the vision would become visual.
In 1933, Sister Faustina was transferred to a convent in the Polish town of Wilno, now modern-day Vilnius, Lithuania. While there, she met Eugeniusz Kazimirowski who was a professor of art at the University there and who had painted several other religious images. Faustina gave Kazimirowski specific instructions about the appearance and the posture of the image she saw and regularly visited the painter’s workshop. However, the final painting didn’t cut the mustard with Faustina. She hesitantly accepted it, but later wrote that Jesus told her that it wasn’t important for the picture to be beautiful since true beauty would be the blessing that he would bestow upon people venerating the image. Not sure about you, but personally I would have insisted that another painting be made to get it right!
After its completion in 1934, the Kazimirowski painting first hung in the Bernardine Sisters’ convent near the church of St. Michael in Wilno. In her diary, Faustina wrote that Jesus told her that the proper place for the painting was in a church, not in the hallway of a convent. The first public exposition of the Kazimirowski painting was in April 1935, at the Church of the Gate of Dawn in Wilno.
By 1940 though, the Soviets moved in and annexed Wilno, now Vilnius, and the surrounding region, only to find the Nazis moving in one year later. Good thing that the painting had been relatively unknown being that Hitler went nuts snatching up hoards of paintings and fine art, as you know. Then in 1944, the Soviets once again took control of the city and in 1948 closed St. Michael’s Church. The painting remained in the abandoned church collecting dust until 1951. Can you believe it?
Then, out of the blue, two women from Vilnius bought the painting in a shady deal with a street security guard and concealed it in their attic for several years. Later, they gave it to a parish priest at Vilnius’ Dominican Church of the Holy Spirit for safekeeping, and news of the painting trickled from priest to priest, eventually reaching the ears of Faustina’s priest-friend who alerted another friend to move the painting to a church in Belarus.
There, it was displayed and venerated by local parishioners, but oh no, here we go again. In 1970, the Soviets closed that church and used it as a storage warehouse. What? They left the painting hanging on the warehouse wall, where former parishioners continued to venerate it in secret.
In 1986, a savvy ex-parishioner with a keen eye arranged for the painting to be replaced by a copy and the original to be secretly transported back to the Church of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius, where it underwent a restoration that significantly changed its appearance, beautifying it. It was then displayed and venerated in the church. But as the years went by, the once-restored and beautified painting had deteriorated because of exposure. So in 2003, the painting was professionally restored to its original pre-beautified look. In 2005, it was moved to its current location, above the main altar in the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Vilnius.
Sister Maria Faustina died at the age of 33 on October 5, 1938, in Kraków. In her diary, she wrote that Jesus said he wanted the Divine Mercy image to be “solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter Sunday; that Sunday is to be the Feast of Mercy.”
Q Trio
Q: Very good story about Saint Faustina and the Divine Mercy. I read some of her diary but to be honest, I was surprised that she experienced some of her visions with worry and doubt. I think I would be left in awe if I spoke to Jesus! – Dorothy, NJ
A: Thank you very much! It’s miraculous that the original painting survived so many threats and that cooler minds prevailed. I understand what you’re saying about Faustina’s diary and would offer caution when approaching it. Since we are dealing with written words about a mystery ‘post facto,’ we need to be objective and consider all options, in my opinion, so as to arrive at an authentic explanation. There are of course very profound revelations and faith-enriched encounters that Faustina wrote about which we can admire, but, again being objective, there are also instances that do not seem rationally logical. My biggest puzzlement comes from certain instances where she wrote that Jesus told her that he was not happy with some of her decisions, and, that after speaking to Mary, Faustina became annoyed and questioned her own faith. I agree with you and would probably feel the same awestruck bliss after seeing and speaking to Jesus and Mary, even once let alone on multiple occasions as Faustina wrote. So, what then can we conclude? Let’s consider three options, again post facto. First, that the content of Faustina’s diary is entirely accurate and what she saw, heard, and felt was true. Second, that inaccurate content was later added to the diary by other people, perhaps the nuns in the convent or a priest that she confided in, to enhance Faustina’s writings and bolster faith. I mention this not accusingly, but realistically because history tells us that there is a natural tendency for stories of all faiths to be ‘doctored up’ a bit to get a spiritual message across being that faith itself is not based in absolute fact therefore slightly modifying a mystical story isn’t felt with too much guilt. Or third, that Faustina was not psychologically sound of mind and convinced herself that she had these visions. I am leaning towards option two but it’s quite an interesting study endeavor and is sure to sharpen your faith.
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Q: Wouldn’t it be nice if all Polish men shaved their mustaches off? I can’t stand a man with a mustache! My half-Polish-American ex-boyfriend from Cheektowaga used to have this thick bushy bristly thing and every time we kissed I used to get a sore rouge cheek. Are they trying to look like Lech Walesa or something? Cut off that thing above your upper lip, was what I used to tell him. – Jeannie, NY
A: That’s a tall order Jeannie. Before proposing the endeavor, you might want to take a poll of exactly how many men in Poland sport, as you call it, a thick bushy bristly thing, above their upper lip. Not to pry, but was it because of the mustache that he is now your ex? Sorry to hear about the cheek, and the culprit from Cheektowaga.
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Q: I enjoyed Holy Week events but I wonder if we are approaching it too routinely. I agree when you wrote that the events might be forgotten about within days, now that Easter is over. I feel happy to celebrate Easter but sad that life has returned to regular mode. – Donna, NY
A: Thanks for focusing in, and good point. Unfortunately, too many Catholics are living their faith in cursory fashion according to a calendar. They decide to ‘do their duty’ and celebrate on Easter Sunday, but by Tuesday, religion is the furthest thing from their minds. Doesn’t faith deserve a lot more attention than one hour on a Sunday? I recall a dinner chat with two priest friends who, though offering excellent homilies each Sunday, affirmed that their sermons didn’t make it past the church exit door. Organized religion does make an effort to keep people engaged, but in my opinion it doesn’t do enough to move the Gospel message off of itself and onto people. It seems to almost selfishly declare that they are the purveyors for the Gospel, when ideally people should be thinking, acting, and living the Gospel day in and day out in their secular lives, not just once a week for an hour in a building. So far that’s not happening.
Godfather Pole and the Civil War
History buffs will know that the American Civil War began exactly 162 years ago last month on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces opened fire on the Union-held Fort Sumter, located in the middle of the harbor in Charleston, South Carolina. By the way, if you haven’t visited Charleston, you’re missing out on quite a visually stunning town. A civil war is undoubtedly always the worst kind of battle, pitting citizen against citizen. But how many others, in today’s lingo let’s call them ‘green-card holders’ for lack of a better term, fought in the Civil War, specifically Poles?
A rough estimate found that about five thousand Polish immigrants fought for the North’s Union army while only about one thousand fought for the South’s Confederate army. That’s a huge difference in number. What, Poles didn’t like the heat of the south or something? No, that’s not quite the reason for the off-balance.
Speaking of heat, as you probably know, Union stronghold New York City was then a hot spot for Polish immigrants. One guy among them seemed to have a bit of influential power, and you wouldn’t be far off likening him to the character of Vito Corleone in the film, The Godfather. Minus the crime element of Corleone though, Włodzimierz Krzyżanowski was probably the biggest impetus for fellow NYC Poles to join the Union army. He basically went from tenement to tenement recruiting Polish immigrant men who might have felt obligated given Krzyżanowski’s charisma.
Interesting side note in that I once took the opportunity to explore one of those tenement buildings in downtown NYC, the same overcrowded building where immigrant Poles lived in the late 1800s followed by immigrant Italians in the early 1900s, sneaking in an otherwise keyed-entry main door left ajar by a painting crew. Many features, such as worn-out stone steps going from floor to floor and rusted decaying oil-filled lanterns are still present.
Turning back the clock even further on Krzyżanowski, while in Poland he had taken part in the failed 1848 uprising against Prussia and soon after fled to the U.S. where he worked as a civil engineer. Marrying a Union general’s daughter, he moved to Washington, D.C. and got rich in a business he started. By that point, Krzyżanowski was a pretty powerful guy who had a lot of influence on the Republican Party.
After the Fort Sumter incident, President Lincoln called for volunteers to fight, and Krzyżanowski, being a Republican and big fan of Lincoln, enlisted as a private. Although of lowly rank, as mentioned above Krzyżanowski was so influential that he was able to recruit big numbers of Polish immigrants, doing so first in Washington, D.C., then in New York City. Collectively, all of these Polish men from the two cities actually became one of the first official companies in the Union Army. How about giving Krzyżanowski a promotion for this accomplishment? He soon became colonel of the 58th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment which is listed in the official Army Register as the Polish Legion.
Krzyżanowski and his legion went on to fight in several battles and eventually President Lincoln made the Pole a brigadier general. Krzyżanowski’s other claim to fame may have been the valiant effort he made at Gettysburg when he led his men on a game-changing counterattack after being crushed by Confederates the previous day.
Crunching the numbers stated above on the Polish presence in the Civil War, it’s worth mentioning that many immigrant Poles simply had no allegiance to either North or South. There are records indicating that a large number of them who were located in the Confederacy actually flipped sides and joined the Union because they were being oppressed. It’s not hard to understand why Poles or any other foreigners would feel uncomfortable given the ultra-conservative, perhaps some downright discriminatory, rules and regulations practiced by typical mid-1800s southerners. Remember that a foreigner in mid-19th century America was not exactly welcomed with open arms, and so these Poles probably had to endure some degree of bigotry. Additionally, when the Union captured Confederate Poles, these Poles were offered two choices: either swear allegiance to the Union and fight, or rot in prison.
Of course, there are many more inspiring stories of the Poles who fought in the Civil War, only time will tell of them…
3 Questions
Q: Was the LGBTQ+ community’s application to march in the NYC Pulaski Day parade accepted? I read that the Staten Island St. Patrick’s Day parade committee rejected their application to march once again. This has created a big uproar. – Suzie, NY
A: Thanks for your question Suzie. I am not sure of the application process for the NYC Pulaski Day parade and have no idea which groups applied. I imagine any group would have to have a Polish nexus to start with though. Yes, I read about the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day parade decision. As you know, I prefer not to take sides in a debate, but rather offer fair objectivity. I think the reason given for the rejected application is that the St. Patty’s Day parade supports Catholic teachings. Hmm, let’s see, if LGBTQ+ people are being rejected because their sexual orientation is contrary to Church teachings, shouldn’t any Catholic marchers who use contraception, incidentally the latest statistic indicates that 80% of Catholics use contraception, be banned since contraception is against Church teaching? Gee, how about banning all those Catholic marchers who are divorced, for the same reason? Hopefully one day Mankind will evolve enough to realize that a relationship with God is primarily personal, secondarily institutional, and therefore marching under a spiritual banner should reflect that personal, not institutional, relationship. Sadly, as much as they seek to do good, and they indeed do good, all religious institutions of the world make the mistake of wanting to control this relationship. Guidance, rules, and regulations are necessary and can be offered, but essentially spirituality is personal.
Q: Where do you draw the line if a girl doesn’t respond to your emails the way you’d hope she would? – Tommy, NY
A: Depends on what you’re hoping for my friend. Okay let’s assume you’re trying to get to know her for starters, and perhaps you have some romantic ideas down the road, that’s a typical scenario but may not apply in your case. Reasonable protocol might be to gauge the degree of reciprocation, that is, if you get zero response, she doesn’t want to know you. If she circumvents your talking points, she might like to know you but is steering clear of certain areas that she’s not interested in. Proper protocol however, by both parties, is communicating with courtesy. Avoidance, and ‘tact’ as it’s sometimes called, is low class, in my humble opinion. Show courtesy, then move on to better horizons.
Q: I am a high school sophomore and hopeful future computer science major in college and want to pursue a career in IT and website design. I Googled you and see you have a website and I’d like to ask if you have the ability to figure out demographics from people who visit your site? I would be curious to know the statistics of where these people come from because I would like to design my own website but want to tailor it to certain regions around the world. – Ken, NY
A: More power to you Ken, wow! Great career goal, keep us posted. The answer is yes, my website host provides its users with the ability to pinpoint, via IP address, locations of all visitors to a website. Traffic statistics are provided in real-time and indicate each visitor’s unique IP address, how many visits they make, what pages they accessed, how many links they clicked, and so on. The IP address is the most revealing. Typically most IP addresses are known as ‘static’ and are permanently assigned to a visitor’s computer. These are easily run through a public IP address locater and voilà…you see the location of the visitor. Good luck Ken!
Big Brouhaha
The ongoing big news on the social front is the proposed zoning change that the Felician Sisters in Enfield, CT have recently filed for in regard to their massive 26-acre convent complex located at 1297 Enfield St. And boy has it turned into a big brouhaha.
In a nutshell, the Sisters, who have seen a substantial decline in vocations, have proposed converting their huge Enfield convent into public housing, specifically some 335 livable apartments as a mix of senior and family dwellings.
It’s a non-profit project that can have a community kitchen and other shared spaces. Some proponents argue that the Sisters’ benevolent proposal makes perfect sense since Enfield doesn’t have too many small living units costing less than a single-family home, perfect for young people and couples just getting started in life. The proposal would be a glorious example of sacrifice for the betterment of the community. However, not to be a sourpuss, but this issue is a perfect example of what we talk about a lot in this column, that being ideality versus reality.
Opponents argue that, although the proposal is a highly noble idea and seemingly good example to set, changing the zoning on the property could spell disaster in the future. If changed, the new zoning would remain as a permanent fixture on the land. Eh, therefore what would happen, given the ever-increasing sell-offs and destruction of Catholic properties due to their financial struggles, if the nuns ever had to sell the newly-zoned property?
Oh yeah, look around, we all know too well what would happen. Some money-grubbing developer will likely come in and level everything to the ground, then construct either some kind of overcrowded shopper’s mart, 4-family housing units squeezed into 1-family spaces, or a colossal housing structure for who knows, perhaps undocumented illegal immigrants.
A statistical check confirms that the town of Enfield already meets its 10% low-income affordable housing minimum requirement. The proposal, opponents argue, would increase traffic on all of the streets in the vicinity, potentially increasing accident, injury, and death rates to some degree. Also, the old fashioned nostalgic charm and character of Enfield St. in particular might be lost.
If the land deal goes through, its lease would be for 99 years, but again, there’s no stopping a sooner sale should the Felicians have to pack up and leave. It appears the Enfield Planning and Zoning Commission may also have some concerns, citing traffic, parking, density, emergency services, and sewer potential issues.
Although the babki tasted good, this may be proof-positive that we live in a real, as opposed to an ideal, world.
Tough Luck for a Beatleman
A couple of weeks ago, it was suggested that you pack your ice skates before boarding yourself and your luggage en-route to see Poland’s winter wonderland. Well, don’t pack them just yet. As it is dead-winter right now, it’s a perfect time to profile a local Polish American who reveled in this season on the ice. Let’s first tell the tale of the tape.
The date was early August 2009. It was about 5pm on the big clock as I sat on the sofa watching the five blades of a wickered Savannah ceiling fan lull me to sleep. Then, the phone rang. “6pm, the Staaten restaurant, look for a card with your name on it at the front desk” said the voice, as images of Watergate and Deepthroat danced through my mind. However, it was none other than the king of Staten Island’s NY Polonia, Walter Stojanowski, graciously inviting me to the event. I accepted.
Arriving clean shaven and probably with too much cologne, I was immediately confronted by an entourage of white and red sashed ‘friends of Polonia.’ A smile here, a smile there. With my suit jacket formally buttoned, I made my way to my seat. Nobody knew me, but I wasn’t surprised being that back then I was pretty much of a novice newspaper columnist, a stranger in a strange land of Polonia that I was learning about one step at a time, eh, literally.
That’s because after the pageant’s dinner, I spotted a young girl sitting solo at a table in the distance, and if I recall, a certain tune by the great Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin, yes here’s a chance to have his correct full name in print, beckoned guests to take to the floor in dance. You can figure out what happened. I asked, she accepted.
Her name was Alexandria Niechcielska-Riordan, and at only 19 years of age then, full of future ambition. I later got to chatting with her mother who also attended the event, and had to interrupt because I didn’t know who ‘Zsa Zsa’ was that she was referring to. “One of our little ones tried to pronounce Alexandria but all that could be mouthed was Zsa Zsa, so the name stuck,” said the mom.
Back on the dance floor, myself having two ‘left feet’ was embarrassing indeed, however, Ms. Niechcielska-Riordan provided ‘how-to’ instruction right on the spot. Our heights were a perfect match-up; she was about five or six inches shorter than me, you know, just like Bogart and Bergman in Casablanca.
Sunset hit and the party was over, but not before I had pretty much mentally penned my next newspaper column. It was all about Zsa Zsa. Fourteen years later, I now find myself reflecting and eager to offer an update on the girl who taught me how to one-step-two-step the polonaise. And I should have figured it out; somebody with that kind of foot know-how would be the perfect ice skater. Turns out she was, and more so.
Zsa Zsa grew up in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia. When she was old enough to compete in figure skating competitions, she did so representing the Skating Club of New York. And it was none other than the famous Elaine Zayak who coached her, doing so at the Ice House skating facility in Hackensack, New Jersey. Zsa Zsa placed high enough to qualify for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and earned a spot to represent the United States internationally in the Novice category at the Aegon Cup in the Hague, Netherlands.
A few years later, she decided to compete for Poland as a member of Unia Dwory skating club in Oświęcim, then later changing clubs to represent Warsaw’s RSK Marymont skating club. Due to International Skating Union, or ISU, rules, she was restricted from competing internationally for a full year even though she placed high enough in the Polish Figure Skating Championships to represent the country internationally.
She eventually had her international debut in the late winter of 2008 and the following year placed 34th in the prestigious Junior World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. But as they say in sports, less than one percent of all who try to make it to the big-time end up making it. Unfortunately, Zsa Zsa fell into the majority. However, not all was lost.
Skating alongside Olympic Gold Medalists such as Oksana Baiul, Kristi Yamaguchi, Nancy Kerrigan, Katerina Witt, Nicole Bobeck, and Tara Lipinski, Zsa Zsa was a guest skater who auditioned and was chosen to skate in the popular Diva’s On Ice show at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, New Jersey for two consecutive years.
Zsa Zsa was also asked to appear on Saturday Night Live in December 2010, to do the ‘Meryl Streep on Ice’ segment, which she splendidly did. You know, SNL regularly mimics pop stars, and Zsa Zsa was cast for the part. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, none other than Paul McCartney hosted the show. McCartney you see, was slotted to sing three songs, then yield the floor to Zsa Zsa. However, he sang five, limiting Zsa Zsa’s airtime. An unconfirmed rumor has it that after the show, Sir Paul asked Zsa Zsa out on a date, however, due to poor etiquette in the presence of a Polish girl, Zsa Zsa declined. Tough luck for a Beatle?
Now retired from skating, Zsa Zsa works as a surgical intensive care nurse.
The Magnificent Seven Soul-Savings
Gotta admit, the above title immediately came to mind after a recent night’s television airing of the classic 1960 Western, The Magnificent Seven. That, coupled with the fact that given this economy nearly everyone is pinching a penny these days looking to save three cents on a length of pipe, seemed to be fitting for this column’s subject matter. Although not packing quite the punch of the Yul Brynner character in the film who dressed in all-black clothing and as the Lenten season begins with black ashes, the following roundup of reminders may prove to be just as rewarding. Of course, improvise as you see fit, and try to keep in mind the point made in last week’s column, that a relationship with God is primarily personal, followed by a supporting institutional one. Guidance, even in this column as well as throughout this paper, is necessary and can be offered, but essentially spirituality starts with you.
1. Why Ashes? Need we be reminded that we are dust, and unto dust we shall return? How often do we get caught up in our everyday rigmarole, losing perspective of who we really profess to be? Football, politics, and who the latest Hollywood star is having an affair, seem to rule our lives. My God, wouldn’t it be nice if the 6 o’clock news reported a story about the state of the soul? Grand Opening Sale: Don’t get lost in the crowd.
2. Go to Confession. Unfortunately, recipients of the Sacrament of Reconciliation are on the decline. Mysteriously however, long confessional lines seem to appear between Palm Sunday and Holy Saturday in too many eleventh-hour efforts at redemption. But why do people wait until Good Friday to make their annual pilgrimage? Are they hopeful the priest won’t recognize their voice among the many? Bargain Basement: Either keep your sins or get rid of them, it’s your choice.
3. Visit the Stations. Many Catholic churches conduct the Way of the Cross every Friday night during Lent, culminating on Good Friday. Here the priest recalls each of Christ’s fourteen stops during the last hours of his life. How many people do you know who celebrate Easter with no awareness of the Passion? Price Drop: Yeah, we’re all for the cute Easter bunny, but this is not what the season is all about.
4. Look at a Crucifix. That’s right, get up close and personal, perhaps with the head of the crucifix pictured, hand-carved by an artisan form Zakopane, Poland. Did you ever envision yourself being crucified? What did the crucifixion of Christ mean? We see movie stars sporting a cross or crucifix necklace while accepting an Oscar for a film displaying scenes of explicit sex, as the audience applauds. 2-for-1 Sale: It was once said that a two-minute gaze upon a crucifix can turn a sinner into a saint.
5. Pass-up the Popcorn. The issue here is not any particular item that tastes good or that we have grown habituated to. Rather, it is our tendency to become dependent on something, devoting a great deal of attention to it. 50-60% Off: Fasting is not only about food refrain, it is about detaching ourselves from any such overly dependent time-and-attention getter.
6. Almsgiving. Who’s got money to spare these days? Everyone has passed the beggar on the street asking for a dime. We pinch a penny walking up and down the supermarket aisles trying to break even. One Day Sale: How am I sacrificing if I am breaking even?
7. Prayer. Even though all of the six points mentioned above are actually forms of prayer in one way or another, the real essence of Lent begins in your heart, mind, and soul. Sure you can go through the motions by doing good deeds and going to church, but how often do you pray quietly and contemplatively? Saint John Paul II used to pray for hours per day. Closeout Sale: Can we be so bold as to attempt at least 10 minutes of daily prayer?
Fortunately for many Polish Americans enriched with tradition, these seven takeaways are a rehearsal for what we have been habitually doing every Lent. This hallmark of our heritage provides an inspiration to others who may not be so devout. Kneeling that extra minute or vocalizing your response a little louder at Mass just so someone else might notice is a great way to influence. Who knows, perhaps because of your faith effort, somebody somewhere will take notice of your seven soul-savings of the season and start saving themselves too.
Juror #7
“This better be fast. I don’t know about you but I happen to have tickets to that ball game tonight, Yanks vs. Cleveland. We got this new kid, Modzelewski, on the mound. He’s a real bull, this kid,” stated Juror #7. One late night last week I was pleased to spot airing on television one of my top-10 favorite films. It was the 1957 drama classic 12 Angry Men starring a whole host of standout stars like Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley, Martin Balsam, Jack Klugman, and E.G. Marshall. Twelve men to be exact, all of whom are jurors deciding the fate of a teenager who is accused of murder. If you haven’t seen the film, you don’t know what you’re missing.
But who is this Modzelewski kid? Juror #7, played by the actor Jack Warden, is a salesman with a streetwise personality who just wants to get this process over with and get out of there in time for the ball game. He may be your typical juror, right? After all, who wants to be called for jury duty?
Researching the fact or fancy behind this name Modzelewski, I discovered that he was not a real pitcher for the Yankees anytime during the 1950s. Not surprising though, it was clearly a Hollywood made-up name. Authentic enough though for some of our readers bearing the surname! But why then did the film’s director choose a Polish name?
Ah ha, some truth revealed itself. First, the game itself was an accurate fact. The Yankees played Cleveland on Friday, August 2, 1957 in a night game which started at 8pm. This was confirmed by Henry Fonda when he responds to Warden’s request to speed things up. Fonda, who responded by telling him that the game didn’t start until 8 o’clock, apparently was a baseball fan too! The Yanks ended up beating Cleveland 3-2 with Tom Sturdivant on the mound. By the way, Tony Kubek played third base in that game.
So where was the Modzelewski connection? It seems somebody, maybe Jack Warden himself, on the set which took place entirely in a juror room, was a Cleveland Browns football fan who borrowed the name of Ed Modzelewski, who played football for the Browns at the time! Listen, if that’s the only way to squeeze a Polish name into a great film, so be it!
Border Blues and Crime Clues
Undoubtedly, you’ve heard the news that Joe Biden recently paid a visit to the southern border to assess the situation. Hearing the subsequent press conference statement, it’s almost like we were in a department store listening to a salesman make a pitch ensuring us that a product is reliable and will work. Are politicians still taking us for suckers?
Even grammar school kids know that our border is broken. Who are these politicians kidding? It was interesting to hear that, oh, “enforcement is going to be kicked up, and illegals will be apprehended.” That might very well turn out to be true, and the end-of-year statistical charts will indeed reflect this uptick in apprehension. Sound too good to be true? That’s because it very well may be.
What these bureaucrats don’t advertise is that just as soon as many of these apprehensions are made, they are released. This was the policy of the Obama administration, remember? In typical politician style, they will drive up the ‘catch’ numbers to satisfy the statistics, but they’ll be sure to keep the ‘release’ numbers quiet.
An interesting possibility being looked into regarding the recent Idaho University quadruple murders is a sex-crime angle. Before being sought out and accused, Bryan Kohberger allegedly suggested to his neighbor that these could be “crimes of passion.” If this turns out to be the case, will the focus entirely be upon Kohberger? Passion is an effect which has a cause, do you agree?
Of course, any murderer is quite specifically to blame, but nobody seems to ask the question of why sex-crime murderers do what they do. Why do liberal Westernized countries like the U.S. have significantly higher rates of such crimes than say, fundamentalist religious countries? We hear of mass shootings about once a month in this country, but we do nothing to suppress the absolutely violent and reckless television movies any 13-year-old can watch before going to bed.
Of course, we can’t look into the brains of our culture’s sex-crime perpetrators like John Wayne Gacy, the American who was accused of murdering 33 young boys, but how about focusing just a bit less on Kohberger, Gacy, and others, and finally admitting the potential root cause?
Couple 'o Questions
Q: I’m curious to know if there are any big modifications to the requirements to be a priest considering the recent scandal? I know marriage is out of the question, but maybe more pay or looser vows for these men? – Donna, NY
A: Interesting question, thanks Donna. I’m unaware of any major changes, however I assume there are tighter controls on candidates as well as perhaps a longer probationary period and subsequent periodic evaluations. I think the Church would be wise to borrow strategy from the private sector, which I think it is doing. From what I’ve heard from priest-friends, the pay seems to be fine. As far as vows, we may have similar feelings but in my opinion, it is entirely unrealistic to assume a 20-something-year-old will feel the same way at 40. A man’s body chemistry and mentality change with time, this is natural. Locking oneself in to a way of life, religious or even secular I might add, may seem to be a noble and commendable act, however ideality should never be substituted for reality, in my humble opinion.
Q: Who was smarter, Benedict XVI or John Paul II? – Michael Jr., NY
A: I see you’ve catapulted from your usual sports-talk to spirituality. What’s next, politics? It depends on what you mean by ‘smart.’ Benedict XVI, although contrary to what has been asserted, was not a theologian, in my opinion. A theologian is an objective studier of the belief in a God or gods. Someone who has a specific direction as he did, writing encyclicals and apostolic exhortations, would be more accurately classified as a scholar in the discipline of Catholicism. John Paul II’s ‘smarts’ are equally impressive, having written fourteen encyclicals among his works. However, as you know, he was more about connecting with the average Joe, more so than promoting intellectualism. What does ‘smart’ mean then, or as Shakespeare said, “Where is fancy bred, in the heart or in the head?”
Q: Covid is back. I’m wondering if we’ve learned our lessons about hygiene or will we continue to ride the roller coaster witnessing sickness, hospitalizations, and death? – Barbara, NY
A: I think Brooklynites such as yourself Barb would regretfully agree with your latter remark having the Coney Island Cyclone in their backyard. How many people are wearing masks in the supermarket? Standing in line at the bank, anybody keeping a 6’ safe distance? Observing a Mass recently, after handling the chalice and ciborium at consecration, the priest mindfully stepped aside to disinfect his hands, but then went back and handled the same chalice and ciborium in offering them to the congregation at Holy Communion. Where is society’s disciplined diligence? Do you know that some countries have been wearing masks continuously for three years now, with no Covid problems?
Extinction Cometh?
Q: I thought the question on love raised by the anonymous woman and a follow-up by a reader is something needing more exposure. The kids today form their values mostly from our culture and not from their parents. As we all know, fewer and fewer kids are seen at Sunday Mass so I agree with the follow-up reader in that we need a better spiritual driver. I actually disagree with you on your point that our abortion preventative efforts are just a pat on the back as I think pro-lifers are doing a great job changing popular thinking. – Donna, NY
A: Thanks as always Donna. I agree with you that today’s kids, who will become tomorrow’s adults, are probably going to be religious-less people. It’s a doomed outlook and anybody feeling differently isn’t being realistic. Sure, parents may try their best to groom their kids into a religious mindset, but even an amateur mathematician would conclude that bombarding a kid with six secular days versus one spiritual day is a no-win situation for religion. What are we as a society doing about it? Zilch. I’m sorry to say this as I projected before, but I predict that religious institutions will become virtually extinct in 100 years. On battling the abortion issue, our efforts seem to be solely due to a religious cause, but how about battling for life’s worth itself? When was the last time we heard someone defend the right to life for non-religious reasons? Does battling abortion always have to be defended with God in mind? Can’t we put religion slightly aside and defend life for life itself, so a baby can be born, grow up, see a sunrise, throw a frisbee, fall in love, write a book, laugh and cry and co-exist with others, like we have, for example? We’d be wise to begin entertaining that defense for the right to life, given the extinction rate of religion as I mentioned, in my opinion.
Oh LàLà
Oh LàLà. That was the name of the magazine that Biff had in the film Back to the Future Part II. Such expressions were forthcoming as the annual Fashion Model Super-Gala, or as I like to say, the annual fashion super-model gala because to me they’re all super-models, was scheduled to be held in New York City at the end of this past month, actually not too far away from the Polish Consulate, but got rescheduled to mid-January due to an electrical issue brought on by the extreme cold suffered recently.
Typically it turns out to be a who’s who in the fashion world, attendees include everyone from high-end designers right down to backstage emergency stitchers. Yes, during fashion weeks which are held worldwide usually to showcase Spring and Fall wardrobes, they even have workers poised in waiting with a needle in one hand ready to stitch up any accidental tears occurring when the models walk the runway. The last thing any designer wants is for one of their models to trip on an innovative lengthy gown or break an ultra-thin heel. Sales would suffer. So, who is potentially coming to the big banquet and what might they be wearing?
► Coming off of a vibrant cover photo for last month’s Vogue Magazine Korea edition, 39-year-old Rzeszów native Anja Helena Rubik is sure to grab the eyeballs if she chooses to again wear the sleek yellow dress from French designer Saint Laurent, formerly known as Yves Saint Laurent, when she landed that cover photo. Rubik is actually considered a senior model, if you can believe it. Just like pro sports, in the fashion industry, most of the attention is focused on 20-30-year-olds. However, there is growing market for middle-aged beauty, just look at Cindy Crawford, who at 56 is redefining what it is to be beautiful.
► She’s 5’11” with dark blonde hair and hazel-colored eyes, and works for a popular New York City modeling company. Sound familiar? Not until you meet her, as I had the pleasure of doing some years back. Yet another senior in the world of fashion is 38-year-old Magdalena Frąckowiak, originally from Gdańsk. This soft-spoken woman is perhaps the epitome of what it means to be a fashion model, having walked the runways for such industry-making giants as Chanel, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Ralph Lauren, and Oscar de la Renta to name just a few. She looks good in red, and that together with her smile can be quite captivating, so there’ll be no question as to whether she'll warm up the joint that evening!
► Come on, she’s old enough! Arguably the biggest draw attendees may have in conversation with now 28-year-old Monika Jagaciak is the model’s early career. You see, Poznań native Jagaciak actually started walking the runways at…age 13. At the time there was some degree of public outcry that such activity was a form of sexualization of children, and several modeling agencies as well as designers ran for the hills, anxious to keep their good standing. Except for a few organizers who raised the entry age, eventually there wasn’t enough justification for any kind of ban. Jagaciak’s mother even traveled with her to ensure she wasn’t taken advantage of. At the gala, the green-eyed beauty may sport some degree of red attire to compliment the season, but watch out, she is known for her powerful runway walk, actually falling once at a Paris fashion show.
► Whenever she walks into a room, no introductions are necessary. I’m talking about 43-year-old Warsaw native and just 5’7” blonde beauty Joanna Krupa. Although not as dominant in the discipline of pure runway walking, Krupa you see has expanded her exposure, eh, literally, as an actress and activist, posing in nothing but body paint for PETA a few years ago. She’s also set up foundations for the care and rescue of abandoned animals. There’s no telling what this recently married woman, who tied the knot at the Benedictine Abbey in Kraków, will wear at the gala, if she is indeed coming. Okay she’s on the short side, which is rather atypical for a fashion model, but considering her long career and other talents, attendees are bound to spot her immediately.
► I lost track of how many times I bumped into this 35-year-old chestnut-blonde fashion model who lives part-time in New York City and part-time in Sierpc, Poland. Our accidental meetings were pretty much happenstance. I’d be picking up a $3.59 bulb for my slide projector at a famous NYC camera store and walking out the door while she’d be walking in. Or, waiting on line at the now defunct Dean & DeLuca exotic foods store on Broadway, and there she was filling her bag with Colombian coffee beans. Then one evening I was crossing West 13th St. in Greenwich Village, one of the quietest, most tranquil streets in the entire city, on my way to a health food store, only to spot her strolling along the sidewalk, probably either coming from or going to some fashion magazine shoot. But the last time I saw her was the best, this time in a clandestine-like all-black getup right down to the eyeshades, but she couldn’t fool me as her beauty simply cannot be concealed. I’m referring to Anna Jagodzinska. This gal is perhaps the dictionary definition of a fashion model, who is not necessarily considered attractive by today’s standards, but rather has the perfect combination of height, weight, shoulder girth, and facial bone structure. Indeed, fashion models such as Jagodzinska are in a class by themselves. As it’s winter, Anna may sport a tweed-patterned rag wool sweater, perhaps her trademark look, at the gala. I'll be on the lookout for her...
A Cook's Thanksgiving
I think there were seven or eight vegetables on the table. Hmm, let's see...corn on the cob, string beans, asparagus, carrots, brussels sprouts, broccoli/cauliflower mix, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, and maybe a couple others present. Almost every pot and pan was used, with all five stovetop burners on simultaneously. Good thing there were a lot of wooden spoons to do the stirring! Side treats like olives, cranberry sauce, and creamed onions supplemented the setup. Did I forget anything? Ah, the turkey! It was a 24-pounder, which was the biggest our family had since back in the good 'ol days of yesteryear. After watching so many Christmas-time movies featuring a gigantic turkey on the dinner table and me being asked to pick it out, I figured, why not go for it with a Hollywood-style bird? Five and a half hours after going into the oven with a little cooling time added, it hit the dinner table to big applause. A bit of mixed feelings though on my part, being a vegetarian, I think I may fool everybody next year with a soy turkey. Hey, if they can make Not Dogs in place of hot dogs, mock turkey should be right around the corner.
Next...my annual batch of Christmas cookies! Stay tuned...
The Teenager Saint
Ten days from now will mark the official feast day of one of the most beloved saints in all of Polonia, Saint Stanislaus Kostka. Although Poland prefers a jump-start on this feast, celebrating it on September 18, no doubt regardless of actually when this 17-year-old teen from the town of Rostkowo is remembered, his story speaks for itself.
Stanislaus was the second of seven children born to a modestly affluent family. His older brother Paul played perhaps the key role in the younger Stanislaus’ discernment of future life. In short, Paul hated Stanislaus because of the youngster’s ever-increasing piety, and frequently beat him up. The effect of this caused Stanislaus to later remark to Paul, “Your rough treatment will end in my going away never to return, and you will have to explain my leaving to our father and mother.” At home, the brothers were taught with firmness and severity resulting in their piety, modesty, and temperance, but Stanislaus you see, used these attributes somewhat differently than Paul.
Before the sibling-shockwave began though, in July of 1564, the 13-year-old Stanislaus along with Paul arrived in Vienna, Austria to attend a new Jesuit college that had been opened just a few years before. Stanislaus quickly made a mark for himself among his classmates during his three years of schooling there, not only for his friendliness, but also for his growing religious fervor and piety. Paul, you see, increasingly became angry over this, possibly expecting that his brother maintain the family’s secular status. At Stanislaus’ beatification years later in 1605, an obviously repentant Paul went on the record to state: “He devoted himself so completely to spiritual things that he frequently became unconscious, especially in the church of the Jesuit Fathers at Vienna.”
The thought of joining the Society of Jesus, better known simply as the Jesuits, had already entered the mind of the saintly young Stanislaus. It was six months, however, before he uttered any inkling of this to the superiors of the Society. In Vienna, they hesitated to receive him, fearing the rebuke that would probably be raised by his father against the Society, possibly due to the youngster’s age. The Jesuits suggested that Stanislaus go to Augsburg, Germany to see the great Peter Canisius, but the distance was over four hundred miles which had to be made on foot. Without equipment, a backpack, or guide, the teenager secretly set out for parts-unknown.
Dressed as a mendicant, which is a person who wears simple clothing and relies on the generosity of others for sustenance, Stanislaus eluded his brother Paul’s angry pursuit both by his new unrecognizably ‘fashion’ wardrobe and by taking an alternate route exiting the city. Paul never caught him.
Stanislaus stayed for a month in Germany, where Peter Canisius put the youngster’s vocation to the test by employing him in a boarding-school. After his 30-day stint, Stanislaus arrived in Rome to join the Jesuits there, but as he was greatly exhausted by the journey, the general of the order, Francis Borgia, didn’t permit him to enter the novitiate until several days later. But he got in eventually, and during the ten remaining months of his life, according to the testimony of the master of novices, Fr. Giulio Fazio, “Stanislaus was a model and mirror of religious perfection. Notwithstanding his very delicate constitution he did not spare himself the slightest penance. He had such a burning fever in his chest that he was often obliged to apply cold compresses.” That was no play on words, Stanislaus was physically sick.
On the evening of August 10, 1568, Stanislaus fell ill with a sky-high fever and clearly saw that his last hour had come. He wrote a letter to the Blessed Virgin Mary begging her to call him to the skies to celebrate with her the glorious anniversary of her Assumption on the 15th. And on that day, around 4 o’clock in the morning, while he prayed, he died.
The Holy See approved the beatification of Stanislaus Kostka in 1605 and he was canonized in 1726. St. Stanislaus Kostka is a popular saint in Poland and many religious institutions have chosen him as the protector of their novitiates. The depictions of him in art are quite varied; he is sometimes depicted receiving Holy Communion from the hands of angels, or receiving the Infant Jesus from the hands of the Virgin Mary, or in the midst of a battle expelling the enemies of Poland. At times, he is also depicted near a fountain putting a wet linen cloth on his breast, as St. Stanislaus Kostka is invoked for palpitations of the heart and for dangerous cases of illness.
On the Feast of the Assumption in 2018, Pope Francis wrote to the Bishop of Płock in honor of the 450th anniversary of Stanislaus’ death. In his message, Pope Francis cited a little-known habitual saying of Stanislaus’: “Ad maiora natus sum” which translates, “I was born for greater things.”
Risk and Reward
Twenty-two years ago, I set out across the arid Judean desert with nothing but a pack on my back, a bible in my hand, and a dream. It was my first trip to the Holy Land, and having the fearless zeal known only to a 30-something year old then, it would later become a trip that I would never attempt again. Risk and reward, that’s what it was all about.
After a moderately easy start from the waters of the Sea of Galilee in the north, I made my way to another body of water, the lowest point on the face of the Earth, the Dead Sea. But on the way, not realizing until later, I narrowly avoided crossing into Israeli Army restricted space. Trespassing into this area would have meant instant demise, and I would have found myself jailed, in court, paying a fine, and sitting on a return flight home. But what would a fair-haired boy wearing a red and white Keffiyeh, or head scarf, in the fashion of Lawrence of Arabia know? After all, caravans of Bedouin tribes roamed the desert freely, so the jury is still out on whether I would have been singled-out by the authorities.
As brave as I may have been by day, once nightfall came it was a different story. If I slept for fifteen minutes that night in the middle of nowhere, it was a lot. Losing count of the number of stars overhead, all I could hear was windswept sand. Sunrise came early, and I eventually reached the massive mountains flanking the west coast of the sea where I saw the remains of the ancient Qumran community, famously known for the Dead Sea scrolls.
I always wondered what it must have been like for the shepherd-kid who discovered the scrolls, having thrown a rock into the right cave to find a sheep gone astray. Should I climb the vertical mountain cliff to venture into one of the numerous other caves visible, I asked? Realizing the risk, I instead soldiered on to arrive at the shore of the Dead Sea.
With nobody in sight, “the hell with it” said an exhausted me and stripped to my underwear, closed my eyes and jumped in. The salt content, eight times that of the saltiest ocean, was so great that I floated on the water. Here, there is ten percent more oxygen in the air too, a nice natural recovery plus.
After drying off, I hiked further southward and experienced a certain metanoia, or change of heart. The typical visitor becomes entranced by physically being at the lowest spot on the planet, yet the sheer magnitude of the extremely dry and rugged mountains just a stone’s throw away contradict this. Then, one sees Masada, the great cliff-top ancient settlement where Jewish zealots battled the Roman army, ending in all 960 Jewish inhabitants deciding to die before the Romans could reach them.
After experiencing the awe of this historic site, I decided to take a bus back north and hopped off near the tiny town of Bethany. Unfortunately not too many tourists visit the town which is off the beaten track, but I did, and nearly never made it out.
The Tomb of Lazarus was my only goal to experience there. The tomb’s custodian runs a merchant shop directly across the street, and once the entrance fee is paid, he unlocks the tomb’s door, turns the lights on, and the visitor is allowed to descend a steep set of steps down into the actual tomb itself.
And there I was, inside the actual tomb of Lazarus. I opened my Bible and silently read the famous passage about Jesus commanding the dead man to “Come Forth!” After about twenty minutes of pondering in the dead silence of it all…the lights went off, and BOOM!, the door at the top of the steps was shut. Curses muffled, I half-panicked and began to feel my way around the rock tomb completely in the dark, located the steps and began yelling at the top of my lungs that I was still down there. Fortunately the guy heard me.
Tightening my boots for the final trek, or “pilgrim’s walk” to Bethlehem, which was a dirt trail used by thousands of Christians over the centuries, it was Bethlehem or bust. The walk was enduring, going up hills and through sheep meadows. At its conclusion, I arrived at the Church of the Nativity. In this predominantly Palestinian village, the high bells of this church stand clear for all to see. Here, in the grotto, Jesus was born. Interestingly enough, the site is actually a cave. And a very sacred one indeed. The exact spot of Jesus’ birth is marked with a fourteen-point star (photo). One seems to abandon all personal concerns and worries here.
Departing, I was reminded of the region’s modern-day dilemma, as just over my shoulder I heard a skirmish between kids throwing rocks and soldiers firing rubber bullets. But after what I had just experienced on this trip, to me that scuffle was only, as Ralph Kramden would say, “a mere bag of shells.”
After taxiing halfway to the airport, I set out on foot again and arrived for my flight back. My trek was complete, though my pants were torn and my boots were worn. I was completely exhausted, but I was still smiling.
Tannenbaum Toy Toss-Up
As a side-track to my annual potpourri of presents to put under the Christmas tree, we can’t forget about our youngsters, can we? Kids have no use for the neckties and bracelets and coffee cups that have been featured in the past. Let’s face it, our children are the first ones to make out a gift list for Santa, probably edging out us adults by months. Just check with any kid and they’ll probably tell you that this year’s wish-list has been under their bed pillow since last February. Let’s eyeball a few notables that you might want to check out as potential gifts to supplement their list.
- I don’t care if your kid is 8 or you’re 80, this may be the very best toy that you can give to a kid this Christmas...while ending up hogging it for yourself. At $179 on Ebay.com, the original 1973 version of the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle may go down as an heirloom that would be remembered from year to year. Heck, I lost track of the countless hours I spent searching for mine which disappeared during my adolescence. Yet, I think I know what happened. Typically when you reach your teens, you intentionally throw out all of your childhood toys as an assertion that you are now ‘mature.’ Twenty years later, you’re kicking your own behind for such stupidity. Don’t make the same mistake. The motorcycle is white and the stunt launcher is red. And if your lucky enough to get an original Evel doll, you’ll find a red blood-colored stain on the left knee of his white-colored pants. Evel Knievel holds the Guinness Book of Records for the most bones broken in a lifetime with 433.
- At a stealing price of just $279.33 on Ebay, you can offer your kid a vintage 1978 Shogun Mazinga Warrior. This then futuristic-looking monster robot stands at 2 feet tall and fires a series of white and red missiles. Nobody makes this kind of thing anymore, nobody. Today’s version of such a colossus would consist of cheap plastic with breakable parts, and there probably wouldn’t be any firing mechanism due to gun control restrictions! Just kidding, but indeed the missiles were of a quality caliber. Gee, that was another toy of mine I still can’t find.
- If you want to humorously drive your kid nuts this Christmas, then score with Hasbro’s original Shoots and Ladders Board Game. Designed for four players who each take turns at spinning a numbered wheel and subsequently move along a series of 100 squares until reaching the very top to win, it boasts plenty of white and red colors. Don’t be surprised though if your child kisses you and curses you, because enroute to the top are ladders and shoots. For example, a kid can climb from square 28 to square 84 with luck, and likewise fall from square 87 to square 24 with peril. Not a bad out-of-the-classroom lesson on gambling? The price is about $25 for the original version, found at select toy stores online.
- “All I got so far was stupid underwear,” as the know-it-all kid said in the delightful Christmas film, The Polar Express. Whatever you do, forget getting underwear for your kid on this Yuletide feast. What kid wants underwear! Alternatively, you might try a kind of toy-clothing hybrid in the form of a sneaker. Toddlers especially might enjoy Amazon.com’s Sesame Street Boy’s Denim Sneaker with dual lace-ups and ties, and a nice big funny face of Elmo for everybody to squat down and see. Of course, the sneaker sports a red upper with a white sole. Not bad for $23.98 in toddler sizes 4 through 10.
- I’ll have to run down the hall to the Am-Pol Eagle sports desk to inquire, but I’m betting my bottom dollar that ex-New England Patriots’ tight end Rob Gronkowski still owns a set of FOCO NFL Team Logo Reusable Washable Fashion Face Cover Masks in white and red. Listen, this dude is a Polish-American, he’s not going to throw out his colors simply because he played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With a 4.5 out of 5 rating from over 2,700 customers, perhaps all ‘Gronk’ fans, this would be an appropriate gift for the kid of yours now that school is underway, as kids are getting closer to one another and Covid is still around. $26.99 on Amazon.
- They say that men are the best bakers but… Perhaps you’ll put that to the test when your little girl receives a Holiday Classic House Gingerbread Kit from Wondershop in a nice totable red and white box. If you’ve got a Target store in your area, great, go get it. If not, order it on Target.com for only $9.99. According to one reviewer, it was “the best $10 I’ve ever spent!” Each gingerbread kit comes with everything that your child needs to create a festive gingerbread creation they’ll enjoy seeing, and eating! With gingerbread pieces, icing, candies, and your inspiration, they’ll be all set for a fun time building and decorating their first house!
Miracle on the Delaware?
You may have heard of the Miracle on the Vistula, but the Delaware? Word comes to us that 69-year-old Regina Kowalski of Belvidere, NJ unfortunately was unable to carry out her plan to make a foot-pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown, PA this past August. After reading an earlier column about the trip, the vibrant senior went out and purchased a backpack, tent, sleeping bag, and water bottle to supplement her new sneakers.
Regina contacted the Polish parish of St. Peter and Paul in Great Meadows, NJ which, since 1921, has been a staple in the local Polish-American community there and is the leading organizer for treks to the ‘American Jasna Gora.’ Each year, it leads a large group of people of all ages, from grandparents to young children, on a near 60-mile walk lasting four days and 3 nights. The pilgrims camp out in forests, state parks, and on farmland.
“I was so excited after reading your story that I made a firm commitment to undertake the task,” says Regina. “When the weather got warmer in spring, I started practice-walking a few days each week over a Delaware River bridge and gradually increased my mileage. I was able to walk 4 miles over to the next town and then 4 miles back.”
A glance at a map reveals quite a nice route heading southwest. Along the way, plenty of cows, horses, and chickens can be seen, but not many people. That was good news to Regina, who points out, “The route looked so nice and refreshing. Even if it rained, I don’t think I would have minded.”
But what this retired homemaker feared, happened. “I have always had weak ankles since a child. In the back of my mind I knew this would be my only obstacle. It was funny, I didn’t mind roughing it and all the obstacles involved with camping like everybody else might fear.”
Due to the walks she was taking to get prepared, Regina’s ankles began to swell and although at first the swelling would subside in the evening allowing her full recovery for the next day, eventually it would not. After two months of preparation, she realized that her faith-adventure of the physical type simply wasn’t in the cards.
“I was in tears realizing that it was impossible for me to do this pilgrimage walk. If it wasn’t for my very dear friend Elizabeth who consoled me and suggested I go to see a doctor, I don’t know what state of mind or health I’d be in right now.”
The silver lining to this story perhaps came with her friend’s suggestion. You see, after visiting her doctor and going for tests, Regina was diagnosed with a lymphatic system disease which caused edema in her ankles when under heavy effort, having had no warning signs before or any indication of such an ailment. She was prescribed medication and is now on the road to better health.
“In a way, I think this was a miracle. I wanted to feel rewarded by doing the walk to the Shrine, but God truly works in mysterious ways and I instead received a bigger reward when my condition was revealed. I would have never known.” Wow, what else can we say? Wow
Q's on Cultures and Corvettes
Q: I like your book’s discussion about Mazowsze and last week’s story too. Though I don’t agree with your claim that old cultures are no different than ours. Aren’t we today more educated and more decent a people? – Carl, NY
A: Thanks for the musical kudos Carl! I would respectfully argue the opposite. It’s funny but we seem to ignore the fact that ancient cultures such as the Sumerians indeed had engineers, architects, plumbers, statisticians, educators, and all degrees of intellectuals just as we have today. Nobody wants to admit that, instead, we tend to think of these ancient peoples as archaic, uncivilized grunts. My point is that every civilization that comes and goes thinks it’s at the highest level of life, and that it has all the right answers, only to find that a thousand years later, these civilizations are classified as archaic. Somebody once asked me, are we smarter than our ancestors? My answer was that we will be on the day that we admit that we aren’t.
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Q: Hello, I read your column entitled “Opening the tomb of St. John Paul II...more controversy?" I wanted to ask if there’s been any more talks since your article about placing St. John Paul II within glass in the open from your reporter friend? Great article as well! – Champion7, unknown state
A: Many thanks for the compliments! I have an email out to my pal in Rome but an auto-reply indicates that she won’t be back until Oct 16 as I believe she is vacationing. I would imagine that Vatican officials would want to time it strategically, perhaps in sync with a feast or anniversary. We’ll have to wait and see if they honor our former Pontiff’s preferences or if politics prevail. I just heard that Pope Francis is officially retiring. Gee whiz, what happened to the integrity of longstanding tradition?
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Q: I would like to thank you for the answer you gave to ‘anonymity’ on Sept 1. Beautiful and perfect. The question from the young woman is exactly what is destroying our world. Not thinking of God, but of ourselves and our good times. It seems that God has been forgotten and the sinful gift of relativism is trying to take over. Morality must be brought back. – unknown mailer
A: Thank you very much for your letter. I think we should first mention that the young woman’s question, although she was looking to defend her actions, was exactly what we need more of. The moral relativism that you refer to may actually be the result of our longtime hush-hush policy on the topic of sex. How many teachers talk to their students about it? How many preachers talk from the pulpit about it? Is it then any wonder why she is so defensive? I agree with you altogether, but I am in favor of a more secular approach to the education of people on the value and worth of all life. The intangible spiritual approach as you favor is great, but in my opinion people are most affected by real-time, street-wise human wisdom, and we have not fully developed that yet. Our thoughts of life’s worth are not valued to the degree that they could be. We still wage war, we execute, we fail to rehabilitate, we pat ourselves on the back for battling abortion, but we fail to take ethics further into our minds and how we think about the gift-giving process of life itself. Sadly, Humanism has taken a back seat to spirituality. In my opinion, if you want change, you hit people with tangible reasoning first, then perhaps add a spiritual component. I invite you to read my book, E-Notes and Anecdotes available on Amazon, which absorbs this entire topic.
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Q: Does the Polski Fiat come in red with white highlight? I have a matchbox-type car and it looks to be this exact make but I was wondering if this little car is a true small-scaled replica? Also, what is your favorite car? – Danny, NY
A: Interesting question Danny, thanks. I would have to refer this to my colleague Robert Strybel who crosses the streets of Warsaw every day and may know firsthand! Perhaps as a retirement gift to myself in a couple of years, I’ve already decided on the 2023, or later, Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, Coupe version, and although I am not a coffee drinker, I absolutely love the caffeine metallic finish.
Fuhgeddaboudit
It’s back to politics as we gear-up for the 2024 presidential election. And if the economy continues in its current fashion, ‘Fuhgeddaboudit’ as stated on an actual sign on the Belt Parkway leaving Brooklyn. If so, Biden will probably not run, but does Trump? This may indeed be an opportune time for an independent to enter the race. So, what kind of P/VP ticket should we expect, male-male, male-female, female-male…or some other mix? And what about the actual voting mechanism, should we trust our electronics after the last election? Will there even be enough money left in the budget to run an election? Playing the board game Monopoly, we all had fun with that colorful paper money. It’s not so fun anymore…
My prediction is that we may very well witness a unique battle-royale for the 2024 bid to occupy the White House. Here's how I think it may play out. If the economy doesn't see a miraculous recovery by 2024, it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the Democratic party won't stand a chance. So, what would they do? They could recruit a proven past winner such as Bill Clinton, who was quite popular and did a decent job as president, in most people's eyes, but only if Congress amends the 22nd Amendment which limits a president's service to two terms. The mistake the Dems made was that they could have done this almost two years ago when Congress had the votes to do so. If the Democrats win both chambers of Congress again, that may happen. Only problem might be, would voters still support a Democratic nominee who is aligned with the lately lackluster party? No matter what a 'ship captain' says about reform, it's difficult to resurface a ship when its hull is already filled with water. Clinton's best chances, therefore, might be to quietly watch the amendment get changed to enable him to run as a Democrat, and then pull a 'Trump Card' and run as an Independent.
Following along on this potential scenario, what does the Republican party then do? Do they introduce a fresh face? Naa, nobody's going to support a fresh face nominee when they could support an already-known and proven face who is now neither Republican nor Democrat. Why chance it when the need is to resurrect the economy? A fresh face nominee, such as was Trump back in 2016, would only be supported if the opposing nominee didn't match up as far as charisma and vision.
Enter Donald Trump. The Grand Old Party's best chance against Independent Bill Clinton may be to nominate Trump to head the ticket. Now you'd have voters having to pick between an old favorite and a recent go-getter. Both have 'baggage' so to speak which will undoubtedly surface during the negative ad campaigns. But it's an interesting proposal and almost guaranteed to reward a ring-side seat to watch. By the way, it is becoming increasingly impossible for any party to not nominate a mixed male-female President-Vice President for their ticket. So, who does Bill Clinton pick? You guessed it, Hillary, paving the way for her to potentially become the first female president in 2028. Personally, I don't take sides in an election but prefer to be objective, but you watch and see.
Hey Stella!
Nearly everyone is familiar with that classic scene of Marlon Brando yelling out from the street, “Hey Stella!” in the 1951 film, A Streetcar Named Desire. I’m a bit embarrassed to say that I’ve only recently watched the entire film. Although largely a drama, it contains some degree of rage, mostly brought on by Brando who plays Stanley Kowalski, a blue-collar Pole who playwriter Tennessee Williams may have, not surprisingly, stereotyped. My first reaction was, gee, Kowalski was a muscle-bound factory worker with dirt under his fingernails, but should such people automatically be portrayed as brainless brutes? That is, do we ever consider that such people could, let’s say, be poets in their spare time?
Aside from the storyline, in my opinion the film conveys some degree of stereotyping elsewhere, even in the southern belle of actress Vivien Leigh who comes to visit the Kowalski’s and displays all kinds of mannerisms and etiquette we associate with the South. Perhaps at the time of the movie, 1951, we shouldn’t be surprised. We seem to have branded certain cultures with certain characteristics regardless of what age they’re in. Just look at the uprisings we had over the past few years.
Not to give away the whole story, but the film basically tells the tale of two sisters, Leigh of course and the other being Kim Hunter, who I have a hard time believing played Zira in the Planet of the Apes! It turns out that Leigh came to stay with sister Kim, playing Stella, due to being broke from creditors taking over the family estate. Muscleman Kowalski suspects Leigh of faking the financial situation and actually selling the estate and hoarding the money. Now you may be better able to relate to why he was yelling from the top of his lungs! Interestingly, the film was named after a real streetcar line in New Orleans. Named for its endpoint on Desire Street, the Desire line ran down Canal Street onto Bourbon Street and beyond.
There’s no Place like Home
Judy Garland was right when she spoke those memorable words in 1939. And it seems at least one man was listening. “In order to relay the whole truth about people, we must come to know the land on which they live.” Those were the words of Tadeusz Sygietyński, founding father of the famous Polish singing group Mazowsze. And as we’ll see, the whole truth of how this group came to be, especially where they called ‘home’ so to speak, is incredible.
Before we step into their house, a bit about the group itself. Mazowsze was established by a decree issued by the Polish Ministry of Culture and Art in 1948. The decree ordered Professor Tadeusz Sygietyński to take the helm. Its purpose was to preserve the traditional folk repertoire of songs and dances of the Masovian countryside located in northeast Poland, from which Mazowsze gets its name. It was perhaps heads-up thinking on the part of the Ministry, as in the immediate years following the Second World War, there was really no telling what would happen as Poland had just gone through near obliteration. The group was intended to protect this folk tradition from destruction and solidify its diversity, beauty, and integrity. Although at the beginning, Mazowsze’s repertoire contained songs and dances from only a few regions of Poland, it soon extended its range by adopting the traditions of other regions.
After two years of preparing, rehearsing, and studying its repertoire, Mazowsze staged its premiere performance in the Polish Theatre in Warsaw on November 6, 1950. The repertoire contained songs and dances from the regions of Central Poland. After the premiere, Mazowsze continued to enhance itself, planning trips actually outside of Poland as well. In fact, 1951 saw Mazowsze visiting the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics! And by 1954, the Polish government allowed Mazowsze to venture outside the Iron Curtain, finding the group performing a concert in Paris. Six years later, they would hit the United States.
After the death of Sygietyński in 1955, incidentally he was only 58, the group’s leader became Mira Zimińska, his wife, who had already been well-versed in the dynamics of the group. The couple’s typical business trip would find Zimińska looking for old traditional clothing for the singers, while Sygietynski hoped to find young talents. Had it not been for Zimińska though, Mazowsze may have never evolved into 39 more ethnographic regions of religious and patriotic songs which were never written down. Because of her, Mazowsze gained popularity all over the world, performing thousands of concerts in Poland and in more than 50 countries. With such popularity, the group of course needed a permanent home for its base of operations. Who would have thought it would be a former sanatorium for the mentally ill?
Karolin Palace, as it is now known, has a history dating back to the early twentieth century, when the Association for Medical Assistance and Care of the Mentally and Nervously Sick elected to build a sanatorium on land it had been granted by a local landowner. Construction began in 1909 with support from the owner’s widow, Karolina Bobrowska, from whom the palace gets its name. The palace was completed in 1911, but lacking in funds after World War I, the sanatorium stopped functioning. The palace then became home to the Russian Red Cross and in 1923 the building was leased to a benevolent society.
Renovation work followed but by 1932 the palace started offering treatment to sick patients again and started renting out rooms to holiday makers in its metamorphosis to function in a commercial capacity. Over time, Karolin became one of the more lucrative health retreats in Poland and attracted artists and writers seeking to escape the bustle of the city. Mira Zimińska herself was actually among its visitors even before the Second World War.
In 1947, the Association for Medical Assistance and Care of the Mentally and Nervously Sick was dissolved, leaving Karolin Palace with plans to house a hospital for high-ranking state officials. That idea got scrapped, and with good timing a plan arose for it to become the headquarters for the new national folk song and dance ensemble. In late 1948, Karolin Palace opened its doors to young people who were to become its first performers. When Mazowsze officially began work in 1949, the palace in its entirety was dedicated for the group’s use.
In the early 1950s, Karolin Palace became a place of work, education, and home-sweet-home for many of these young people from all over Poland. General schooling took place at the palace, as did dance, music theory, singing, and instrumental lessons. If you were so fortunate to stay ‘on campus’ there, your bedroom was located on the upper floor of the palace, while the kitchen, canteen, and storerooms could be found in the basement. Classrooms were similar to a typical college, with separate rooms earmarked for the practice of traditional crafts such as embroidery and paper cutting, music lessons, and voice.
Yet, “all things must pass,” as George Harrison sung. Eventually Mazowsze got so big and involved that it necessitated a new headquarters building be established and in 2009 did so. However, the historic Karolin Palace was set aside for office space and the storage and display of Mazowsze’s collections, so the group was not entirely ‘out of sight, out of mind’ as they say. Fortunately, the deciding officials soon realized that you couldn’t keep the dust from settling on anything related to Mazowsze, and just two years ago the final revival renovation was completed on the palace which currently houses the Center for Polish Folklore, and coming full circle, Mazowsze re-established its headquarters at the palace. In a lively and engaging way, the center presents the folklore of various regions of Poland and the Polish national culture that Mazowsze is inspired by.
A visit to Karolin Palace may be combined with a peek at Mazowsze’s backstage. It is a tour of rehearsal rooms, costume repositories, and the performance hall, which is one of the most modern concert halls in Europe. It contains nearly 600 comfortable seats. The unique design of the facility allows for any arrangement of the hall area, including the possibility to remove all the seats to host any event venue, from concerts to socializing events to corporate parties to grand balls.
There truly is, after all, no place like home…
Still More in the Mailbag
Q: I thought the Entr’acte was real cute! It was a toss-up between that and the Curtain Call! Too bad this was a make-believe village in New York State, I would have enjoyed visiting it! – Donna, NY
A: Thanks as always Donna. But as Tom Hanks, playing the part of the Conductor in The Polar Express said: “Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can’t see.” My book, Tales of Bayberry Village, is now back in stock on Amazon.com!
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Q: What is the crash rate for Lot Polish airlines? – Frank, NY
A: Kind of a morbid question but we hold no rules here. I found no statistics for individual airlines, only a ‘top 10’ best and worst listing as far as crashes. Lot was not on either list. It’s not surprising though finding little data, as minor crashes are not something that will be reported or make the 6 o’clock evening news. The bigger question may be, how many people survive after a crash? For example, Lot flies a Boeing 737 MAX-8 which has an average takeoff weight of 181,000 lbs. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to then realize that human life is essentially in the hands of weight, gravity, and the technology to counteract this. I’m sure airlines do the best they can…but sorry, I myself prefer to stay on the ground!
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Q: Since Covid and the economic situation dwindling, I know the workforce has seen a drastic cutback. I lost track of how many stimulus checks I received. I’m wondering how this affects marriages and family planning, might there be a reduction in this as well? – Dorothy, NJ
A: Yes, interesting postulation Dorothy. I imagine this applies globally as well. I don’t think it’s far-fetched to then assume population growth will be reduced simply due to how Covid affected the economy. But you know, aside from this obvious cause, what about the flip side of the coin? I think many people have lost perspective in their lives. I know a woman who works 12-hour days as a VP for a brokerage firm in NYC and has absolutely no time to fall in love with anyone, get married, and perhaps eventually have children. Although it’s great to be a dedicated worker, has Capitalistic society gone so far as to fall out of sync with life’s worth? This is a running theme in my book E-Notes and Anecdotes, how Humanistic potential gets overtaken by organized societal structure. It’s a terrible tragedy.
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Q: Thanks a lot for publishing my earlier question. I don't see true love forming between my brother and the girl he dates. He's trying but she doesn't match his effort. It's more like a one-way street but what can a big sister do? Hope it's okay to send you another question! - Sasha, NY
A: You're very welcome Sasha. We do have limited printing space and given the influx of reader questions and comments not all follow-ups make it to the press room! I hear you, and your concern is obviously out of affection for your brother. Some women like to be 'won over' by a man, which is fine up to a point, but after that if two people wish to truly fall in love, 'truly' being the operative word, they need to equally exchange hearts at the same rate and capacity. That means they both sacrifice themselves for the other, and it looks like either she's too timid to do so, she doesn't want to go that far, or she could very well be just a tease.
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Q: Do you have a recipe for slow-roasting a goose? I want to have it soon being that my turkey is planned for Thanksgiving but I’m not sure if the same method can be used for cooking a goose. – Barbara, NJ
A: You’re asking a vegetarian? I get chills just reading your question! Just kidding, I will keep an eye out for that Barb so you can perhaps squeeze it in before the final leaf falls to the ground by October’s end.
Let Sleeping Dog Statues Lie
The good news is, the Tadeusz Kościuszko monument located at the northeast corner of Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., literally just a stone’s throw from the White House, has been cleared up of its former graffiti décor. The bad news is, still nobody really knows that the ten-foot-high bronze statue is Kościuszko.
During a trip to our nation’s capital last month, I had a chance to visit the site and check in on Tadeusz’ appearance. If you recall a few years back, crazed rioters seemed to target every monument and statue having the slightest connection to colonial slavery right up to the Civil War, passing judgement and executing sentence on these stately structures. Kościuszko actually got off easy, receiving only spray-painted defacing all around the base of the monument, which proved the perfect host given its white-stoned surface. Luckily, the dark bronze figures surrounding the central figure of Kościuszko himself didn’t attract the evil eye. I suppose if the lunatics had rope and more muscle they could have toppled the statue, as was the case with some other figures elsewhere. To set this sentiment straight though, obviously we now realize some actions of our nation’s long past were inappropriate, but does that mean defacing statutes, burning flags, and wiping clean the history books? Gee, didn’t ISIS do exactly that when they invaded the city of Palmyra?
However, despite the Kościuszko monument being nice and clean now, most passers-by still cannot really tell who it is! As I approached the site, I soon figured out why. The monument sits about 50 feet from the main sidewalk on H Street, and although the throngs of people walking by can get a good glimpse of it, the monument is too far back to render a reading of its inscription. Although there is a circular path surrounding the site enabling a closer inspection, the average visitor would still have to squint to read the surname KOŚCIUSZKO which is in etched white lettering against a white stone. White on white isn’t exactly easy to read. I suppose that was standard operating procedure for most sculptors including Antoni Popiel, the Polish sculptor who designed the Kościuszko monument. In 1907, Popiel participated in a sculpture competition for the monument. Although Popiel won second prize, President Theodore Roosevelt selected his design.
In 2010, a replica of the Kościuszko monument was erected in Warsaw, though not quite an exact replica. The Warsaw version of the statue has lighter bronze figures against a darker grayish stone, making it arguably more enticing to the eye. Let’s just hope it’s not so for any future evil eye.
More in the Mailbag
Q: Congratulations on the new book. I’m done reading it after only three days and I look forward to dreaming now! You say it’s a village in upstate New York but what inspired you to place it there? – Donna, NY
A: Thanks again Donna. As The Pied Pipers sang, Dream, that’s the thing to do. I’m glad you favor dreams because I am now toying around in the horror arena so look for my next book soon…apologies in advance for the nightmares. As far as the location for my book Tales of Bayberry Village, when I was younger, I used to go on vacation annually to a resort in the Catskills and the drive up went through some narrow, twisting roads. I guess that experience stuck with me and I used it as the setting for the story.
Q: How much do you want for the Tony Kubek baseball card? – Michael Jr., NY
A: All I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by…as poet John Masefield put it. It’s not for sale my friend.
Q: My brother is the nicest guy in the world, kind, respectful, thoughtful, and full of heartfelt humility. How do you console such a person who's dating a girl that pretty much thinks of only herself but he's too kind to tell her? He's pretty sad at the moment. - Sasha, NY
A: Sounds like a great guy, I wouldn't worry Sasha, his heart will eventually find its home. Humility is lacking in today's world, and those who have it such as your bro' are like gemstones. I've always said, the truest mark of a person is how much they selflessly think of others. Perhaps the final line in the 1946 film, The Razor's Edge, one of my favorite films, would be fitting: "You see, my dear; goodness is, after all, the greatest force in the world, and he's got it."
Q: Do you anticipate an upcoming casting call for Real Live Relic Hunter, and when are you retiring as Director? – Jason, NY
A: Thanks for the interest, but ever since I got lost in the St. Callixtus catacombs on the outskirts of Rome, feeling my way around in the dark only to grab hold of a 1st century Christian’s femur bone, I have no desire to retire and eventually have my own bones grabbed onto! Casting calls are entirely up to the producer, but keep a lookout! ***Update: casting call tentatively set for 9/24-25 in NYC. Be sure to refresh your screen often to see the latest from Real Live Relic Hunter.***
Q: Can you please, please, please try to get me a ticket for fashion week as I heard it’s in September? I am planning to give my resume to Ms. Borowczak. – Izabela, NY
A: Wow, how can I refuse a triple-decker desire? Yes, it’s running from September 8-11 at the Hall of Mirrors on West 37th St. in New York City. But how does that song go…I never promised you a rose garden? Hard to say on the ticket, I haven’t been in contact with her for quite a while being that my permanent pass is still valid. Best bet might be to come with me and if she’s there, perhaps she has a spare pass to lend you. Resume? I’m impressed, Iza. Step aside Anna Jagodzinska.
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Finally
Frank Sinatra starred in a 1954 drama film called Suddenly, so why not title this month's column with another one-liner…Finally? It’s about time for the title, as well as the topic, and one word is all it takes to relay what we’ll be talking about. What else? Roe v. Wade.
Before tackling a few incoming inquiries below, it’s worth its weight in gold to unravel the absolute saga of this ordeal since being decided on in 1973. It seems the central talking point of this whole thing revolved around the ‘right to privacy’ and therefore, if a woman wanted to have an abortion, she could because it was her private business. It becomes interesting then to discover that, when proposing other ‘my own business’ actions we have the ability to take, such as a private murder, suddenly we find laws against them. That is, a person had the ability to be protected for some actions deemed ‘private,' yet other actions were breaking the law. Who then decides what actions are to be classified as ‘private’?
The recent Supreme Court decision was the correct one. Neither the Constitution nor any of its amendments definitively classified abortion as being ‘private’ and therefore protected. To be fair though, arguments came because other modern rights that are taken for granted, such as contraception, interracial marriage, and same-sex marriage, are all apparently protected. But where those arguing for abortion rights miss the mark is that this doesn’t mean abortion rights should be included in that list, rather, it means the Constitution does not and never did specifically protect these actions! The Supreme Court is simply admitting that, Constitutionally, nothing in there defines the extent to what one’s right to privacy is. If we continued with the 1973 decision, what next? Anybody could argue that they have a right to privacy and therefore should be allowed to perform any action.
Many of us may find the technicalities of this particular issue quite a distraction. The other night I saw a political ad by the New York State deputy/assistant Governor or something with the motto, ‘Let’s help protect abortion rights.’ New York State, as you know, has the most extreme abortion laws in the country, killing a fetus up to and, correct me if I’m mistaken, after birth. Protect abortion? In addition to this sounding like an oxymoron, what about protecting the fetus’ rights?
Troubling too may be the lack of maturation among such abortion activist mindsets, as if a woman’s rights are the pinnacle of focus. As stated in an earlier article, wouldn’t it be great if we evolved a bit more to realize that life itself should be the pinnacle of focus? Instead, we continue to wage war on life, killing each other on battlefields as well as in wombs. Have we really evolved that much since the Cavemen?
Ironic as well is the fact that it is illegal to kill an infant baby, but it was legal to kill a fetus. Is there really a difference? Both the baby and the fetus are entirely dependent on the mother. There is no difference.
Sadly though, as much as it was a victory for religious pro-lifers, we must point out that the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was not to protect life’s sanctity, but rather was of a technical nature as pointed out above. You see, there is still sadness in this, because we still do not recognize life’s worth enough to state so in law. Hopefully though, this decision will pave the way for enhanced realization of life’s worth.
Noise Pollution
Noise pollution? You may have concluded the same sentiment after watching the Macy’s 4th of July fireworks extravaganza last month. Eh, I’m not referring to the boom-boom of fireworks, but arguably, to the absolute insanity of the musical accompaniment going along, in my view.
To begin with, who is responsible for selecting the music leading up to the big fireworks show? Actually, would the correct word be ‘music’? Discordant melodies combined with incomprehensible lyrics don’t exactly represent America, or do they these days?
Afterwards, once the fireworks show began, it was nice to see an on-screen momentary banner identifying each tune, but Thank God I’m A Country Boy is a song we identify with John Denver, not with some hip-hop rap group or youth choir. In a nutshell, it seemed like the classic tunes we grew up on, which we feel an affinity to as Americans, had been twisted and contorted into vastly different sounds supposedly representing contemporary USA.
It was interesting too that one segment displayed one ethnic community’s music and dance which was perfectly fine and representative. However, the irony was that, in the distance, we could see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Where then was the ethnic music and dance of immigrant Poles, Irish, Germans, and Italians? Many of us identify with the Americana music of John Philip Sousa, George Gershwin, Elmer Bernstein, Aaron Copeland, and Cole Porter. I don’t recall any of these composers’ songs on the agenda.
Gee, some of us may really hope it rains next year.
The Butterfly Soul
Q: I thought I would add a comment on your E-Notes book as I read other readers have. The biggest puzzler I have is when you talk about animals having souls which I agree with. But what about other life forms? – Donna, NY
A: Good topic to ponder, yes. John Paul II was the first Pope to openly declare that animals possess souls, but further thought has yet to be broached. Who draws the line, and what defines that line, if there is a line at all? Most religions discourage that exploration because encouraging it would cause its followers to start asking questions, and they don’t want followers to ask questions but rather to follow what they instruct. This is probably the greatest mistake all religions make, because instead of admitting that faith is a complete mystery making any question a valid one, such as if a butterfly possesses a soul, they shut down exploration and stagnate growth. John Paul II did not receive a welcomed reception to his statement from traditional Church hierarchy, that’s for sure. But those with warmer hearts and open minds certainly applauded him.
Suckers
Our local newspaper had an interesting front page sketch a few weeks ago, that being an ariel image of the projected landscape of the New York City area in the year 2200. About one-fifth of the current shoreline was under water. Apparently the ‘global warming’ syndrome has infected rational minds and mentalities to the point of absolute insanity. Together with the Jersey Devil, Sasquatch, and alien abductions, more people are being brainwashed into believing sensationalized stories, in this case that our annually increasing temperatures are entirely due to carbon emissions. So much to the point that salesmen of battery-powered cars are tripling the price of their cars being that these environmental claims make us feel guilty to own a fossil-fueled car, and nasal flush commercials are appearing on every channel trying to convince us that we have too many carbon deposits in our noses. I guess these sales folk take us for suckers.
All it takes is a few minutes of research to discover that global warming and rising water levels may not entirely be due to carbon emissions. Factors such as the sun’s energy output, earth’s rotational axis, and lunar forces are also involved. In fact, uninhabited planets in the Universe experience massive shifts in temperature too. Of course, carbon output only adds to the problem, but when are we going to wisen-up and discuss things rationally? Just like much of politics, religion, and probably everything else, when the truth is not told, we do an injustice to ourselves.
Act Normal, Get Blamed
There seems to be a heck of a lot of talk these days about the White House ‘insurrection’ of January 2021. It’s interesting that such talk comes at a time when the economy is getting destroyed, gas prices are over $5 per gallon, the price for a stick of butter doubling, and the U.S. having failed to negotiate a deal between Russia and Ukraine to prevent the war. Some folks may be wondering if these things would have occurred had Trump been re-elected. Oddly too, media-promoted sentiment seems to automatically chastise these insurrectioners as radical, violent people, yet nobody is wondering why they felt this way. Question for consideration: if your local city official rang your doorbell and told you that it’s official, your home is being bulldozed over the next morning to make room for public housing, wouldn’t you go nuts? That would be a normal reaction. Insurrectioner trouble-makers at the White House? There were probably some who deserve blame. Rather, arguably the majority of these so-called insurrectioners were most likely normal people reacting to what was deemed by a large body of U.S. citizens to be a seriously flawed election, regardless of whether it actually was or not. How then can we blame people, including Trump himself, for reacting normally?
Dimension 7
What gives with Professor Nikodem Poplawski? The University of New Haven astrophysicist dubbed by Forbes magazine as one of five scientists likely to be named the next Albert Einstein, and who also contributed an interview to the Am-Pol Eagle, recently added some icing on top of his cake of black holes, proposing that our universe was literally spit out, or regurgitated if you prefer a more refined word, from the bottom end of a black hole. Not exactly excrement, but you get the idea. According to Poplawski (pictured), a black hole is a tunnel between alternate realities. There may exist other universes both inside and outside of black holes, and we don’t even know it simply because we are only aware of three dimensions, length, width, and height. You may recall the famous 1960 movie, The Time Machine starring Rod Taylor, when he points out that there is actually a fourth dimension, called Time. When you get into Poplawski’s theory, there may be a 5th, 6th, and even 7th dimension as well. The space that you occupy right now might be at the bottom of a giant ocean, in an alternate universe. If you’re sitting on your sofa reading this newspaper, that same space you’re occupying might be on the surface of a hot sun in an alternate universe, or the space could simply be floating around in the sky. “It’s kind of a crazy idea, but who knows?” he said.
The Greatest Discovery Ever Made?
Michał Habdank-Wojnicz may have gone to his grave putting into motion arguably the biggest unsolved mystery of the ages. We’re not talking about the Lochness Monster, who shot JFK, or how the Pyramids of Egypt were built, but a 240-page Medieval manuscript written in an exotically fantastical language complete with colorful drawings of bizarre, unidentified species of flora and fauna. Absolutely nobody, brilliant brains among us included since its discovery in 1912, has been able to decipher the mysterious text. But who was Habdank-Wojnicz?
The founder of the big mystery, which was aptly named the Voynich manuscript, was born in 1865 in Lithuania, then part of the Russian Empire, into a Polish-Lithuanian noble family. The ‘Habdank’ part of his surname was the name of a Polish heraldic clan. Michał he was the son of a Polish petty official. As a youngster, he attended secondary school in Poland’s northeastern town of Suwałki, then studied at the University of Warsaw. He eventually graduated from Moscow University and became a licensed pharmacist.
While in Warsaw, after dabbling in dangerous revolutionary politics at the time known as Proletariat, he was arrested by the controlling Russian forces and sent to a prison in Siberia. Fortunately he escaped and made his way to England, where he settled down and opened up a business as a bookseller, specializing in rare, antique books. In 1904, he became a naturalized British citizen and legally took the name of Voynich. Now comes the story about big mystery book.
To begin with, or maybe to end with, in 2009, University of Arizona researchers radiocarbon-dated the book to sometime between the years 1404 and 1438, but there is evidence that text in the book had been ‘touched up’ so the actual date could be even earlier. Apparently the book changed several hands since the early 1400s, being in the possession of a wide spectrum of people, from alchemist to Franciscan friar. It ended up in the library at the College of Rome, run by the Jesuits. In 1903, the Order was short of money and decided to sell some of its holdings discreetly to the Vatican Library. Yes, surprisingly financial competition exists even on the religious front! Anyway, the sale took place but not all of the manuscripts ended up going to the Vatican. Voynich bought thirty of these leftover manuscripts, among them the one which now bears his name. He spent the next seven years trying to interest scholars in deciphering the script. After Voynich died in 1930, his wife took possession, but before she passed away, she gave it to a friend who ended up selling it to an antique book dealer. Nice friend? The book dealer couldn’t find a buyer and wound up donating it to Yale University in 1969, where it sits today.
Perhaps if these people only knew the value of what they had in their hands, today’s Lotto jackpot would seem like a mere bag of shells. The book that this Pole bought is priceless. So, focusing on the book, the question-sextet of who, what, when, where, why, and how remains debatable.
Some say that it was secretly written in code by Roger Bacon, a scholarly Franciscan monk who had a ‘side-job’ of asking highly controversial philosophical questions and dabbling in alchemy, both of which were taboo to his religious superiors. Others say that none other than Leonardo da Vinci could have penned the baffling manuscript, or perhaps it was made by an Order of Dominican nuns offering herbal remedies, therapeutic bathing, and astrological readings being that it contains numerous descriptions of medicinal plants and passages that focus on female physical and mental health, reproduction, and parenting. Still others claim that the whole thing was a hoax, written by Voynich himself on blank calfskin parchment he acquired in his original sale from the Jesuits. And of course there is that far-out theory that the alien lettering used cannot be deciphered simply because it was…written by extraterrestrial aliens. I don’t know, to be fair it’s remotely possible, we might as well consider that!
Whatever the case, to this day, 600 years later, nobody knows. Was this the greatest discovery ever made, and done so by a Polish guy? Perhaps someday we’ll find out.
Insanity
Wouldn’t it be nice if such fun, as in the above, were everlasting? Given recent events, reality tells us otherwise.
Perhaps many of us are searching for words to describe the back-to-back mass shooting tragedies. But even more so than the shootings themselves, we may be trying to understand why this keeps happening time and time again. Hearing Texas Governor Greg Abbott in a news conference following the mass slaying of, as of this writing, 19 little kids and 2 adults was, arguably, absolutely abominable. Not once did he mention the fact that a ‘modified’ military assault rifle was legally bought and sold to a civilian. Instead, ‘mental health’ was the sole culprit.
Of course, by now we know the reason for the bureaucratic hush-hush, right? To think that anybody can push a shopping cart up and down the aisles of a neighborhood 5 and 10 store, picking from the shelves perhaps a 6-pack of soda, a box of envelopes, and an AR-15 assault rifle, is preposterous. In the Buffalo tragedy, again, an assault-style rifle was used. Unfortunately, such is the power of politics.
Who’s to blame? The suspect? Or maybe the Administration, the gun lobbyists…or perhaps we the people? Following the bouncing ball, the whole issue may indeed begin with our desire to have guns. Understandably, owning a gun for self-protection, hunting, or target practice reasons is widely acceptable to most people. But how many more people will die before we the people realize that certain specific weapons are clearly designed for other than the above reasons and should rightfully be banned to the public? Arguably, drilling down on the heart of the matter, the only reason why these weapons are legally available to the public is either because not enough voters think that they shouldn’t be, or, not enough voters truly recognize the value of life’s worth enough to put in place strict measures to protect it. As a testament to the latter, just look at the abortion dilemma.
Since 2013, the year after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, mass shootings, defined as the killing of four or more people at once, in the United States have nearly tripled. There have already been 213 mass shootings in 2022.
Insanity?
Oh Go Take a Hike
Get lost, go take a hike! How many times have we used this expression, or, how many times has the expression been used on us? Last Sunday while hearing two people on the street corner arguing and saying precisely that, I immediately thought of the annual foot pilgrimages to both Jasna Góra in Poland and to the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa right here in the U.S. Who would’ve thought that a weekend ‘beef’ could be the inspiration for such an epiphany?
As you may have heard, each year a good number of devout and hearty pilgrims embark on a hiking adventure to Czestochowa’s famous chapel in the basilica of Jasna Góra Monastery. Last summer alone, about 40,000 people sporting an undeniable degree of bravado took to Poland’s country roads and pasturelands, some wearing boots, some wearing helmets aboard bikes, and the rest seated upon the saddles of horses. Come rain or shine all along the journey, these folks weren’t looking for local motels with hot showers and an internet café, but instead ‘roughed-it’ while sleeping in tents and eating canned goods and beef jerky.
And this 40,000 seasonal head-count happened during the pandemic. Typically absent such a global calamity, numbers of these pilgrims nearly double, such as was the case in 2019 when 70,000 able-bodied devotees descended on Jasna Góra over the course of that year. Apart from the walkers, many of whom take the opportunity to write poetry and sketch the landscape along the way, this year 185 bicycle pilgrimages came to Jasna Góra totaling 5,000 people. Over 380 people arrived in 13 running pilgrimages, eh, step aside Forrest Gump, and there were a few horseback pilgrimages of about 30 riders, including one covering 250 miles over the course of 11 days from the village of Zaręby Kościelne in eastern Poland.
Foot pilgrimages are the most popular of course. I had a chance to dive into a few maps and discovered that in Poland alone, the walking routes seem to come from virtually everywhere, over mountains, across rivers, through big cities and tiny towns. There were even a few that, when zoomed in on, seemed to purposely avoid any kind of human or animal population even though not doing so would shorten the route. Instead, these paths remained in Poland’s virtually pristine, remote wilderness areas as far as possible on the way to Czestochowa.
In addition to maybe the most populous pilgrimage departing from Warsaw, a few very popular treks begin in the cities of Radom, Krakow, Rzeszów, Podlasie, and Lublin. And get this, one of the longest routes to Jasna Góra is from the Polish town of Hel way up on the tip of a peninsula in the Baltic Sea. The journey covers 400 miles in 19 days. Do you think you could walk 21 miles per day?
Although the pilgrimages take place throughout the year, by far the most popular time is during summer when devotees plan to arrive at Jasna Góra for the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary on August 15th. This date, as you may know, holds a special significance to many Polish Catholics who commemorate it in tandem with the anniversary of the ‘Miracle at the Vistula.’ In the summer of 1920, Soviet forces attempted to cross Poland in order to carry out Lenin’s plan to provoke communist revolution in Western Europe. Lenin hoped that if the Red Army seized Poland, the Soviets could offer direct support to revolutionaries in Germany. With the Bolsheviks setting their sights on Warsaw, Cardinal Edmund Dalbor, the Primate of Poland at the time, joined the country’s bishops at Jasna Góra and led an act of consecration of the Polish nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Three weeks later, on August 15, 1920, the Polish army halted the Red Army’s advance on the outskirts of Warsaw, driving them away from the city in subsequent days at warp speed which was an incredible feat in itself.
For the average pilgrim, this historic fact as well as the upcoming celebration of Our Lady of Jasna Góra on August 26th is the perfect week-and-a-half relaxer after all those miles! Said one pilgrim after an 11-day trek from Rzeszów, “I try to do the pilgrim’s walk every two years. I first made the trip at 27 years old, now I am 38. Yes I walk slower, but the prize stays the same. I reach Jasna Góra with deeper sense of faith.”
But let’s not forget, there’s also the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa located in Doylestown, PA where a similar kind of ‘foot-feat’ takes place! You got it, since 1988, thousands of pilgrims have taken to the terrain in departing from St. Peter and Paul Church in Great Meadows, NJ. Since 1921, this Polish parish has been a staple in the local Polish-American community there and is the leading organizer for treks to the ‘American Jasna Gora.’ Each year, it leads a large group of people of all ages, from grandparents to young children, on a near 60-mile walk lasting four days and 3 nights. The pilgrims camp out in forests, state parks, and on farmland.
So the next time you find yourself taking in all of Poland’s sights along the roads, or for that matter the roads of New Jersey, don’t be surprised to spot a few ‘cross-country’ folks with backpacks and hiking sticks while glancing out your car window. They’re not hippies looking for a lift, perhaps as the stereotype goes, but rather deep-rooted devoted people who are using physically challenging efforts to enhance their faith.
Now if we could only find our hiking boots…
To Be or Not to Be...Incorruptible
Talk of the town is…it’s going to happen. According to a reporter-friend of mine based in Rome, lately there has been more than casual gossip about potentially re-exhuming the body of Saint John Paul II and putting it under glass for the public’s perpetual adoration.
As you may recall, immediately following John Paul II’s death and funeral, his body was encased in a quadruple-layered tomb made out near-nuclear-proof materials. In addition to possible beatification and sainthood, the College of Cardinals back then most likely had another future task in mind, and decided to place Wojtyla’s body in an underground vault directly beneath the main altar in St. Peter’s Basilica, in the same vicinity where St. Peter’s remains are.
First, the tan-colored cypress-wood coffin that was seen during John Paul II’s funeral, of course was sealed, and tied with three red silk ribbons. Next, it was lowered into a large zinc and lead casket, which was heat-soldered shut. This was a key step that you will want to refer back to in a few minutes, notably that it prevented any air from getting to the body. This zinc coffin was then adorned with three bronze plaques: a cross at the head of the coffin, a middle plaque with the Pope's name and the length of his life and pontificate, and a third with Pope John Paul II's personal coat of arms at the foot.
Next, the zinc and lead casket was then lowered into a larger walnut casket, bearing three more elaborate plaques. The walnut casket was shut with nails of pure 22K gold. Finally, the triple-tiered coffin was lowered into the ground, as the Pope specifically requested ‘ground or earth’ complementing his plain wooden casket wishes, and covered with a plain stone slab featuring his name and dates of his pontificate. The Pope asked that his burial be like that of Pope Paul VI, not in an elaborate sarcophagus, but in plain old bare earth. That is a key point.
Wojtyla’s remains lay in this tomb for six years before it was exhumed to prepare for his beatification in 2011. All went as planned as you know, the Pope was beatified and three years later became a Saint. Before the beatification, the triple-casket, walnut over zinc over cypress, was put on display at the main altar for people to pray over, however it of course remained sealed. After the beatification, the casket was moved to the chapel of St. Sebastian, located on the main floor of St. Peter’s Basilica, where it was once again encased in stone.
Recalling the earlier mention of an entirely air-sealed encasement, you may have figured out that there must have been a good reason for this. Did those who planned the Pope’s funeral have future plans in mind revolving around the topic of incorruptibility? This, as you may be aware, is the belief that divine intervention allows some human bodies, specifically saints, to avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their holiness. Bodies that undergo little or no decomposition, or delayed decomposition, are sometimes referred to as incorrupt or incorruptible. So if divine intervention is at play, why all the fuss, a slammed-shut and sealed coffin, golden nails, why all the garb?
And here is where the spark of controversy plays in. Wojtyla, as you know, expressed clearly that he wished to be buried with ‘no frills,’ rather, in plain and simple fashion as was pointed out above. One can probably assume then, had Wojtyla been aware of such plans, he would have most definitely not wished for any kind of effort be made for potential preservation of his body. After all, if God wanted his body, as well as any others in history, to be preserved, there would be no reason for soldered-shut coffins, embalming, sweet-smelling oils, or cosmetic wax to be used as had been done with some other people deemed to be ‘incorruptible.’
John Paul II was not embalmed, unlike the former occupant of his tomb in the crypt, Pope John XXIII, who actually was embalmed with formaldehyde despite initial denials. However, Wojtyla’s airtight casket didn’t exactly rule out the idea that his preparers had some kind of hidden agenda. Just look at what eventually happened to John XXIII, officially classified as an ‘incorruptible.’ Although his body was in fair shape upon exhumation, most likely due to an air-locked tomb and the injected formaldehyde, it was then painted with wax and it is now on display in St. Peter’s Basilica. Again, if God wishes incorruptibility, who are we to doctor-up the body? The big question then to ask is, to what extent do we cosmetically ‘fake’ incorruptibility to make it seem like God is responsible?
We can go both ways on this. Understandably, the College of Cardinals probably predicted that one day there would be justification for Pope John Paul II’s beatification, and rightly so. Naturally it would follow that such an occasion would call for pre-planned elaboration and a high degree of fanfare to ensure Wojtyla’s unembalmed body wouldn’t get deteriorated from air. But on the flip side, still another question might be asked: Would Wojtyla have wanted that?
And now, perhaps adding more fuel to the fire of potential controversy, there has been some administrative chatter about possibly removing the Pope’s body from its 4-layer encasement in St. Sebastian’s chapel and putting it on display under sealed, airtight glass just as had been done to John XXIII.
It makes you wonder, where the heck is the integrity and honor of abiding by one’s wishes, especially a Pope’s? Clearly, John Paul II did not want to be adored in some sort of cosmetically preserved visual state. He wanted his life’s works to be what we adored. We seem to be continually ignorant of this and make the same mistake in other people we commemorate, such as with our wartime heroes, in that we don’t seem to think of what the ‘commemoratees’ would favor, but only of what we as the ‘commemorators’ would favor.
How about honoring the wishes of the dead?
A Whole Lotta Garbage
New York City has yet to experience a decent snowfall. Just last week, citizens manning the southernmost outpost of Elm Park, Staten Island woke to the rumble of Department of Sanitation trucks creeping up neighborhood blocks. But they weren’t picking up our garbage. Rather, as homeowners’ cans stayed still on the curb, these behemoths were spreading that dreaded substance known to tear up concrete…rock salt. Of course, it’s dirt cheap, so should we blame the city for yet another way to compromise infrastructure?
But the main point of this anecdote lies not in the garbage bypass, an understandable and rational reason when dangerous, icy snow comes. The whole ridiculousness of it all was that…there was no snow. Undoubtedly, you’ve heard news reports of garbage pile-ups in the face of sanitation sick-outs, but these guys were on the job, working, and still the garbage wasn’t being picked up. Frustrated by the ordeal, upon the next scheduled pickup which had snow in the forecast, I found myself waiting up until 2am one early morning, which is the typical time for garbage collection, only to run outside and ensure that my garbage would be picked up. I wonder how many other folks in the neighborhood regularly cut their sleep in half during winter on account of these citywide governmental blunders?
How to Deal with a Cold Spouse
On the flip side, perhaps winter does have its bright moments. Says Tom Danischewski who lives in the suburbs of Syracuse, “Since my retirement several years ago, I’ve learned to love the snow and ice.” The mild-mannered man recently turned 70 years old and always asks Santa, which is his wife of 45 years, for new fishing gear to support his passion for ice fishing around the Finger Lakes region. “She used to buy me fishing lures as gifts for Christmas and my birthday and I didn’t know what to think, like she wanted me out of the house. But now I ask for them outright so she doesn’t feel bad.” You’ve got to love a guy such as Tom, who knows how to deal with the cold, or at least a spousal relationship.
Rosebud
Rosebud. Of course, nearly everybody may immediately recognize that single word, made famous by Orson Welles in the 1941 film Citizen Kane. As you probably know, the film draws a parallel to the real-life story of newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst, but despite his infuriated attempts to ban the film in media advertising, Citizen Kane became a synonymous logo with Hearst himself. Even when his son died, readers recognized who it was, when their newspaper headlines printed ‘Son Of Citizen Kane Dies.’ Getting back to Rosebud, of course that was Kane’s childhood companion, the name of his sled. Do you remember sleigh riding when you were a kid? My family had a bunch of sleds, and a 5-seat toboggan. After a snowfall, a trek up to a local hilly golf course was the norm. After a few runs, nobody wanted to leave. And back then, snowfalls came regularly. But today, for snow lovers, New York City would be lucky if it got more than two days of sleigh-ridable snowfall. Rosebud? Some of us can certainly relate to Citizen Kane’s last words.
52 weeks in the newsroom
Cigarette smoke-filled rooms with a non-stop barrage of typewriter keys hitting 20lb paper. Reporters with loosened neckties or discarded hi-heels all cooped up arguing over lead stories amidst a room full of mess, phones ringing off the hook, and editors trying to harness the whole situation. I thought you’d like to know exactly what goes into bringing the news to you each week. Sound like something out of the 1940’s? Well, perhaps we’re a bit more refined these days, but the fervor hasn’t really changed that much. Let’s highlight some of those ‘typed’ keys…both in the headlines and in your feedback from the past year 2021.
JANUARY
- In a speech, it was mentioned that Polish visitors to West Point Academy had asked cadets about Kosciuszko and where his memorial garden was. The cadets knew nothing about Kosciuszko. What? – Stephen C., NY
- Once you hear this, you will find it hard not to tap your feet or seek out a Polish wedding so you can sweep around that inviting dance floor. Promoting happiness and joy, Matty would agree that hearing this CD would certainly make us all smile more! – Karen Kushner, NY on Polish Radio Polka Band CD.
FEBRUARY
- The verdict was in. Surely Poles must have been among the lost witnesses to this infamous event; they must have at least heard the shots from those Tommy guns. Lost witnesses, corruption, and calamity on St. Valentine’s Day
- How many Poles are buried on Alderney Island? Is anyone else but this daring archaeologist interested in finally recognizing these prisoners thrown into a pit who are now nothing but a mixed pile of bones? Unearthed, unknown Poles among the numerous Nazi killing fields
MARCH
· I’ve heard Bayonne, NJ is a better place to shop for Polish food than in Brooklyn. Around New York City, what area holds the best Polish food? – Frank, NY
· By 1942, it was estimated that around 120,000 POWs in the Żagań area died of hunger, disease, and maltreatment. The scores of sorrowful scars upon Żagań, Poland
APRIL
- My study of WW2 Polish fighter pilots came across ‘Dziubek’ Horbaczewski who authors argue committed suicide. His plane and bodily remains were identified in 1947, after being shot down by a German Focke-Wulf over France in 1944, but his letters revealed that he doubted Poland would be free of the Soviets and so did not want to return. Is there any further proof of this? – Pete, NY
- Roughly 5,000 Polish immigrants fought for the Union army while only a fifth of that number served in the Confederate army. A little top-sided you might say, but there may have been a good reason for that. A fistful of a few more Polish jellybeans
MAY
· Fans of the 1975 film Dog Day Afternoon starring Al Pacino might be interested to know that the main character played by Pacino was based on the true story of John Wojtowicz, who in the summer of 1972 attempted to rob a bank in Brooklyn in an ordeal lasting 14 hours. Fearful facts and films of the 1970s
· What ever happened to the man who shot John Paul II? Did he get released from jail and is he still alive? – Donna, NY
JUNE
- Close, but no cigar. Sorry, but it’s Na zdrowie. The z is not capitalized, and it’s pronounced Nah ZDROH-vyeh, not Nah ZDROH-vi. – Krystyna, NY
- Bottom of the bag credits went to Szawlowski Packers of Hatfield, MA. Standing there with my mouth wide open in awe, I imagine my fellow shoppers thought I was enduring some kind of epiphany. It’s all about a Polish potato grower
JULY
- Got a five ingredients or fewer recipe for Polish pickled peppers? – Stella, CT
- Edward Klabiński, known by the Frenchies as Monsieur Édouard Klabinski, holds the distinction of being the first cyclist from Poland to take part in the Tour de France, doing so in 1947. Flashback forays of Polish power on two wheels
AUGUST
- Will New York have the Pulaski Parade this year? I was just wondering. – Kathy, KY
- Folks may come for the polka and pierogi, but essentially the palate prefers the taste of the shrine, so to speak. It’s all about Czestochowa
SEPTEMBER
- In 1990, Pope John Paul II openly declared in a papal audience that “animals possess a soul and men must love and feel solidarity with our smaller brethren.” Unpopularity of a Polish pet owner’s probe
- It was about Tom Kaminski, the helicopter-based traffic reporter for WPIX news in New York City who was the first broadcaster to report that something had happened at the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m. on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. Polish sky-rider with the teddy-bear touch
OCTOBER
- Finally, all rolled up and in the back confines of a lower cabinet drawer was a T-shirt. I think I was trying to preserve it somehow given the proclamation on the front: Jeszcze Polska Nie Zgineła. Nine nice notables for Polish Heritage Month
- There’s still time to brush up on your Halloween trivia skills with this All Hallows’ Polish Eve crossword puzzle. An All-Hallows’ Polish Eve
NOVEMBER
- Especially deceased loved ones whose ‘other side’ of life had never been published. I’m sure they, somehow looking over us from above, would be quite pleased to finally have a few happy stories being read about them for a change. Where are the untold happier life stories of our vets?
- I know you like animals but did you know that NYC mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa owns 16 cats? – Cheryl, NY
DECEMBER
- Thank you for mentioning St. Stanislaus Kostka Church and Fr. Jacek in your book. I enjoy reading and bought another book for my friend. – Dorota, NY
- Being a teacher is a constant evolution. One has to constantly pursue new ideas and ways to connect to children. Making a strong connection is the key to everything! – Magdalena Pecak in Talks and tells of a Polish Saturday School teacher
16 Cats and The Best Damn Deli Haven
Q: I know you like animals but did you know that NYC Mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa owns 16 cats? – Cheryl, NY
A: Indeed I did Cheryl, thanks for the mention! Both Sliwa and his wife are animal activists and if elected, he vows to create a “no-kill” shelter system and put an end to the horse carriage industry. Sliwa recently released his “13-Point Animal Welfare Plan” that outlines the whole deal. By the way, furry felines aside, I hope you knew that Sliwa is a Polish-American too!
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Q: Congratulations on the publishing of your new book! I ordered the hardcover edition. What inspired you to write it if I may ask? – Dorothy, NJ
A: Thank you very much Dorothy! Much appreciated! About eight months ago I embarked on a co-authorship idea with a friend, however soon after we began, his wife passed away and so he was not able to continue. I then decided to pursue the idea solo. It was certainly an experience and I was honored that my friend supported my effort all the way through.
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Q: Fantastic news, finally! I always knew someday you would offer a book! Will the book be available in Barnes & Noble being that I like to shop there and what is the exact title of your book? – Donna, NY
A: Thanks Donna! I appreciate the enthusiasm! Yes, I’ve negotiated a deal for physical copies to be on the shelves of selected bookstores. My book is called “E-Notes and Anecdotes: 50 First Impressions of Musical Masterpieces Through the Ages, Philosophically Speaking.” Bookstores though may have limited quantities, so to ensure you get a copy as soon as possible, your best bet would be to order it on Amazon.com.
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Q: I received your new book and automatically read about the Polish song Cyt Cyt first. My question is, you wrote about this folk tune first being loosely created from homemade instruments, why did Mazowsze change the original version and add singers and new instruments? Very nice book, congratulations and thank you! – Stanley, NY
A: Thank you very much Stanley! Good question, and I believe the answer was that these original songs using makeshift instruments may have sounded a bit raw to the naked ear. I guess the trick was to try to retain the original melody, but enhance it using newer technology so as to be more attractive and pleasing to the listener. You’ve got me thinking now, I’d love to hear those unedited original versions just for the heck of it!
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Q: Your crossword puzzles are real brain-drainers, I can figure out maybe half the answers. I like them a lot though and they are a refreshing break from the New York Times puzzles! – Stephen, NY
A: Thanks Stephen! Draining the brain can only lead to filling it up again!
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Q: How did the New York City Pulaski Day Parade turn out? – Barb, NY
A: I was looking hi and lo for you Barb! Just kidding, everything went very well! Sunshine and fine temperature made the event a total pleasure to be a part of. It was so crowded with Pol-Ams that I backed into Curtis Sliwa at one point and almost knocked off his Guardian Angel’s red beret, but he didn’t mind. You know, if he gets to be Mayor, I’m thinking that the typical protective insulation going along with the position might be loosened, just because he’s a real down-to-earth “people” person. By the way, for some mysterious reason parade marchers could smell kielbasa cooking during the entire trek up Fifth Ave. from 36th St. to 53rd St. Maybe somebody brought along a walkable grill?
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Q: Was the battle ever fought and finished over who has the best Polish delis, Greenpoint, Brooklyn or Bayonne, NJ? – Frank, NY
A: Frank, I believe Wikipedia may soon enter that conflict as the longest running battle to date. Greenpoint dates back to 1645, first settled by a Norwegian immigrant. Bayonne beats that by twenty-two years though, having been settled in 1623 by French Huguenots. As far as the Poles, they trickled in both places much later obviously so the mystery continues as to which location had the very first Polish food stronghold and continues to rule. My own opinion is that Bayonne, pictured in the photo from the 1960s, may win in that category being that it is exactly four times bigger than Greenpoint which is only 2.75 square miles in size. Bayonne, in 2010, had 63,000 people which was almost twice the population as Greenpoint that same year. So, based on these statistics, I’m going to pull a quote from one of my favorite movies, the 1957 film 12 Angry Men when Lee J. Cobb says, “What, are we all going crazy in here or something, why don’t you listen to the facts?” and side with Bayonne, New Jersey as being the most likely champion of best Polish deli’s. Eh, side note, Cobb was the last juror to be convinced by Henry Fonda and changed his mind in the end so…the verdict may still change.
Probing the Unpopular
Having received quite a curious inquiry a few weeks ago, I thought I’d open up the floor early to allow our thinktanks to ponder. The question, from an animal aficionado reader, asked if her pet cat possesses a soul and why there isn’t any talk about the possibility of animals having souls. Certainly an unpopular probing question, and maybe even one that is shunned.
We never think about this possibility, do we? Traditionally we have been geared to focus exclusively on the souls of Mankind, never even considering if animals, or other life forms such as a butterfly, have such a thing as a soul. Most people think that heaven exists, and it is a place of blissful existence. It would logically follow then, since heaven is such a wonderful place and being that all things are possible with God, that it would be reasonable to conclude that our beloved pets will be there with us. The trouble is, we never thought to think “outside of the box,” and few, if any, of our modern-day religious leaders have encouraged us to do so. When was the last time you heard a Sunday homily on this topic?
Most homilies, it’s fair to say, are based on biblical scripture. Let’s go back to the Garden of Eden story then, as we all know it. The decision to disobey God by eating the apple was made by us, not by the animals. Technically, you would not be incorrect in concluding that animals should have an automatic entry into heaven since they have no elevated conscience to choose right from wrong, such as humans have. The next question may then be, is heaven exclusively for humans who use their conscience to choose right over wrong? Most people would say yes. However, hold it a minute. What about handicapped humans, the mentally impaired who may not have developed such a thinking mechanism? Or, for that matter, a newborn infant? If we agree that such a mechanism of conscience is therefore not a prerequisite to enter heaven, then why are we not considering other life forms, such as this reader’s cat, that do not employ such a mechanism of conscience?
Some in the religious community may stand their ground in saying that heaven is unlike anything we know here on earth, that our pets do not have souls, and that our awareness in heaven transcends even the most affectionate, loving degree that any human can have while here on earth. In other words, once in heaven, the reader who submitted this inquiry wouldn’t even be aware that she loved her pet cat because she would be in a higher state of conscious love. Gee, that sounds very noble, putting this woman’s soul on a heavenly pedestal and saying she’s risen beyond any earthly love. It’s actually kind of a callous insult, isn’t it? For a human to expend their greatest effort in loving a pet, why then should they be robbed of the fruits of their love by not seeing their pets in heaven? For what is heaven, but the fulfillment of the maximum efforts of humanly love.
Yet all hope is not lost among our mainstream religious leaders who fail to publicize the topic. And we have our own Karol Wojtyla to thank for it! Not since St. Francis of Assisi has anyone really offered any kind of outward expression regarding the souls of animals. In 1990, Pope John Paul II openly declared in a papal audience that “animals possess a soul and men must love and feel solidarity with our smaller brethren.” He added that animals are the “fruit of the creative action of the Holy Spirit and merit respect” and that they are “as near to God as men are.” These were extremely powerful and significant statements. Obviously putting animals in the same proximity to God as Man is, says a lot. You can imagine how many grumbles there must have been!
Fr. Jack Wintz, O.F.M. has written a wonderful book specifically on this topic, called “Will I See My Dog in Heaven?” In the book, Fr. Wintz cites several proofs that God desires the whole family of creation to be included in his plan of salvation. If animals were of no significance in the overall picture, then St. Francis would most certainly not have devoted so much time to them.
But we’re not finished yet. Now that we’ve broached the possibility of a lovable cat’s soul, what about the stray dog in the forest who nobody loves? What about a pet bird? What about the lizard that a kid grows to love as a pet? Do reptiles, and maybe insects too, have souls? Who decides to what degree an other-than-human life form possesses a soul and goes to heaven?
As you can see, such discussion shakes our foundational beliefs. We tend to shy away from this topic because it does not fit with the status quo of our cultural norms and our spirituality. Just imagine if we pursued such inquiry full-throttle. It’s not hard to realize the upheaval of life we’d be embarking on. Consolation may come, though, when we remember that analogous to this, Nicolaus Copernicus did sort of the same thing, right?
Doll Power
Big news is…my Krakowianka dolls managed to escape the floods unscathed. You heard right, the little boy and little girl duo all decked out in colorful costumes actually spent the night on the second floor of my home while hurricane Ida bombarded the area with torrential rain. Had the kids been in the basement you see, I would perhaps now be reporting their funeral arrangements.
What a relief, but that’s far from what I can say about my other property. Although I deeply savor an evening rain due to its imparting tranquility and atmosphere for contemplation, on last week’s occasion it almost caused me to hide in a closet. No sleep of course that night, neither did my six cats fall off to slumberland. Instead, a glance out the window witnessed a new sort of ‘river’ forging its way down the street. Riding on its waves were plenty of garbage cans, several boxes, a rocking chair, and a bed mattress to name just a few items. I’m not sure if someone had been sleeping on that mattress though, and perhaps went overboard.
However when the sun came up in the morning, closer to home found an ideal opportunity to go swimming, if that was your thing. You see, my basement was flooded, along with maybe half of the homes in the entire area. Experiencing a new kind of ‘wet foot’ walk, not since a stroll through Hezekiah’s Tunnel in Jerusalem, which was a water channel cut out of the rock to ensure the city received water in times of war, did I ever have so much stimulation. There was no time to curse and swear, as basement boxes, rugs, and sheetrock walls were soaking up the 3-inches of rain water. I immediately opened the sewer drain valve, something I should have anticipated and done before the storm, and the water began to exit. I’m glad those Krakowianka dolls weren’t among the cat balls and clothespins heading for the drain valve.
No fewer than a dozen garbage bags full of soaking wet clothes, books, rugs, and other absorbent goods were filled and put out for collection, joining a picnic of sorts in which the entire neighborhood participated. After spic-and-spanning the floor to eliminate the dried rain residue, a dehumidifier served as the final step to make things ‘a-right again. But realizing full recovery would be hit with a twist, and leave it up to this column to expose it.
Can you believe that my insurance company will not pay for any damages? Of course you can believe it, what else is new? After taking twenty photos of everything from a submerged hot water heater to an electric circuit-soaked amplifier, and from vinyl tile and particle-board door damage to those sheetrocked walls mentioned above, the insurance rep cordially informed me that my policy doesn’t cover flooding. Indeed he was correct after I checked the fine print on the policy. ‘Correct’ may be the ironic word in all of this, correct?
Although most policies have a hurricane deductible, and I invite you to review your own homeowner’s policy, ironically, they add that flooding clause in what appears to be a politically correct tactic. “Ra, ra, ra,” so boast the ads on television pitching for these policies as you may have seen, but in reality, it’s more like a game of politics, and we thought politics only belonged to politicians. Together with wind, what in God’s name is the biggest factor in a hurricane? Water! So much for the hurricane deductible.
What has life become, some kind of conniving scheme to say one thing and do another? What happened to good old-fashioned moral and ethical conscience? Have we become so numb to realizing that our words and actions have effects on recipients, instead feeling justified that we are promoting a falsity simply because “everybody’s doing it,” so to speak? It says on my policy that most insurance companies do not cover flood insurance, along with ‘nice’ words suggesting that the policyowner consult the Federal Government’s National Flood Insurance Program for flood insurance. As if, this insurance company is trying to justify themselves using cordiality in its words. This is the absolute epitome of misaligned ethics, when we try to get ‘off the hook’ by being pleasant so it doesn’t bother our conscience. Indeed, the ‘conscience’ has drastically changed from the old days, hasn’t it?
Through it all, my two dolls remain standing, although I’m not sure how they can stand all of this. However, they are a refreshing image that not everything has gone to hell. Sometimes, dolls can be more authentic than people and policies, I guess.
Watered-Down Olympics?
I’m wondering, perhaps as you are, if such an overabundance of events at the Olympic Games perhaps strays a bit from the Olympics of olde where merely a few disciplines were on the agenda. At what point, shall we speculate, is an activity deemed a sport and worthy of representation in the Olympic Games? Of course, there are procedures in place which qualify such events, but the question then becomes, who is moving the margin thereby allowing such events to be included, and why?
For example, understandably the Canoeing event can be competitive to a degree. What that degree is may be subject to debate however. Has this new sport been borrowed from the longstanding familiar sport of Rowing which is also featured at the Games? Additionally, there are also sub-disciplines under Canoeing, such as Canoeing Slalom and Canoeing Sprint. Now, is this just a bit of overkill?
On the positive side, such diversity and sub-sectioning of sporting events obviously allows more athletes a chance to compete. However, on the flip side, by doing so, are we somehow watering-down the podium winners from long-past Games, those athletes who fought hard and beat out a lot of competitors, who now hold the same status as today’s podium winners who, arguably, haven’t really matched the same degree of effort?
It’s troubling. But, it’s not surprising, is it? So much of today’s life seems to be a watered-down version of the past. From outward governing to inward religion, we will never see the standards that our grandparents lived by. The recent Am-Pol Eagle editorial on wycinanki may sum up the sentiment, as how can one equate the authenticity and skillset of yesteryear’s homemade handcrafts with today’s mass-produced, impersonal, machine-made ones? Unfortunately, we seem to be going in the direction of the latter, and the same may hold true at the Olympics.
This is a Pickle
Q: On your critique of the 1-hour-a-week Catholic in response to a recent question, I’m one of those Catholics and don’t like to be condemned. After all, the church lays down guidelines for its parishioners, worshiping every Sunday and holy days is considered good enough to keep the faithful in good standing. – Margie, New York
A: Sorry that you feel condemned, Margie. It’s great to follow guidelines as it’s a testament to one’s devotion, but the point of that exchange was that I doubt God would prefer us as just a herd of cattle on the drive to salvation. Sadly, too many religions today seem overly confident in structuring a path to heaven. Rather than 1-hour a week, should not our devotion to spirituality be every waking second of every day, encompassing every single thought and action we take? If this sounds like an extremist stance, then our spirituality has been left reduced to just another cog in the wheel.
***
Q: Got a five ingredients or fewer recipe for Polish pickled peppers? – Stella, Connecticut
A: Indeed I do Stella, but if you want them to taste good using only five ingredients, it will require you to first recite the phrase: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper, a peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper, where’s the peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked? Go fetch 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar, 1/3 cup of white sugar, salt to taste, and 3 red bell peppers cut in half. Combine the water, vinegar, sugar, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the peppers, reduce heat to low, and simmer until they are softened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the peppers and liquid to jars, cover with lids, and refrigerate overnight.
***
Q: Since you’re a skeptic on UFOs, how do you explain the recent sightings off of the CA coast? – Damian, Florida
A: Thanks Damian, but as the great Willy Wonka put it, “pure imagination.” Perhaps we should not be so gullible in once again getting sucker-punched in igniting the frenzy of mysteria within us. Maybe it’s the Air Force, maybe it’s Elon Musk testing out a new toy, who knows? As far as UFOs go, when one lands on the Washington D.C. Mall and gives us a chance to say “Klaatu barada nikto,” I’ll sing that song by the Monkees…I’m a believer, yeah, yeah, yeah.
***
Q: I just adopted an adorable little kitten from a shelter and I named her Wtorek since I got her on a Tuesday afternoon. She is 6 months old. Do you recommend hard or soft food? – Elizabeth, New York
A: Nice name, Elizabeth! Suggestion would be wet food for the next six months, then continue doing so but also put out a bowl of dry food which helps clean the teeth a bit. Got a photo?
Flashback Forays
Given the big letdown this year of Poland’s presence at the famed Tour de France bicycle race, I thought it would be nice to limit our losses, save some Kleenex, and instead walk away with some degree of joy by reflecting on a few notable Poles who have shined at the great race over the years. The race of course takes place every summer along the roads of France and this year spans some 2,102 torturous miles over 21 days of racing. I was lucky enough to spend three seasons training and racing in France, cherishing every inch of the road.
We have a bit of late breaking news. As pointed out in last week’s column, occasionally teams wait until the last minute to select some riders. You’d better believe it baby, because 31-year old veteran Pole Rafal Majka is now in the race. He got a phone call from his United Arab Emirates team manager who told him to quickly pack a suitcase and hop on over to France. Majka’s job specifically will be to help last year’s winner Tadej Pogacar climb three key mountains in hopes of winning the race once again. I bet the bookies in Vegas now have the odds on that he does.
Here’s a trip down memory bike lane…
► Edward Klabiński, known by the Frenchies as Monsieur Édouard Klabinski, holds the distinction of being the first cyclist from Poland to take part in the Tour de France, doing so in 1947. He finished in 34th place, interestingly, that Tour was the 34th edition of the race as well. It was the first Tour since 1939 due to some years being cancelled because of World War II. The 1947 race was actually one of the longest in history at 2,884 miles. Organizers did not invite a German team, and the only Italians invited were Franco-Italians already living in France. The post-war peace treaty had not been officially signed yet so technically France was still at war.
Klabiński caught some fortune even to be in the race at all. Since organizers invited ten teams of ten cyclists each, the plan was to have a joint Dutch-British team, but the Dutch cyclists protested because the British cyclists were too inexperienced, so the Brits were replaced by pick-up cyclists from other countries and the team was called Netherlands/French Strangers. Eh, nice name to have on your back, right? Of the 100 guys that began the race, only 53 finished, making Klabiński’s effort all the more incredible.
Hold on to your ‘chapeau’, because Klabiński came back the following July and finished in 18th place! The 1948 Tour was even tougher at 3,058 miles long. Fortunately, the 27-year old had made a mark for himself the previous year and was living in France so the organizers put him on a team called the Internationals along with nine other non-French cyclists. Vive la Fra…Polonia!
► With the start of the Tour de France just days ago, our next feature goes to the one and only Lech Piasecki, a true hero of Poland! Piasecki was a time trial specialist, the type of bicycle race pitting man against clock in an all-out exertive effort. He has always been one of my favorite cyclists, but not so much for his tenacious strength on two wheels, but more so for his intellectual moxy for making big deals. You see, after Piasecki won the Amateur World Championship in 1985, a hoard of pro cycling teams bombarded him with huge contract offers. The Italian team Colnago won over his heart, but at a price. Despite the official report, the word on the street was that Piasecki, now realizing his worth, petitioned the Polish Cycling Federation to garnish another deal with Colnago before he signed his deal. The Federation would only release Piasecki with “an ample supply of racing bicycles for the development of Poland’s cycling program”. In short, Poland got the bikes, and Colnago got Piasecki, who was largely responsible for today’s Polish cycling sport.
Piasecki’s 1987 Tour de France performance was nothing short of extraordinary. On day 1, he had the fastest time until narrowly beaten by another cyclist crossing the line three seconds faster. However, Piasecki wore the leader’s yellow jersey after finishing ahead of that guy on day 2 and kept it on his back on day 3 after finishing first along with his whole team in what’s called a team time trial. But after he lost the lead the following day, he eventually had to abandon the race due to illness. Still, not a bad take-home gift.
► The saddest moment for any rider in the Tour de France is having to abandon the race. I recall the great Irish star Sean Kelly, the fastest man on two wheels, sobbing in child’s tears and being forced to quit after fracturing his collarbone at the 1987 Tour. I also vividly remember Bruno Wojtinek, a Polish-French rider who my sister told me about and I had wanted to meet, pulled to the side of the road at that same Tour and abandoned. He was completely spent and had no energy left in his tank. Really sad to see as his career could have been quite different had he finished that race. For years leading up to the 1987 Tour, Wojtinek was a superstar, either winning or finishing in the top five in multiple races. But after that one incident, everything went downhill. He retired in 1989.
► Lastly, to give you an idea of exactly how hard this race is, take a look at that photo. No, that’s not something out of a Frankenstein film, those are the legs of then 27-year old Pawel Poljanski midway through the 2017 Tour. If you’re wondering how this can be, Dr. Bradley Launikonis from the University of Queensland’s School of Biomedical Science explains: “There is blood pooling in his veins which is why you’re seeing them so visibly. There’s a high level of blood being pushed into his legs for long periods of time, and it’s still in there post-exercise. It’s not going to happen to someone who’s doing recreational exercise. It’s clearly something that’s only going to happen in elite athletes, like these guys riding in massive cycling events.”
Tune in to see such legs as well as our Polish duo at the Tour de France seen on NBCSN network.
168 Hours
Q: I am debating whether to take my 88-year old mom to attend Sunday Mass as she has been watching televised Masses for over a year now. Why hasn’t the church enforced guidelines for the elderly as a precaution? - Dorothy, NJ
A: Well, to be perfectly frank, I think if all religious authorities were truly authentic in their faith, they would be telling all followers, especially the elderly, to stay home in order to be completely safe. Any reasonably minded person would conclude that watching services on television, praying the rosary, reading the Bible, Quran, Bhagavad Gita, or whatever is applicable to one’s faith, are all perfectly satisfying to God in the midst of a global health crisis. Instead, rational minds such as yours may ask the question, is there another motif for downplaying a stay-at-home directive? Perhaps the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ philosophy is part of the reason because the longer people stay home from services, the less likely they are to return to them. It’s a philosophy applicable to almost everything.
***
Q: You often reference the wisdom of our grandparents which I like. I continue to wonder, are we smarter or dumber than the people that lived hundreds of years before us? - Frank, NY
A: Thanks Frank. Every culture thinks that it’s at the height of secular and spiritual maturity and intellectualism. Who among the ancient Egyptians considered that in a few thousand years thinking would be different? Nobody, absolutely nobody. Instead, just as they did then, we sleep soundly at night without questioning our own cultural ‘norms.’ We look back at the Aztecs and say, “Oh my, how could anyone sacrifice humans to a god, oh what primitive ghastly thinking.” But we don’t want to consider that a thousand years from now, people will probably be saying the exact same thing about some activity we currently consider to be normal. Are we smarter than our ancestors? We will be on the day we admit that we aren’t.
***
Q: Thank you for the insight into my earlier question. My next concerns our children and if they are taking away anything memorable from the Mass and its homilies? My daughter used to rave about the homilies of a priest but that was years ago and not like today. - Donna, NY
A: Thanks as always Donna. Too many kids today don’t even go to Mass, and what about the future kids of these kids, do we expect they will go? Unfortunately, at this rate, 100 years from now faith institutions such as the Catholic Church may be, I’m sorry to say, virtually extinct. Respectfully to our priests, let’s be perfectly honest here, how many parishioners young and old remember a homily an hour after leaving Mass? Homilies need to be intertwined with daily current events be them political, social, sexual, etc. Taking bold stands, calling out politicians for hypocrisy, and acting with leadership. By refraining from this, the Church faces the future danger of morphing into yet another one of our politically correct administrative humdrums, and in doing so, would cause parishioners to simply go through the motions at Sunday Mass with no proactive takeaway. Sitting around the dinner table, do parents and their kids talk about the priest’s homily, or about the latest news on some celebrity or football player? Too many Catholics are putting in their weekly 1 hour at Mass, but going back home and acting otherwise, even far from grace the other 167 hours. Donna, if Christian institutions truly want to survive via today’s kids, they had better engage the parents first with real-time, street-relevant homilies.
Q: I am debating whether to take my 88-year old mom to attend Sunday Mass as she has been watching televised Masses for over a year now. Why hasn’t the church enforced guidelines for the elderly as a precaution? - Dorothy, NJ
A: Well, to be perfectly frank, I think if all religious authorities were truly authentic in their faith, they would be telling all followers, especially the elderly, to stay home in order to be completely safe. Any reasonably minded person would conclude that watching services on television, praying the rosary, reading the Bible, Quran, Bhagavad Gita, or whatever is applicable to one’s faith, are all perfectly satisfying to God in the midst of a global health crisis. Instead, rational minds such as yours may ask the question, is there another motif for downplaying a stay-at-home directive? Perhaps the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ philosophy is part of the reason because the longer people stay home from services, the less likely they are to return to them. It’s a philosophy applicable to almost everything.
***
Q: You often reference the wisdom of our grandparents which I like. I continue to wonder, are we smarter or dumber than the people that lived hundreds of years before us? - Frank, NY
A: Thanks Frank. Every culture thinks that it’s at the height of secular and spiritual maturity and intellectualism. Who among the ancient Egyptians considered that in a few thousand years thinking would be different? Nobody, absolutely nobody. Instead, just as they did then, we sleep soundly at night without questioning our own cultural ‘norms.’ We look back at the Aztecs and say, “Oh my, how could anyone sacrifice humans to a god, oh what primitive ghastly thinking.” But we don’t want to consider that a thousand years from now, people will probably be saying the exact same thing about some activity we currently consider to be normal. Are we smarter than our ancestors? We will be on the day we admit that we aren’t.
***
Q: Thank you for the insight into my earlier question. My next concerns our children and if they are taking away anything memorable from the Mass and its homilies? My daughter used to rave about the homilies of a priest but that was years ago and not like today. - Donna, NY
A: Thanks as always Donna. Too many kids today don’t even go to Mass, and what about the future kids of these kids, do we expect they will go? Unfortunately, at this rate, 100 years from now faith institutions such as the Catholic Church may be, I’m sorry to say, virtually extinct. Respectfully to our priests, let’s be perfectly honest here, how many parishioners young and old remember a homily an hour after leaving Mass? Homilies need to be intertwined with daily current events be them political, social, sexual, etc. Taking bold stands, calling out politicians for hypocrisy, and acting with leadership. By refraining from this, the Church faces the future danger of morphing into yet another one of our politically correct administrative humdrums, and in doing so, would cause parishioners to simply go through the motions at Sunday Mass with no proactive takeaway. Sitting around the dinner table, do parents and their kids talk about the priest’s homily, or about the latest news on some celebrity or football player? Too many Catholics are putting in their weekly 1 hour at Mass, but going back home and acting otherwise, even far from grace the other 167 hours. Donna, if Christian institutions truly want to survive via today’s kids, they had better engage the parents first with real-time, street-relevant homilies.
Unearthed, Unknown
Forty-four thousand. Like me, at first you may not believe in your wildest imagination that this could have been the actual number of Nazi camps existing during World War II. However, incredibly, historians have now concluded…that was the case. These camps, designated as concentration, death, forced-labor, POW, and others dotted the entirety of Europe. Of course, we all knew of the dozen or so infamous ones like Dachau, Treblinka, Buchenwald, and Auschwitz-Birkenau, but as we’ll see from one example, certainly the perils of this reality were far, far more than what was known, or perhaps, what was made public.
Upon first learning of this gargantuan number, I immediately concluded that forensic archaeologists, excavators, and the like are making fantastic new discoveries in the course of their normal pursuits. Finally, the world can know the truth of what lies beneath the ground in certain places, the number of Jews, Poles, and other “socially deviant and inferior” people as they were called that are still buried there, and what really happened at these camps.
Yet, scratching my head…wait a minute, I thought. That’s all very interesting, but these things occurred eighty years ago. You mean, it took that long for revelations of gruesome discoveries to come full circle? As mentioned above, there were a handful of camps that immediately were publicized after being liberated. By 1946, probably the entire world knew precisely what happened at Auschwitz II. So what was the big secret about all these other camps? Was it a logistics issue, a feasibility issue, a manpower issue, that prevented the other forty-three thousand-plus camps from being told of?
Caroline Colls may have opened up a bag of worms in giving us the answer. You may recall back in 2010, Colls, a British archaeologist, was the first person to successfully secure permission from Polish authorities and Jewish religious leaders to excavate Treblinka. She and her team discovered floor tiles that confirmed the location of the camp’s gas chambers. Up until then, excavators were denied any digging “out of respect for the dead,” so stated the official reason. Now, hold on to that excuse for a moment, because it leads to a new kind of revelation, ironically, as Cole may have discovered too.
First, let’s set the stage with Colls’ most recent quest. Alderney Island, dubbed by the Nazi codename “Adolf Island,” is a 3-miles long and 1.5-miles wide island sitting ten miles off the coast of Lower Normandy, France. Colls, in an SUV along with her group armed with shovels, ground-penetrating radar, and a map took a car-boat over. By the way, if anybody can figure out how England got to own this island, let me know! Interestingly though, the permission to dig on the island that she received a few days earlier from the Alderney government was suddenly revoked while on the boat ride over. Huh?
Before we investigate that mystery, a closer look at Alderney reveals that Hitler specifically took an interest in the island, viewing it as a fortress that could be used to own a piece of England and also part of his plan to invade mainland Britain. BBC news had already reported that Alderney was once home to several labor camps, as well as a concentration and death camp called Lager Sylt, which housed thousands of slave laborers between 1940 to 1945, including Poles. In fact, prisoners brought here came from 27 countries.
Colls, in light of this new no-dig government ultimatum, certainly came equipped though. She used aerial drones to fly over the probable site of Lager Sylt as well as LIDAR, a laser-pulse technique to create the base level of a topographic map. What she found was quite troubling. A big pit, in the same style as in Auschwitz II, indicative of a mass grave site. And almost as a suspicion of cover-up, the Nazi’s had created a nice, neat cemetery for about 100 Russian prisoners, complete with crosses. As if to hide the other deaths?
How many Poles are buried on Alderney Island? If they brought Russians there, they surely brought Poles there. Is anyone else but this daring archaeologist interested in finally recognizing these prisoners thrown into a pit who are now nothing but a mixed pile of bones? Where is humanity’s moral and ethical fiber?
Returning to our earlier mystery, isn’t it a bit curious that the overwhelming majority of Nazi camps have gone out of sight, out of mind? Or, might another kind of crime have been committed, on top of the obvious? Unless the Nazi’s set flame to the entirety of their records, clearly in the immediate aftermath of World War II, the German government knew exactly where these camps were located. And what of the foreign governments on whose soil these camps existed? Surely they knew, and continue to know, what unfolded on their own turf. And the excuse to withhold such potentially tragic revelation, “out of respect for the dead?”
First question: are nations like England, whose soil the Nazi death camp known as Lager Sylt sits in, intentionally denying a camp’s exposure because they don’t want the bad publicity? Second question: did these countries strike a deal with post-war Germany to keep these camps “hush-hush” so as not to tarnish a newly ruled German government anxious to rejoin the normalcy of nations now that the tyrant Hitler was gone?
Speculation of course, but I’m thinking of the millions of captive men, women, and children from many of these forty-four thousand camps whose bones have been forgotten about. Nobody ever remembered, nobody knows where, and nobody cares, possibly due to some degree of political bureaucracy. God almighty, is this the best we can do?
Bleeding Hearts of St. Valentine
Valentine’s Day. February 14th, our annual feast of hearts will once again be celebrated in the rightful spirit that it should be, recalling the 3rd century Roman Saint whose name it is attributed to and the promotion of courtly love. But not all was noble and chivalrous on this particular day back in 1929. You guessed it.
Who among us has not heard of the infamous St. Valentine’s Day massacre? The bloody event is almost as synonymous as the red heart-shaped boxes of chocolate we are all familiar with. Might this massacre though, with all its doom and gloom, have taken place amidst Chicago’s incredibly populous Polish community, perhaps right in its own neighborhood?
The question intrigued me. For openers though, of course we’ve probably all seen a few of the films and documentaries about the event, such as the 1967 film starring Jack Nicholson. My favorite, oddly enough a comedy, was the 1959 hit Some Like It Hot starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemon, and of course Marilyn Monroe. Did a pair of bumbling musicians, played by Curtis and Lemon, really witness the slaying?
But, enough of Hollywood. As much a fan of the silver screen as I am, this time I wanted fact over fiction. To set the stage, according to witnesses at about 10:30 in the morning, a Cadillac sedan pulled up in front of an open garage at 2122 North Clark St. in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago’s North Side. Hold on to that fact for a moment. Four men, allegedly hired by kingpin mobster Al Capone, then emerged and walked inside, two of them wearing overcoats and fedoras entered the front, while the other two dressed as policemen entered the rear. The men confronted seven members of rival mobster Bugs Moran's gang and ordered them to line up against a brick wall. By the way, you’ve probably figured out that this was just another example of organized crime lords competing to gain control of a city, this time during Prohibition.
Together with the other dapper-dons, the fake cops opened fire with loud Thompson sub-machine guns. They were thorough, spraying their victims left and right, even continuing to fire after all seven had hit the floor. Adding icing on the bloody cake, to give the appearance that everything was under control, the men in street clothes came out with their hands up, prodded by the two uniformed fake policemen.
After digesting all of these cold, hard facts, I got back to my original supposition that perhaps, just perhaps, this whole thing could have unfolded right before the eyes of Polish residents. After all, the fact that Capone’s men were dressed as cops would indicate that people were on the streets, and witnesses were questioned. Could it be?
An historical study of the Polish migration into Chicago goes back to 1837 and has had a steady rise ever since. In fact today, together with German-Americans and Irish-Americans, Polish-Americans make up the final third of this trio of European roots. But they beat their counterparts in languages spoken, as Polish is the third most widely spoken language in Chicago behind English and Spanish.
And of course, everybody knows Chicago was and still is a huge Polish-American stronghold. So with the help of a street map and no fewer than sixteen sources on the internet, including the Chicago County Clerk’s online records, I began my analysis and initially discovered that nearly all of the first immigrant Poles settled in five distinct sections of the city, known as “patches.” Unfortunately though I hit a dead end, as none of these patches were in the area of the massacre, which was in the Lincoln Park section of Chicago, way up along the northeast side. However, were it not a for a scant piece of information from an obscure source, my inquiry may have been over.
Enter the Kashubians. This distinctive ethnic group hailing from north-central Poland, as you may know, settled in Lincoln Park and along North Clark St. Interestingly, although not quite Poles, their presence apparently attracted new Polish immigrants as evidenced in the establishment of St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic parish. Although originally meant for the Kashubian community, the resulting nicknames of "Jozafatowo" (Josaphat's Town) as well as "Kaszubowo" (Cassubian Town) evolved the neighborhood into one of Chicago's Polish Patches.
Finally, boosting my question as to whether Poles might have been plentiful among the witnesses to this ghastly crime, I found a quoted reference from a Chicago walking tour organization mentioning Biggy’s Polish Market Deli, a central hub for the whole area during the 1920’s, on what is now Sedgwick St. That’s just down the block from the massacre site.
The verdict was in. Surely Poles must have been among the lost witnesses to this infamous event; they must have at least heard the shots from those Tommy guns. As for the real police, recall that corruption was a big thing in the roaring twenties, perhaps preventing any of these Polish witnesses from testifying.
Although the St. Valentine's Day Massacre is widely recognized in Chicago infamy, ironically nothing remains...no garage, no brick wall, no memorial, of that terrible day. Instead, a tranquil lawn under a shady tree next to a nursing home marks the site. The actual brick wall was purchased by a Canadian collector for a couple thousand dollars. And what became of Biggy's Polish deli? A Google aerial map now shows a row of townhouses occupying the probable spot. And the rest, well, is either Hollywood or history…
Cyclical or Linear?
Q: Another new year. I'm wondering if we learned anything from the past year? It seems every year it's the same turn of the calendar. I'm beginning to see your point about the Christmas tree humdrum as you called it. I guess it's back to the same rigamarole. - Stephen, New York
A: I can tell you Stephen that my Christmas certainly was fulfilling having such a unique Christmas tree with real candles lit on it. Sitting in my IKEA-bought Polish-made armchair at 2 a.m. with the lights out, candles lit, and a collection of 16th century soprano-led lute songs playing on CD took my mind far away into a forgotten era. It was an absolutely beautiful experience. Yours can be the same!
However you are correct. Learning, growth, evolution? I think not. The question to be asking may be, has human life become so aligned to a cyclical calendar? Indeed human life, as well as all life, is not cyclical, it is linear. Yet we live by a 365-day cyclical calendar, going through the same robotic routines year after year after year. On the spiritual front for example, Christmas comes, then Easter, then Christmas, then Easter; it's like a broken record I'm sorry to say. Where's the growth? Nobody wants to try what John Paul II did, which was to bring together different religions with the goal of universal mutual growth. Yet we continue to stagnate in a cyclical-dominated existence. Imagine if we all took a 5 minute break if only to realize the bubbles we live in? I agree with you, we should strive to live a progressively linear existence rather than a stagnated cyclical one.
Forty-four thousand. Like me, at first you may not believe in your wildest imagination that this could have been the actual number of Nazi camps existing during World War II. However, incredibly, historians have now concluded…that was the case. These camps, designated as concentration, death, forced-labor, POW, and others dotted the entirety of Europe. Of course, we all knew of the dozen or so infamous ones like Dachau, Treblinka, Buchenwald, and Auschwitz-Birkenau, but as we’ll see from one example, certainly the perils of this reality were far, far more than what was known, or perhaps, what was made public.
Upon first learning of this gargantuan number, I immediately concluded that forensic archaeologists, excavators, and the like are making fantastic new discoveries in the course of their normal pursuits. Finally, the world can know the truth of what lies beneath the ground in certain places, the number of Jews, Poles, and other “socially deviant and inferior” people as they were called that are still buried there, and what really happened at these camps.
Yet, scratching my head…wait a minute, I thought. That’s all very interesting, but these things occurred eighty years ago. You mean, it took that long for revelations of gruesome discoveries to come full circle? As mentioned above, there were a handful of camps that immediately were publicized after being liberated. By 1946, probably the entire world knew precisely what happened at Auschwitz II. So what was the big secret about all these other camps? Was it a logistics issue, a feasibility issue, a manpower issue, that prevented the other forty-three thousand-plus camps from being told of?
Caroline Colls may have opened up a bag of worms in giving us the answer. You may recall back in 2010, Colls, a British archaeologist, was the first person to successfully secure permission from Polish authorities and Jewish religious leaders to excavate Treblinka. She and her team discovered floor tiles that confirmed the location of the camp’s gas chambers. Up until then, excavators were denied any digging “out of respect for the dead,” so stated the official reason. Now, hold on to that excuse for a moment, because it leads to a new kind of revelation, ironically, as Cole may have discovered too.
First, let’s set the stage with Colls’ most recent quest. Alderney Island, dubbed by the Nazi codename “Adolf Island,” is a 3-miles long and 1.5-miles wide island sitting ten miles off the coast of Lower Normandy, France. Colls, in an SUV along with her group armed with shovels, ground-penetrating radar, and a map took a car-boat over. By the way, if anybody can figure out how England got to own this island, let me know! Interestingly though, the permission to dig on the island that she received a few days earlier from the Alderney government was suddenly revoked while on the boat ride over. Huh?
Before we investigate that mystery, a closer look at Alderney reveals that Hitler specifically took an interest in the island, viewing it as a fortress that could be used to own a piece of England and also part of his plan to invade mainland Britain. BBC news had already reported that Alderney was once home to several labor camps, as well as a concentration and death camp called Lager Sylt, which housed thousands of slave laborers between 1940 to 1945, including Poles. In fact, prisoners brought here came from 27 countries.
Colls, in light of this new no-dig government ultimatum, certainly came equipped though. She used aerial drones to fly over the probable site of Lager Sylt as well as LIDAR, a laser-pulse technique to create the base level of a topographic map. What she found was quite troubling. A big pit, in the same style as in Auschwitz II, indicative of a mass grave site. And almost as a suspicion of cover-up, the Nazi’s had created a nice, neat cemetery for about 100 Russian prisoners, complete with crosses. As if to hide the other deaths?
How many Poles are buried on Alderney Island? If they brought Russians there, they surely brought Poles there. Is anyone else but this daring archaeologist interested in finally recognizing these prisoners thrown into a pit who are now nothing but a mixed pile of bones? Where is humanity’s moral and ethical fiber?
Returning to our earlier mystery, isn’t it a bit curious that the overwhelming majority of Nazi camps have gone out of sight, out of mind? Or, might another kind of crime have been committed, on top of the obvious? Unless the Nazi’s set flame to the entirety of their records, clearly in the immediate aftermath of World War II, the German government knew exactly where these camps were located. And what of the foreign governments on whose soil these camps existed? Surely they knew, and continue to know, what unfolded on their own turf. And the excuse to withhold such potentially tragic revelation, “out of respect for the dead?”
First question: are nations like England, whose soil the Nazi death camp known as Lager Sylt sits in, intentionally denying a camp’s exposure because they don’t want the bad publicity? Second question: did these countries strike a deal with post-war Germany to keep these camps “hush-hush” so as not to tarnish a newly ruled German government anxious to rejoin the normalcy of nations now that the tyrant Hitler was gone?
Speculation of course, but I’m thinking of the millions of captive men, women, and children from many of these forty-four thousand camps whose bones have been forgotten about. Nobody ever remembered, nobody knows where, and nobody cares, possibly due to some degree of political bureaucracy. God almighty, is this the best we can do?
Bleeding Hearts of St. Valentine
Valentine’s Day. February 14th, our annual feast of hearts will once again be celebrated in the rightful spirit that it should be, recalling the 3rd century Roman Saint whose name it is attributed to and the promotion of courtly love. But not all was noble and chivalrous on this particular day back in 1929. You guessed it.
Who among us has not heard of the infamous St. Valentine’s Day massacre? The bloody event is almost as synonymous as the red heart-shaped boxes of chocolate we are all familiar with. Might this massacre though, with all its doom and gloom, have taken place amidst Chicago’s incredibly populous Polish community, perhaps right in its own neighborhood?
The question intrigued me. For openers though, of course we’ve probably all seen a few of the films and documentaries about the event, such as the 1967 film starring Jack Nicholson. My favorite, oddly enough a comedy, was the 1959 hit Some Like It Hot starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemon, and of course Marilyn Monroe. Did a pair of bumbling musicians, played by Curtis and Lemon, really witness the slaying?
But, enough of Hollywood. As much a fan of the silver screen as I am, this time I wanted fact over fiction. To set the stage, according to witnesses at about 10:30 in the morning, a Cadillac sedan pulled up in front of an open garage at 2122 North Clark St. in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago’s North Side. Hold on to that fact for a moment. Four men, allegedly hired by kingpin mobster Al Capone, then emerged and walked inside, two of them wearing overcoats and fedoras entered the front, while the other two dressed as policemen entered the rear. The men confronted seven members of rival mobster Bugs Moran's gang and ordered them to line up against a brick wall. By the way, you’ve probably figured out that this was just another example of organized crime lords competing to gain control of a city, this time during Prohibition.
Together with the other dapper-dons, the fake cops opened fire with loud Thompson sub-machine guns. They were thorough, spraying their victims left and right, even continuing to fire after all seven had hit the floor. Adding icing on the bloody cake, to give the appearance that everything was under control, the men in street clothes came out with their hands up, prodded by the two uniformed fake policemen.
After digesting all of these cold, hard facts, I got back to my original supposition that perhaps, just perhaps, this whole thing could have unfolded right before the eyes of Polish residents. After all, the fact that Capone’s men were dressed as cops would indicate that people were on the streets, and witnesses were questioned. Could it be?
An historical study of the Polish migration into Chicago goes back to 1837 and has had a steady rise ever since. In fact today, together with German-Americans and Irish-Americans, Polish-Americans make up the final third of this trio of European roots. But they beat their counterparts in languages spoken, as Polish is the third most widely spoken language in Chicago behind English and Spanish.
And of course, everybody knows Chicago was and still is a huge Polish-American stronghold. So with the help of a street map and no fewer than sixteen sources on the internet, including the Chicago County Clerk’s online records, I began my analysis and initially discovered that nearly all of the first immigrant Poles settled in five distinct sections of the city, known as “patches.” Unfortunately though I hit a dead end, as none of these patches were in the area of the massacre, which was in the Lincoln Park section of Chicago, way up along the northeast side. However, were it not a for a scant piece of information from an obscure source, my inquiry may have been over.
Enter the Kashubians. This distinctive ethnic group hailing from north-central Poland, as you may know, settled in Lincoln Park and along North Clark St. Interestingly, although not quite Poles, their presence apparently attracted new Polish immigrants as evidenced in the establishment of St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic parish. Although originally meant for the Kashubian community, the resulting nicknames of "Jozafatowo" (Josaphat's Town) as well as "Kaszubowo" (Cassubian Town) evolved the neighborhood into one of Chicago's Polish Patches.
Finally, boosting my question as to whether Poles might have been plentiful among the witnesses to this ghastly crime, I found a quoted reference from a Chicago walking tour organization mentioning Biggy’s Polish Market Deli, a central hub for the whole area during the 1920’s, on what is now Sedgwick St. That’s just down the block from the massacre site.
The verdict was in. Surely Poles must have been among the lost witnesses to this infamous event; they must have at least heard the shots from those Tommy guns. As for the real police, recall that corruption was a big thing in the roaring twenties, perhaps preventing any of these Polish witnesses from testifying.
Although the St. Valentine's Day Massacre is widely recognized in Chicago infamy, ironically nothing remains...no garage, no brick wall, no memorial, of that terrible day. Instead, a tranquil lawn under a shady tree next to a nursing home marks the site. The actual brick wall was purchased by a Canadian collector for a couple thousand dollars. And what became of Biggy's Polish deli? A Google aerial map now shows a row of townhouses occupying the probable spot. And the rest, well, is either Hollywood or history…
Cyclical or Linear?
Q: Another new year. I'm wondering if we learned anything from the past year? It seems every year it's the same turn of the calendar. I'm beginning to see your point about the Christmas tree humdrum as you called it. I guess it's back to the same rigamarole. - Stephen, New York
A: I can tell you Stephen that my Christmas certainly was fulfilling having such a unique Christmas tree with real candles lit on it. Sitting in my IKEA-bought Polish-made armchair at 2 a.m. with the lights out, candles lit, and a collection of 16th century soprano-led lute songs playing on CD took my mind far away into a forgotten era. It was an absolutely beautiful experience. Yours can be the same!
However you are correct. Learning, growth, evolution? I think not. The question to be asking may be, has human life become so aligned to a cyclical calendar? Indeed human life, as well as all life, is not cyclical, it is linear. Yet we live by a 365-day cyclical calendar, going through the same robotic routines year after year after year. On the spiritual front for example, Christmas comes, then Easter, then Christmas, then Easter; it's like a broken record I'm sorry to say. Where's the growth? Nobody wants to try what John Paul II did, which was to bring together different religions with the goal of universal mutual growth. Yet we continue to stagnate in a cyclical-dominated existence. Imagine if we all took a 5 minute break if only to realize the bubbles we live in? I agree with you, we should strive to live a progressively linear existence rather than a stagnated cyclical one.
Bethlehem or Bust
Twenty three years ago, I set out across the arid Judean desert with nothing but a pack on my back, a bible in my hand, and a dream. It was my first trip to the Holy Land, and having the fearless zeal known only to a 30-something year old then, it would later become a trip that I would never attempt again. Risk and reward, that’s what it was all about.
After a moderately easy start from the waters of the Sea of Galilee in the north, I made my way to another body of water, the lowest point on the face of the Earth, the Dead Sea. But on the way, not realizing until later, I narrowly avoided crossing into Israeli Army restricted space. Trespassing into this area would have meant instant demise, and I would have found myself jailed, in court, paying a fine, and sitting on a return flight home. But what would a fair-haired boy wearing a red and white Keffiyeh, or head scarf, in the fashion of Lawrence of Arabia know? After all, caravans of Bedouin tribes roamed the desert freely, so the jury is still out on whether I would have been singled-out by the authorities.
As brave as I may have been by day, once nightfall came it was a different story. If I slept for fifteen minutes that night in the middle of nowhere, it was a lot. Losing count of the number of stars overhead, all I could hear was windswept sand. Sunrise came early, and I eventually reached the massive mountains flanking the west coast of the sea where I saw the remains of the ancient Qumran community, famously known for the Dead Sea scrolls.
I always wondered what it must have been like for the shepherd-kid who discovered the scrolls, having thrown a rock into the right cave to find a sheep gone astray. Should I climb the vertical mountain cliff to venture into one of the numerous other caves visible, I asked? Realizing the risk, I instead soldiered on to arrive at the shore of the Dead Sea.
With nobody in sight, “the hell with it” said an exhausted me and stripped to my underwear, closed my eyes and jumped in. The salt content, eight times that of the saltiest ocean, was so great that I floated on the water. Here, there is ten percent more oxygen in the air too, a nice natural recovery plus.
After drying off, I hiked further southward and experienced a certain metanoia, or change of heart. The typical visitor becomes entranced by physically being at the lowest spot on the planet, yet the sheer magnitude of the extremely dry and rugged mountains just a stone’s throw away contradict this. Then, one sees Masada, the great cliff-top ancient settlement where Jewish zealots battled the Roman army, ending in all 960 Jewish inhabitants deciding to die before the Romans could reach them.
After experiencing the awe of this historic site, I decided to take a bus back north and hopped off near the tiny town of Bethany. Unfortunately not too many tourists visit the town which is off the beaten track, but I did, and nearly never made it out.
The Tomb of Lazarus was my only goal to experience there. The tomb’s custodian runs a merchant shop directly across the street, and once the entrance fee is paid, he unlocks the tomb’s door, turns the lights on, and the visitor is allowed to descend a steep set of steps down into the actual tomb itself.
And there I was, inside the actual tomb of Lazarus. I opened my Bible and silently read the famous passage about Jesus commanding the dead man to “Come Forth!” After about twenty minutes of pondering in the dead silence of it all…the lights went off, and BOOM!, the door at the top of the steps was shut. Curses muffled, I half-panicked and began to feel my way around the rock tomb completely in the dark, located the steps and began yelling at the top of my lungs that I was still down there. Fortunately the guy heard me.
Tightening my boots for the final trek, or “pilgrim’s walk” to Bethlehem, which was a dirt trail used by thousands of Christians over the centuries, it was Bethlehem or bust. The walk was enduring, going up hills and through sheep meadows. At its conclusion, I arrived at the Church of the Nativity. In this predominantly Palestinian village, the high bells of this church stand clear for all to see. Here, in the grotto, Jesus was born. Interestingly enough, the site is actually a cave. And a very sacred one indeed. The exact spot of Jesus’ birth is marked with a fourteen point star (photo). One seems to abandon all personal concerns and worries here.
Departing, I was reminded of the region’s modern-day dilemma, as just over my shoulder I heard a skirmish between kids throwing rocks and soldiers firing rubber bullets. But after what I had just experienced on this trip, to me that scuffle was only, as Ralph Kramden would say, “a mere bag of shells.”
After taxiing half way to the airport, I set out on foot again and arrived for my flight back. My trek was complete, though my pants were torn and my boots were worn. I was completely exhausted, but I was still smiling.
Got Candle and Care?
Q: In a few of the old-time movies you wrote about, the Christmas trees have real candles on them. What a shame that such a spectacle is lost. Our friends in Holland always have real candles on their tree but it’s unheard of in the U.S. Is this a result of insurance company policy? – Stephen, NY
A: As a woodsman that you are, I feel your grief my friend! That’s a great question. Understandably the risk of fire from real candles on Christmas trees is high, so I wouldn’t doubt that U.S. insurance companies have fine print about that in their policies. However, all hope of this lost tradition is not gone, and let me say that I will help to preserve it! You guessed it, I bought real candles with clips for my Christmas tree this year. I got them on Ebay from a seller in Poland, where the tradition of having real candles on trees is alive and thriving. One key note to add is that the tree must not be the typical “American” style thick fir with tightly packed branches. Rather, only the Nordmann Fir is suitable for real candles. This tree is a popular species grown in Poland and elsewhere across Europe and some parts of the U.S. I ordered one from a nursery for a fair price. It has attractive sparse foliage, with long needles that are not sharp and do not drop easily when the tree dries out after cutting. Caution: never leave burning Christmas tree candles unattended.
It's All About Election Fraud
Absolutely unbelievable. I feel like it was a waste of time filling out a vote ballot or going to a voting facility. 150,000 absentee ballots coming in at three in the morning, not 80%, not 90%, but 100% in favor of one candidate? Party observers being kept out of counting rooms not being able to verify signatures? Cardboard being put up on windows so nobody can see what's happening? Voting rules in Philly being changed mid-way during the process? Dead people's names on the ballots?
And the latest shenanigan being investigated by the FBI, an algorithm inserted into the electronic voting tally machines in select areas of the country, dubbed a “glitch,” which exponentially increased the Democratic runner’s total votes, thought not to be detected under the cover of large urban area Democratic voting. My fellow Americans, are these not the dictionary definitions of: Fraud? I for one may never vote again if this is not righted; why waste my time? How do you feel?
Considering all of these irregularities, hmm, how about scrapping the vote and redoing the whole election one day or conveniently over a series of days strictly the regular way where you physically have to go to a voting station, get checked in and verified, and pull a lever or push a button? Is it really a big deal simply to wear a mask in line like we do at the supermarket?
Because, the most important point to be argued, which the President had made months ago in anticipation, is that as soon as a vote leaves a voter’s hands, there should be nothing subjective in the way of it being recorded. How can you possibly have Philadelphia or any other urban city ballot counters, decisively Democratic as we know, hold up a Republican ballot and objectively judge whether the ballot’s signature matches and is therefore valid? That is the precise reason why we traditionally have machines to capture a vote, because machines are neither Republican nor Democrat. Why nobody else thought about this other than the President is beyond comprehension as it is an absolute clear no-brainer.
Or, perhaps they did think about it. Is it kind of odd that in all of the seven battleground states where all of this drama has played out, Republicans control the state legislature? Wouldn’t they have argued this point, or…or, was this possibly a coup in the making? Did the Republican party intentionally bypass these potential red flag irregularities because they want the President out?
Perhaps like you, I find myself recollecting stories about the JFK assassination and how government officials were involved at odds over the Cuba crisis, or how a political party’s convention headquarters at the Watergate hotel was bugged by a rival political party, as if these age-old tales of unbelievable fraud were mere stories of yesteryear that, oh my, could never ever happen today because we have now matured with a fully righteous and ethical fiber about us. “You’re kidding,” so would say the average Joe on today’s street corner, “these things don’t happen anymore.”
Yet, there may be a silver lining to all of what has unraveled over the past week. Thank God there are still people around who fight for integrity, truth, and justice. Imagine if nobody took a care, and merely accepted political outcomes with assumption of proper protocol like they did with the Kennedy “automatic-Oswald verdict” and the Nixon election, only to be discovered eons later that we were at the time all helpless victims of fraud.
Hopefully the Supreme Court will intercede. I believe a monumental decision is in the making which will be announced by the high court, and some people are not going to like it. What an absolute disaster.
What we witnessed in my opinion was an attempt at a coup d’état by both Democrats and Republicans who want to return to the “politically correct swamp” of politics because Trump’s tell-it-like-it-is approach has revealed truths that past administrations knew about but could never reveal because doing so would stir up the American apple cart, be it financial, racial, marital, immigration, or crime. And that’s what Trump did didn't he, he stirred up the apple cart.
Now we see the price paid for promoting decades of falsity coming out of past president’s mouths such as providing food stamps to lower income people as if that’s the solution to win their vote, or officially recording high “catch” numbers of illegal border crossings, but immediately “releasing” them and keeping that part off the record. They may think such politically correct tactics were nice, but in the end if you don’t tell the truth no matter how much it hurts people, it comes back to haunt. The same thing happened with the Church’s abuse crisis. So in a nutshell, this election was all about precisely that, as Shakespeare might have put it, to tell or not to tell, the truth. That is the question.
Hey if political operatives can manipulate a U.S. election like they did in Iraq when a certain intelligence agency intentionally skewed the people’s vote, not to mention the same electronic “glitch” in the Brazilian elections that we had which mysteriously catapulted one candidate over the other (bet you didn’t know that did you), why be surprised anymore?
Destination Boys Town
The mystery has been solved. Following-up to a recent inquiry about Boys Town and the Polish roots to the country road it sits on comes a response from Mr. Tom Lynch, Director of Community programs at Boys Town. So, who and what were the origins behind Gutowski Road?
Says Mr. Lynch: “The roads in our village are partly named for the boys who lived here over the years. Gutowski Road is named for alumnus John Gutowski who lived here in the 1940’s. The Boys Town committee who named the roads in the 1970’s felt John exemplified the many former boys who went on to become a success in life. As was the case then as now, John walked into our village one day in 1940, and asked our founder Servant of God Edward Flanagan if he could live here and finish his education. John passed away very young at age 50. One of his sons is a priest in the Omaha Archdiocese.”
Mr. Lynch also sent me John’s obituary, and it is no less of a wonderment. Gutowski’s parents both died when John was a child, eventually leading to the desperate orphan deciding to take a shot at Boys Town. Two years later upon his graduation, John was recommended by Fr. Flanagan for a clerical job with none other than the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
After a short stint with the feds, John served his country by joining the Army Air Corp for the duration of WWII. And afterwards, rejoined the clerical staff of the FBI while taking night classes in pursuit of a law degree which he later earned from the Detroit College of Law.
All of his years with the FBI certainly helped, as in 1956 he was promoted to Special Agent, a G-man as the term was known. After a few years he and his wife Christine moved their family, yep, back to the close proximity of Boys Town in Nebraska. Talk about coming full-circle.
The pinnacle of his career then came as his legal and law enforcement background landed him a job as Omaha’s Chief Traffic Prosecutor.
In 1973, John Gutowski passed away, leaving behind his wife, three sons, and two daughters. Still seeing traffic of course is 13940 Gutowski Road, the home of Boys Town, USA.
The Man Who Would Be Pope
It’s just past Halloween, but the 42nd anniversary of Karol Wojtyla’s selection as the 264th Pope recalls a good degree of spooky events leading up to that day. Of course, everybody may remember how it all ended, but let’s take a closer look at how it all happened.
You may immediately recall a scene from The Godfather Part III when the newly elected Pope is found dead in his bed, and may also have just recently learned of a shady financial situation of a top-tiered Cardinal making headline news. Well, combining Hollywood portrayals with actual events may occasionally paint an authentic picture. Such was the case back in 1978.
Setting the scene, we first have to back-track just a bit in recalling that Cardinal Albino Luciani, who was Pope John Paul I, was elected only 51 days earlier. With an official papacy reign of a mere 33 days, little has been published about exactly what happened during that eighteen day period between his death on September 28 and Wojtyla’s election on October 16.
The papal conclave, which is a private assembly of Cardinals, first convened on October 14, hastily just ten days after John Paul I’s funeral. Expecting that Luciani would have reigned for at least a decade, it was no wonder then why tensions were high, so much so that arguably a mild degree of in-fighting was had between Cardinals banding together as “teams” even before the conclave convened and then again during the actual voting process.
There were a couple of contenders up for the spot of Pope. One was Cardinal Giuseppe Siri of Genoa, but there was a potential problem.
During the 1958 papal conclave of which Siri took part, some say that per the official ballot count, indeed this man was actually chosen to be Pope, but incredibly had to yield to Cardinal Angelo Roncalli who would go on to become Pope John XXIII. How could this ever happen? Ah, have you ever heard of Freemasonry, that band of brotherhood penetrating all walks of life from Presidents like George Washington to…a Pope?
The kept-quiet theory goes that Roncalli was himself a Freemason, whose members were known to exert influence over pretty much everything, thereby assuring him of the papacy. Getting back to Siri, choosing him may have surfaced those skeletons from the closet which would not have been pleasant, especially given the media attention of this historic event.
The second contender was Cardinal Giovanni Benelli of Florence, who actually came within a few ballots of securing the papacy during the initial voting. Benelli was the most likely successor being closely aligned to Luciani, however he did not receive the necessary two-thirds-plus-one percentage of votes cast by the other Cardinals, and due to increased transparency about the process we could forget about the wheeling and dealing of outside influences as was done twenty years earlier.
Indeed the 1978 conclave found itself in a pickle. The only other close contender, in keeping with traditional Italian successors, was dark-horse candidate Cardinal Giovanni Colombo of Milan. But as destiny would have it, Colombo announced that, if chosen, he would flat-out decline the position of Pope. And as you can probably imagine, by now rivalries were raging and spirits were shrinking.
“Excuse me,” echoed a humble Viennese voice, as out of the midst came a 73-year old Cardinal by the name of Franz König. And contrary to the advertised “fake” news feed stating that the majority of Cardinals had earmarked Wojtyla, it was this man alone, perhaps divinely inspired, who solely suggested that Cardinal Karol Wojtyla be chosen as Pope. The elder König had always held high regard for Wojtyla and followed the intellectual development of the now 58-year old Polish Cardinal. Only after this solo suggestion was made did agreement come from the rest, a very important point to make. And finally came the white smoke from the Sistine Chapel.
“Anuntio vobis gaudium magnum: HABEMUS PAPAM!” or, “I announce to you a great joy: We have a Pope!” so declared senior Cardinal Deacon Pericle Felici on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on that October evening around 7:15pm some 42 years ago.
When Felici announced who had been chosen, many in the crowd interpreted Wojtyla’s name, or how it was pronounced, as being Italian, African, and even Japanese. It was not until Wojtyla himself cleared up the confusion by appearing before them and delivering a somewhat lengthy opener. Despite being told to cut the speech short for fear of losing the crowd, Wojtyla defied the Curia and continued to speak at length, actually winning over the people’s favor by purposely mispronouncing a word in Italian, from which the crowd caught his funny drift!
And the rest, as you know, is history…
The Founding Fathers of Chivalry
Great article recently from my colleague Barbara Strzepka about the Battle of Grunwald. October had been officially recognized as arms and armor month throughout the world, so let’s add a supplemental follow-up honed in on some of the fighting weapons used.
My nephew used to think the Lord of the Rings film trilogy contained mostly make-believe scenarios of battles in some fashion of fairy tale, however as an avid fan of this romantic and fierce age in our history, I was quick to correct his thinking to the tune that this was no fairy tale!
Indeed most people don’t realize that a lot of quaint, picture-postcard countryside meadows in Poland once hosted some of the bloodiest battles in history. God knows how many axes, daggers, and bits of plate armor are buried beneath the flowering white and red poppies dotting the countryside, not to mention the gallons of dried blood residue.
The basic weapons of the typical early fifteenth century Polish knight such as those used in the Battle of Grunwald were the sword and the spear, a heavy thrusting weapon. Besides these, a typical arsenal included a number of small armaments from daggers to battle axes, maces, horseman’s picks, and many others. The Polish sword was straight, with a long blade having an almond-shaped pommel and a bar cross guard. The spear, in Poland referred to as a “wood,” was lightweight and had a head of leaf-like shape, but there were also heavier, armor-piercing spearheads.
Defensive armament, on the other hand, first included the gambeson, which was a padded jacket, then developed into the brigandine, which was part steel, followed by the hauberk, which was that familiar-looking shirt made out of chain mail. Breastplates came next, and finally the full-figured panoply, which was an entire suit of armor.
By the end of the 16th century, a Polish knight gained his perfect form, protecting the whole of his body, and sometimes his horse. There were some differences between the rich knights of Małopolska, Wielkopolska, Śląsk and those of Mazowsze, who, because they faced enemies from the East like Old Prussians, Lithuanians, and Tatars, partially adopted their enemies’ fighting techniques and lighter armament as well. Even their horses were smaller and lighter.
There were many different types of throwing weapons too. The sling went out of use when the crossbow reached Poland relatively early in the 12th century. Javelins and throwing axes were also in use. During sieges, both defenders and attackers commonly used a variety of heavy hurling machines like catapults and trebuchets, and finally cannons due to the invention of gun powder.
With increasing tension and fighting along the eastern border, Poles adopted many eastern-style war customs and weapons. This is why the sword was so easily and commonly replaced in the 16th century with the szabla, which is a backsword with a curved blade.
But perhaps the most visible armor transformation in Polish Medieval times was that of the helmet, which changed from a conical shape into a great helm around the 12th century and later into the bascinet which had a pointed top and mouth piece to deflect blows.
Which brings us to the men who wielded and wore these things. Novelties in design became almost an art form and were accepted quickly. At tournaments in the west, the Polish knight Zawisza Czarny z Garbowa, or “Zawisza the Black” gained instant recognition by wearing black armor. His big claim to fame came from winning numerous tournaments after which he gallantly promoted the virtues of loyalty, reliability, and chivalry. So much so that even today, the Polish Boy Scout oath reads: “…polegać na nim jak na Zawiszy” or “you can rely on a boy scout as on Zawisza”!
However, until the battle of Grunwald in 1410, most Polish knights were less armored than their competitors, due to the fact that many of them were relatively poor. In the 15th century however, Polish knights became much wealthier as exports of grains and forest goods grew rapidly during this period which became a source of wealth.
I had a chance to dust off some of my small collection while discovering that the controversial 14th century Polish knight, Stibor of Stiboricz, once owned Dracula’s castle. With Halloween just around the corner, this gallant gentleman in the service of Hungary actually owned thirty-one castles in the region. Because of his strategic allegiances for and against Poland at various times of his career, some love the guy, some hate him. Oh well.
Perhaps there is a silver lining to such a volatile period in Poland’s history. The next time someone holds open a door for you or offers you an umbrella, you may owe a word of thanks to those men on that battle field. Chivalry, you see, evolved from these warriors donned in plate armor and defending all that they held to be sacred and dear, doing so with sharp carbon-steel weaponry.
Today, unfortunately all that remains of this grand and glorious age of Polish arms and armor are a few museum collections, some text books on the topic, and several quaint, picture-postcard countryside meadows.
InJustices of the Supreme Court
Fortunately the next Supreme Court Justice, if confirmed soon, will be in sync with the words that appear on the back of the one dollar bill in your wallet, In God We Trust. Perhaps as you have discovered also, I too find it disturbing how Supreme Court Justices can calculate their optional retirement based on who they think the sitting president will be, who would then nominate a new Justice. Of course, by doing so, justices are politically influencing the judicial system. Eh, I always thought judges and justices were supposed to be impartial. Getting back to God, isn’t it ironic how some of our laws established by our Supreme Court support, in fact, quite the opposite of what we claim when declaring that we trust in God?
Dignity v. Reality
Undoubtedly you probably watched the first Presidential debate, or was it a prize fight? And undoubtedly you have probably heard and read follow-up reactionary opinions from a host of news people, all playing the same broken record along the lines of it being “uncivilized and unruly.”
These same news people will criticize the talking-over interruptions that both men made by giving some bureaucratic reason that the country “needs to hear professional responses to what matters.” Oh my, dare we sway from our structured lifestyle of nice, neat, and organized protocol to favor something authentic, real, and straight from the gut like we witnessed in the debate.
Get lost, is my response to such newsmaker opinion. Perhaps like you, I was incredibly pleased to see the no-holds-barred performance of both Trump and Biden. We don’t need less of that, we need more of it. As my father used to say about pro sports competition, “It’s easy playing for somebody else’s money, but if you want to see real action, let them play for their own stakes.”
Likewise, let the candidates rip. It’s the only way you will see and hear authentic, real-time, unrehearsed responses. I’m also in favor of the moderator calling out and ridiculing any candidate who fails to answer a specific question, but instead offers some feel-good circumventing response. To those newsmakers who prefer the “dignity” of a Presidential debate, get real, isn’t reality what people deserve?
The Last Man Killed on 9/11
Tomorrow will mark the nineteenth anniversary of the horrific 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. With almost three thousand people being killed on the morning of that day, one Polish man’s own death later that evening some five miles away never received the attention it deserved, and still remains a mystery.
Henryk Siwiak has been described as “the last person killed in New York on 9/11,” although his death was apparently unrelated to the terror attacks earlier in the day, or was it?
At the time, the 46-year old husband and father of two from Kraków had recently come to the U.S. after being laid off from his job as an inspector with the Polish State Railways. He had a sister, Lucyna, living in Far Rockaway, Queens and despite the lack of a work permit, decided to stay and do whatever work he could, sending money back to his wife Ewa in Poland every few months to supplement her earnings as a high school biology teacher. Siwiak hoped that eventually he could return to Poland and build a new house for his family.
Said Lucyna, “We told him New York City was a dangerous place but he didn’t believe it, perhaps because he liked living here so much.”
For most of 2001, Siwiak had been working at a construction site in Manhattan. On the morning of September 11, following the attacks, the job site closed down and was evacuated. Siwiak could not afford to wait until work resumed, so found another job in the classified ads of the Polish newspaper Nowy Dziennik which was in circulation in his sister’s local community. The job was blue collar, menial, and far below the former inspector’s skillset, being with a cleaning service at a supermarket in Brooklyn. But what strikes a cord here is this man’s work ethic in thinking not of his own self-worth, but rather of his family back in Poland.
Siwiak learned he could start late that night, so immediately called his wife to tell her the good news. But as misfortune would have it, his eagerness and motivation were perhaps quashed by evil and hysteria.
At about 11p.m. that evening, Siwiak, using vague directions given to him by his sister’s neighbor, exited a subway station on Albany Avenue which was the street that the supermarket was located on. However, little did the Pole realize, the supermarket was actually three miles further south on that same street. Siwiak was now standing in the middle of New York City’s deadliest neighborhood, Bedford-Stuyvesant, renowned for drug dealing, assaults, and robberies. In fact, a longtime resident of the neighborhood told radio station WNYC that the area is only safe in the mornings, and “after that, you’re on your own.”
Forty minutes after walking along that avenue came an argument and gun shots. Siwiak was shot once in the lung and left a trail of blood from the north end of Albany Ave. to the stoop of a residence nearby, where he rang the doorbell in search of help. A resident of that building told police that she heard the bell, but like her neighbors, was too fearful to look out the window or answer the door in the wake of the gunfire. Siwiak collapsed facedown into the street. At 11:42 p.m., a call was made to 911. Henryk Siwiak was pronounced dead at the scene.
Was it a fatal mugging, so common in the area? Tough to say, as Siwiak still had $75 in his wallet. Lucyna Siwiak believes the killer, or killers, may have thought her brother was a terrorist responsible for the day’s earlier catastrophe. Tough to say as well, as the Pole had been wearing a camouflage outfit with black boots that might have made him appear to be militaristic. That coupled with his dark hair and imperfect, heavily accented English tongue may have led a hysterical killer or gang to believe he was a middle-eastern terrorist. Even the first police officers to respond to the scene thought he might have been one of the many National Guardsmen deployed to the city in the wake of the attacks.
Because of the 9/11 attacks, nearly all of the NYPD investigative resources had been directed to the tragedy. The Siwiak case went by the wayside, receiving little attention in the months and years that followed.
Who killed Henryk Siwiak, and why?
New York Times journalist Michael Wilson perhaps offered the best takeaway in writing: “To be the last man killed on Sept. 11 is to be hopelessly anonymous, quietly mourned by a few while, year after year, the rest of the city looks toward Lower Manhattan. No one reads his name into a microphone at a ceremony. No memorial marks the sidewalk where he fell with a bullet in his lung.”
Statues and Stones
Q: The appalling scenes of statues being torn down is all over the news, but no one is commenting about its effect on our kids. Do we really want children seeing this? Kind of the thing the Khmer Rouge did, didn’t they, indoctrinating their kids with radical visions of how Cambodia was to be? I see an Abe Lincoln statue was even torn down, which means these radicals don’t even know history. – Tom, New York
A: Yes, a terrible tragedy Tom. I’m not sure what is worse; passing out condoms in a sex-ed classroom, parental permissiveness for kids to be partying on the beach during Spring break amid Covid-19, or what you mentioned. This is the price we pay for living in a liberal, free society. On Lincoln though, we never really learned the entirety of historical facts in school. In truth, Lincoln wanted to end slavery yes, but not necessarily have freed slaves assimilate into society. That is the blemish on the Lincoln record, few people know. If we want to honor someone, it should be the abolitionist John Brown, who saw the moral right to end slavery and have all peoples unite together as one in society.
Let’s travel back a few more years, shall we? Suckers will undoubtedly succumb to the latest “theory” proposed by ancient alien aficionados. That being an explanation as to why thousands-of-year-old stone temples in South America were cut so precisely sharp that nothing other than a laser could have done it. Yet another example of using today’s mindset to explain yesteryear’s actions. Big mistake.
If these quack theorists had any historical perspective, they would know that ancient peoples’ sole purpose in life was to please their gods. A ten-year old kid would work his entire life at cutting and sharpening a temple’s building blocks so they’d fit together perfectly. This custom went on for generations, which was as long as it took for these colossal structures to be built. It then becomes a no-brainer to realize that 300 years of sharpening a stone will yield an edge sharper than any of today’s laser cuts. So much for ancient aliens.
Q: The appalling scenes of statues being torn down is all over the news, but no one is commenting about its effect on our kids. Do we really want children seeing this? Kind of the thing the Khmer Rouge did, didn’t they, indoctrinating their kids with radical visions of how Cambodia was to be? I see an Abe Lincoln statue was even torn down, which means these radicals don’t even know history. – Tom, New York
A: Yes, a terrible tragedy Tom. I’m not sure what is worse; passing out condoms in a sex-ed classroom, parental permissiveness for kids to be partying on the beach during Spring break amid Covid-19, or what you mentioned. This is the price we pay for living in a liberal, free society. On Lincoln though, we never really learned the entirety of historical facts in school. In truth, Lincoln wanted to end slavery yes, but not necessarily have freed slaves assimilate into society. That is the blemish on the Lincoln record, few people know. If we want to honor someone, it should be the abolitionist John Brown, who saw the moral right to end slavery and have all peoples unite together as one in society.
Let’s travel back a few more years, shall we? Suckers will undoubtedly succumb to the latest “theory” proposed by ancient alien aficionados. That being an explanation as to why thousands-of-year-old stone temples in South America were cut so precisely sharp that nothing other than a laser could have done it. Yet another example of using today’s mindset to explain yesteryear’s actions. Big mistake.
If these quack theorists had any historical perspective, they would know that ancient peoples’ sole purpose in life was to please their gods. A ten-year old kid would work his entire life at cutting and sharpening a temple’s building blocks so they’d fit together perfectly. This custom went on for generations, which was as long as it took for these colossal structures to be built. It then becomes a no-brainer to realize that 300 years of sharpening a stone will yield an edge sharper than any of today’s laser cuts. So much for ancient aliens.
The Crime on Top of the Crime
Here we go again. Perhaps like many of you, the social upheaval smokers of late are nothing new. Didn’t we see the exact same scenario play out on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri back in 2014? Or was it in my hometown of Staten Island, New York that very same year when a chokehold was used to detain someone? Gee, these news videos couldn’t have been re-runs of L.A. back in 1991 when multiple batons were used on a man?
Unfortunately incidents such as these pop up, and as opposed to Al Sharpton telling us they are happening on a daily basis, perhaps the more objective word to use as far as frequency goes would be, occasionally. But no, mainstream liberal media may instead be using the incident to fuel their own subjective agenda. Is there a crime continually being committed on top of the crime already committed?
I’ve watched the Minneapolis video about a hundred times, like you have. My conclusion, based on objectivity, is that excessive use of force had been used to detain Mr. Floyd. Kneeling on someone’s neck is entirely wrong as it clearly interferes with life-giving air to breath. This technique should be outlawed globally. Why it was allowed to be used is beyond comprehension in a civilized world.
But then again, perhaps we are not so civilized. In the same vein, unless I missed something, how is the Minneapolis incident a form of racism? Racism means that an action was taken on a person or group, disproportional to everyone else, based on skin color or race. Did the officer utter any words or thoughts that he targeted Floyd based on his race? Perhaps, but objectively speaking, I find no evidence of that. Yet, everybody is convinced that he did, finding him guilty of being a racist. That’s…guilty until proven innocent. Huh?
An added statistic that nobody wants to talk about is the arrest rate and population. If, out of a proportional array of different ethnicities who are being arrested, the police target one ethnicity, that is racism. Why then is the media hesitant about posting the statistics on the ethnic spectrum of all who are being arrested? The problem then becomes clear, this is not a racial problem, it is a socio-economic one.
What happens to a society when it allows subjectivity into objective thinking? As pointed out above, this is the crime on top of the obvious crime. In this case, you saw it for yourselves; looting, fire bombing, murder, etc. Interestingly, a white 75-year old senior citizen was pushed to the ground by Buffalo police, who then walked past him as blood was pouring from his head, apparently leaving the care to medics just behind. Why was this incident played down by the liberal media? Was it because it didn’t fit the mold of their polarized racism agenda? Repeat, this is the crime on top of the crime, when a society replaces objective truth with subjectivity in order to fuel an inner agenda.
And let’s be fair, this happens all over. Whether its Christian leaders claiming that, through their faith alone, people have the only way to get to heaven, or environmental activists stating that global warming, which occurs sporadically on other lifeless planets, is definitely caused by our carbon emissions so we’d better close up the coal mines, or even those authors who made a dime on books by accusing JFK of numerous infidelities, simply because he was a good looking guy.
So the next time you read a clip on “racism,” having the word being stolen and misused, you might want to report to the authorities that a 211 is in progress, that stands for a robbery.
Subjectivity, now along with pandemic facial masks, it seems is the new “norm.”
All Talk, No Action
Exactly five years ago, do you remember hearing that abhorrent news about how ISIS had destroyed all of the statues and monuments in the ancient city of Palmyra? Remember? They knocked down the standing remains of gods and goddesses, cut their heads off, and defaced various stone friezes on ancient structures and anything else in the city that had been preserved as a historical study of that once-heralded age. It was all over the news; even the liberal media condemned it. Heck, does something sound scarily familiar here?
And here we go again. Why are statue after statue in this great land following a similar pattern of fate? Are these modern-day activists acting just as ISIS did, wishing to banish memories of historical ideologies sharply different than their own in an effort to promote a closed-minded, polarized, one-track vision of the future? It’s interesting isn’t it, how our statue-slayers, supported by the same liberal media described above, who wish for equal opportunity, fair play, and solidarity, simultaneously now seek to topple anyone else’s interest in being reminded of a bygone era in the form of a Confederate General perched atop his horse in a quite park somewhere.
What an ironic disaster. I’m thinking too of a Union General, that of the Tadeusz Kościuszko statue in Washington’s Lafayette Square. I must have walked past that statue a hundred times, situated at the corner of the square where numerous passers-by can see. Now, who wants to see it, covered in protesting graffiti obviously inflicted by the same misdirected, ignorant individuals who know nothing of Kościuszko and his desire to buy the freedom of black slaves and to educate them for independent life and work.
Black lives matter. White lives matter. Latino lives matter. All lives matter. Racism in this country unfortunately still exists and probably always will. However, oddly enough the protesters appear to be aiming all of their acoustics to an external blame, the police. Does anyone care to fix the problem at its root?
How about assigning social workers to monitor the upbringing of inner-city youth, many of whom are raised in single-family households, drop out of school, join gangs, commit crime, get arrested, and then comprise a disproportional ethnicity arrest population, thereby influencing the statistics for excessive use of force.
Six years ago in Ferguson, Missouri a task force was supposed to be set up to do just that. It was all talk and no action…
Evasion of an Ethical Evolution
Indeed with age brings wisdom, so perhaps we can apply it to today’s ongoing debate surrounding statues, flags, racism, and the like. Perhaps, in our immediate judgment of things, we need to consider another forgotten factor. That being time.
Someone once asked me a question about what happens to all the people who cheered on the killing of Christians in the Roman Coliseum, where did their souls go because of their unethical and immoral behavior? Most people today would say, straight to hell.
As another example, the Aztecs were notorious for offering human sacrifices to their gods. What happened to their souls, did they automatically go to hell because they need to be punished for their unethical and immoral acts? Again, most people today would say yes.
Now, we might understand how a few evil, rogue individuals can commit terrible acts such as murder, torture for gaming purposes, and enslavement, but in reality history tells us such heinous acts were not committed merely by a handful of people, but by large societies. Unfortunately it was their custom. Again, by today’s ethical and moral standards, these acts were clearly wrong.
Perhaps this is the heart of the issue in judgment we are seeing too regarding our current affairs. The question to contemplate is: Is it correct to judge societies and cultures of long past by applying today’s ethical and moral standards to their actions? Even Natural Law, once thought to be the basis for human moral and ethical conduct universally and unchanging, has evolved.
Make no mistake, clearly we know today that certain behaviors of long past were entirely wrong. But as pointed out in past columns, it may be argued that the only reason you and I consider something to be right or wrong today is because a great length of time has passed during which our culture’s moral and ethical values have evolved through thinking about the issue and realizing it to a higher, more mature extent.
Sadly, what we may now be witnessing is a retro-labeling of yesteryear’s unevolved morality onto today’s mindset, as if people were the same back then as they are now. Clearly this is not the case. Because of time, ethics and morals have developed to greater conclusions. Therefore, we need to be cautious when passing judgment on actions of old, and realize that because of time, we feel as we currently do.
And, as a more important takeaway, let’s ask our current culture what we may be doing as standard operating procedure in 2020, that 100 years from now critics may be saying was unethical and immoral? Scary stuff!
Purr-fect Companions
Stay-at-Home! Undoubtedly the most popular expression over the past few months, wouldn’t you say? The following is a little piece I crafted for the ASPCA organization which publishes a member’s magazine. What better treat to give to a mom for this past Mother’s Day than a self-portrait of a kind, especially when there are two cats involved.
♥ 93-year-old Josephine Ostrowski of Staten Island, NY, an active outdoor senior, joins our community of seniors in continuing to abide by stay-at-home status amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. Although her love of squirrel watching, feeding her backyard birds, and driving one mile every day to her son John’s house to walk his dog has been temporarily put on hold, the self-admitted animal champion has instead been on the receiving end of love, this time from her own pet pair of cats.
“I’ve been cooped-up in my house for months now, but if it weren’t for Itti and Pitti, I think I would have given up all hope of life as I knew it. They have been a blessing in disguise.”
10-year-olds Itti and Pitti, domestic short haired felines, were found born on her back porch back in May of 2010. The duo were brought in and nursed by Josephine’s son Andrew, another animal lover. “My son absolutely adores cats, and although at first I angrily ordered him not to bring stray kittens into my household, I’m glad I had an ‘epiphany’ of sorts in relenting,” she adds.
Every night after dinner, Josephine sits in her armchair and watches her favorite television shows. Within minutes, along comes either of her beloved Itti or Pitti, up into her lap, to cuddle and perhaps to watch too? But it’s a first-come, first-serve protocol, as Josephine points out. “Whoever gets there first stakes claim to my lap, and the other gal is simply out of luck. But they play fair in alternating claims, as the next night finds the other gal in ‘laptop position.’ But I’m amazed at the level of intellect of my little friends, who seem to show interest when I channel-surf. They know which shows they like!” exclaims the senior citizen.
Josephine and her sister Catherine are the only remaining survivors from a family of 13 children, with two of her siblings recently passing away, one due to Covid-19. Grasping their loss has been challenging, made even more difficult in being confined indoors. Reflecting on her youth, Josephine points out the realities of growing up in a poor, blue-collar, hard working suburban New York City Polish family when animals were involved.
“I remember that my father used to ‘shoo’ them away anytime a stray dog or cat came by looking for food. I later realized that he wasn’t doing this just because we were poor, but because he didn’t want us to get attached and ultimately let down from our inability to adopt. Although we had plenty of chickens in the backyard, they were cheap to feed and gave us plenty of nourishment in their eggs. But a pet cat? Forget it, that was only a dream.”
However, since the sorrows of her youth, Josephine and her late husband Daniel have warmly welcomed many furry friends into their family of six children, including dogs, cats, a couple of birds, friendly rodents and even a few reptiles, among them two baby alligators, ouch!, that her son John ultimately donated to the Staten Island Zoo. According to Josephine, “The gators got too big for the four glass walls they were living in; their bodies wrapped around so much so that the tips of their tails were touching the tips of their noses.”
Ah, intolerance for others, but for Josephine, the hallmark of a true animal champion. The super-senior sums it all up, “For us seniors in particular, this pandemic has been a terribly tragic experience. Our own family and friends have died, and we are left contemplating it all in quiet solitude. I am so grateful for the cherished memories and love from all our lovable little ones and to my present pair of feline friends for lifting my spirits in keeping hope alive. Excuse me for a minute, I have to feed the outdoor stray cat that comes to my front door…”
The Joy of Painting
“We don’t make mistakes, we make happy accidents.” Fans of the paint brush and palette will instantly recognize that delightful little phrase spoken on half-hour television segments still airing from the 1980’s. Every Saturday night around midnight you will find me, and perhaps many of you, tuning in to the immortal legend of Bob Ross and his Joy of Painting series. What an absolute delight to watch. Ross’ wet-on-wet technique, in which he composes a captivating outdoorsy scene in 30 minutes, became a popular pastime for millions of viewers across the country who have learned and continue to do so from his calm, relaxed instruction.
But what most folks may not know are the pair of Polish-Americans who are responsible for all of Ross’ success. To begin with, Ross, a U.S. Air Force master sergeant stationed in Alaska, was moonlighting as a part-time bartender when he discovered a television show called The Magic of Oil Painting, hosted by German painter Bill Alexander, who painted in the 16th century style called “alla prima,” better known as “wet-on-wet.” Ross studied and became quite good at it, and began selling Alaskan landscapes painted on the inside of novelty gold-mining pans.
After retiring from the Air Force, Ross was so influenced by the German painter that he went to Florida and became a traveling salesman and tutor for Alexander’s Magic Art Supplies Company. A gal named Annette Kowalski of Washington, DC, who was a regular viewer of Alexander’s program, lost her son in a traffic accident and was so depressed that painting was the only thing that lifted her spirits. Her husband Walt called the company and asked if she could attend a class of Alexander’s in Florida, but was told that a new “rookie” painter named Ross was substituting. The Kowalskis, desperate for hope following the death of their son, then drove to Florida.
“I could not believe what I saw,” said Annette. “People were mesmerized by Bob. I was so enthralled with him that I wasn’t even doing my own painting.” The Kowalskis, fortunately well-off, were so thankful and impressed with Ross that they persuaded him to succeed on his own and invested their entire life savings in him. The business struggled at first; but because of Ross’ carefree brush strokes, soothing voice, and trademark permed hairstyle, the combination sparked interest worldwide eventually blossoming into a $15 million business.
Sadly, the Kowalskis lost their painting champion on July 4th, 1995 to lymphoma. Bob Ross was 52 years old. Of the approximately 30,000 paintings that Ross created in his lifetime, Annette summed up the sentiment pretty simply. “Most people don’t paint, they just watch. They like to hear his voice, they just like Bob.”
Sentimental Centerpiece
Saturday marks the 76th anniversary of D-Day, the sixth of June, 1944. For many of our senior-most readers, they may recall where they were when the historic invasion got underway. Still others may recall war-torn memories, acts of heroism, and sentimental pieces from other periods during the war.
One such memory comes in the form of a letter that my uncle Stanley wrote to his parents on V.E. Day, May 8th, 1945…
Dear Folks, I’m writing this on “V.E. Day” and boy what a day to celebrate and be thankful for. The long hard struggle is over and the blood, sweat, and tears have not been shed in vain. The people of Europe have been freed and we know their joy, for we dropped food to the Dutch the morning they were liberated and they had flags all over the streets and waved like mad. I hope and pray that Ed and Ben are ok wherever they may be now. I wish there were someway of getting in touch with them now. We completed thirty missions and it should count as our full share over here although a tour consisted of thirty five missions. Our crew sure has a lot to be thankful for. We had some narrow escapes – we weren’t the only ones. Sometimes it seemed like someone was protecting us up there when it got pretty rough. That flak was wicked at times. I guess the average mission lasted about seven hours – some were longer and some shorter. How was everything in good old N.Y. on V.E. Day? Boy what Kelly and I would give to be back there now. I heard the paper and confetti is knee-deep. I’ll write a long letter later folks. All my love, Stan
My uncle, along with his bombardment group, was perhaps heralded more so due to German Field Marshall Gerd von Rundstedt, in a post-war interview, stating that the group’s air assaults “did more to stop my counteroffensive into Belgium than any other factor.” That’s Stan on the guns in the photo from 1944.
Perhaps as many of our uncles have, my uncle kept a diary of his bombardier days. Here is a clip from a local newspaper about a little notebook and the incredible life it uncovered…
It was Christmas Eve, December 24th, 1944. Staff Sergeant Stanley Francis Ostrowski, a 23-year old New Brighton resident pens his first entry into a 3” x 5” notebook reflecting his service as a B-17 Flying Fortress ball turret gunner during World War II. “Biggest mission in history” he writes, “started off with a pretty rough one, a little too close for comfort.”
Stanley was a 1939 graduate of Curtis High School, and afterwards took a job as a carpenter in the McWilliams Shipyard in West Brighton. One of nine children born to Polish immigrants, like his other brothers, Benjamin, Edward, John, and Daniel, he aided the war effort as a proud first-generation son. Arriving at Fort Jay Induction Station on Governor’s Island in August of 1942, the young draftee was then sent to Upton NY, Miami Beach, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, and finally Arizona where he was fully trained as a gunner.
Stan then left for England to be assigned to the famous 8th Army Air Force, and the renowned 390th Bombardment Group. This group had been cited by President Roosevelt for skill and daring in battle, and holds the war record for destruction of enemy aircraft by a lone group in a single engagement, having shot down 63 German fighters.
In a Staten Island Advance article published in 1944, Stan told Islanders about his daylight bombing mission over Berlin, “It was 4 o’clock in the morning when the C.Q. (Charge of Quarters) stomped in, switched on the lights, and politely said, “Welton’s crew, you boys are flying this morning.”
Stan’s position in the ball turret, which is a clear, round capsule on the plane’s underbelly, saw him lying flat on his back with legs up and finger clutched to the weighty .50 caliber gun trigger as he rotated. Once over enemy ground, Stan remarks about heavy barrages of gunfire from the Luftwaffe fighters and witnessing a fellow B-17 perish, “It was spinning down out of control with a wing fire.”
Unlike countless others, Stanley Ostrowski survived the war. He returned to his family in New Brighton, taking a job as a NYC civil servant. His passions included 8mm filming, cats, and gardening. He died in 1992.
Arctic Fury
A man dressed like a government official is sitting at a desk in the opening scene. He informs the viewing audience that the film which follows tells an incredible-but-true story.
A doctor who served as a U.S. Navy medical officer during World War II, settles down in Alaska with his wife and daughter to open a private practice. But, the population still being sparse, even in 1949, he occasionally bush pilots his open-cockpit monoplane to out-of-the-way places in the wilderness to render medical aid. When he hears of an Inuit tribe afflicted with a contagious disease, unknown to them, he makes an extended flight to examine them. But, his plane develops engine trouble and he crash-lands in the Colville River region of northern Alaska, where he just barely swims to shore ahead of a hungry polar bear and an avalanche of falling glacial ice.
Having memorized a map to the Inuit village, shown him by Mack, a Sourdough fur trapper, he begins traipsing overland. Along the way, he briefly takes shelter in a cave already inhabited by a mother black bear with two cubs. In chasing her off, however, he finds that her cubs are still in the cave. So, when he resumes his journey, he takes them with him. Eventually noting, in his pilot's log, that he has named them Tom and Jerry!
Wreckage from the doctor's plane is eventually found, renewing hope of the doctor's survival within both his wife and Mack. Guessing that the doctor is headed on foot towards the Inuit village, the trapper heads there in his boat. Arriving there just in time to rescue both the doctor and the bear cubs from feral sled dogs gone half-mad with hunger (their Inuit owners having died from the aforementioned illness).
The doctor eventually replaces his previous aircraft with a new one of the same type. And the narrator concludes the story by claiming how the doctor's tale of survival has been handed down among the Inuit as a campfire story worthy of retelling. With various members of other tribes looking up at his supposedly passing-by plane with grateful awe and respect.
Pair of Sporting Stockings
Had it not been for a fat fourth round at the 1937 Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia, Yonkers, NY-born Polish-American professional golfer Albert Andrew Watrous could have been wearing the coveted green jacket of winner.
As snows of winter lay on the ground nourishing the green grass beneath, let’s take a retro-look at two of the sport’s notable names of Polish descent as a jump-start to spring. First, let’s get back to 1937.
Watrous, then 38 years old, carded a 74-72-71 in his first three rounds at the fabled course, but struggled on Sunday’s final round to fall off the leader board, and ended up ten shots back of eventual winner Byron Nelson. Incidentally, it was during this tournament that the famous Nelson Bridge, which players have walked over since 1958, got its name due to the winner’s birdie-eagle combination at holes 12 and 13. Nelson earned $1,500 for his win, and Watrous…a mere $250.
But maybe it was Watrous’ upbringing in Michigan that did the trick, moving there at an early age and eventually becoming a club pro. The northern climate must have favored him, as the husband and father of five kids won the Michigan PGA Championship a total of nine times and the Michigan Open a total of six times. Whew, move over Tiger Woods.
Let’s back up a bit beforehand to 1926. Although Watrous never won a major championship, he came extremely close at that year’s British Open, so famous an event that it is now referred to around the world simply as The Open. Tied with Bobby Jones, yes the one and only knicker-wearing shirt and tie Bobby Jones, in the final round and paired with him, Watrous hit the green in two shots on the difficult par-4 17th hole, with Jones in trouble after his tee shot finished in tall grass far left of the fairway.
However, Jones hit one of the greatest recovery shots in golf history from 175 yards, as his ball finished on the green nearer than Watrous’, who three-putted and finished second.
On June 14, 1979, Watrous was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Albert Watrous died on Dec. 3, 1983.
► “My parents grew up in the Depression. My father worked from the age of 8 on. He was born in Canada, but his family moved to the U.S. when he was 5. My grandparents were Polish immigrants. I believe my grandfather was a tailor. My grandmother was a teacher, and my mother’s father was a baker.” A recent excerpt from an interview of Polish-American professional golfer Betsy King.
King, now 64 years old, was arguably the best female golfer from the late 1980s through the early 1990s, winning a total of 39 times in her career including six major titles. Anybody debating that news byte should take a glance at the leader board from the 1992 LPGA Championship. Repeat, ehh, move over Tiger Woods.
The tournament was played at Bethesda Country Club on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. And anyone knowing anything about golf courses would instantly realize what the folks mean in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn when they say, “Fahgettaboudit.” One would expect a very close battle between the players, given the difficulty of this course. King, however, proved otherwise.
King simply came out roaring, posting a 68-66-67-66 on the par 71, 6,272 yard monster course, eleven strokes ahead of runners-up Americans JoAnne Carner and Karen Noble, and Sweden’s Liselotte Neumann. King’s victory margin was the largest to date, and was the first to card all four rounds in the sixties in an LPGA major.
Now retired and off the course, King spends most of her time with Golf Fore Africa, a non-profit organization she founded in 2007, to bring clean water to children and their families living in extreme poverty in Africa. Said King in the same interview, “We go into villages where people have next to nothing. They welcome complete strangers like us. They come and hug us and dance with us. Every time I go, I’m inspired to do more to make a difference. One statistic that just floors me is that, in her lifetime, the average African woman will walk a distance from here to the moon walking for water.”
Asked what she would like to be remembered for, King said, “Well, hopefully for more than just golf and winning the LPGA championship by 11 shots. It was the best I played. But as one that persevered and worked hard, I suppose I would like to be remembered for the giving back to causes that outlive us. If we put a well in a community that will bring clean water to someone for the rest of their life, that supply of water will last way past my time here.”
A man dressed like a government official is sitting at a desk in the opening scene. He informs the viewing audience that the film which follows tells an incredible-but-true story.
A doctor who served as a U.S. Navy medical officer during World War II, settles down in Alaska with his wife and daughter to open a private practice. But, the population still being sparse, even in 1949, he occasionally bush pilots his open-cockpit monoplane to out-of-the-way places in the wilderness to render medical aid. When he hears of an Inuit tribe afflicted with a contagious disease, unknown to them, he makes an extended flight to examine them. But, his plane develops engine trouble and he crash-lands in the Colville River region of northern Alaska, where he just barely swims to shore ahead of a hungry polar bear and an avalanche of falling glacial ice.
Having memorized a map to the Inuit village, shown him by Mack, a Sourdough fur trapper, he begins traipsing overland. Along the way, he briefly takes shelter in a cave already inhabited by a mother black bear with two cubs. In chasing her off, however, he finds that her cubs are still in the cave. So, when he resumes his journey, he takes them with him. Eventually noting, in his pilot's log, that he has named them Tom and Jerry!
Wreckage from the doctor's plane is eventually found, renewing hope of the doctor's survival within both his wife and Mack. Guessing that the doctor is headed on foot towards the Inuit village, the trapper heads there in his boat. Arriving there just in time to rescue both the doctor and the bear cubs from feral sled dogs gone half-mad with hunger (their Inuit owners having died from the aforementioned illness).
The doctor eventually replaces his previous aircraft with a new one of the same type. And the narrator concludes the story by claiming how the doctor's tale of survival has been handed down among the Inuit as a campfire story worthy of retelling. With various members of other tribes looking up at his supposedly passing-by plane with grateful awe and respect.
Pair of Sporting Stockings
Had it not been for a fat fourth round at the 1937 Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia, Yonkers, NY-born Polish-American professional golfer Albert Andrew Watrous could have been wearing the coveted green jacket of winner.
As snows of winter lay on the ground nourishing the green grass beneath, let’s take a retro-look at two of the sport’s notable names of Polish descent as a jump-start to spring. First, let’s get back to 1937.
Watrous, then 38 years old, carded a 74-72-71 in his first three rounds at the fabled course, but struggled on Sunday’s final round to fall off the leader board, and ended up ten shots back of eventual winner Byron Nelson. Incidentally, it was during this tournament that the famous Nelson Bridge, which players have walked over since 1958, got its name due to the winner’s birdie-eagle combination at holes 12 and 13. Nelson earned $1,500 for his win, and Watrous…a mere $250.
But maybe it was Watrous’ upbringing in Michigan that did the trick, moving there at an early age and eventually becoming a club pro. The northern climate must have favored him, as the husband and father of five kids won the Michigan PGA Championship a total of nine times and the Michigan Open a total of six times. Whew, move over Tiger Woods.
Let’s back up a bit beforehand to 1926. Although Watrous never won a major championship, he came extremely close at that year’s British Open, so famous an event that it is now referred to around the world simply as The Open. Tied with Bobby Jones, yes the one and only knicker-wearing shirt and tie Bobby Jones, in the final round and paired with him, Watrous hit the green in two shots on the difficult par-4 17th hole, with Jones in trouble after his tee shot finished in tall grass far left of the fairway.
However, Jones hit one of the greatest recovery shots in golf history from 175 yards, as his ball finished on the green nearer than Watrous’, who three-putted and finished second.
On June 14, 1979, Watrous was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Albert Watrous died on Dec. 3, 1983.
► “My parents grew up in the Depression. My father worked from the age of 8 on. He was born in Canada, but his family moved to the U.S. when he was 5. My grandparents were Polish immigrants. I believe my grandfather was a tailor. My grandmother was a teacher, and my mother’s father was a baker.” A recent excerpt from an interview of Polish-American professional golfer Betsy King.
King, now 64 years old, was arguably the best female golfer from the late 1980s through the early 1990s, winning a total of 39 times in her career including six major titles. Anybody debating that news byte should take a glance at the leader board from the 1992 LPGA Championship. Repeat, ehh, move over Tiger Woods.
The tournament was played at Bethesda Country Club on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. And anyone knowing anything about golf courses would instantly realize what the folks mean in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn when they say, “Fahgettaboudit.” One would expect a very close battle between the players, given the difficulty of this course. King, however, proved otherwise.
King simply came out roaring, posting a 68-66-67-66 on the par 71, 6,272 yard monster course, eleven strokes ahead of runners-up Americans JoAnne Carner and Karen Noble, and Sweden’s Liselotte Neumann. King’s victory margin was the largest to date, and was the first to card all four rounds in the sixties in an LPGA major.
Now retired and off the course, King spends most of her time with Golf Fore Africa, a non-profit organization she founded in 2007, to bring clean water to children and their families living in extreme poverty in Africa. Said King in the same interview, “We go into villages where people have next to nothing. They welcome complete strangers like us. They come and hug us and dance with us. Every time I go, I’m inspired to do more to make a difference. One statistic that just floors me is that, in her lifetime, the average African woman will walk a distance from here to the moon walking for water.”
Asked what she would like to be remembered for, King said, “Well, hopefully for more than just golf and winning the LPGA championship by 11 shots. It was the best I played. But as one that persevered and worked hard, I suppose I would like to be remembered for the giving back to causes that outlive us. If we put a well in a community that will bring clean water to someone for the rest of their life, that supply of water will last way past my time here.”
A Mere Bag of Shells
Twenty two years ago, I set out across the arid Judean desert with nothing but a pack on my back, a bible in my hand, and a dream. It was my first trip to the Holy Land, and having the fearless zeal known only to a 30-something year old then, it would later become a trip that I would never attempt again. Risk and reward, that’s what it was all about.
After a moderately easy start from the waters of the Sea of Galilee in the north, I made my way to another body of water, the lowest point on the face of the Earth, the Dead Sea. But on the way, not realizing until later, I narrowly avoided crossing into Israeli Army restricted space. Trespassing into this area would have meant instant demise, and I would have found myself jailed, in court, paying a fine, and sitting on a return flight home. But what would a fair-haired boy wearing a red and white Keffiyeh, or head scarf, in the fashion of Lawrence of Arabia know? After all, caravans of Bedouin tribes roamed the desert freely, so the jury is still out on whether I would have been singled-out by the authorities.
As brave as I may have been by day, once nightfall came it was a different story. If I slept for 15 minutes that night in the middle of nowhere, it was a lot. Losing count of the number of stars overhead, all I could hear was windswept sand. Sunrise came early, and I eventually reached the massive mountains flanking the west coast of the sea where I saw the remains of the ancient Qumran community, famously known for the Dead Sea scrolls.
I always wondered what it must have been like for the shepherd-kid who discovered the scrolls, having thrown a rock into the right cave to find a sheep gone astray. Should I climb the vertical mountain cliff to venture into one of the numerous other caves visible, I asked? Realizing the risk, I instead soldiered on to arrive at the shore of the Dead Sea.
With nobody in sight, “the hell with it” said an exhausted me and stripped to my underwear, closed my eyes and jumped in. The salt content, eight times that of the saltiest ocean, was so great that I floated on the water. Here, there is ten percent more oxygen in the air too, a nice natural recovery plus.
After drying off, I hiked further southward and experienced a certain metanoia, or change of heart. The typical visitor becomes entranced by physically being at the lowest spot on the planet, yet the sheer magnitude of the extremely dry and rugged mountains just a stone’s throw away contradict this. Then, one sees Masada, the great cliff-top ancient settlement where Jewish zealots battled the Roman army, ending in all 960 Jewish inhabitants deciding to die before the Romans could reach them.
After experiencing the awe of this historic site, I decided to take a bus back north and hopped off near the tiny town of Bethany. Unfortunately not too many tourists visit the town which is off the beaten track, but I did, and nearly never made it out.
The Tomb of Lazarus was my only goal to experience there. The tomb’s custodian runs a merchant shop directly across the street, and once the entrance fee is paid, he unlocks the tomb’s door, turns the lights on, and the visitor is allowed to descend a steep set of steps down into the actual tomb itself.
And there I was, inside the actual tomb of Lazarus. I opened my Bible and silently read the famous passage about Jesus commanding the dead man to “Come Forth!” After about twenty minutes of pondering in the dead silence of it all…the lights went off, and BOOM!, the door at the top of the steps was shut. Curses muffled, I half-panicked and began to feel my way around the rock tomb completely in the dark, located the steps and began yelling at the top of my lungs that I was still down there. Fortunately the guy heard me.
Tightening my boots for the final trek, or “pilgrim’s walk” to Bethlehem, which was a dirt trail used by thousands of Christians over the centuries, it was Bethlehem or bust. The walk was enduring, going up hills and through sheep meadows. At its conclusion, I arrived at the Church of the Nativity. In this predominantly Palestinian village, the high bells of this church stand clear for all to see. Here, in the grotto, Jesus was born. Interestingly enough, the site is actually a cave. And a very sacred one indeed. The exact spot of Jesus’ birth is marked with a fourteen point star. One seems to abandon all personal concerns and worries here.
Departing, I was reminded of the region’s modern-day dilemma, as just over my shoulder I heard a skirmish between kids throwing rocks and soldiers firing rubber bullets. But after what I had just experienced on this trip, to me that scuffle was only, as Ralph Kramden would say, “a mere bag of shells.”
After taxiing half way to the airport, I set out on foot again and arrived for my flight back. My trek was complete, though my pants were torn and my boots were worn. I was completely exhausted, but I was still smiling.
The Swap
Reflecting on Buffalo’s 1962 Pulaski Day Parade certainly had its highlights having President John F. Kennedy present, but one stands out among many as the definitive moment of Polish-U.S. relations, in a manner of speaking. That being the presentation of a Polish doll to the president by a humble 6-year-old Buffalo girl named Noelle Krolewicz.
“Since my mom, Eugenia Krolewicz, has passed away, some of the details of this story are lost. However, I know that the sisters at St. Stanislaus School asked my mom if she would be able to commit to the project of me being the person to give President Kennedy a doll for his daughter, Caroline,” recounts Ms. Krolewicz.
And what a commitment! It seems this entailed the sisters getting a proper Polish-type dress for the young six year old, a doll to present to the president, and transporting her to and from City Hall and the press events on the day before the parade.
According to Noelle’s memory, finding the doll was the most difficult part of the project. “Back then, dolls were sold mostly at Christmas time, and finding a doll with braids such as a Polish girl would wear was challenging. My parents finally came up with a blonde doll with braids. My dad’s aunt Agnes was a seamstress, and she and some co-workers took delight in designing the dress and hair garland” she points out, but regretfully adds “I don’t think my parents would have even thought to have me play with a doll of this nature, risking it getting dirty or damaged, so I did not name it or have any attachment to it.”
You’ve heard of The Sting starring Redford and Newman, but how about The Swap starring Krolewicz and a guy named Osinski? Something that suddenly came up literally minutes before the presidential presentation, however, was an idea to replace Noelle’s original doll, after all of the design work put into it, with another doll which had been made by visually-impaired children in Poland. Of course, a noble gesture, but perhaps bad timing.
“I believe that Henry Osinski located the replacement doll, or perhaps had it at his home. So, the doll that I presented to President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was not the doll that my parents worked so hard to obtain. My mom in particular was sad that another doll would be presented to Caroline, however she understood the significance of this replacement doll.”
Reflecting deeper, Ms. Krolewicz recalls her once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “Although I still have the original articles from the Buffalo papers, back then I was young, so although I knew that what I was doing was very important, I did not understand the significance.”
“I remember the actual weekend as very long” she adds, “I needed to be dressed and ready for the photo shoot at the rectory of St. Stanislaus Church, with Msgr. Peter Adamski, the day before the parade. On parade day, a Sunday, I needed to be prepped again and driven to City Hall by my parents. I’m sure it was nerve-wracking for them to let their daughter go with the U.S. Secret Service to the podium where the presentation would happen. I remember stepping up and saying: ‘Mr. President, this doll is for your little girl, Caroline.’ The president needed to readjust the microphone and I needed to repeat the sentence so the crowd could hear. I recall him as very tall and tan with a kind face.”
The Osinski doll sits soundly and securely in a museum. But what ever happened to the Krolewicz doll? “I need to say that the original doll is still present in my home. Time has aged the dress, but the doll herself is still cute” admits Noelle as she sums up her wonderfully reminiscent experience. “I remember, a year later, how sad I was when I watched the president’s funeral on TV. Perhaps it touched me differently because of the small connection I had with him.”
Door #1, Door #2, Door #3
Let's Make a Deal. I'm sure you may remember that captivating TV game show back in those carefree, halcyon days of yesteryear. But are we still playing the game? Apparently yes, if you consider the different "doors" we are setting up for ourselves when it comes to following a faith. Let’s pose the question, why do the world’s faiths have so much difference if belief in God is the common denominator, as evidenced in the teachings of various founders such as Christ, Buddha, and Muhammad? The answer is never advertised because it is unpopular, that being because in fact, it is estimated that a full 90% of any faith’s tenets and doctrines were not, repeat, were not, instituted by the founder of the faith. By far the vast majority of any faith’s policies, be it Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, etc. were created by subsequent leaders of each faith by applying a founder’s teaching to arrive at a tenet, belief, or policy, assumed to be “in the best interest of the founder.” Therein resides the heart of the problem. Imagine if faiths could all drop the “self-portraits” and join forces as one global faith under God? Seeking to open one "door" seems logical, especially if there is one heaven.
First, honesty is essential to pursue objective truth in any conversation. Since all religions, including Christianity, are mysteries based in faith, it would be wise to admit truthfully that global peoples simply do not know factually, definitively, and tangibly how to attain salvation. Rather, they are basing their beliefs and practices, as noble and profound as they may be, on faith. Citing scripture is quite commendable, but again, objectively speaking, biblical exegesis may not be definitive or verbatim. Scholars have even concluded that the popular prayer "Our Father" had only 3 lines attributed to Jesus, with the rest of the prayer added by subsequent disciples. And was it the Sermon on the Mount as the Gospel of Matthew attests, or the Sermon on the Plain as the Gospel of Luke affirms? The point being that, perhaps we need to cut to the chase, clear away all the superficial rituals, dig down deep and consider the main core point of our chosen faith, and of others. Hmm, these cores are the same. Therefore, since we are discussing the intangible mystery known as religion, it would be unwise to claim authority in one arena as most religions of the world do, while dismissing another. Interestingly, the lives of John Paul II, the great unifier, and Mohandas Gandhi, were very similar. Gandhi, raised as a strict Hindu, was once angrily asked why he didn’t reject Pakistan’s encroaching Muslim population on India. And his reply: “I am a Muslim, and a Hindu, and a Christian, and a Jew, and so are all of you.” Do not be surprised to find peoples of other faiths in heaven. For if all are One in heaven, should we not seek to be One here on Earth?
Portrait of a Player, and Painter
The following was published in the Staten Island Advance a couple of years ago...
As the sun begins to set on another season of golf on all four of the Island’s courses, one West Brighton man offers a visual reflection of the sport from ages past.
Says 51-year old Andrew Ostrowski, a diehard golfer by day and freelance writer by night, “I owe my golfing game to my father, who not only was a champion player, but was also equally talented as a painter.”
Dan Ostrowski, Andrew’s dad, rose to local sport’s-stardom during the late 1950s and into the 1960s by winning numerous golf tournaments on the Island. Most notably, Dan played with the famed Sunrise Club, known for their early morning tee-offs at Silver Lake Golf Course.
As a member of the Silver Lake Men’s Club, his name frequented the Advance’s sports page headlines in defeating such notable names as Jimmy Iacovelli, Gil Smith, Steve Zuntag, and Jim Grosso.
Iacovelli, a well-known and heralded golfer during the 1950’s, was defeated by a 31-year old Ostrowski, then a virtual unknown competitor in the quarterfinals of the 1957 Silver Lake Club Championship.
And in one of the greatest matches ever played, as described by the Advance in its 1960 column, was that year’s quarterfinal round of the Silver Lake Club Championship. It pitted Ostrowski against Gil Smith in a grueling hole by hole battle resulting in no less than ten birdies being made. Ostrowski won by one shot.
Nicknamed “Doc O” for winning the illustrious Doctor F.J. McCarthy memorial tournament in 1967, his name became synonymous with fine golf and a finer attitude, right down to the respect he drew from fellow competitors and the near zero handicap he earned.
In fact, Tom Flannagan, a longtime friend of Dan’s and past golfing column writer for the Advance, put it perfectly in stating that “Doc was well-known for his golf talent as well as his gentlemanly approach to the game.”
But it wasn’t just precision shot-making that Dan excelled at. According to Andrew, the youngest of Dan’s six children, his occupation was a key ingredient in what would follow.
“My father was an architect in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright, who strived for precision and exactitude, designing many homes on Staten Island. It was no wonder then to discover that, after crafting perfect 18-hole golf shots on his way to winning tournament after tournament, he had a knack for creating golf holes with a paint brush and palette.”
Dan began his passion for painting using the oil color medium, recreating some of the holes he had played while walking the fairways. His early 1962 work titled “Fairway Willow” was a rendition of the 6th hole at Richmond County Country Club. And always looking at things from an architect’s perspective, his 1963 work titled “Greenskeeper’s Shack” was a cross-fairway portrayal of things typically not found in standard art.
As the years progressed, Dan experimented with watercolors which allowed him to paint more surreal, near fantasy-type golf holes. In fact, his 1992 work titled “Slice Shot” seems almost akin to a Claude Monet piece of art, with its winding cart path, overgrown tree, and sloped green.
After the millennium of 2000 however, Dan began to develop eczema of the fingers and was forced to “glue” his cut finger splits and wear protective gloves, as well as limit his golf. But it didn’t stop his painting passion, as he continued to turn out more art works, expanding into other venues such as recreating the lighthouses of Maine.
During his later years, Dan once again made the headlines by capturing top honors along with fellow golfing mate John Purtill in the 1997 and 2004 Senior Championships of the Silver Lake Men’s Club. And on the artistic side, he continued with his beloved painting.
In late September of 2015, after reaching his 90th birthday just five days earlier, Dan “Doc” Ostrowski passed away, leaving behind a legacy hard to match.
But aside from the trophies and bristle brushes, Dan’s recognized surname continues to be heard on the golf links and seen in his paintings, as Andrew attests to.
“Whether I’m out there swinging his prized Wilson X-31 golf clubs, the very same ones he used to win all those tournaments, or back home showing off his 1990 work titled Tee Box Divot, my favorite, I’m reminded that the game of golf, and so much more, is kept alive because of folks like my dad.”
Seven Strong Story
In just a few days we’ll be celebrating Veterans Day, a day that honors the service of all U.S. military veterans, both living and dead. Unlike Memorial Day, which specifically honors those who died while in military service, this month’s holiday opens up the page for us to paint a few portraits of people who deservedly should have their names memorialized regardless of whether they died then or afterwards. Here are just a few.
Walter Stojanowski. “I was 15 years old when Pearl Harbor was bombed. It was then that I decided to join the Navy.” Recalling the words of this then 80-something-year-old retired New York City firefighter and ex-restaurateur, who came to visit me one sunny afternoon in summer, what started out as “Sunday brunch” quickly turned into “60 Minutes.” Stojanowski, you see, brought along his wartime diary, eventually being allowed to join the Navy when he turned seventeen despite yet another rejection.
Flipping through the pages of his diary proved to be quite revealing, evidenced by accounts of bravery and daring, including a few unedited notes such as “One night in heavy shelling, three of my buddies were killed. One of their skulls was split in two. It was like a nightmare.”
The Cichon Brothers. If you get a street named after you, you are important! That’s exactly what happened when, thanks to the efforts of the Polish-American community of Elm Park, Staten Island, World War II veteran brothers Stanley and Henry Cichon finally got adequately recognized for their sacrifices.
Stanley, a Marine who fought at Guadalcanal and Tarawa, died on Iwo Jima in February 1945, being hit by a mortar shell. He was 24 years old. Henry, an aerial gunner on a B-24 bomber, was killed in the Dutch East Indies a month earlier when his plane exploded upon takeoff.
Matthew Skowronski. Not too much is known about this skinny kid from the old New Brighton section of Staten Island. He enlisted in the Army, never reached past the rank of Private, served with the 119th Infantry regiment, and had a service number of 32513750. He died as a result of traumatic injury in July of 1944, in the wake of D-Day. A pretty basic GI Joe, wouldn’t you say?
Yet the kid didn’t slip through anyone’s fingers, because a life-sized statue dedicated to him and 27 other “Joe’s” from the neighborhood sits pretty right alongside a popular roadway in the area.
Matthew Urban. Serving the war efforts in Germany, Belgium, France, Sicily, and North Africa, among other places, the Buffalo East High School grad and resident of 1153 Broadway went on to become one of the most decorated soldiers ever. While serving on the North African front, he was wounded in action seven times, spurring on a comment made by one of the members of his outfit, “The lieutenant was wounded in Tunisia and refused to be evacuated, then took up a combat patrol.”
“Captain Urban’s personal leadership, limitless bravery, and repeated extraordinary exposure to enemy fire served as an inspiration to his entire battalion.” So wrote President Jimmy Carter.
Stanley Ostrowski. “They won’t be turning out any Lugers for awhile.” Hand-written words from my uncle in the 3”x 5” diary he kept on all of his missions as a B-17 ball turret gunner. On that mission in February 1945, his target was a small arms factory in Weimar, Germany. With side notes about flak coming from anti-aircraft guns as well as enemy fighters swarming around the area, a reader can get scared just from these words alone.
I recall a line from Twelve O’Clock High, a film portraying the life of a bombardier, when the flight commander says “Forget about going home. Consider yourselves already dead.” Whew…
Matthew Fik. As she was getting ready for church at nearby St. Michael the Archangel parish, Ella Fik heard a knock on her front door. Rushing to open it and expecting to see either of her two sons, John or Matthew returning from battle, she instead was met by a frightened Western Union boy bearing that dreaded telegram.
Young Matthew died in a violent firefight on an island in the South Pacific. The 25-year-old enlistee from 1671 Electric Ave. in Lackawanna paid the ultimate price for victory, and all that is held dear.
Your Best Thanksgiving
“You’ve tried all the rest, now try the best.” No doubt you’ve seen that popular one-liner along the edges of your local pizza delivery box. Why don’t we cut to the chase here and apply the same line to an array of Thanksgiving dishes sure to find a fancy with your guests at next week’s big occasion. Ah, you’ve seen a bunch of other “recipes” of satisfactory merit, but now it’s time for the big-league batters of gastronomy to step up to the plate to hit you a home run. Thanks to Stella Marcinak and Jennifer Zaremba for the following palate pleasers, during the third week of November.
Apple fritters
Required: 4 apples, 1 tbs. sugar, 4 separated eggs, 1 tbs. sour cream, 1 tbs. flour, oil, powdered sugar, cinnamon.
Wash and core the apples and cut them into ¼ inch slices, then toss with sugar to coat. Mix egg yolks with sour cream, and beat egg whites until stiff. Combine the yolks, whites, and flour. Dip each apple slice in the batter and fry in oil until golden brown. Drain, then sift together powdered sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over fritters.
Potato salad
Required: 4 potatoes cooked in skin, 2 sour pickles, 2 tbs. onion, 2 cooked carrots, 3 hard boiled eggs, ½ cup green peas, ½ cup mayonnaise, ½ cup sour cream, 2 tbs. flat leaf minced parsley, salt, pepper, tomato.
Peel the cooked potatoes. Finely dice pickles, onions, and carrots, and chop the eggs. Add peas, salt and pepper, and mix gently with a spoon. Add mayo, sour cream, and parsley and mix. Garnish with tomato.
Old-World Polish onion soup
Required: 1 ½ lbs. onions, 1 leek, 2 parsley roots, ½ cup sour cream, 1 tbs. butter, 2 egg yolks, salt.
Rinse, peel, and dice the onions and veggies. Sauté them lightly in butter. Transfer to saucepan, cover with boiling water, salt, and cook until tender. Cool slightly, then puree in a blender. Mix sour cream with egg yolks and add to the hot soup. Mix well and salt to taste.
Macaroni with mushrooms
Required: 1 lb. cooked macaroni, 1 lb. mushrooms, 3 slices of ham, 3 separated eggs, salt, pepper, butter.
Rinse and slice mushrooms, sauté in butter. Cut ham into thin strips and whip egg whites until stiff. Mix macaroni with egg yolks and beaten egg whites. Salt and pepper to taste. Butter a baking dish, then layer in this order: macaroni, ham, macaroni, mushrooms, macaroni. Bake at 400 degrees F until golden brown.
Duck with apples
Required: 1 duck, salt, marjoram, 4 large Granny Smith apples, 1 tbs. butter.
Rinse duck and salt well. Rub with marjoram. Peel and core the apples and dice. Stuff the duck with the apples and truss. Place in a roasting pan, pour melted butter over duck and add 1 cup of water. Sprinkle the duck with water occasionally. Bake at 350 degrees F until brown.
Marysia’s meringue
Required: 2 egg whites, 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, 1 tbs. vinegar, 1 tbs. potato flour, 2 envelopes vanilla-sugar, 4 tbs. boiling water.
In bowl, beat egg whites until frothy. Add sugar and beat until stiff. Add vinegar, potato flour, vanilla-sugar, and boiling water. Mix for ten minutes until stiff. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, then using a spoon drop golf ball size meringues. Bake at 250 degrees F for 30 minutes.
Peter’s Babeczka
Required: 2 cups of flour, 1 ½ tsp. baking powder, 1/3 lb. unsalted butter, 5 separated eggs, 1 cup powdered sugar, almond extract, bread crumbs.
Sift together flour and baking powder. Cream butter, egg yolks, sugar, and almond extract. While beating, add flour mixture. Whip egg whites until stiff, then fold gently into batter. Place mixture in a buttered pan coated with breadcrumbs and bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes.
Save a seat at your table, I won’t be late…
All about a Hammer and a Man
It was the summer of 1949, and a newly married 23-year old Dan Ostrowski drops by the local Sears & Roebuck store to purchase a folding tape measure, a box of 6-penny finishing nails, and a Craftsman hammer. Being skilled in carpentry, the young upstart architect settles into his new home and sets up his hobby’s tool shop in the basement, complete with a large workbench, a pegboard, and plenty of hardware to supplement. Eventually the summer heat subsides, and together with Victor Siuzdak, the husband of his wife’s sister, the pair of Poles tackle the task of remodeling the attic.
Day after day, with hammer in hand, bangs and booms are heard as sheetrock, 2x4s, floorboard and fiberglass insulation are put in place. Night after night, dinner is served to a hungry duo until the task is complete. Two new porches go up, front and back, then a picnic table, then a furnished cellar room, and on and on. And somewhere in the middle of all this hammering, six children are born.
But, it’s not too long before his trustworthy Craftsman hammer gets deployed back into action. Project after project, my father must have hammered some tens of thousands of nails using this hammer. In fact, the photo you see is of him holding your author on the back porch of his house circa 1969, a porch of course that was made using this hammer.
But speaking of nostalgia and sentimentality as pointed out above, the story of this breakneck, blue-collar hand tool and the Pole who wielded it draws its most merit and proof of power due to an unfortunate circumstance.
This story would have never been written had the hammer not broken a couple of weeks ago. While nailing an 8-penny common nail, the 65-year old hammer finally met its death as the head broke off from its hickory handle. I then took the head and handle to Sears as Craftsman’s policy permits a free replacement, however, the injured tool must be surrendered. Well, you’ve probably figured out the end of this story.
How could I surrender such memories?
The Little Town that Found
Eighty years ago. It’s hard to believe, but if you think about it relatively speaking, that really wasn’t too far back in time. Last month we remembered the infamous day of Poland’s invasion by the Nazis.
I had a chance to browse some archival stories of the war and came upon an interesting article about, as one Royal Air Force pilot described, “a lovable drunk and crazy artist-painter.” The pilot was referring to Lieutenant Tadeusz Stabrowski, who the article’s headline dubbed as “the Polish RAF Pilot who helped save Great Britain.”
A couple of quotes that would not fail to escape my attention, I read on to learn that Stabrowski was born in Poland six months before the end of WWI. Upon graduation from school, he entered the Polish Reserve Air Force. Then in 1939 when the Germans invaded Poland, Stabrowski was captured along with so many others and sent to a prison camp in Romania. Eventually he escaped and using a phony passport made his way to England where he joined the Royal Air Force.
Stabrowski saw his first assignment with the 258th Squadron and later with the more prestigious 308th Squadron. He was quickly making a name for himself, having participated in 149 missions before he was shot down over the English Channel in the spring of 1943. Reports were received that he had jettisoned himself from his Spitfire in an attempt to survive its crash. The next day however, a body washed up on the shore near the small town of Le Crotoy, France.
And here’s where the story gets remarkable. The handful of citizens of this little town in northern France, themselves known as Crotellois, had the heads-up to make the effort to identify Stabrowski as being Polish by the white and red emblem which all Polish RAF pilots wore on their uniform. The citizens paid for the man’s burial in the local cemetery called St. Firmin and a simple headstone marked “Unknown Polish Airman” was erected. Had these townsfolk not bothered to do this, Stabrowski would most likely have forever been among the numerous lost and unaccounted for soldiers of WWII.
And because of this little bother done some 76 years ago to identify the body as specifically being Polish, it allowed specific DNA testing to proceed today. Three years ago, Stabrowski’s grandson was among the list of possible Polish relatives and got a call from the Polish government. “They said there’s a grave in France and the grave is marked as an unknown Polish airman. And they had asked if it was okay if they could get a DNA sample from my father to compare,” he said.
His dad sent in a cheek scrape, the body was exhumed to compare DNA samples, and when the results came back it was clear: a 99.999% match confirmed the remains were absolutely those of his grandfather, Tadeusz Stabrowski. Said the grandson, “It definitely gives you a sense of relief, it gives you a sense of belonging. You know who he is, you know where he was. I’m attached to him. He is my grandfather.”
Stabrowski’s son, who the pilot’s wife gave birth to and who never met his dad, was able to watch as the long, lost Polish pilot received the military honors he was due. The lieutenant now has an official headstone with his name, again, paid for by the Crotellois townspeople and local French government. Stabrowski has been honored with the Cross of Valor and the Pilot’s Field Badge.
The article also pointed out that, in addition to the Polish airmen we often learn about, there were actually so many other Polish men wanting to serve that Britain’s War Cabinet had to create two fighter squadrons, numbers 302 and 303 made up primarily of Polish soldiers.
But not all these young men that arrived in England became pilots. Some served as ground support, doing repair and maintenance of the airplanes and vehicles used by the RAF. Thousands of volunteers, Poles among them, also manned the lookout posts along the west coast of the English Channel.
Anti-aircraft guns also had to be in good working order and had to be ready at a moment’s notice. Searchlights too needed to be operated and maintained constantly. And those either too old or not quite old enough or not qualified for service were able to do their part by keeping watch for signs of an invasion, taking part in the disposal of unexploded bombs, and patrolling at night along the coast.
As I neared the ending of the article, the same pilot who was quoted above went on to say more about Stabrowski, nicknamed the Drunken Angel. “On the ground he was humble, hunched, unkempt, constantly blinking, reckless, always late, absent-minded and in disregard of everyone and everything. In the air, he became a calm, precise and brave pilot with nerves of steel, and one of the best I have ever known.”
Pets and a Powerful Papal Punch
October 4 marks the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecologists and animal lovers everywhere. With a bunch of our own pet aficionados among the Am-Pol Eagle community, I thought it would be fitting to offer an article on a hot topic dear to us all. That being, will we see our pets in heaven?
We never think about this possibility, do we? Traditionally we have been geared to focus exclusively on the souls of mankind, never even considering if animals, or other life forms such as a butterfly, have such a thing as a soul. Most people think that heaven exists, and it is a place of blissful existence. It would logically follow then, that since heaven is such a wonderful place, and being that all things are possible with God, it would be reasonable to conclude that our beloved pets will be there with us. The trouble is, we never thought to think “outside of the box.”
Let’s first go back to the Garden of Eden story. The decision to disobey God by “eating the apple” was made by us, not by the animals. Technically, you would therefore not be wrong by further concluding that animals should have an automatic entry into heaven since they have no elevated conscience to choose right from wrong such as humans have.
And, since we established that heaven is a place where all is good and happy, are the treasured moments you currently spend with your puppy, or the cuddling up you do with your cat, just nice memories we will have in heaven? Would it not bring at least a mild tear to your eye to recall them when you’re in heaven, wishing they were still with you? Of course. This is a no-brainer. It stands to reason then, based on all of what heaven is purported to be and the infinite power of God, that the logical mind would conclude that we will certainly be re-united with our beloved pets in heaven.
Logical mind, yes. Look no further than John Paul II. In fact, Wojtyla openly declared in a 1990 papal audience that “animals possess a soul and men must love and feel solidarity with our smaller brethren.” He added that animals are the “fruit of the creative action of the Holy Spirit and merit respect” and that they are “as near to God as men are.” Wow, that is one hell of a powerful punch! Obviously putting animals in the same proximity to God as Man is says a lot.
Fr. Jack Wintz, O.F.M. has written a wonderful book specifically on this topic, called “Will I See My Dog in Heaven?” In the book, Fr. Wintz cites several proofs that God desires the whole family of creation to be included in his plan of salvation. And if animals were of no significance in the overall picture, then St. Francis would most certainly not have devoted so much time to them.
But let’s play devil’s advocate for a moment. Some people say that heaven is unlike anything we know here on earth, that our pets do not have souls, and that our awareness in heaven transcends even the most affectionate, loving degree that any human can have while here on earth. In other words, once in heaven, we aren’t even aware that we had a loving pet because we are in a higher state of conscious love. Although it may seem empirically logical, this theory basically nullifies any affectionate worth that we displayed while on earth. That is to say, your deep-down love for your pet would be left out of your heavenly recollection. This does not seem to make sense simply because humanity’s highest claim to its self-worth, what sets it apart from other life forms, is its ability to love and reason. Therefore, it stands to reason that the affection we have now for our pets would carry over into heaven, where our affection for them would continue. For a human to expend their greatest effort in loving a pet, why then should they be robbed of the fruits of their love by not seeing their pets in heaven? For what is heaven, but the fulfillment of the maximum efforts of humanly love.
But what about that your son’s pet lizard, or that butterfly in the yard that your daughter has taken a likening to? Do reptiles and insects have “souls?” Good question. Who decides to what degree a beloved other-than-human creature possesses a soul and goes to heaven? Arguably, one can say indeed other things are in heaven. Christ himself promised his apostles: “I tell you, I will not drink this fruit of the vine from now until the day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s reign.” Clearly he is referring to wine. Therefore we must conclude that wine is present in heaven. If wine is, how about other pleasing things such as ice cream, throwing a baseball, and canoeing? One could actually make a valid argument for such items.
Opening up a discussion on such questions is precisely how we then come to understand why heaven is an eternal repository of souls surrounded by an environment which is exponentially full of good things, including our pets.
A Sixty Year Strong Interview
As last week's issue of the Am-Pol Eagle celebrated its 60 years of existence, I had a chance to chat with Renee Harzewski, owner of the paper. Here is what she had to say…
Andrew Ostrowski: Renee, thank you for the opportunity to reach our community of readers with just a slice of life from the roots of the Am-Pol Eagle. From its origins in 1959, the paper has certainly come a long way. Take us back a bit to those days of yesteryear. What were the goals of its founding fathers and how would you gauge the scale of its effect over the years to an ever-increasing Polish-American population?
Renee Harzewski: A few years after Everybody's Daily ceased to publish, the community lacked a print voice in the community. Even though the daily was published exclusively in the Polish language, the decision was made to publish an English language weekly which would appeal to a larger audience. The mission of the Am-Pol Eagle was and is to report news of interest to Polish Americans from religion, customs, traditions, socially, etc.
AO: Indeed a big part of any media publication’s success is both the hardware that produces the content and of course, the content itself. Mechanical printing machines, ink, press plates, rollers, and a lot of blue-collar back-breaking labor went into production of this newspaper especially in its rookie years. What were some of the hurdles associated with this type of modus operandi?
RH: Early on the production process like setting type from hot metal to cold type (a photographic process) to the actual printing was very labor intensive. The transition to computers was a challenge but it was time and labor saving. Imagine that just a few decades ago how different reporting was. If Robert Strybel was to send a report from Warsaw, prior to 1989, he would have to type it and mail it. It would go through the communist censors and weeks later we’d get the story. Now, when news breaks in Poland, it’s here in a matter of seconds via an email.
AO: Young adults today rarely reach for a paper version of any newspaper. In an age when paper-printed news is rapidly being replaced by digital means, what effect has this transition meant to our older generation readers who may fear the change? In dollars and cents, explain what it takes to keep afloat a traditional printed newspaper?
RH: Newspapers owned by some of the largest corporations in America and led by some of the wealthiest people in America have yet to find a successful formula for publishing an online newspaper that has the same size and caliber of reporters and editors as its print companion or predecessor. We provide our readers a print product and do offer the news online on our website.
While circulation has been stable many of the neighborhood/ethnic businesses have closed so our printing facilities (used for commercial printing, not for printing the paper) have subsidized the financial shortfall. Special guides like Dyngus, Cheektowaga Polish Arts Festival, Oktoberfest, etc. have also been helpful. Commercial printing has been a mainstay and the community has been very supportive in this regard.
AO: Typically when we think of a newspaper, we think of articles and information it provides to our community. Can you shed some light on the often overlooked other side of the equation, that is, what a community can provide to a newspaper in order to thrive?
RH: Staff is limited so leads for articles, notices for community events, announcement of special community events, photographs, are all greatly appreciated and welcome.
AO: Let’s take a breather, and allow me to ask you of any humorous stories you recall in the 60-year history of the paper?
RH: I can’t recall any humorous stories off the top of my head, but the importance of publishing stories is a vital part of what we do. Many of the stories we do print are not in the Buffalo News, they are not on local TV newscasts. Stories about Polish veterans, our organizations and the cultural or historical presentations are only found in our paper. There is much more to Polonia than Dyngus Day, and those stories we try to tell.
AO: The Am-Pol Eagle has a rich history of outstanding columnists, though sadly several of them have passed away while active in the weekly editions. Can you mention a few of the notables who are no longer among us and how they have left an honorable impression in the minds of our readers?
RH: Stan Franczyk was not only an astute political analyst, he also served as editor during the very early years of publication. He could cover almost any aspect of Polish American life. Edward Wiater was a schooled newspaper man. He was especially interested in Polish custom and traditions. Jackie Schmid was very involved in the polka scene. She could report on almost every polka band or event. Bob Pacholski was our longtime sports editor and contributed other features. He was an astute writer and editor. Also, our contributing editor David Rutecki wrote many if not all our editorials for years. You could give him any topic and he would write a fine opinion piece.
AO: Finally Renee, as the Am-Pol Eagle’s engines prepare to fire up full steam ahead with yet another edition in its 60-year high horse-powered tradition, who are some of the folks behind the scenes who have made it all happen? On behalf of the readers, permit us to extend kudos to these people as we look forward to another enjoyable issue of the Am-Pol Eagle.
RH: Among our writers and contributors are: Judge Carl Bucki, Peter Sloane, Thomas Tarapacki, Basia Szydlowski, Matt Kushner, Keith Kaszubik, Alfred Karney, Barbara Strzepka, Barbara Frackiewicz, Geraldine Bereziuk Lowrey, Steve Dlugosz, Bette Rydzynski Hulley, Denise Oliansky, Rev. Czeslaw Krysa, and Warsaw correspondent Robert Strybel. The paper also relies on our advertising sales staff – Michelle Kisluk and Steve Kroczynski as well as our secretary Chris Kane and website editor Stephanie Zawadzki. We also have great partners in Buffalo Newspress (which prints the paper) and Print Plus (which handles the mailing). All make the Am-Pol possible.
Mums the Word
Q: My comment is relating to the Child Victims Act article in this week’s edition of the news. It seems to me that too much attention is going to solutions for victims. Last month I saw a video put on in my church during Mass talking about how they have set up a hotline now for anyone to call with an allegation. As if, this is the solution to the problem. When is someone going to focus on the causes for abuse in the Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts? Nobody wants to talk about the causes. – Walt, New York
A: Hard to find an argument with you here Walt, thanks for your take on this. I agree, the causes, be them sexual dysfunction, psychological, hormonal imbalance, or whatever, never make for an easy discussion and have adopted a hush-hush policy since the beginning of time. But it’s no wonder these abusive problems exist, contraception included. How many times have we heard a sermon from the pulpit on the sanctity and proper Christian use of our procreative act? Can you recall? Neither can I. Mums the word. Maybe if it was talked about more, both people and priests would understand the sanctity of sex and there would be fewer abuses. So who’s to blame here? Now it comes back to bite them.
Keeping the Ship Afloat
Word has hit the streets, unofficially of course, that the Catholic Church is gearing up to release yet another round of modification to the practices and policies of both its liturgical and administrative handbook. Recall a few years back that several revisions were made on the proceedings of the Mass, well, this latest hint at change could make those past reforms look like pre-school stuff.
Although no reason for it was given, the biggest potential change will be in allowing not only Deacons to celebrate the Mass and consecrate the bread and wine, but women-clergy, a category still to be defined. But it wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why this is being considered, would it? Given the tragic decline in seminary enrollment, not to mention the near-extinction of religious sisters, efforts to keep the ship afloat may only come with these new moves. But will priests someday be allowed to marry? At this rate in the current situation, maybe we shouldn’t become even more discouraged by asking.
How are your Spouses?
Piggybacking off of the above comes a “side-note” of sorts, although most people would term it more than trivial. Has anyone ever dared to pose the question, why can’t we have polygamous relationships? No, no, perish the thought, how dare we ask such a question? Indeed, the topic has surfaced recently shedding new light on an old, yes a very old, tradition. Opponents, such as mainstream Christianity, argue that Christ specifically stated that “a man shall leave his parents, cling to his wife, and they shall become one.” Proponents with some branches of the Mormon faith, Hinduism, Islam, and several other faiths on the other hand, argue that politics and “societal monogamous convenience” are the main reasons for polygamy being outlawed.
And the latter group may have a point. Interestingly, didn’t several notables in the Bible have multiple wives? In fact, over 40 Old Testament standout figures such as Moses and Solomon had multiple wives. Yet, we pick and choose which stories in the sacred text we want to accept, and which stories we want to reject. By rejecting polygamy, are we to defend this by stating that a man or woman either has 1) not the capacity to love multiple spouses equally, or 2) is not somehow allowed to love multiple spouses equally? Both seem to be absolutely ridiculous reasons if you think about it, yet, we don’t think about it.
Hmm, should we be surprised then, in our "orderly, civilized" Western world to see romantic flirtations occur outside of marriage? Does anybody ever wonder why so many monogamous marriages then proceed to suffer extra-marital love affairs? Are we somehow putting a "cap" on the extent to which two humans can express their love for each other?
Oh, outlandish thinking! Let's crawl back in our two-person beds and brain-boxes and continue to thrive in a nice and neat closed-culture where 1+1=2, umbrellas protect us from the rain, and life and death have been all figured out.
An Oddity at 1300 Feet
Undoubtedly many of you witnessed another marvel of sorts last month when tightrope daredevil Nik Wallenda and his sister took to the rooftops high above Times Square in New York City. The pair walked from opposite ends of a wire spanning 1300 feet across as onlookers below sighed with “ooo’s” and “ahh’s,” all the while as the duo mumbled prayers of thanks to Jesus for protecting them. Even popular preacher Joel Osteen was there and offered the Wallendas a blessing.
Eh, anybody see anything odd here? Truthfully, I was almost hoping that the pair would fall. What kind of convoluted logic places faith in God to protect us when we are gambling with the gift of life, and doing so for showmanship? Such would be an insult, and a blatant disregard to everything that the sanctity of life stands for.
In an interesting juxtaposition, I’m wondering how Mr. Osteen feels about the millions of people praying for an end to abortion because of life’s sacredness, while at the same time here we have two people disregarding that sacredness, and ironically fueling it with prayer? Perhaps the duo, with Osteen on hand, should take to the tightropes around Calcutta, India if only to learn of life’s worth. Maybe then they’ll put their prayer in perspective.
Stiff Suits and Salty Slogans
Twenty-five Democratic candidates for the 2020 Presidency have readied themselves at the starting line in what appears to be a free-for-all, anything goes effort at overtaking Donald Trump come next November. In fact, even the uneducated among the populace would not have a hard time figuring out this desperate measure. We’re talking everything from Bill DeBlasio’s ousting of private insurance in favor of Medicare-for-all, to Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren’s bizarre plan to guarantee Federal funding for abortion, even if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Huh?
In a two-night prime-time debate last month, NBC filled the television screens of Americans across the country who may have been looking for some direction. Looks like they got something else instead. Perhaps it was Eric Swalwell’s uniquely funny grin in between his politically correct verbiage, or to the opposite extreme, Kamala Harris’ mean, mad, and morose expression. Come to think of it, since Trump took office, has anyone ever seen her smile?
Unemployment is down, investments are up, racial uprisings are down, economic growth is up, business regulations are down, foreign relations are up. My politico-pal and I have concluded that even a Donald Trump discovery of a cure for cancer would be rejected by these candidates. After all the fuss during the last election, we agreed that Americans can no longer be fooled by stiff suits with salty slogans. Rather, the coup d’etat that occurred back in 2016 was perhaps just what this country needed.
It's a Question on Robotics
Q: Your story about Mark Wisniewski was especially interesting. I agree with him that we may be too closed-minded when it comes to faith. There must be a thousand religions out there with their own versions of salvation. I am reminded of St. John Paul II when he wanted to unite the faiths while he was Pope. – Fr. Greg, New York
A: Thanks for your comment Fr. Greg! In fact, there are no fewer than 4,200 religions in the world. Respectfully speaking though, perhaps more embarrassing is that there are 33,821 denominations of Christians. Wisniewski’s point is perfectly on key, yet we continue to stagnate in our failure to grow as one global people under one God, all in the same boat. And let’s be honest, what of us Catholics? Sunday after Sunday we attend Mass, Christmas, then Holy Week, then it all repeats itself…year after year after year. Truthfully, are we really evolving in spiritual growth, or are we stuck in a stagnated robotic state? I fear the latter is correct.
I agree with you, all religions should be sitting at a round table sharing ideas on life and death. JP2 said it perfectly: “to place the Church at the heart of a new religious alliance that would bring together Jews, Muslims, and Christians in a great religious armada.” Unfortunately, he died and his successor de-evolved the idea.
Tunnel Vision
Myths continue to persist surrounding the craze these days over the Lock Ness Monster, Sasquatch, Yeti, and the Jersey Devil, to name just a few. According to paranormal research and ex-Brookings Institution fellow Mark Wisniewski, “figments of our imagination can often become very, very real.”
The 63-year old think-tank retiree has been dabbling in the supernatural since childhood, but admits during his youth the subject was shunned in favor of less controversial things. “As a kid, three things that our parents deemed off-limits were cigarettes, girls, and questions about life and death. Nobody messed with the status quo, but now we seem to be in trouble merely due to ignorance.”
Wisniewski proposes that, because of our culture’s refusal to question its own existence but instead keep itself in a closed-circuit of consciousness, we have evolved into a mindset of fascination about things that otherwise would have been mundane.
Since none of the above anomalies have been proven, technically they should be dismissed in a healthy, mature mind. The researcher, although admittedly a theist-believer, also adds the belief in God as an end-product of the same upbringing. Says he, “God may indeed turn out to be, but there’s a strong chance we will all be in for quite a rude awakening after we find out what God really is simply because of our tunnel vision.”
Alcatraz
Some of you may have tuned in to a recent cable network production detailing the history of escape attempts from Alcatraz prison. At the height of the show was of course the 1962 break-out made famous by Clint Eastwood in an epic film. That attempt was based on the true story of three men, who to this day conjure up equal shares of success and failure as far as their effort. The film proceeded to itemize every aspect of the escape, culminating in a letter sent to the San Francisco police many years later allegedly from one of the escapees who was dying from cancer.
What was even more interesting, however, was something that the show probably never really intended to witness. As they interviewed both former guards and prisoners, now respectable citizens in their 80s, it became quite obvious that these former polar opposites back then, were still polar opposites now.
One would think that both guards and prisoners, now aged men, would empathize with one another and share stories of their former selves amicably and sentimentally. No way, as seen on the show, the captain of the guard was just as stern and authoritative as he was in 1962, even standing a noticeable distance away from the former prisoners and looking elsewhere when speaking to them. The ex-prisoners however, seemed to display more authenticity and “heart” in retelling stories of their prison days.
It makes us wonder, the end product of imprisonment is supposed to be a reformed ex-prisoner, but maybe the guards need to be imprisoned too…
Shades of 1933
Not even talk show host Laura Ingraham came up with this latest theory on the current nature of the Democratic party, nor did anyone else for that matter. Leave it up to a colleague of mine to posit a question that, given the mantra sung by the Dems such as amnesty for all illegal immigrants, pro-choice freedom, and the Green New Deal, all seemingly “righteous” proposals for the good of the people, coupled with the condemnation of the President as being a hard-lining totalitarian, ehh, isn’t this somewhat similar to what happened in 1930s Nazi Germany?
Recall that the Nazi’s began cooking a stew that at first seemed to taste good to the average citizen, promoting nationalism while promising the average John Doe of Germany a fair shake. Then as the country’s allegiance to the Nazi’s grew stronger, we all know what evils the party morphed in to. But dare not any law abiding citizen raise a finger in protest, or they might have found themselves with a one-way ticket to Auschwitz.
It’s interesting that month’s back Trump was accused of being like Hitler, taking a firm, decisive, and polarized stand on things such as abortion, the border wall, and the Middle East crisis, for which he had been labeled as a dictator.
However, is not the promotion of the Democrat’s message in the examples described above also kind of dictatorial? Indeed, granting us “freedoms” may sound nice, but is in itself a decisive stand. Essentially they are telling you and me, not suggesting but telling us, that as Americans, for example we have to be kind to illegal immigrants, let a woman have an abortion if she wants to, and you have to stop using fossil fuels. For the Democrats, this is the embodiment of what it means to be an American, but in doing so are in fact exhibiting a dictatorial “Hitleresque” message.
Let’s be clear, Trump, via his message, is technically doing the same as far as being authoritative, but in no way to the degree that the Democrats and the media are doing. I just read a report the other day that an elderly woman peacefully protesting outside of an abortion clinic was attacked violently by a few teenage girls who have apparently put the Democratic spoken words of pro-choice into physical action. And the liberal media, by largely ignoring the incident, seemed to condone it.
Hold it a minute, are these values what the country’s founding fathers had in mind? Probably not, rather, to be an American supposed to mean that we are tolerant of everyone’s ideas, as radical and different as they may seem to us, as long as no laws are broken. Yet, one political party continues to display zero tolerance for Trump even when no laws are broken. Eh, shades of 1933?
Taking a definitive and intolerant stand on a legal issue, and this applies to both the Republican and Democratic parties, may be in fact actually anti-American. But how then do we govern, as my colleague asked? Surely, governing requires a specific stand as well as action to be taken on a variety of issues. For example, Right to Life proponents may argue that abortion should be outlawed if we claim to abide by the four words written on our currency, In God We Trust. Therefore, the legal law then becomes legitimately questionable.
Ultimately, decisive and definitive laws become necessary to keep the peace in a world where everybody thinks they know how to rule. In the end, we may have to leave it all up to the heavens…
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...and 1987 One of the toughest days in 87! Who's that in front at 9:07 on the video...WHO'S "the new leader on the road"?! :) |
Tragedy times Two
The absolute tragedy of last month's Notre Dame Cathedral disaster continues to become unbelievable given the 850 years of heritage it has given the world. Housing countless relics, the medieval mega-structure perhaps taught the world a lesson or two in faith continuance, and although the calamity occurred, perhaps it could not have happened at a more influential time.
Sometimes, just sometimes, it takes a tragedy to spur on a change of heart. I’m talking about the sad fact that the overwhelming majority of French people, who identify themselves as Catholic, are merely doing so by name. If you thought church attendance in the U.S. was bad, it pales in comparison to that of France, where age-old structures like Notre Dame have evolved into more of a museum than an active house of God. Yes, a sad way to look at it, but hopefully the burning flames of the Cathedral have re-ignited the extinguished flames of the heart, right at the opportune time, Easter.
Piggy-backing off of the above, I may have stumbled on another rather downwardly discouraging tragedy, that being the criteria we use to identify ourselves as Catholic. I used to think that those who always refrained from receiving Holy Communion due to apparent unworthiness yet never remedying that via the confessional was bad, but this latest dilemma may be worse.
Have you ever wondered why some people who attend Sunday mass are nowhere to be found at Holy Day masses? I recently asked one gentleman in the non-Polish parish that I attend, Charles was his name, who lectors, what mass he would be attending on an upcoming holy day, pretending to want to chat with him then. Anticipating his reply correctly, he then told me that he typically only comes to mass on Sundays. I’ve learned that yet another server, Patricia, a Eucharistic minister, only comes to mass with her husband and children “to do her duty” whenever she is scheduled to serve. The other Sundays are days off.
Can you believe this? Where is the Catholic Church going if its lectors and Eucharistic ministers, who supposedly are embodying the mission of the Church, are adopting this attitude? Can we therefore blame the secular guy next door, or the people of France for that matter, for their lackluster stance on faith? Coupled with the fact that virtually no new Catholic matrimonials return to the altar for Sunday mass, eighty percent practice contraception, and less than twenty percent receive reconciliation, the relics of Notre Dame and its affiliates may soon include you and me.
"Oh, but I'm a good person, I do good deeds for others, am kind towards my neighbor, and maintain a good attitude each day so I don't really need to go to Church because this is what matters isn't it?" so says the average person on the street.
Yes, that's what matters, but how then are these people different than the typical ancient Egyptians who also exhibited these traits, or the 1st century Roman spectators in the Coliseum who, in addition to cheering on bloody killing, were polite, amicable, thoughtful people? Where's the difference?
Pretty soon you got the secular Catholic guy next door chopping wood in his backyard on Good Friday, unleashing F-bombs when he misses a cut, but thinking nothing of it because he paused for a moment of silence at 3 o'clock. Then you got the secular Catholic over there who, after going to Church for his annual Easter Sunday duty, sits back on the sofa later that evening and watches some sexy flik on TV and gets aroused.
By abandoning established religion, what society is increasingly doing is creating its own parameters for what constitutes salvation. This is a terrible, terrible tragedy and a real negative aspect of our evolving "intelligence". One would think the opposite to be true; that being as we evolve, our intellectual maturity proportionally increases so that we would embrace the mystery of faith more, simply because we are more mature to consider it, along with various phenomena and unexplained mysteries like Bigfoot and Ancient Aliens, which we have embraced full throttle. This trend in intellectual maturity may be seen as a good thing, but the danger being that logic and rationale have now taken priority over faith and mystery. Instead of accepting the mystery of the Trinity, for example, we look for tangible proof of these three parts, like we do a footprint of Bigfoot, and focus our allegiance to that logical pursuit.
This is perhaps, arguably, the key factor in why our younger generation simply has no interest in faith. If I'm a kid of 16 and see a Eucharistic Minister attend Mass on the same schedule as I attend rock concerts, why should I go to Mass every week if they don't?
I’m calling on all church leaders, administrators, and parish pastors to make a point of politely informing their lectors and Eucharistic ministers of the responsibility of the duty being volunteered for which clearly has influence on others. These servers are “billboards” for the faith, and if their actions aren’t on par with the Church’s guidelines, how can we then blame anyone for being over par?
The Diamond Anniversary of The Great Escape
4,000 beds, 1,699 blankets, 161 pillows, 478 spoons, 52 tables, 34 chairs, and 30 shovels. And that’s merely a sampling of what it took to break out of the prisoner of war camp known as Stalag Luft 3 located in Sagan, Poland exactly 75 years ago. Highlighted in this column every year, as we commemorate the greatest escape in the annals of war, in itself spanning several volumes, let’s focus our attention on the night of March 24, 1944.
To set the stage, we recall that the escape, made famous by the 1963 blockbuster hit film titled “The Great Escape”, involved a potpourri of allied escape artists all thrown into the same camp. Among them, six Poles, all officer airmen who were shot down and captured. Incredibly, not only were they skilled in the sky, these guys had very unique talents in engineering, designing, and pure muscle work. Not a good stroke of luck for the German Luftwaffe who managed the camp, and luckily they didn’t know it until that night. But more on a few of these men in a minute.
I tried to contact the son of one of those Poles by the name of Paul Tobolski, whose father Pawel Tobolski (photo left), a flying officer with the 301st Squadron and shot down in June of 1942, took part in the escape but my unsuccessful effort was rewarded by fortunately coming across some notes he made.
Entering hut number 104, the epicenter for the escape which featured a hidden trap beneath the hut’s shower drain leading to a tunnel some 30 feet deep and 300 feet across, just after midnight was a soldier dressed in German uniform. Alarm bells went off in the minds of the escapees who were suited up in civilian clothing and queued up for the blitz out. But it was Pawel Tobolski. Nice escape outfit, wouldn’t you say?
At about 2:15am, with snow all over the ground, the first man through the tunnel emerged at the exit, but popping his head out discovered that they were 30 feet short of the camouflaged woods, and instead were forced to set up a rope signal to alert escapees when they could emerge. Rather than the planned one man escaping every minute, instead it was more like a dozen men escaping every hour. By morning, 76 prisoners made it to freedom, but only temporarily.
Fortunately Tobolski got out before the sirens went off. You see, priority was given to those guys who contributed their skills to the effort, and Tobolski, because of his diversion skills in organizing singing choirs to offset the tunnel construction noise, was one of the first men in line to escape. Oddly enough, during the years of construction, the Germans did not think anything suspicious about Tobolski’s selection of Christmas carols being sung even when it was nowhere near Christmas!
Getting back to those other Poles, architect Wlodzimierz Kolanowski, also a flying officer, stepped in to lend his expertise. Kolanowski placed entrances to two of the other tunnels, yes there were three, directly underneath hot stoves, which the prisoners moved using a pair of bed boards. Unfortunately both tunnels were trashed, one being abandoned due to lack of concealment and the other being discovered by guards. That put the entire effort into the tunnel above, called ‘Harry.’
“Because I must get out. I hide the fear, so I dig” replied Charles Bronson who played the part of one of those Poles in that 1963 film. He was asked why he wouldn’t go through the tunnel being that he was its principle digger, or ‘tunnel king.’ In reality, Bronson played the part of 28-year old Flying Officer Stanislaw Krol, a muscle-bound hunk with a blue collar work ethic who happened to suffer from claustrophobia in real life. “As I was haring up the tunnel, all I could see was Sax's butt blocking the way and I expected a bayonet or a bullet up my butt at any moment!” So stated Flying Officer Ken Rees who was the 78th prisoner in line but sadly, the guy in front of him misinterpreted the rope signal and emerged directly beneath a guard. They were caught…and the great escape was over.
The 76 men who emerged from that tunnel and ran into the woods not only had food rations with them, but maps and timetables for the local railway. Nearly all of them missed their connections, and had to further fake their presence by posing as local citizens, reading newspapers or riding bicycles that they stole, or in Tobolski’s case, as a German soldier chewing bubble gum.
No good, they failed to fool the Gestapo, who in the hours ahead eventually caught 73 of them and then, in a horrendous decree by Hitler, received orders to execute 50 in cold blood. Among the fifty were the six Poles, including Major Antoni Kiewnarski, murdered on March 31, Flying Officer Kazimierz Pawluk, also killed on the same day, and Flying Officer Jerzy Mondschein, executed a day earlier.
By the way, March 21 would have been Pawel Tobolski’s 113th birthday…
Reflections 'a la Wojtyla'
This week we remember the fourteenth anniversary of Saint John Paul II’s passing. I recalled a trip I took to Rome during the preceding Easter season in which I got a chance to see him in a Papal audience as well as tour the entire city while pondering over his life. Here are some excerpts from that experience.
Steeped in history, mystery, religious fervor, and wartime drama, my journey to see the magnificence of this city “a la Wojtyla” began. This was a city we've all heard about. Countless films have been seen portraying its splendor. History books going hand-in-hand with legend.
And there they were. Almost immediately the towering Church domes come into view. Church after church appeared throughout Rome's maze of intertwining narrow city streets. Fascinatingly enough, the beautiful and well-adorned Basilicas harmoniously co exist with the age-old medieval Churches, many of which stand side by side. Time for a deep breath and some thought.
The canoe trip
It was during his canoe and camping adventures with friends on the Skawa River in Poland in the mid 1930s that the young Karol Wojtyla first began to learn of his life’s calling. He would later refer to these outdoor activities as significant stepping stones in his life. For the young Karol, nicknamed “Lolek,” his strict and disciplined Catholic upbringing geared him into a more philosophical mindset amongst the natural setting on the Skawa.
Suffering however became a regular part of little Lolek’s life. Whether it was his infant sister dying even before he was born, the loss of both his mother and his brother to illness, or himself miraculously surviving after getting hit by a truck, a pattern of continuous grief greatly influenced his Pontifical disposition as the “Suffering Servant” in Christ once again took shape.
The early years
Upon entering the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Wojtyla became quite the handsome "Hollywood" man. His passion for theater was quite noticeable, and his collection of poetry resounds even today.
At the University, he continued his childhood pursuit of philosophy, but due to the death of his father, Wojtyla realized that the logical course of his life’s philosophical endeavors would be ultimately fulfilled as a theologian. He studied for the priesthood secretly at an underground seminary in Krakow to avoid the occupying Nazi forces and was ordained in 1946.
Back on my feet and crossing Rome’s St. Angelo bridge, which is adorned with breathtaking life-size statues of the saints, I approached St. Peter’s Square from the famous via della Conciliazione. I was now officially in the principality of Vatican City, which is somewhat separate from the rest of Italy and complete with its own Postal Service. Then, the much anticipated colossal structure stood before me - St.Peter’s Basilica.
I had the opportunity to attend Holy Thursday Mass inside the Basilica, where the ethereal atmosphere of echoing song against frankincense and myrrh provided a divine setting indeed. Processions of clergy entered, followed by His Holiness Pope John Paul II. Now, acoustics can really be tested, as loud praises began.
The Pope truly found favor with the thousands who came just to get a glance at him. For the well-planned traveler, reserving a seat at his weekly audiences was a must. I had the chance to see firsthand what it was like in this small-scale setting, where only a limited number of people can actually greet the Pope. And it was as if he knew you during your entire life. His warmth and congeniality was surpassed by none.
The Big Move
In 1962, Wojtyla was appointed Archbishop of Krakow after serving on the second Vatican Council. His appointment as Cardinal in 1967 paved the way for this tough yet accommodating moderate reformer.
The scene was set. Rome, September 1978. After a mere 34 days in office, Wojtyla’s predecessor, John Paul I had mysteriously died of a heart attack. The Sacred College of Cardinals tossed and turned in deciding who would take on the task of pontiff. Finally the familiar white smoke emerged from the rooftop of the Vatican. Wojtyla became the first non-Italian pope in over 400 years, and one of the youngest at the age of 58.
Easter Sunday Mass found me nowhere else but amongst the thousands of pilgrims packing into St. Peter’s Square. This outdoor Papal Mass was simply phenomenal, and the highlight of my trip. Especially significant were the Pope’s homilies, repeated in several languages. And this was not a one-way sermon at all. Almost after each sentence came praises and exclamation from the people. He was truly a people’s Pope.
My best takeaway came from that Papal audi ence gathering. Getting closer to him, I began to see the real John Paul II. His contempla tive eyes drew me in to a world of compassion. The strands of brilliant white hair atop his head seemed to symbolize that yes, indeed this man repre sented purity at its best. And even though the frail physique of this Parkinson’s disease suf ferer was clearly evident, be hind the deep lengthy wrinkles in his face was a man of pro found faith, a witness to hope in a then, and still, dreary world.
A Lenten Lottery of Questions
It’s here, believe it or not. Many Christians everywhere will be observing the start of the most sacred time of year, Lent. Rather than go through the usual rigamarole of this annual rite of spring, which undoubtedly results in a fair amount of complacency, how about offering a God‘s honest “cafeteria service?” Yeah, we know we’re supposed to fast, go to confession, and be at the church on Good Friday around 3pm, right?
Sadly, that is all that most people remember they should do.
Drop the bad habit, and pick a question or two from the following think-tanked, all-out bombardment of thought provoking questions to start your season off with a bit more meaning this time.
***
Pilate's verdict was pronounced under pressure from the priests and the crowd. The sentence of death by crucifixion was meant to calm their fury and meet their demand of “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
Q: Ask yourself, how often have you too been scourged, ridiculed, and thought unpopular for defending what is right?
***
Need we be reminded that we are dust, and unto dust we shall return? Ashes will physically brand us with a burnt, black forehead sign as a wake-up call in reminding us not to forget that our skin and bones don’t last.
Q: Are you receiving ashes merely to follow protocol, or do you really have the guts to abandon your body and embrace your soul?
***
Pilate said to the crowd: ‘Ecce Homo, look what you have done to this man!’ But there seems to be another voice speaking as well, saying: Look what you have done, in this man, to your God!
Q: Come on, we know you’re against abortion, but ask yourself, are you still part of the crowd on super-critical issues like contraception and its “politically correct” clone called natural family planning?
***
Mysteriously, long confessional lines seem to only appear between Palm Sunday and Holy Saturday in too many 11th-hour efforts at redemption, isn’t that so?
Q: Very simply, why are we so hesitant to go to confession?
***
“His Cross becomes her Cross, his humiliation is her humiliation, the public scorn is on her shoulders,” to quote Saint John Paul II during one of his Way of the Cross services in Rome.
Q: When was the last time you examined your life and asked, would my own mother be proud of me?
***
You see them everywhere, even around your own neck. They come in gold, silver, and every other material as well as in all kinds of shapes and sizes. The crucifix of course.
Q: Ask yourself, am I wearing a crucifix because it looks nice and goes with my wardrobe, or is it because I aim to advertise the symbol of salvation? Come on, let’s be honest.
***
The sixth station of the Cross is interesting. In fact Jesus left his imprint on every single act of charity, as he did on Veronica's cloth.
Q: How many times have you passed by a homeless person sheltered in the gutter who was asking for spare change? How many times?
***
Pizza, popcorn, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We’ll have to remember this while sitting on the sofa watching our favorite sitcom. The issue here is not any particular item that tastes yummy or that we have grown habituated to. Rather, it is our tendency to become dependent on something, devoting a great deal of attention to it.
Q: What are you giving up for Lent, anything?
***
X marks the spot, as they say. The tenth (X) station of the Cross is where Jesus was stripped of his garments. A person’s body is the expression of their soul, as goes the popular maxim.
Q: Do you change the television channel when you come across movies displaying nudity and enacting sins of the flesh? Please be honest.
***
Prayer. A soothing, comforting word we hear all the time. We assure our sick friends that they “are in our thoughts and prayers.” We send out condolence cards at funerals citing our prayerful intentions. But is this just a word that sounds nice to offer? Sadly the answer is probably yes, because for the majority of us that’s all we do.
Q: Seriously, how often do you honker down and pray quietly and contemplatively?
***
Nearing the final station of the Cross, Karol Wojtyla once remarked, “In the mystery of the Redemption, we are enriched by a gift from on high and at the same time bought by the ransom paid by the Son of God.”
Q: Looking at your life and considering Christ’s ransom already paid for it, honestly ask yourself, hell, are you worth it?
Tough questions, yes. It’s tune-up time…
The Bizzaredom of 2020
Who do they have? I mean who do they have? If the Democratic party has any inclination of winning back the Presidency in 2020, so far they are going nowhere fast. With talk of walls not stopping crime, out-of-the-womb abortions, and no more airplane travel, at first this may have seemed like an episode out of Seinfeld.
Unfortunately though it’s real, and the top contenders for the title all support such “bizarredom.” And I believe I just invented a new word.
Mark these words, no Democratic politician will be elected in 2020. Rather, the only chance they have of beating Donald Trump, who was elected in large part not because of his policies, not because of his deal-making skills, and not because of his TV show, but merely because we the people found congruence with a “regular” guy who more often than not had a bad mouth, was accused of adultery, and didn’t care about telling it like it is, would be to find someone similar.
Back in 2016, as it had been forever, it was fairly easy to pull the wool over a typical voter’s eyes with fake news, negative ads, and not-to-be kept promises. Given the historic events of that election, people may have wisened up a bit and may now be more apt to question a candidate’s validity. It will certainly be interesting to see how the process unfolds now that the 2020 campaign is officially underway.
Boob-Tube Dirt Diggers
If treasure hunting is your game, you'll want to catch the name of Real Live Relic Hunter, the Staten Island based squad which includes eight Polish-Americans, set to dig deep in search of the world's most elusive artifacts, and hopefully coming to your television screens soon.
The nine-person team, spanning the spectrum from engineers to actresses, and supplemented by a group of Franciscan monks, including an exorcist, opens the 2019 season with a host of exotic, still undiscovered antiquities on its to-do list, and will propose to do so in a live, edit-free series of episodes.
Among them is the pistol that killed our nation's 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, in light of recent doubts that the one on display at Ford's Theater museum in our nation's capital is the real McCoy.
Also on the hunting list are the thorns from Christ's crown which were purportedly distributed to kingdoms around the world centuries ago, as well as fragments of the original cross upon which Christ hung. Says the Reverend Louis Jerome, Pastor of St. Charles R.C. Church in the Oakwood Heights section of the Island, a kielbasa lover, and friend of the team, "When we focus on the cross of Jesus, we see the tree of humanity's defeat becoming the 'tree of victory' in the Resurrection". Inspiring words which only add fuel to the team's burning desire to locate the originals.
And the team is ready to take a dive, literally speaking, in attempting to prove once and for all if the airplane wreck sitting on the floor of the English Channel contained big band leader Glenn Miller whose plane was allegedly hit by a dropped bomb from an unloading B-17 bomber flying above.
As director of the team, it has been my privilege to work with this group of go-getters, with the added icing on the cake being their Polish roots. Our team is all about uncovering the truth, even though it may occasionally hurt our long established traditional beliefs. In this cyber age of real-time instant information, there is simply no time for fairy-tales. But who are these truth-tellers?
Celeste Lesniewski-Eagleston, modeling actress from Elmont, NY, is a senior marketing specialist for Canon USA. She is a NYS licensed wildlife rehabilitator and small aircraft pilot, and has modeled for Pocono Mountain resorts. She hosts Canon USA trade shows at the Javitts Center in NYC.
Eliza Wierzbinska, modeling actress from Staten Island, NY, has been modeling since she was 14 years old, most notably with NY powerhouse Wilhelmina Agency. She is a former Ms. Polonia and dedicated fan of opera and ballet. She aspires to be a doctor of clinical psychology.
Izabela Majewska, supporting model from New York, NY. She is a Fordham Law School graduate and attorney. She first started working as a model while still in high school. Member of the NYC Pulaski Day Parade Committee.
Zsa Zsa Niechcielska-Riordan, apprentice actress from Hackensack, NJ. She was the 2009 Polish Junior National figure skating champion and was coached by Elaine Zayak, notable figure skating superstar.
Andrew Warren, ancient site researcher from Brooklyn, NY. He is a freelance linguistics translator and Polish historian. Currently he still holds the unofficial world record for most flights taken by a youth, having flown a total of 116 times before turning 20!
Tom Ostrowski, video and sound editor from Los Angeles, CA. He is an animation genius who has received public accolades for his now-famous invention of ‘Clay People’ You-Tube videos.
Thomas Ostrowski, Sr., Olde New England site advisor from Portland, Maine. Senior leader and technical advisor for all relic hunting sites north of New York City.
The team’s anticipated edit-free and live national broadcast series, which would be the first of its kind, is being planned, so be on the lookout for it in your local cable-TV listings.
As an added bonus to the new season, the team is sharing an affinity for ancient medieval times with fellow artisans in France, inspired by a singer who I was lucky enough to write a pair of songs for. Added to that, having family, friends, and my sweetheart Nadine all living in France, I am rather philosophical about the group's work. Fortunately for our team, France has remained pretty pristine, undeveloped, and raw, and also sports several spooky castles and chateaus. A perfect ‘rendezvous’ for what we are all about. Who knows, will Poland be our next stop? I wouldn’t bet against it.
More about the predominantly Pol-Am team and their upcoming adventures can be found at RealLiveRelicHunter.com.
White? White??
That’s what I was asking as the symbol of purity passed by our eyeballs during last week’s televised State of the Union address in the bodily form of Democratic congresswomen present in the House chamber. Were they kidding? How ironic that such proponents of Andrew Cuomo’s barbaric new ruling allowing bloody infanticide in the form of late-term abortion don the purity and innocence of white. Perhaps an off-white color would have been more appropriate. Sad to see our state's spiritual leader, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, play politician in basically offering Cuomo a slap on the wrist rather than justifiably reprimanding him and banning him from receiving the sanctity of the Holy Eucharist, and making it known publicly. How about a little backbone and defense for all the folks praying and actively engaging in the Pro-Life campaign, for God's sake?
Sad too to see those proponents of socialism hold their heads down when talk of ideologies arose. Although socialism looks good on paper, having no poor folks, no rich folks, and everybody in a Kumbaya state of mind, in reality, it doesn’t work, literally speaking. When are we going to admit that people need to be forced to work if they want to grow, develop, and prosper, aka Capitalism? Nobody is going to go to school and study their ass off for a good job if the government is handing them Socialist gratuities in the form of free healthcare, food stamps, and ironically even free education. That is the plain truth.
Do you lock your home’s front door at night? Of course you do. Why then can’t we lock the country with a wall? Perhaps somebody should have asked King Arthur whose shining city of Camelot, the epitome of purity, nobleness, and all that was good, was surrounded by a wall. Oh and the Holy City of Jerusalem that we attest to in liturgical readings every Sunday, have we forgotten that it too was surrounded by a wall?
God help us...
The Sad Smile of POGO the Clown
In the spirit of the old saying by Adolph Ochs, owner of The New York Times back in 1897, who had the words “All the news that’s fit to print” etched onto the left ear, or upper corner, of the paper’s masthead, let’s take a look at perhaps an unpopular subject not eagerly publicized, that being the life and death of one of this country’s most infamous men, serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who unfortunately was a Polish-American.
“Gacy created this persona of POGO the clown, which stood for Gacy being Polish and on-the-go,” says John Borowski, director of Serial Killer Culture, a documentary film examining the reasons why artists and collectors are fascinated by serial killers.
Indeed, the aftereffects of this Chicago-born son of an auto repair machinist, whose real surname came from western Poland in the form of “Gatza” or “Gaca,” may be just as dramatic as the crimes themselves. Just consider that Gacy, while imprisoned for his crimes described below, took up painting as a hobby, only to find his artwork being exhibited and sold at auctions for upwards of $20,000. When asked about the fascination of the outside world willing to spend that kind of money for a killer’s “autograph,” Gacy remarked that his paintings “bring joy into people’s lives.”
So what did he do, and why did he do it? Between the years of 1972 and 1978, Gacy sexually assaulted, tortured, and murdered at least 33 teenage boys and young men inside his ranch house in suburban Chicago. Twenty-six of the bodies were buried in the crawl space beneath his house, a few were buried in his yard, and the rest thrown into a river.
Typically, the modus operandi was for Gacy to lure his victim-kids by offering them something they liked, a promising job opportunity, or simply asking them to give him a hand with a chore. Seemingly innocent enough, it was an easy strategy. But was it really strategy, or…?
Having always been critical of the justice system’s protocol for applying incarceration and death sentences to crimes committed, a protocol that bestows proportional punishment to the degree of severity, I begin to wonder if we will ever reach our peak level of intellect, in light of the almost instant reaction given to this man’s crimes, as abhorrent as they were.
In reading the details of how it all happened with Gacy, a reader’s instant take-away is that this man was an evil-doer deviant from us and got what he deserved, the death penalty. Scratching our heads for a second, is that all there was to it? Surely humanity, in all its intricate and multi-woven facets of thought processes and cause-effect relationships of why we think what we think and do what we do, should enter the equation here before we pass a mindless, animal-instinct sentence on such a horrific set of circumstances.
Before returning to Gacy in particular, perhaps the problem with our justice system is that its rules and regulations, and subsequent consequences for breaking them, are perfectly put into law…but for whom? The people making the laws. Indeed, if lawmakers, or you and I were to commit such heinous crimes as Gacy did, we would deserve the severest of sentences, of course, it’s a no-brainer. Correct, a perfectly proportional justice system. But was Gacy, and so many of our mass-murderers and criminals, like us and therefore deserving of the same degree of law?
The answer is probably no, as this man was clearly misaligned somewhere, somehow. Yet we were so quick to convict him with a “normal” sentence. Would it not be wiser to admit our ever-evolving study of the human condition in learning about ourselves, this man, and others like him, instead of simply lethally injecting him?
God only knows why serial killers do what they do; we may only have a hint. In Gacy’s case, might his upbringing have had just a little to do with his eventual demise, as his father was reported to have beat him spontaneously, refer to him as a “sissy,” and level names at him like “dumb and stupid.”
Just before Gacy was arrested, he drove to the home of a fellow construction contractor friend, as one of his jobs was in the blue-collar business. Inside the living room, Gacy hugged his friend before bursting into tears and saying: “I killed 30 people, give or take a few.” Gacy then left the home and as he drove along the expressway, surveillance officers noted that he was holding a rosary to his chin as he prayed while driving.
As pointed out, God, not man, only knows why he did what he did…
?
Got a question? Just ask! Food, heritage, sports, travel, faith, politics, pets, and more! Read what’s on the minds of our readers and send your question or comment to Andrew at Spindleless@aol.com or via mail to the Am-Pol Eagle. Publish yourself today!
Q: Thank you so much for helping me find the perfect Polish-made Christmas gift for my father with your story about the top ten stocking stuffers. I loved it! I thought about the first item mentioned on the list, a floral tie but realized he rarely wears them anymore so bought him the Polish flag instead. He’s now hanging it from his front porch and already the mailman made a nice comment! - Monika, New York
A: You’re very welcome Monika! Glad to hear!
***
Q: What is the snowiest city in Poland? - Michael Jr., New York
A: Guessing you can’t wait for the snow to hit Brooklyn, huh? The snowiest town in Poland may be a toss-up between Zakopane in the southern Tatra Mountains, and Suwałki, Poland’s king of cold, in the northeast. But who wants to find out this fact, is the question you might want to ask!
***
Q: Can I administer the K+M+B blessing myself? Our parish priest Fr. Jacek no longer makes the rounds as was done in the old days. - Joan, New York
A: Yes, Joan, by all means. Sorry for the late reply, as this was supposed to be done on the feast of the Three Kings, but better late than never. Of course, ensure that the chalk and incense are blessed, and proceed. Don’t forget to mark the year too 20+K+M+B+19.
***
Q: Is it worth it for a trip to Poland in February? I spotted a super-saver deal for $449 round trip to Warsaw and luckily can stay with a priest-friend, but not sure if they’ll be enough sunlight to tour around adequately. - Paul, New York
A: Paul, I’d recommend going for it. That is a real steal, even if you have half-days to do stuff. Surprisingly, you may find some evening things to do which would prove worthwhile. Just sitting and chatting about things, culture, economics, and cuisine may be fulfilling enough.
***
Q: Is ice fishing permitted on Findley Lake and do I need a permit? - Jim, New York
A: That was a toughie, Jim, but I have your answer. Yes, ice fishing is permitted and no permit is needed. However, after Dec 1 there is a strict ‘catch and release’ policy in effect for some species, too lengthy to list here. Hope this helps a bit.
***
Q: I found a Polish stamp and would like to find out how valuable it is. - Anna, Connecticut
A: Anna, nice find. I would suggest contacting my colleague, Basia Syzdlowski, who is a member of the Polonus Philatelic Society. She may be more suited to give you an accurate value.
***
Q: Is it a sin for a Catholic married woman to fall in love with a single man? - asker wishes anonymity
A: Thank you for your question. It would depend on the degree of love expressed. Instinctual feelings from the heart cannot, and should not, be harnessed by societal and religious rules and regulations, so it is perfectly normal and not sinful to feel attracted to someone other than a spouse. However, because we have reasoning ability, we are expected to consider, for example, a marital vow that was taken and consciously think of it. Should we avoid such encounters? No, because there are many forms of “love”, equally important, even the love of friendship. (Thanks to Fr. Matteusz Zielinski, co-author on this reply)
***
Q: What’s the difference between red barszcz and white barszcz, other than the color? - Dorothy, New York
A: Dorothy, if the soup is red, then a sour starter was used which was made with fermented beets. If the soup is white, no sour starter was used, but instead lemon juice or vinegar was used with fermented rye flour.
***
Q: Enjoyed the piece about Cuomo as our misguided politician. It should be pointed out too that he is supposedly a Catholic but is approving all of these women’s rights provisions supporting anti-Catholic values. Does this man attend Mass and receive Holy Communion? Go figure. - Donna, New York
A: Yes Donna, the epitome of a true politician.
***
Q: Thank you so much for helping me find the perfect Polish-made Christmas gift for my father with your story about the top ten stocking stuffers. I loved it! I thought about the first item mentioned on the list, a floral tie but realized he rarely wears them anymore so bought him the Polish flag instead. He’s now hanging it from his front porch and already the mailman made a nice comment! - Monika, New York
A: You’re very welcome Monika! Glad to hear!
***
Q: What is the snowiest city in Poland? - Michael Jr., New York
A: Guessing you can’t wait for the snow to hit Brooklyn, huh? The snowiest town in Poland may be a toss-up between Zakopane in the southern Tatra Mountains, and Suwałki, Poland’s king of cold, in the northeast. But who wants to find out this fact, is the question you might want to ask!
***
Q: Can I administer the K+M+B blessing myself? Our parish priest Fr. Jacek no longer makes the rounds as was done in the old days. - Joan, New York
A: Yes, Joan, by all means. Sorry for the late reply, as this was supposed to be done on the feast of the Three Kings, but better late than never. Of course, ensure that the chalk and incense are blessed, and proceed. Don’t forget to mark the year too 20+K+M+B+19.
***
Q: Is it worth it for a trip to Poland in February? I spotted a super-saver deal for $449 round trip to Warsaw and luckily can stay with a priest-friend, but not sure if they’ll be enough sunlight to tour around adequately. - Paul, New York
A: Paul, I’d recommend going for it. That is a real steal, even if you have half-days to do stuff. Surprisingly, you may find some evening things to do which would prove worthwhile. Just sitting and chatting about things, culture, economics, and cuisine may be fulfilling enough.
***
Q: Is ice fishing permitted on Findley Lake and do I need a permit? - Jim, New York
A: That was a toughie, Jim, but I have your answer. Yes, ice fishing is permitted and no permit is needed. However, after Dec 1 there is a strict ‘catch and release’ policy in effect for some species, too lengthy to list here. Hope this helps a bit.
***
Q: I found a Polish stamp and would like to find out how valuable it is. - Anna, Connecticut
A: Anna, nice find. I would suggest contacting my colleague, Basia Syzdlowski, who is a member of the Polonus Philatelic Society. She may be more suited to give you an accurate value.
***
Q: Is it a sin for a Catholic married woman to fall in love with a single man? - asker wishes anonymity
A: Thank you for your question. It would depend on the degree of love expressed. Instinctual feelings from the heart cannot, and should not, be harnessed by societal and religious rules and regulations, so it is perfectly normal and not sinful to feel attracted to someone other than a spouse. However, because we have reasoning ability, we are expected to consider, for example, a marital vow that was taken and consciously think of it. Should we avoid such encounters? No, because there are many forms of “love”, equally important, even the love of friendship. (Thanks to Fr. Matteusz Zielinski, co-author on this reply)
***
Q: What’s the difference between red barszcz and white barszcz, other than the color? - Dorothy, New York
A: Dorothy, if the soup is red, then a sour starter was used which was made with fermented beets. If the soup is white, no sour starter was used, but instead lemon juice or vinegar was used with fermented rye flour.
***
Q: Enjoyed the piece about Cuomo as our misguided politician. It should be pointed out too that he is supposedly a Catholic but is approving all of these women’s rights provisions supporting anti-Catholic values. Does this man attend Mass and receive Holy Communion? Go figure. - Donna, New York
A: Yes Donna, the epitome of a true politician.
***
Bethlehem or Bust
It was 21 years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play… Borrowing that famous line from a Beatles song, I was reminded that exactly 21 years ago, in 1997, I made my first pilgrimage to the Holy Land, à la foot. With Bethlehem and the exact spot where Jesus was born being my ultimate destination, I reflected on my trip, and on the blisters I got during the process. Join me as we hike the Holy Land just in time for Christmas…
It was a crisp, cool morning and as I finished the final half of a freshly baked Jewish bagel, I loaded up a backpack and headed out on my journey. Almost simultaneously as the sun rose, the land became swarmed with tourists, merchants, and local folks ready to begin the new day. My starting point was the Sea of Galilee.
Capernaum
Walking northward along water’s edge, I reached the town of Capernaum. This small town is arguably the second biggest magnet of attraction for Christians in the Holy Land. It was here where Jesus based his ministry, turning Peter the fisherman into a fisher of “men.” Among its ancient ruins was Peter’s house, where Jesus was believed to have resided, and a synagogue where he taught.
Tabgha
A stone’s throw away was the miraculous town of Tabgha. As I entered the Church of the Primacy, I was suddenly transformed back into the first century, seeing an early Christian floor mosaic depicting Christ’s famous miracle where thousands were fed from a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish.
Mount of Beatitudes
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the land.” Among the most famous of Christ’s quotes are called the Beatitudes, and it was atop this hill that he spoke them. How could Jesus’ voice be heard by the multitudes of people scattered all the way down the hillside? I tried an experiment of my own by yapping aloud a couple of words, and much to my surprise, the reverberating echo traveled far, really far.
Nazareth
Just a few miles hike westward was the huge town of Nazareth. At its center lies the Basilica of the Annunciation which was built directly over the original home of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. Having to stoop over to go inside the rock dwelling, my eyes beheld ancient graffiti. A first-century Christian had carved the words “Hail Mary”, in Greek, into the wall of the house. Wow!
Megiddo
As I turned my trek southeastward, I arrived at the rocky outcrop known as Megiddo. The Bible tells us this spot will host the final battle between good and evil, hence the word “Armageddon.” Historically, this area has seen the most warfare over the centuries. Images of the Bible’s apocalyptic Book of Revelation came to mind.
Jerusalem
With blisters now on my feet, I finally arrived in Jerusalem. Dodging caravans of camels and cars, I walked through the maze of narrow, cobble-stoned streets. Famous landmarks like Judaism’s Western Wall, Islam’s Dome of the Rock, and Christianity’s Tomb of Christ drew my attention. I could easily spend a year here just walking around and sightseeing. After an early morning “Way of the Cross” walk which followed the same route Jesus took to the cross, I headed out across a section of the Judean desert, not realizing until later that I narrowly avoided crossing into Israeli Army restricted space.
Here caravans of Bedouin tribes roamed the area as I felt like Lawrence of Arabia being the only fair-haired boy around. Armed with a red and white Keffiyeh, or head scarf, in donning my Polish colors, I was pretty sure that fact was the furthest thing from any onlookers’ mind as those colors were also Palestinian fashion.
Dead Sea
Arriving at the shore of the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, with nobody in sight I stripped to my underwear, closed my eyes and jumped in. The salt content was so great that I floated on the water. After drying off, I merely walked across the street and climbed the cliff to the great ancient settlement known as Masada, where Jewish zealots battled the Roman army, ending in all 960 Jewish inhabitants deciding to die before the Romans could reach them.
Bethlehem
Tightening my boots for the final trek, or “pilgrim’s walk” to Bethlehem, which was a dirt trail used by thousands of Christians over the centuries, it was Bethlehem or bust. The walk was enduring, going up hills and through sheep meadows. At its conclusion, I arrived at the Church of the Nativity.
And there it was, the exact spot where Jesus was born. Interestingly, the traditional nativity scene of a wooden stable is correct, however, the stable was situated in a cave. The atmosphere was one of ultra tranquility as pilgrims kneeled in prayer and billows of frankincense and myrrh filled the air. Ah, mission accomplished…
Departing, I was reminded of the region’s modern-day dilemma, as just over my shoulder I heard a skirmish between kids throwing rocks and soldiers firing rubber bullets. After taxiing half way to the airport, I set out on foot again and arrived for my flight back. My trek was complete, though my pants were torn and my boots were worn. I was completely exhausted, but I was still smiling...
A Tale of Two Czestochowas
Charles Dickens would never have dreamed of such a tale. But borrowing the title of his famous novel, with a bit of editing, I recently had a chance to focus in on the “two Czestochowas,” the Jasna Gora Monastery in the city of Czestochowa, Poland, and the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown, PA.
Closer to home of course comes the more frequently visited Shrine, and what better time to showcase the place than now, on the eve of the 53rd annual Polish-American festival. Anyone who’s ever experienced the sights and sounds of this late summer event would attest to the fact that no better place around could have been picked to build the Shrine.
4,300 miles away though sits the Jasna Gora Monastery in Poland and the ultimate “mecca” for pilgrimaging Poles and visitors from afar. Housing the miraculous image of Our Lady, the monastery was founded in 1382 by Pauline monks who came from Hungary at the invitation of Władysław, Duke of Opole. And who would have thought what the future would hold?
Back westward and a half dozen centuries ahead, perched atop a giant hill overlooking Bucks County, PA, the inspiring story of the “American Czestochowa” began to unfold in 1951 when Father Michael Zembrzuski, a Pauline priest from Poland, arrived on American soil. Fr. Michael’s dream was to build a shrine which would become both a religious and cultural center. With assistance and support from several priests and benefactors, Fr. Michael was able to purchase a 40-acre property, which included a farmhouse and a barn. In a short time, the farmhouse was renovated into a monastery and the barn was turned into a chapel, where the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa was placed.
News of the Shrine spread quickly throughout the community, with increasing numbers of pilgrims coming to visit. Soon, the barn chapel proved too small for the needs of both the founders and the pilgrims. All eyes turned towards the nearby hilltop, and the idea to build a larger Shrine was conceived.
In August of 1964, a groundbreaking ceremony led by Archbishop John Krol took place which marked the laying of the Shrine’s foundation. With the symbolic turning of the first shovel of dirt by Archbishop Krol, the entire hill was soon transformed into a great construction site. In less than two years, a formidable Shrine and monastery were built. On Sunday, Oct. 16, 1966, before a multitude of pilgrims, in the presence of President Lyndon Johnson and state officials, Archbishop John Krol solemnly dedicated the new shrine to the honor of Our Lady of Czestochowa.
But thank goodness for about 70 hearty monks back in 1655. Had it not been due to their Rambo-style fighting ability, with the help of some outside volunteers, the story you are now reading would not be. Because of these determined monks, during the war with Sweden, Jasna Gora was the only stronghold in Poland that the invaders failed to capture. Had the enemy succeeded, the American Czestochowa Shrine would probably never have come into existence centuries later.
In the process of the Shrine’s construction, the Pauline Fathers faced many financial difficulties. As the work progressed, the costs also increased much more than had been originally estimated. It led to a financial crisis. However, under the protection of our Blessed Mother and through the generosity of friends and benefactors who came to the shrine’s assistance, the shrine celebrated its 25th anniversary in June of 1980 with the debt paid off!
The shrine is also a spiritual center for many organizations, like the Polish Scouts and Brownies, who throughout the year visit and take part in many of the solemn ceremonies and Eucharistic celebrations. In fact, American Czestochowa has grown to become a favorite place of pilgrimage for thousands of pilgrims from all parts of the world.
The Feast of Our Lady of Czestochowa, observed on Aug. 26, is the largest celebration for the shrine. Each year in August, the shrine welcomes groups of walking pilgrims, following the Polish tradition of the foot pilgrimage, who come to give thanks to Our Lady. The tradition of the foot pilgrimage on American soil began in 1987 when a group of 17 pilgrims departed from Great Meadows, NJ and arrived at the shrine three days later. The number of pilgrims who now participate in the yearly walking pilgrimage has exceeded 3,000.
One small step for them, one giant leap for those in Poland however. At Jasna Gora, the average distance for a pilgrim’s group to walk is about 217 miles, made in 11 days.
Go ahead, take your pick of the two Czestochowas!
Plate Armor and Poppy Fields
Next time you find yourself driving through the countryside of Poland, amidst the meadows and rolling farmland in between villages, pull over to the side of the road, exit the vehicle, and hear the birds chirp. It wasn’t that way about 700 years ago however.
Most people don’t realize that a lot of these quaint locations, though picture-postcard perfect, once hosted some of the bloodiest battles in history. God knows how many axes, daggers, and bits of plate armor are buried beneath the flowering white and red poppies dotting the countryside, not to mention the gallons of dried blood residue.
You may have heard a statistic or two on casualties and perhaps have seen a movie all about that era long ago, but did you ever wonder exactly what soldiers back then used in place of guns? Ironically, the next time someone holds open a door for you or offers you an umbrella, you may owe a word of thanks to those knights of olde. Chivalry, you see, evolved from these warriors donned in plate armor and defending all that they held to be sacred and dear, doing so with sharp carbon-steel weaponry.
The basic weapons of the typical Polish knight were the sword and the spear, a heavy, thrusting weapon. Besides these, a typical arsenal included a number of small armaments from daggers to battle axes, maces, horseman’s picks, and many others. The Polish sword was no different than swords used in the West – it was straight, with a long blade having an almond-shaped pommel and a bar crossguard. The spear, in Poland referred to as a “wood”, was lightweight and had a spearhead of lancet-like or leaf-like shape, but there were also heavier, armor-piercing spearheads.
Defensive armament, on the other hand, first included the gambeson, which was a padded jacket, then developed into the brigandine, which was part steel, followed by the hauberk, which was that familiar-looking shirt made out of chain mail. Breastplates came next, and finally the full-figured panoply, which was an entire suit of armor.
By the end of the 16th century, a Polish knight gained his perfect form, protecting the whole of his body, and sometimes his horse. There were some differences between the rich knights of Małopolska, Wielkopolska, Śląsk and those of Mazowsze, who, because they faced enemies from the East, like Old Prussians, Lithuanians, and Tatars, partially adopted their fighting manners, and lighter armament as well. Even their horses were smaller and lighter.
There were many different types of throwing weapons too. The sling went out of use, and the composite bow did not appear until the arrival of the Mongols in the 13th century. Before their invasion, the Poles used straight, longbows. The crossbow reached Poland relatively early in the 12th century. Javelins and throwing axes were also in use. During sieges, both defenders and attackers commonly used a variety of heavy hurling machines like catapults and trebuchets, and from the end of the 14th century bombards, arquebuses, and finally cannons.
With increasing tension and fighting along the eastern border, Poles adopted many eastern-style war customs and weapons. This is why the sword was so easily and commonly replaced in the 16th century with the szabla, which is a backsword with a curved blade.
But perhaps the most visible armor transformation in Polish Medieval times was that of the helmet, which changed from a conical shape into a great helm around the 12th century and later into the bascinet, which had a pointed top and mouth piece to deflect blows.
Which brings us to the men who wielded and wore these things. Wealthy knights of Wielkopolska and Śląsk did not differ much from their western brethren. Novelties in design were accepted quickly. At tournaments in the west, the Polish knight Zawisza Czarny z Garbowa, or “Zawisza the Black” gained eternal fame and became known for his bravery, chivalry, and his black armor. However, until the battle of Grunwald in 1410, most Polish knights were less armored than their competitors, due to the fact that many of them were relatively poor. In the 15th century however, Polish knights became much wealthier as exports of grains and forest goods grew rapidly during this period which became a source of wealth.
Today, unfortunately all that remains of this grand and glorious age of Polish arms and armor are a few museum collections, a couple of collectibles, some text books on the topic, and several acres of poppy-filled fields.
Right-side Up Ruling
Let’s start things off from the top down, and begin with the Supreme Court. This past month's pick was nothing short of outstanding. In fact, how could such a pick have been made, given the near-identical résumés of all of the contenders? Not a bad predicament to be in if you asked me. Fortunately I was in Washington, D.C. when the president made the announcement, dodging supporters and protesters, but treasuring the chance to be close to the source of a potentially historic day.
But cutting to the chase, who’s kidding who here as far as Roe v. Wade not being the main reason for the selection? I heard a few political gurus, educated law professors, and “learned” men air their predictions that Donald Trump considered the overall long-term judiciary effect of his pick, rather than only be concerned with overturning the abortion precedent. Are they crazy? Maybe they haven’t understood who Donald Trump really is yet.
It’s a no-brainer. Of course Donald Trump, the historic showman and publicity-seeker, is eyeballing the reversal of Roe V. Wade. This will be his legacy. And with nobody in office being more of a pro-life person than Mike Pence, you can bet the chances that Roe v. Wade is overturned quickly to be rather high. For Catholics and defenders of life’s sanctity, it’s about time a new right-side up ruling was made, isn’t it?
Interestingly, if Roe v. Wade is overturned, it may not be due to the religious convictions of the Court’s appointees. Rather, constitutional conservatives of the Court will argue that our constitution bestows rights onto all individuals, among them, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as outlined in our Declaration. The big question being, what defines an individual? Should an embryo or fetus in the womb be considered an “individual”, or only after it is born?
Hmm, is there a difference? Not really, if you think about it. A one-month old baby, like everyone else, is considered an individual because it is living and growing. Yet, so is an embryo and a fetus. Both the newborn baby and the unborn embryo or fetus are equally dependent on the mother as well.
Indeed, our legal minds may finally conclude that there seems to be no difference between a newborn baby and an embryo or a fetus, so the question for consideration will arise: Why is it illegal to kill a newborn baby, but legal to kill an embryo or a fetus?
The Dean Jaeger Effect
After reading a couple of weeks ago about the Prabucki family, followed by a few memoirs out of my uncle Stan’s war diary, and finally catching the opening sequence of the film Twelve O’clock High starring Gregory Peck, I began to reminisce about a long ago trip my father and I made to Omaha Beach in France, site of the historic D-Day invasion.
Stealing the screenplay of that 1949 film, just as the actor Dean Jaeger, aboard a bicycle, arrives at the allied airfield where he once served, then begins to recall his day-to-day life in a B-17 bombardier group upon which the film is based, I more or less did the same on the long stretch of this French beach.
Although having no clue, compared to Jaeger, as to the real-life events of June 6, 1944, I envisioned what it must have been like for more than 160,000 allied troops to disembark from amphibious units to a reception of bullets, grenades, land mines, and anti-tank guns.
Omaha Beach was the most fortified of the stretch, having natural cliffs as deterrents and deep caverns where bunkers were built to house the big guns. I climbed into one of those bunkers.
My first impression, despite the odor of its modern-day unfortunate function as a pee-hole for passers-by, was as if I was wearing a giant suit of armor. The claustrophobic feeling of encasement with only a few cutout slots in the concrete for viewing summoned up the notion that whoever was in here manning the guns was pretty safe as long as they had food and water.
However, these fortified bunkers did indeed have a fault. There was little to no peripheral vision, as well as above, so allied troops were able to circumvent a direct approach and attack the slotted openings with grenades. More who tried this than didn’t, died however.
Out of the bunker and back onto the beach, the tide quickly reminded me that, of the approximately 10,000 allied troops who perished on this day, a lot of them never made it to the shore. Skeletons of assault crafts lay frozen in time along the coast as the tide comes and goes. It’s an interesting juxtaposition; here you see the constant flow of water, the symbol of life, going in and out and always in motion, while the remains of these watercraft sit still and beckon a long-ago day of destruction and death.
As a side note, what I find interesting is that regardless of what historical account you may read, nobody seems to give equal sentiment to statistics of enemy casualties. Weren’t enemy soldiers, in this case Germans, people too, doing their duty? It’s almost as if Western society regards Japanese and German axis troops as something other than regular, living, breathing, emotional, heartfelt people.
Rather, we’d be correct to realize that enemy soldiers had loving families too, were probably just as conscientious as us, and kicked a soccer ball to their children just as our guys who were fathers probably had a baseball catch with their kids. This may be the real tragedy of war, when mankind continues to polarize groups of people as alien to them and deserving of death.
Of course, it should be understood that D-Day was necessary to fight Hitler, but we’d be wise to remember that soldiers are people regardless of which side they’re on. Hmm, thoughts of Harry Truman and Hiroshima come to mind, and his horrendous decision to annihilate roughly 146,000 men, women, and children with after effects continuing to the present day. I’m wondering if he considered this.
What better way to end the day than to visit a nearby cemetery. Remembering that Poland was the only country to fight in the European theater from the very first day to the very last day of the Second World War, my father and I, during our journey to France to visit my sister who lives there, went looking for a buddy of his by the name of Matthew Skowronski.
From what I can recall in the passenger seat of our rental car, myself being 16 years old at the time, Mattie Skowronski or “Skronski” as I interpreted it, was on his mind constantly as the highlight of the trip.
He was determined to find the grave of this Private with the 119th infantry regiment, a native Staten Islander who grew up in the same New Brighton neighborhood as my father, but unfortunately saw live action in the war as opposed to my dad who was in basic training. And he found it.
Skowronski, a Purple Heart recipient, is buried in the Normandy American cemetery under a simple white cross, one of 9,386 headstones there. Finding his grave, with the help of the cemetery staff, was the culmination of my father’s long desire to see the resting place of his friend.
And getting back to Jaeger on his bicycle, perhaps a fitting finale in mentioning that Skowronski, along with 27 other New Brighton men who lost their lives in World War II, is memorialized in a G.I. Joe statue erected directly along my own bicycling route.
Going Forwards to Go Back
“So goodbye yellow brick road, where the dogs of society howl…” As Elton John sang, so sing many future contestants for the coveted Miss America crown after last month's colossal decision by its governing body to ban the traditional swimsuit and evening gown segments. Hmm, curiously, is this to say that sporting a sexy swimsuit is now somehow contrary to what a woman’s ideals should aspire to be? And by wearing an attractive evening gown, does this somehow conjure up the wrong image of how a woman should look?
Perhaps the real issue to resolve here may not be in the banning of a particular item, but maybe we should be asking ourselves why we now, as opposed to 50 years ago, convey a particular thought to, in this case, a slim-fit swimsuit or a sexy evening gown, causing them to be banned? Is mankind evolving forward intellectually, or has society de-evolved eons backwards into a sensually-motivated one? Willy Wonka may have been right in stating, “You can’t get out backwards, you have to go forwards to go back.”
A Holy Land Chronicle
As I looked out across the land with the sun rising just over the majestic Judaean Desert, a crispness in the air that would soon give way to scorching heat, and the everlasting reality that this indeed was sacred ground, I understood exactly where I was. Beginning in 1997, I made what was to be my first pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Arriving at the small yet significant Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, one becomes encompassed by the sheer presence of standing inside history. In the distance lie the towering hills of Judaea, one of several regions in Israel, and the destination for the day. At Ben Gurion, one is confronted by polite yet diligently straightforward security personnel, a testament to the region's social volatility. Continuing the journey by group taxi, as a cool wind blows in from the hills, one begins to sense what it was like 2000 years ago, as men traveled by foot from one town to the next, trading and conducting business in their minute social spheres. To imagine a land not ravaged by time, but preserved in its entirety for all to see and feel. The senses are put to the test here. It is only during the process of becoming completely absorbed in this that one comes to know essentially what this place means. As the visitor empathizes, he or she realizes. Higher and higher we ascend, and as it is written, we will go up to Jerusalem. The Holy City, as it is referred to, stands as the single most spiritually important place worldwide for many. At its heart is the Old City, dating back thousands of years, virtually untouched by modern man. One feels the drama played out on its streets ages ago, one sees the beige colored stones and perhaps a footprint made by a Roman centurion. At last the core of life itself.
Standing on a terrace in the Jewish Quarter, as neighborhood cats hurriedly made their rounds, one is privileged to set sight on the Western Wall, the most sacred place in all of Judaism. The structure is part of a section of wall that once was the Temple, which housed the Holy of Holies containing the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written by God and handed to Moses. As one approaches this sacred place in prayerful respect, one is overwhelmed with the sense of meaning. Continuing through the narrow and quietly dignified Kotel tunnels, which reveal a further section of original Temple wall, one feels the cohesiveness of this faith as a single candle illuminates against the rock. Emerging in the Muslim Quarter, the deliciously delightful aroma of falafel saturates the air. Through its streets are numerous merchants who will politely offer tea and a conversation. One can see the depth of the Arabic culture here. To quench a thirst, fresh carrot juice can do the trick. Up ahead lies the entrance to the same site which once housed the Jewish Temple and is now the home of the Dome of the Rock. Here, the Muslim faith teaches that Mohammed ascended to Heaven, and a large rock displayed within is said to be the actual site. Exiting the area, one finds a slightly uphill climb on the via Dolorosa, or street of sorrows. Holding back tears, many recall Christ's Way of the Cross. Sounding bells from afar remind oneself of the significance and magnitude of Christianity's foundation. As we make our way inside the tiny chapels of Condemnation and Flagellation, the reminder that this indeed was the spot where it all began. Just underfoot was the Lithostrotos, or pavement where one can literally play games, those carved in the rock by Roman centurions and still existing. Continuing our Stations of the Cross, we stop and pause inside the little chapel marking the seventh station, where Jesus fell to His knees for the second time bearing the heavy wooden weight of two pieces of lumbar known as the cross. One can still touch the base of the original column that served as an exit gate to the city. Originally outside the city walls, and just up ahead now is Calvary, the sacred site of Jesus' death. Housed in the crusader built Church of the Holy Sepulchre, this site is clearly emotional and thought provoking for every individual that comes. There is but one thing to do here. Think. Many find answers to exactly why He died and what He accomplished for Man, giving His life as a ransom. There are no rushed crowds here, only the solemn. One has the opportunity to actually touch and feel the stone upon which Christ died, in the midst of candlelight and soft hymns. Descending the steps from Golgotha, or Skull Place, one beholds the awesome magnitude of the grand Basilica, simply adorned. At its center is the Tomb of Christ. Visitors enter three at a time, first passing a small fragment of stone on display which was a piece of the grand circular stone closing the Tomb. Once inside the Tomb, one is awestruck. Here on the stone slab the body of Christ actually rested. Initially, no words or thoughts fall upon the visitor. Rather, the experience creates almost a transcendence of soul, where one is experiencing the Mystery of the Resurrection. Upon further study of the Basilica, one learns that it is indeed a multi-Christian Church. There are no less than five divisions of Christianity occupying the Basilica. The Roman Catholics share this sacred site with the Greek Orthodox, Coptic, Ethiopian Orthodox, and Armenian Orthodox faiths. This is a testament to the stronghold of the Christian faith. For the Catholics, the Franciscan presence has been significant. Their province, known as the Franciscans of the Holy Land, has tended to the holy sites across the land for centuries. A short walk from the Basilica is St. Saviour's Monastery, the large complex serving as their base. Many who experience their humbleness wish only to have the heart of a Franciscan. Exiting the city via the Zion Gate, one encounters the Coenaculum, or Upper Room of the Last Supper. Just to imagine what it was like some 2000 years ago, as the apostles celebrated this most significant meal. Groups from many countries come and go singing hymns, praying, and reading scripture.
Looking across the land in the near distance lies the Mount of Olives. As one climbs the rather steep hill to the summit, a look behind reveals the most breathtaking view of Jerusalem. Here, with the clouds a touch away, with the wind vigorously blowing through, one sees what Christ saw, and pretty much exactly too. Little topographic change has made East Jerusalem virtually untouched since Jesus made His way down on Palm Sunday. One could easily spend hours here in contemplative awe. At the base of the Mount of Olives is the Garden of Gethsemane, where the same olive trees that grew at the time of Christ now grow still. At its low point, the Kidron Valley dissects the Mount from the Old City. On the left, the Tombs of Absalom and Zechariah. One can't help realize that what they are seeing now was seen precisely by ancient others. Nothing has changed. If only to have a shovel to dig, what wonders just beneath our feet. The grand scale of the Old City Wall is magnified from this point, its view almost creating a ladder-into-the-heavens effect. We reach the Gihon tunnel. Here, a channel for water was cut through the rock dating back to the origins of the city itself. A forty minute candlelight traverse of the tunnel emerges at the Pool of Siloam.
A ticket to ride. Aboard the extremely efficient Israeli bus service, we made our way to the lowest point on the face of the Earth, the Dead Sea. Here, there is ten percent more oxygen in the air. Passing the massive mountains flanking the west coast of the sea, we see the remains of the ancient Qumran community, where the famous Dead Sea scrolls were discovered. A stop at the Bin Gedi nature reserve reveals a splendid excursion into pristine biblical wilderness, complete with waterfalls and caves. After, a splash into the Dead Sea itself, though carefully cautioning the splash. The salt content is eight times that of the saltiest ocean. One cannot sink, but rather floats in its therapeutic waters. Cakes of salt emerge as buoys. The sea is a collection of water which flows from the Sea of Galilee in the north through the Jordan River. Further down the coastal road, a certain metanoia, or change of heart, occurs. The visitor becomes entranced by physically being at the lowest spot on the planet, yet the sheer magnitude of the extremely dry and rugged mountains just a stone's throw away contradict this. To imagine its inhabitants in the year 33 A.D. certainly plays on the mind. Then, one sees Masada. This is truly a grand site. Perched atop a mountain, this was once a stronghold community of Zealots, those set on overthrowing the dominant Roman forces. The mighty scale of this site clearly puts into perspective the turbulent situation at the time. One can look out across the Dead Sea and feel life as it was then. Journeying back, the once tiny little village so significant in the Christian heart appears. We have reached Bethlehem. In this predominantly Palestinian village, the high bells of the Church of the Nativity stand clear for all to see. Here, in the Grotto, Jesus was born. Interestingly enough, the site is in actuality a cave. And a very sacred one indeed. The exact spot of His birth is marked with a fourteen point star. One seems to abandon all personal concerns and worries here. The overwhelming saturation of solitude and meaning to life enter into each who observe. Continuing our journey, we depart along Hebron Road, and for the hearty of heart, a walk from Bethlehem back to Jerusalem is a rugged 11/2 hours. One experience was not to be forgotten. On foot, we proceeded to cross over a section of barbed wire purposely put in the road as a deterrent to troublemakers in the area. As we carefully made our way to the army checkpoint at the crossroads up ahead, a commotion began a few hundred feet away. It seemed the typical routine for the day as young Palestinian youths clashed with Israeli soldiers. Rocks and rubber bullets made the headlines. . . again.
North by northeast. Traveling once again aboard bus, we headed into the fertile Jordan River region. Our first stop, the dramatic Jabal al Qarantal, or site of Christ's temptation. Situated on the side of a massive cliff is the Greek Orthodox Monastery of the Temptation. One ascends by foot to see the actual place of Jesus' temptation after being baptized in the nearby Jordan. For those having the slightest fear of heights, this is not the place to be. Rather, an educational stroll through the archeological site of Jericho at the cliffs base reveals the original city as seen by Joshua. Little by little and mile by mile, as one proceeds north paralleling the Jordan river, baked beige becomes gorgeous green. The landscape changes dramatically. We are now in Israel's agricultural region, and our destination for the day: the Mount of Beatitudes. A stop in Tiberias is quite inviting. Fishermen casting nets into the Sea of Galilee frame many a tourist's photo film. Aboard an excursion boat out to sea is our stepping stone to Capernaum, the base town of Jesus' ministry. Here at this archeologically excavated ancient site, the houses of Peter and of Matthew have been clearly established. Interestingly, Matthew's house was strategically located at the entrance of town, as he held a tax collecting position prior to his apostolic calling, thus was a constant presence to newcomers. Just down the road is Tabgha, the site of Christ's multiplication of loaves and fishes. One can sense its significance, standing on the cobbled rock shores with the cool sea breeze refreshingly stirring. What it must have been like in days long gone. If we could only go back and relive these miraculous moments. These are thoughts never failing to fall upon the visitor. And this is the most enriching aspect of the Holy Land experience. The individual's introspective reward. No corner of the Earth is excepted, no stone remains unturned. No matter where one is or what one does, the significance of this special spot on the planet has a permanent place in our hearts and in our minds, just as it once was, ages ago.
Climbing step by step. The beautifully adorned Church of the Beatitudes, atop the Mount, looks out across this land called Holy. As the mist rises above the Galilee, we see what thousands saw on that day when Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount. And what an appropriate place to give it. Clear views, refreshing air, and peacefulness, all experienced from a beautiful flower garden sitting serenely on the side of the hill. After a dinner of freshly caught St. Peter's fish, we made our way westward. A tour through the Church of the Miracle at Cana reveals to the visitor excavated wine jars dating back thousands of years. This was the site of Jesus' first miracle, the changing of water into wine. Continuing along the roadway, the grand town of Nazareth emerges. Quite large, Nazareth has grown out from its original humble self over the many thousands of years since its origin. At its center is the Basilica of the Annunciation, the site of the Virgin Mary's acceptance of God's Will to bring His Son into the world. One actually sees the original house of the Holy family, still standing. Carved into its rock wall is an ancient form of graffiti, though the kind that would not want to be erased. In Greek, it reads Hail Mary. As we turn south, we again experience the topographical metamorphosis. Vast stretches of open plain give way to a ripple of hills here and there. To our right, the small yet highly significant site called Megiddo, often referred to as Armageddon. Here, it is written in the Book of Revelation, the final battle between good and evil will take place. Further down the road, we glance to see an archeological excavation, a dig as it is called, underway. The ancient city of Ai is being uncovered.
The journey home. Our Holy Land experience has left us in awe. What we possess now far exceeded any of our expectations. One comes to this land with the intention of seeing its sacred places. Little does the visitor know that upon trip's end, he or she becomes part of the Holy Land. It is not a place that turns stagnant in our minds soon after. It is not a vacation, in the traditional sense. Rather, the Holy Land experience is something that enlightens one's mind. It provides a sense of meaning and truth to life for all who seek. I visited this Land again in 1998 and 1999, and will be returning once again in the months to come. I'll be back...
Scary Spirituals
John Paul II, lesson learned? No. I found myself thinking precisely that after reading last Sunday’s church bulletin from a nearby parish. In it, the pastor very definitively outlined a number of “evil-doers”, such as all astrologers and all clairvoyants. Hmm, I guess Hildegard von Bingen, a 12th century mystic revered by the Church, is an exception? And sincere, humble Edgar Cayce, I guess he was a fraud?
Rather, how about definitively stating that religion in itself is a mystery, therefore all the cards are on the table, including those of psychics, mystics, and clairvoyants? Perhaps the biggest problem in a pastor’s approach to making definitive statements of faith, either in writing or from the pulpit, is that by doing so, all other ideas about the afterlife, heaven, good and evil, and how to attain salvation are thrown out the window. What results from this? A collection of global stagnated theologies under the names of Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, and a thousand others, all hell-bent on believing their faith is the one and only true religion. Isn’t this ridiculous?
Scary too, considering that, after politics, religion is the second biggest cause of war in our world. How ironic over a subject which nobody definitively knows the answer to and which remains tangibly unproven. Definitive pulpit preachers, such as the pastor above, may not want to forget about the insult they pay to all those in the religious community who have dedicated their entire lives by taking vows on the sole basis of faith, not definitive fact. Our beloved Saint John Paul II knew this all too well, bringing together leaders of different faiths with the understanding that, hey, we’re all in the same lifeboat.
Life and Death
My contemplative friend and I occasionally delve into peculiar thought topics and our most recent attempt doesn’t disappoint. Armed with a shovel, what if you could somehow visit the graves of people who defined our world’s quintessential life-livers? Let’s pick a few. How about Marilyn Monroe, Bob Hope, Veronica Lake, and Gene Kelly? Digging and digging, you finally reach their coffins, clear the remaining dirt off the top, and lift the lids.
OMG, as that shorthand expression goes. What’s inside but…bones. That’s all that’s left. Perhaps some fragments of clothing, a few strands of hair, and some jewelry. Hard to fathom, isn’t it, that these icons of life are now completely existing in an opposite perspective. Spirituality aside, the point being that our culture seems to be ignorant of this fact, otherwise, if truly realized, life on earth would take on much more deeper humanistic value. Yet an even sadder fact is factoring in the spirituality component, which most people give only cursory importance to. Apparently it’s not enough to physically see Gene Kelly’s bones nor enough to spiritually learn about God for people to approach their own life’s meaning.
Perhaps the next time we see the radiant 1940's silver screen star Veronica Lake with her trademark blonde hair covered one-eyed face, we’ll be reminded of life’s value, and by doing so, what death can really mean.
The 7 Takeaways
Are you ready? Folks everywhere had ashes placed on their foreheads as the Lenten season kicked in with Ash Wednesday. Unfortunately many of us are on auto-pilot, almost robotically attending the service but not quite fully grasping what the season is really all about.
Says Fr. Angelo Ison, OFM of St. Saviour’s Monastery in Jerusalem, “Many people forget that Lent is a process, not a few days like Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, and Holy Thursday. It’s a marathon really.” Fr. Ison, a good friend of mine, helped fine-tune the following seven soul-saving takeaways of the season which we should all be tuning in to.
1. Sell your Ashes. Huh? Need we be reminded that we are dust, and unto dust we shall return? Yes, we do need to be reminded! How often do we get caught up in the “www”, or world’s wacky web, losing perspective of who we really are? Ashes will physically brand us with a burnt, black forehead sign as a wake-up call in reminding us not to forget that our skin and bones don’t last, as pointed out in the above story. The takeaway: sell your ashes to the Lord and buy stock in your soul, it lasts longer than your body.
2. Go to Confession. Unfortunately recipients of the Sacrament of Reconciliation are on the decline. Mysteriously however, long confessional lines seem to appear between Palm Sunday and Holy Saturday in too many 11th-hour efforts at redemption. But why wait until Good Friday to make your annual pilgrimage? Go now! What better way to begin the Lenten season than with a clean slate, upon which all the sanctity of the season can be inscribed. The takeaway: gee, it’s a no-brainer, isn’t it?
3. Visit the Stations. Many Catholic churches conduct the Way of the Cross every Friday night during Lent, culminating on Good Friday. Here the priest recalls each of Christ’s 14 stops during the last hours of his life. You’ll relive what it was like for Christ to get condemned, scourged, and ultimately crucified. The takeaway: the Easter bunny is cute, but this is what the season is really all about. Take your kids.
4. Gaze at a Crucifix. That’s right, get a good eyeball session in. Did you ever think about what it was like to be crucified? We’ve all stepped on splinters and cut our hands, but haven’t quite experienced an incision directly on a nerve and without anesthesia. Ever have major surgery? That’s serious, but you’re asleep when it happens. Imagine being awake and without pain killers when you’re cut? Now you know how Christ felt. The takeaway: it was once said that a two-minute gaze upon a crucifix can turn a sinner into a saint.
5. Pass on the Popcorn. We’ll have to remember that while sitting on the sofa and watching the Olympics. It’s hard isn’t it? The issue here is not any particular item that tastes yummy or that we have grown habituated to. Rather, it is our tendency to become dependent on something, devoting a great deal of attention to it. The takeaway: fasting is not only about food refrain, it is about detaching ourselves from any such overly dependent time-and-attention getter. Time and attention which could be given to God.
6. Almsgiving. Who’s got money to spare these days? Economically speaking, these are truly hard times. Harder still for the beggar on the street asking you for a dime. We pinch a penny walking up and down the supermarket aisles trying to break even. But the real question, our takeaway here is, we should ask ourselves during Lent: how am I sacrificing if I am breaking even?
7. Prayer. Even though all of the six points mentioned above are actually forms of prayer in one way or another, the real essence of Lent begins in your heart, mind, and soul. Sure you can do good deeds, go to church, etc., etc., but how often do you pray quietly and contemplatively? Saint John Paul II used to pray for hours per day. The takeaway: can we be so bold as to attempt at least 10 minutes of daily prayer?
Fortunately for many, these seven takeaways are a rehearsal for what we have been habitually doing every Lent. I find this hallmark provides an inspiration to others who are not so devout. Kneeling that extra minute or vocalizing your response a little louder at Mass just so someone else might notice is a great way to influence. Who knows, perhaps because of your faith effort, somebody somewhere will take notice of your seven takeaways of the season and luckily save themselves.
Ooh la la
Ooh la la. What else can we say? Being a longtime supporter of PETA, or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, I recently received their latest periodical highlighting efforts made to expose the cruelties inflicted upon helpless animals by circuses, as well as by experimental laboratories funded by several major brand name cosmetic companies.
Of course, what immediately draws the reader into the story is the very revealing photo of Polish model Joanna Krupa in cat-like colors. The 38-year-old Warsaw native, in addition to starring on the hit show Real Housewives of Miami, is an avid animal rights activist who has obviously made an extreme effort, along with PETA, to convey a message.
Bad taste? Perhaps not, considering that the liquid inside a typical bottle of perfume or aftershave sitting on top of your bedroom dresser has most likely been poured into a rabbit’s eye to test the degree of damage done before being allowed to sell. Did you know too that some chocolate makers, as deliciously innocent as they may seem, have tested the effects of chocolate on blood vessels in small animals, cutting open the legs of these creatures, taking notes, and then killing them? Some circus animals as well fall victim to slave-driving circus masters whose only concern is to earn a living at the animals’ expense.
Before passing judgment on the sexiness of the photo, perhaps we should consider our priorities. To what extent should we go, as Krupa did, to expose these cruelties? Maybe, just maybe, it means taking alluring and seductive measures, perhaps testing our morality, to finally cease a greater evil.
Your Son's Pet Lizard
I continue to receive occasional comments about a particular question in my earlier interview of Dr. Nikodem Poplawski, that being “Is there a God?” It increasingly becomes clear that we as a global people continue to avoid the question so as to sleep well at night and not rock the boat of establishment. But, are we being honest to ourselves, or do we prefer to leave this question, as well as those below, to our religious leaders who guide us?
What is God? Why not explore the question in earnest, that is, if you don’t mind a potentially troubling answer? Hmm, what about heaven? Do we wear clothes in heaven, and if so, why? Most people would say yes, but no one wants to offer an explanation. That is, are we shielding our private parts? If so, then this would indicate an awareness of such. If we are then aware, this would mean that while in the heavenly state, we have taken measures (spiritual clothing) to suppress a once-physical body part.
Doesn’t make sense, right, being that in heaven, there isn’t supposed to be one iota of shame, so why are we wearing clothing? Further, when in heaven, what if you meet an attractive soul of the opposite sex, what thoughts do you have? Of course, if we conclude that visually romantic instinctive reactions, even for a split second, are not consistent with the heavenly realm, then does this mean that heavenly souls are therefore of lesser scope, being more like zombies?
What about elapsed time? Does time stand still in heaven? However, if two souls in heaven are talking to one another, to begin a sentence and reach its end takes time, albeit a few seconds. So, given this truth, is there a day and night, a sunrise and a sunset, a calendar? All of which are created by elapsed time.
Lastly, your daughter’s beloved pet poodle, how can he not join her in heaven? It’s a no-brainer, right? God in his infinite goodness surely will allow our pets to have souls and to be together with us again in heaven. But what about your son’s lizard? Your son is just as affectionate and caring to this lizard as your daughter is to her dog. Can his lizard therefore, have a soul?
Yes, just like Copernicus, perhaps we should continue to ask ourselves these unpopular, unheard of questions which no one wants to answer, shunned by many father-figures and pulpit preachers, as we seek the ultimate Truth.
Guns and God Help Us
Over the past few weeks since the horrendous mass murders in Las Vegas and Sutherland Springs, Texas, perhaps you found yourself, as I had, very audibly cursing in vain at those television anchors of networks representing Republican strongholds, who of course tended to shift the focus away from gun control. Of course, on the defensive, they were quick to point the finger at Democrats for not focusing on the victims, but instead on the weapon. Ehh, where else should the focus be?! Incredible, we witnessed the execution of little kids at Sandy Hook, then Orlando, several other incidents here and there, Las Vegas, and now Texas. And still, absolutely zero has been done to ban the single military-style weapon used in each instance which can be legally purchased and converted from a semi-automatic, as if that wasn’t dangerous enough, to a fully automatic weapon. This is absolute idiocy at its best. It’s worth noting too that unlike a handgun which can justifiably be used for protection, or a long gun which can justifiably be used for hunting or target practice, this weapon is solely and exclusively used for killing humans en masse, that’s it!
Let’s cut to the chase here, perhaps a good chunk of the blame should fall on those politicians who cater to gun-advocacy groups. As a side note, what is it about pulling a trigger? Does it make these gun advocates feel more fulfilled? Gee, how about going hiking, looking through a telescope, or writing some poetry? If Stephen Paddock and Devin Kelley, and pretty much anybody else, can legally buy dozens of these weapons, hey, why can’t someone buy a bazooka, or how about a canon, or maybe even a tank, all the while claiming their 2nd Amendment right? Perhaps the bottom-line issue asks us to look in the mirror and decide for ourselves to what degree of maturity we are whether favoring or disfavoring a hand-held mechanical device that is designed to kill. God help us.
The Story of the Hammer
It was the summer of 1949, and a newly married 23-year old Dan Ostrowski drops by the local Sears & Roebuck store to purchase a folding tape measure, a box of 6-penny finishing nails, and a Craftsman hammer. Being skilled in carpentry, the young upstart architect settles into his new home and sets up his hobby’s tool shop in the basement, complete with a large workbench, a pegboard, and plenty of hardware to supplement. Eventually the summer heat subsides, and together with Victor Siuzdak, the husband of his wife’s sister, the pair of Pole’s tackle the task of remodeling the attic. Day after day, with hammer in hand, bangs and booms are heard as sheetrock, 2x4’s, floorboard and fiberglass insulation are put in place. Night after night, dinner is served to a hungry duo until the task is complete. Two new porches go up, front and back, then a picnic table, then a furnished cellar room, and on and on. And somewhere in the middle of all this hammering, six children are born. But, it’s not too long before his trustworthy Craftsman hammer gets deployed back into action. Project after project, my father must have hammered some tens of thousands of nails using this hammer. In fact, the photo you see is of him holding your author on the back porch of his house circa 1969, a porch of course that was made using this hammer.
But speaking of nostalgia and sentimentality as pointed out above, the story of this breakneck, blue collar hand tool and the Pole who wielded it draws its most merit and proof of power due to an unfortunate circumstance. This story would have never been written had the hammer not broken. While nailing an 8-penny common nail, the 65-year old hammer finally met its death as the head broke off from its hickory handle. (The photo shows its original look cosmetically put in place). I then took the head and handle to Sears as Craftsman’s policy permits a free replacement, however, the injured tool must be surrendered. Well, you’ve probably figured out the end of this story. How could I surrender such memories?
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"b" for billions
Whew! Last month's horrendous hurricane by the name of Irma certainly wrecked havoc and mayhem among millions of Floridians and southern state dwellers. Unfortunately Mother Nature decided when and where to inflict such a disaster, but I found it somewhat ironic that nobody seemed to admit…the obvious.
Obviously, we know with good probability that most hurricanes happen during the month of September. We also know that the entire Gulf coastline as well as the coasts extending from southern Florida up to North Carolina are hotspots for a hurricane landing. Is it all that far-fetched to perhaps designate that entire stretch, plus a mile inland all along the way, as a National Wildlife Refuge? Of course not, right? How could anyone propose such a money-losing, absurd idea which would ban the construction of coastal homes thus giving us a solution to avoid most death and destruction?
Of course, we are extremely sympathetic to all who suffered a loss because of Irma, but when are we going to learn? It is estimated that the cost to rebuild everything after that hurricane will be in the tens of billions of dollars, yes that’s “b” for billions. Hey, did anybody think about what might very well happen next September, and the September after that, and so on? It’s a no-brainer.
Case in point, 60-year old Kenny Szczepanski, a retired pharmacist and his wife, a homemaker who retired to Florida for their love of golf and sunshine lost their house just south of Sarasota, “We lost everything except our skin. We have no fingerprints here any more; our home, our cars, and our clothes, they’re all gone.”
On that note, leave it to our biased media to avoid any coverage of Irma’s effect in Cuba. Not one iota of live news coverage was reported from that country, even though Irma inflicted by far the most number of casualties there. Are we still “mad” at Cuba because of the late Fidel Castro’s tyrannical rule, or does our anger date back to the 1961 Bay of Pigs debacle? I guess for these broadcasting networks, it’s not enough to witness death and destruction, they need to add insult to injury.
Call GRO 1758
Call Northside 777. A familiar film-noir classic mentioned in this column before starring Jimmy Stewart as a newspaper reporter tasked with proving the innocence of a Polish-American man accused of killing a cop. I recently had the inkling to research the scoop behind this true story of Joseph Majczek and Theodore Marcinkiewicz, the two 20-something-year-old Chicagoans convicted of the murder back in 1933.
What I discovered were some very interesting parallels. Typically as you probably know, real-life stories converted into Hollywood films are often exaggerated and “all dolled up,” taking on entirely different storylines obviously to please the audience and make profits. In this film, wow, did the producers ever bypass that protocol!
In the film, Tillie Wiecek, played by Kasia Orzazewski, substitutes for the real life mother Tillie Majczek, a blue-collar Polish floor scrubber who in October of 1944 placed an ad in the Chicago Times reading “$5,000 REWARD FOR KILLERS OF OFFICER LUNDY ON DEC. 9, 1932. CALL GRO 1758, 12-7 P.M.”
Talk about having faith in something, check out those dates, that’s nearly a 12-year span! Turns out the ad got the attention of the paper’s city editor who assigned James McGuire, played by Jimmy Stewart as James McNeal, to investigate.
So far so good, I’m seeing close parallels between the true story and the film version. The convictions of these two guys, especially Majczek, were based largely on the eyewitness testimony of Vera Walush, the owner of a neighborhood speakeasy, who was portrayed as Wanda Skutnik in the film. Catch that Walush-Wanda sound connection? And as far as coming up with film names for the real suspects, Frank Wiecek played Joseph Majczek and Tomek Zaleska played Theodore Marcinkiewicz. Cameo appearances by E.G. Marshall and Leonarde Keeler, who actually played himself as the real-life inventor of the polygraph, taken by Wiecek, were also nice to see.
When the trial occurred in real life, Judge Charles Molthrop actually told Majczek that there was an injustice done in light of a new, second testimony and that he would try to get a retrial. In the film, ditto, it was the same.
Unfortunately Molthrop died before a retrial could be granted, but of what? Hmm, remember these guys were alleged cop killers, not too popular to declare innocent by a judge in prohibition-era Chicago.
After dealing get-out-of-jail-free cards to a few surly, supposed witnesses here and there in exchange for information, the police finally closed in on Joseph Majczek and arrested him on Dec. 22, 1932. Marcinkiewicz surrendered in January 1933.
Majczek claimed that Vera Walush had not identified him in two separate lineups on Dec. 22, but on Dec. 23, she was able to positively identify him. To corroborate the identifying date, the police then wrote a false report stating that Majczek had been arrested on Dec. 23, the day Walush had identified him. In the film, ditto again, the exact same scenario plays out, but with a twist.
While Majczek and Marcinkiewicz went to prison, it was because of McGuire’s persistence in exposing the falsified police report 11 years later that eventually led to Majczek being exonerated. Marcinkiewicz had no such luck, but because Majczek’s report was proven unlawful and both prisoners were part of the same case, the court granted habeas corpus to Marcinkiewicz who was released in 1950. However, what Hollywood film would settle for an ending like that?
Instead, director Henry Hathaway came up with a novel idea for a finale, and a tear-jerker. If it could be proven that a photo taken of Frank Wiecek and Wanda Skutnik escorted into the police station side by side simultaneously as suspect and witness was earlier than Dec. 23, the date Skutnik said she first saw him, then Skutnik’s testimony could be thrown out. To add to the thrill, Hathaway threw in a curve ball as this proof had to be presented before sundown otherwise Wiecek would be denied parole by the board of reviewers.
Far in the background of the photo was a tiny corner newsboy holding an even tinier front page of the day’s paper. Borrowing an idea from another news clip about a new photo enlarging process, McNeal wondered if the newsboy section could be enlarged, possibly revealing the date on the newspaper. Tensions grew as that front page was put through the process, spinning around and around with Wiecek’s parole board standing in doubt, and finally having the enlargement sent into a darkroom for exposure. Was he innocent? Would Tillie Wiecek’s hard-earned money and faith in her son and in a Chicago newsman come through? “Now, what’s the date on the paper, what’s the date?” nervously asked McNeal. “There it is, Dec. 22!”
I told you it was a tear-jerker…
The Poplawski Interview
Andrew Ostrowski: Doctor Poplawski, we'd first like to sincerely thank you for taking time out to share with us just a slice of your life. Before we delve into more deeper areas, take us back to your early youth. Growing up, who inspired you, how did you progress along your intellectual “journey to the stars?”
Nikodem Poplawski: I have been always curious about the world around me. My interests in science were growing thanks to my parents who are artists and were supporting my explorations in physics, astronomy, chemistry, and math. I was reading many books. Before high school, I learned the basics of calculus and admired its elegance. When I was 17, I learned advanced mechanics and Einstein’s general theory of relativity. I was amazed to the point that I already knew I would become a theoretical physicist, researching space, time, matter, and gravitation. As a doctoral student in the U.S., I developed my viewpoint on physics, similar to Paul Dirac, which emphasizes its aesthetic beauty and opposes redundant modifications to the current theories: “Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem” (‘Entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity’)
AO: Whether it's National Geographic magazine, the popular T.V. series Through the Wormhole, or being named in Forbes Magazine as one of only five scientists in the world most likely to become the next Albert Einstein, you're no stranger to our readers. Personally, how has this media exposure helped to enhance your Polish pride while also setting an example for your students?
NP: I was quite surprised and happy to see my name there. Albert Einstein is my hero. I also tell my students that he is my great grand-mentor: a mentor of the advisor of my master’s thesis advisor in Poland. I am proud to be Polish, born in Toruń, the city of Copernicus. My science goal is to make, like my fellow city-man, a scientific breakthrough in our understanding of the Cosmos. I always look for bright students, passionate about physics as much as I am, so I could share with them the beauty of the Universe.
AO: Browsing your website, math.newhaven.edu/poplawski, your publications and presentations nearly run the gamut of theoretical physics. But is there such a point where contemplative theory reaches its limit and proven fact takes over? Or, hypothetically, should there be no such point?
NP: I am a theoretical physicist. However, physics is an experimental science. What cannot be proven experimentally or observationally (for example, string theory or extra dimensions), is not physics. My theory that our Universe originated in a black hole can be tested by measuring the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation which comes to us from all directions in the sky and which is a “footprint” left by the Universe when it was smaller and hotter. Last year I published, in Physics Letters B, an article showing that black hole cosmology is consistent with these measurements. However, I think that as we know more about the Universe, we will be facing new questions, and maybe there is a limit of what we can understand physically. In addition, if my theory is right, we will never learn about the universe that made our Universe through a black hole, and about earlier times.
AO: "Our own Universe could be the interior of a black hole existing in another universe", as you stated. Undoubtedly principal among all theories are the existence of black holes. Can you give us a crash-course in precisely what these celestial behemoths are and what goes on inside them?
NP: Very massive stars and centers of galaxies end up as black holes: regions of space from which nothing, not even light, can escape. According to standard interpretation of Einstein’s theory of relativity, all matter in a black hole goes to a central point where the density is infinite, which means that the theory is incomplete and we really do not know what is happening there. However, including a quantum-mechanical behavior of subatomic particles makes gravity repulsive at extremely high densities (Einstein-Cartan theory of gravity). This repulsion prevents infinite densities: the matter in a black hole instead collapses to an extremely large but finite density, stops collapsing, undergoes a Big Bounce like a compressed spring, and starts rapidly expanding. Extremely strong gravitational forces near this state cause an intense production, enormously increasing the mass inside a black hole. The interior (or rather the other side) of a black hole becomes a new, growing, baby universe. The black hole becomes a spherical doorway connecting us to that universe. We cannot see it unless we go into the black hole. Accordingly, our Universe could have been formed in a Big Bounce (instead of Big Bang), in a black hole existing in another, parent universe.
AO: Philosophically speaking, as science progresses especially given the Big Bang theory, inevitably the question of Man's existence arises. In light of this, how do you handle the ultimate question: Is there a God?
NP: I would answer this question with a question: “How do you define God?” I believe that the Laws of Physics that describe our Universe are simple, beautiful and universal. They are the Absolute, and I could call them God.
AO: As an aside, we won't let you go until you reveal to us your favorite Polish food, which is?
NP: My favorite Polish food is tomato soup with pasta and sour cream, and also Polish pierogi with mushrooms and sauerkraut.
AO: Getting back to business, what theory do you cherish as your greatest, and, can you briefly share with us the topic of your latest research work?
NP: My favorite theory in physics is Einstein’s general theory of relativity, which describes the Universe at the largest scales, largest speeds, and when gravity is very strong. Most physicists believe that the theory of relativity needs to be changed to make it consistent with quantum mechanics, which is the physics of particles on the atomic level. Quantum mechanics is probabilistic, describing systems by wave functions which give probabilities of where a particle could be and what it could be doing. In the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics, how particles behave is based on whether they are being measured (observed). When not measured, a particle’s wave function combines all possible states. When measured, the particle randomly chooses one of these states, and its wave function “collapses”; however, no one knows why or how. I support Roger Penrose’s idea that the gravitational interaction of the particle and the observing apparatus causes the particle to choose a state. More massive objects pick a state faster, which could solve the famous Schrödinger’s cat paradox in which a cat depending on atomic decays is simultaneously dead and alive for a long time. The cat would pick its fate in a very short time. I believe that it is quantum mechanics that must include gravity and thus be modified to become consistent with the theory of relativity. Gravitization of quantum mechanics to explain wave function collapse is my latest research. ~
Half-opened and head on the left
Half-opened and head on the left, repeat, half-opened and head on the left. It won’t take you too long to figure out that I’m referring to the absolute monotony of how funeral homes arrange the casket layouts of the deceased. How many times have you been to a wake only to find the same old scenario of the casket located parallel to a wall, flowers on each side and a kneeler in front, with half the body in view and always, I mean always, seeing the casket oriented with the head of the deceased on the left as you approach? Sensitivities aside respectfully of course, what is the story here? I do recall from my own father’s arrangements that there was the alternate option of having a fully opened casket oriented perpendicular to the wall with kneelers on both sides of the body. My family opted for the traditional setup however. Looking back though, I would have preferred the alternate arrangement, reasoning that if popes and presidents can have it that way, why can’t we?
The Mayor of Munchkin City
After the recent debacle involving the Morning Joe show, perhaps we should all be quoting the Mayor of Munchkin City in the county of the land of Oz in stating that “morally, ethically, spiritually, physically, positively, absolutely, undeniably and reliably”…enough already. To think the bloodied head of the president fake fiasco which occurred weeks before could be somehow twisted into being the president’s fault as it was claimed, yet another round of so-called perpetrator “victimization” followed. Having the fondest longtime admiration for Mika Brzezinski, co-host of the show, no justification can be had for any personal insults aimed at her. However, perhaps people are forgetting that the president is a human being too. Morning Joe’s day-in and day-out verbal assaults on the president were quite apparent. Let’s ask ourselves, how would we react?
Why Washington stayed alive
“Count Pulaski of Poland, an officer famous throughout Europe for his bravery and conduct in defense of the liberties of his country against the three great invading powers of Russia, Austria and Prussia, may be highly useful to our service,” so stated Benjamin Franklin in early 1777. That summer, Pulaski left France and arrived in Massachusetts, penning a letter to George Washington along the lines of “I came here, where freedom is being defended, to serve it, and to live or die for it.”
Arguably one event in the career of Casimir Pulaski stands out as his signature moment, earning him a good degree of admiration among the rank and file Continental Army. In the late summer of 1777, still awaiting an official appointment from Washington, Pulaski took matters into his own hands while engaged in the Battle of Brandywine, in Pennsylvania. Although this brawl, which was the longest single-day battle in the Revolutionary War lasting an uninterrupted 11 hours, was won by the British, had it not been for Pulaski’s defense, Washington and his retreating men would have been killed. After Congress found out about this, they instructed Washington to don the insignia of brigadier general onto Pulaski.
After studying the battlefield map of Brandywine, it’s stunning to realize that over 30,000 troops fought during this one-dayer, the most ever in the history of the Revolutionary War. Placing this 18th century map over a modern-day 21st century one left my mouth wide open. Of course, the “official” battlefield is now a historic park, but it only covers 50 acres, whereas, the actual battle took place over 35,000 acres! So a casual drive in the area and perhaps a picnic in a flower-filled meadow somewhere there would find you precisely on the same ground where men were screaming and being stabbed with bayonets. Incredible.
The E-shock
Any guess as to how many e-mails you have processed so far this year? Despite being a convenient way to communicate, there is still no standardized global method of e-mailing. Instead, it seems that often our communications provide more of an electric shock than an electronic message. Here's a categorization of ten types of everyday e-mail.
Overreaching: This type of e-mail will unnecessarily be addressed to a larger than needed group of recipients and finds us asking, “Who cares?”
The Illegal Forward Pass: Sometimes one will forward an e-mail that contains information that was only intended for the original recipient. The sender will often mistakenly assume that the confidentiality of the information sent is somehow understood by the recipient.
Careless: Ever get an e-mail with misspellings, awful grammar, incomplete thoughts, or is otherwise difficult to understand and react by thinking, “Ever go to school, stupid?”
Wartime: E-mails were invented in the 1960s to convey information; it was as simple as that. Today, sometimes however we fall into the trap of venting our disagreements through emails. This is a huge mistake because e-mails are not a conversation.
Screaming: SOME FOLKS DON'T REALIZE THAT USING CAPS IN AN E-MAIL MESSAGE IS SYNONIMOUS TO SCREAMING AT THE RECIPIENT.
Repeat Offense: Suppose you get an e-mail from someone but then you are forwarded the very same e-mail from someone else. Then you receive it again from another party, and so on.
Large and Slow: Unfortunately, we have all received e-mails containing humongous files, typically photos that take forever to open while we stare blankly at the hourglass on our screens.
The Novel: Occasionally an e-mail is received that is an extensive and lengthy narrative. As you scroll down, the e-mail information seems to be never-ending.
Stale Forward Pass: Many e-mails are time-sensitive. It’s not much use forwarding an e-mail today to recipients that were in need of the information yesterday.
The Unread: It’s amazing how someone can be working for an entire day at their computer and not check their e-mail.
The Capitalistic Immigrant
Piggybacking off of my recent Am-Pol Eagle column about divided black ties and blue collars comes a more intense matter for consideration. Have you noticed that a significant number of Poles and Polish Americans are not quite yet ready to mix? Perhaps true among many other immigrant nationalities, what seems to be evident is that too many immigrant Poles are adopting a Capitalistic aristocracy as their leading impetus upon settling in the United States. Of course, understandably the “American Dream” for many may entail high hopes such as driving a big Cadillac and making a million dollars.
Great, but what happens when an immigrant simply uses the U.S. for his or her own financial benefit, not quite obeying all of its rules of law and etiquette because deep down their true allegiance remains to their homeland? Their conscience pertaining to matters of the U.S. may not be affected as much, therefore what may be deemed as proper and improper to the Polish American, may simply bypass the conscience of the Polish immigrant. It’s a theory of mine based upon observation. Even at church socials, typically immigrant Poles cling to other immigrant Poles, while Polish Americans, being somewhat more congenial probably due to Americanized culture, unfortunately find themselves huddled amongst one another too. Actually it’s a terrible prospect of unfortunate human tendency, but if you look closely, the theory is arguably true.
Ethical Planes
We continue to hear remarks from newscasters and terrorism experts about ISIS being “entirely crazy and a cancer that has metastasized.” Very true, but we may be forgetting one thing. For people to be classified as abnormal or “crazy” means that they deviate from the standard norm which civilized society establishes as right or wrong. However, what we see in the situation with ISIS is that there are thousands, if not millions, of people who, while expressing absolutely no sympathy for them as rightfully most civilized people do, will fall short of condemning them. What does this mean? It means that the problem may not be about who’s right and who’s wrong under our own established standards and norms, but more so about realizing that different planes of ethics exist having their own, often conflicting, standards and norms. For example, our plane of ethics clearly condemns the public hanging of people from soccer field goal posts as is common practice in some countries. Alternately, some countries condemn even the thought of abortion, something that remains legal in this country. The war with ISIS will probably never end simply because we are dealing with vastly conflicting ideological and ethical standards and norms ingrained into each of our cultures right from conception.
A Walk on the Left Side
Why can’t we walk on the left side? Perhaps you too have asked such a question when strolling along a walkway, corridor, or populated footpath. Just the other evening I took the New York City subway system and transferred between lines, getting off the green line and hopping on the red line. However, in order to do that the traveler must walk along a lengthy underground corridor which connects the two subways. Yes, the graffiti is colorful, a hobo harmonica player’s echoed tunes can be heard from afar, and…here we go again.
Ten thousand people, or so it seemed, all walked towards me down the left side of the corridor! In a show of defiance to this ridiculously monkey-see, monkey-do brainless protocol, I intentionally began to walk on the left side only to receive confused looks, grimaces, and mumbled curses from these people who somehow couldn’t fathom why I was walking on “their side”.
What are we, cars? What law or rule says that people traveling in opposite directions on a sidewalk, corridor, or footpath must do so on each other’s left? Have you noticed? Even stairways see the same stupidity. I also occasionally walk up a busy set of stairs on the left, forcing those coming down to simply go crazy. Traffic protocol is one thing, but to absorb it into human behavior doesn’t say much for mentality. Boy, I’d like to see those folks in that subway corridor take a trip to say, Seaford, England where the reverse craziness is true…
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Now that Easter is over, perhaps this is an ideal time to reflect on the good, the bad, and the ugly. I’m sure you found your local church services to be very fulfilling and always the pinnacle of the occasion. I especially cherished the quiet time of prayer immediately following the Holy Thursday Mass when the altar was stripped, the lighting got dimmed, and preparation for Good Friday began. It is undoubtedly my favorite evening of the year. The veneration of the Cross on Good Friday of course was quite touching, as parishioners lined up to kiss the Cross. Getting there was not so good however, and even seemed pretty ugly…
On my way to the 3 p.m. service, when of course many people know that Christ died on the Cross, all I could do was shake my head in disgust. Across the street I spotted a neighbor washing and waxing his fancy sports car. The neighbor behind me was cutting wood to the tune of some rock ‘n roll radio station. And two doors away was a lawn maintenance crew of about a dozen guys with mowers, blowers, and every kind of tool in full throttle just as the 3 o’clock hour neared. I would guess that all of these people profess themselves to be “Christian” too. Huh?
Where is the disconnect here?! Are these people living, breathing, and thinking individuals, or simply ants on the ground? What are we, if not conscientious beings with minds to display reason and rationale? Surely the fully functioning and mature mindset offers consideration to such a profound occasion as Christ’s death on the Cross, taking time out of life’s daily routine by acknowledging this to be a priority. Instead however, we see the opposite. Pure ignorance! In the examples above, these people are in fact existing to live, and living to exist. Working, playing, eating, and sleeping. And that’s all. And I’m sorry to say, just like the ant on the ground.
94/18
Sunday after Sunday exiting Mass, I find myself quite discouraged and downright perplexed. How about you? Don’t you think it’s odd how little time is devoted to spirituality and how much time tags onto secularism? Typically, each week we spend 1 hour of worship and 167 hours of non-worship. For argument’s sake, let’s throw in some time for prayer and maybe some good works too, recalculating our secular life to 150 hours per week. Factoring in sleep time, another 56 hours, we arrive at our final sum of 94 hours. Yes, that’s the amount of time each week that most people of faith spend doing non-spiritual things, as opposed to a measly 18 hours doing spiritual things.
Isn’t this absolutely ridiculous? While the belief in an afterlife is nearly universal, you would think those above numbers should be reversed! Indeed, shouldn’t we be spending the vast majority of our time devoted to spirituality while dabbling our few remaining hours in secular tidbits? Why isn’t the lead story on your 6 o’clock news every night all about the latest breakthrough attempts at pondering the soul’s existence, paranormal encounters, and probing the unknown? And wouldn’t it be great if our world’s religions pooled their efforts at understanding salvation for the good of us all? By now you’re probably shaking your head in disgust, realizing that we humans are really an incredibly immature people yielding poor judgment and an obvious degree of irony. Ah, but we have heart, yet as the Wizard of Oz stated, “As for you, my galvanized friend, you want a heart. You don’t know how lucky you are not to have one.”
14 Years, 14 Reflections
Fourteen years ago under pitch black skies, then Pope John Paul II conducted the Via Crucis, or Way of the Cross in Rome, famed for its dramatic backdrop of the spotlighted Coliseum overlooking thousands of illuminated faces under candlelight. I was one of those faces. The following are quotes of his 14 meditations along with my reflections, and the Lord’s Prayer in Latin. Many churches carry out the Stations of the Cross weekly during Lent.
I. JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH – “Pilate's verdict was pronounced under pressure from the priests and the crowd. The sentence of death by crucifixion was meant to calm their fury and meet their demand of Crucify him! Crucify him!” Ask yourself, how often have you too been scourged for defending what is right?
Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum; adveniat regnum tuum; fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo, et in terra. Panem nostrum cotidianum da nobis hodie; et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris; et ne nos inducas in tentationem; sed libera nos a malo.
II. JESUS CARRIES HIS CROSS – “Pilate said to the crowd: ‘Ecce Homo, look what you have done to this man!’ But there seems to be another voice speaking as well, saying: Look what you have done, in this man, to your God!” Are you ‘one of the crowd’ on issues like abortion, contraception, and capital punishment? Pater noster…
III. JESUS FALLS THE FIRST TIME – “To the end, down to the bitter end, he is faithful to what he had said: ‘Not my will, but yours be done.’” Are you willing to fall down in defense of Christ because of controversy, rejection, or unpopularity? Pater noster…
IV. JESUS MEETS HIS AFFLICTED MOTHER – “His Cross becomes her Cross, his humiliation is her humiliation, the public scorn is on her shoulders.” When was the last time you examined your life and asked, would my mother be proud of me? Pater noster…
V. SIMON OF CYRENE IS FORCED TO HELP CARRY THE CROSS – “How long did he continue to walk beside this condemned man, all the while making it clear that he had nothing in common with him, nothing to do with his crime, nothing to do with his punishment?” Are you forced to “carry a cross” or do you volunteer? Pater noster…
VI. VERONICA WIPES THE FACE OF JESUS – “In fact the Savior leaves his imprint on every single act of charity, as he did on Veronica's cloth.” How many times have you passed by a homeless person who was asking for spare change? Pater noster…
VII. JESUS FALLS THE SECOND TIME – “I am a worm, and no man. Not even an Ecce Homo here, but something much less, much worse.” This station marks where Jesus’ death notice was posted. What do you want your own death notice, or obituary, to say when it’s published in the newspaper? Pater noster…
VIII. JESUS MEETS THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM – “Here is a call to true repentance, and sorrow at the reality of the evil that has been committed.” He tells women of all generations to weep for their children. Do you have a child lost in faith? What are you doing about it? Pater noster…
IX. JESUS FALLS THE THIRD TIME – “Every station along this Way is a milestone of obedience and self-emptying.” Do you fully empty yourself of worldly value, or find yourself only halfway there because “who can do such a thing?” as Lazarus said. Pater noster…
X. JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS GARMENTS – “A person’s body is the expression of their soul.” Do you change the television channel when you come across movies displaying nudity and enacting sins of the flesh? Pater noster…
XI. JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS – “The whole of this body, its hands, its feet, its every bone, is a priceless ransom.” Are you willing to ransom your body by having symbolic “nail holes” in your hands and in your feet? Pater noster…
XII. JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS – “Here we have the greatest, the most sublime work of the Son in union with the Father. Yes, in union, in the most perfect union possible.” His death, crafted by the Father, was the ultimate goal, that being to conquer sin through salvation. For God’s sake, why then do we hesitate to go to confession? Pater noster…
XIII. JESUS IS TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS – “In the mystery of the Redemption, we are enriched by a gift from on high and at the same time ‘bought’ by the ransom paid by the Son of God.” Looking at your life, honestly ask yourself, are you worth this ransom paid? Pater noster…
XIV. JESUS IS PLACED IN THE SEPULCHER – “From the moment when man, as a result of sin, was driven away from the Tree of Life, the earth became a burial ground. A great planet of tombs.” Yet, that tree still exists. We can find it through Reconciliation, the Eucharist, and a sincere inner desire to seek it out. Pater noster...
Benedicat vos omnipotens Deus, Pater, et Filius, et Spiritus Sanctus…Amen.
Got Money?
Got money? Perhaps, as you gaze at the stars above during these cold, clear winter evenings, this ridiculous question befalls you. And does it really matter? Often we think of extraterrestrial civilizations as naked beings with big eyes and bigger heads, traveling at warp speed across the galaxy and being far advanced in thinking than we are. Yet, if this turns out to be true, do you think their planet has a monetary system? It’s so embarrassing, isn’t it? Here we are living in a “mano a mano,” survival-of-the-fittest type of culture while our celestial neighbors exhibit total harmony as one people united together.
So how did we stray from this utopian approach to life? Most historians believe money was invented around 5000 B.C. in the form of metal objects, however some date the actual practice of assigning value to an object, which could be bought and sold, to as far back as 17,000 B.C.
But, forget the history lesson, why don’t we ask the troubling questions, why were things bought and sold, why was there competition among man, why not share and develop together for the betterment of the whole just like those extraterrestrials we imagine? Ask yourself, you may not like the answer.
The Mayor of Munchkin City
One major television news network has undoubtedly reached an all-time low in my opinion. Rather than report on news stories and propose objective cause and effect for them, this network seems to, quoting the Mayor of Munchkin City in the county of the land of Oz, “morally, ethically, spiritually, physically, positively, absolutely, undeniably and reliably” condemn every move Donald Trump makes, from the opening of the broadcast. Not once have I heard anything positive from one of their anchors, not one iota. Instead, the network seems to have been bent on poking jabs at the man since he decided to run for president years ago. Let’s take a moment to state the code of conduct for all news agencies: Journalistic objectivity refers to fairness, disinterestedness, factuality, and nonpartisanship, but most often encompasses all of these qualities.
False claims, alternate facts, and illegitimacy. In the few days that Donald Trump has taken control as our 45th president, you may have noticed a general hatred for the man, ironically coming from the same people who accused him of being a hate monger.
With exclamations of “Hitlerian” tactics, anti-women policies, and even a threat to blow up the White House, where do these people come from, you may ask? Just the other day, viewers were treated to a major news network’s anchor reporting that the president’s false claims that he lost the popular vote due to illegal immigrant voters were now being investigated. Gee, how does the anchor know the claims are false? So much for objectivity in reporting the news.
Supplementing our political discussion for this week is the stance taken by too many folks that building a wall across the southern U.S. border is somehow immoral and not reflective of true American ideology. As you recall too, a few notable religious leaders expressed similar sentiment, as if to say, an enclosed culture implies selfishness and anti-sociality. It may be helpful to be reminded that many of our treasured, historic places, such as Jerusalem, were built within a wall. And how about Vatican City, the majority of which was originally enveloped in a wall?
Though it may seem an honorable liberty of Americans to protest and call for freedoms of the womb and the wall, why stop at that? Why not then protest for the right to drive through red lights, walk the streets naked, or cheat to win at everything? Unfortunately, too many people don’t understand why we have laws.
Another Kind of Wall
Heaven is for Real. That’s the name of the book written by Todd Burpo and subsequent film detailing his son’s near-death experience. After seeing the movie last week and doing some follow-up research, it’s difficult to believe this little boy and his family are telling…a falsehood. Without being overly gullible, don’t you think it is ironic how so many people who practice a faith belief seem to automatically doubt any stories about multi-colored horses, singing angels, and a different-looking Jesus than what has been portrayed, existing in heaven? Well, that’s exactly what the boy said he saw in his encounter, even telling his parents he met his little sister too who was never born but died from a miscarriage years back, something the boy never knew.
Perhaps doubts should be reversed in favor of accepting the possible notion that all life continues after bodily death, be it the human, the animal, or yes, even the butterfly. Sadly, it seems our world’s spiritual “establishment” for the most part has shunned such ideas, preferring to think inside the box, not to rock the boat, and limit alternative existential thinking. Now who’s really building a “wall”?
The Lesser of Two Evils?
A church bulletin published just before last month's election asked voters to contemplate in prayer their choice between the “lesser of the two evils,” Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Well, it looks like the heavenly angels heard the outcry of America in defying nearly all odds, pollsters, and predictions about the outcome. In what has been labeled as the most historic election in U.S. history, Donald Trump became our 45th president. If you were one of those praying, just how important were your prayers?
Consider the fact that you have just saved the lives of tens of thousands of unborn children who, statistical analysis tells us, would have been aborted over the next 40 years had certain Supreme Court justices been chosen. Interestingly, what abortion proponents seem to forget is that when you allow an unborn life to be killed, you also extinguish a new soul. That’s above and beyond serious, more so than the physical loss.
Consider the fact that your vote will soon enable scores of blue collar citizen workers to remain in business and feed their families. You may find it ironic how anyone, including certain spiritual leaders, can automatically denounce the round-up and deportation of illegal immigrants as “immoral” yet allow legal citizen workers to suffer for losing their jobs to illegal immigrants, not to mention the insult given to the millions of immigrants waiting on line to come into this country.
Unfortunately we are now seeing protests in the streets across America mainly by “college” students. Odd, wasn’t college the place to go to broaden one’s thinking? What is a protest but a polarized attempt to proclaim a one-sided message? Sincerely, the broad message of the country’s majority electorate chose Donald Trump. What more broad-minded, fair, equitable process can there be? Kids, go back to school.
Chatting on the phone at 3 a.m. with a colleague of mine as the election results were announced we discovered a remarkable coincidence. It dawned on us that, not since John F. Kennedy has there been a president who will now stir up so much consequential change in policy. Oddly enough, as a side note, also not since JFK’s Jackie Onassis has there been a comparatively beautiful woman who will be our First Lady!
Follow the yellow brick road. Now what? The Land of Oz may be on the horizon. As both the House and Senate now have majority Republican seats, Trump’s “marching orders” are expected to be carried out swiftly and speedily. Look for immediate results in healthcare policy and immigration reform. Those crashing stock market numbers you witnessed at 2 a.m. on that historic eve have already started to rebound.
You know, I had drafted another version of this column in preparation of a Hillary Clinton win. Of course, we need to be respectful of voters who sincerely voted for her and consider their viewpoints as equally arguable. For example, in response to a reader’s comment a few weeks ago revolving around morality, voters may have noticed Clinton, a pro-choicer and late-term abortion proponent, holding her head down in prayer at the Al Smith dinner blessing.
Pro-lifers may have seen this act as an abominable moral breach, finding it ironic for Clinton to think she’s going to heaven, yet, pro-choicers such as she will sleep soundly at night feeling absolutely secure in their heavenly attainment. Both sides may offer arguments for and against. Hence, an example of real-time, ever-evolving morality.
What’s the point? Before offering a letter or comment of condemnation, a few of which I received and have chosen not to share, consider that your opinion may be as validly right and/or wrong as the person you are writing to, based on the above example. Therefore, we as a society need to realize that morality, values, lifestyles, norms, and probably life as we know it for that matter, are continually in the state of being “unknown.”
Such concepts cannot be put under a microscope and identified. Clinton versus Trump? Who was right and who was wrong on what direction the country should take? Instinctually it becomes impossible not to have an opinion, but technically we should never ask the question simply because the answer lies in the unknown. This may all be very terribly important, but equally arguable is that all of it may also be just a waste of time…
“If the only thing you know is that you know nothing, do you know something?” – Socrates
Big Shot for a Day
Washington, D.C. is certainly a stately-looking town. While visiting there recently, I had a chance to meander around the lengthy Mall from east to west, noticing the massive seating setup on the steps of the Capitol in preparation for Trump’s inauguration.
Browsing the Portrait Gallery, one of several Smithsonian Museums dotting the area, the visitor cannot help being swept away by colossal-sized oil paintings of all our past presidents. Right down the block is the National Archives, which houses the Declaration of Independence and Constitution among other notable documents.
Of course, what would a visit to D.C. be without a peek inside the newly created Trump International Hotel? As I approached it on a Tuesday afternoon, the familiar “not my president” mantra was being chanted by about a hundred grammar school kids marching up and down the streets of the corner building. First question, shouldn’t these little kiddos be in school? Who’s really hijacking the country, the president-elect, or the adults who took these kids out of class to promote a political agenda?
“Closed I guess, huh?” asked I of one of the numerous police guards lined up behind the barricaded hotel’s fenced-off side entrance. “No, just go around the front and they’ll let you in,” he replied.
Seeing 50 police officers in riot gear lined up in defense along the gated front entrance, I hesitantly made my way toward them, and amazingly was allowed into the building. Needless to say, I felt like a big-shot walking up the marble steps of the entrance. “Good afternoon sir,” said the outer doorman as he instinctively rushed to open the door for me, thinking I was an occupant. Fifteen feet later, “Good afternoon sir,” echoed the inner doorman who did the same.
Once inside, the hotel guest is left in awe gazing upwards in the Grand Lobby. Its architectural genius leaves nothing in the bag. Fine wines are served on the periphery, with plenty of social space for seating. But perhaps the spectacle that ‘trumps’ them all are the numerous reception rooms flanking the lobby. Stepping inside, gold-gilded pictures populate the walls with white linen covered tables and chairs arranged just right.
However, at $4,595 per night for a Postmaster Suite bedroom, I thought I had better humbly exit the building before someone inside figured out that I didn’t belong there. Sporting my sunglasses with a look of savoir-faire, I obliged the paparazzi-type onlookers and flash photography taken as I walked back down those marble steps. Guess I fooled them, and didn’t mind being a big-shot for a day after all.
Wrapping up my three-day visit to D.C., I went to a folk rock concert at the JFK Center for the Performing Arts, but not without surprise. On my way there, I began to walk along the lengthy reflecting pool stretching to the Lincoln Memorial when I met and chatted with a woman who, by the walk’s end, couldn’t believe how heartless some people can be. Having mentioned that I was a writer, perhaps she felt more conducive to express herself.
Turns out she sent what amounted to be a very friendly, cheerful e-mail to a guy she met in her line of work, who she sincerely thought would make a nice new friend. “Sorry, I don’t mix business with pleasure,” strategically inferred the reply. A perfectly valid reply, yet, what validity can be given to someone who bypasses how others feel?
Interestingly, when I got to the Center about an hour later and took my front row seat, the curtain rose finding me quite stunned to see who was performing. It was the woman I had just met…
What about those "other" souls?
Have you ever wondered what happens to all those people who died before the coming of Christianity? How are they judged? Is morality ever-evolving and therefore cannot apply universally in concrete terms, such as in “natural law”? For example, Roman Coliseum spectators who cheered the killing of innocents were probably very friendly, cordial everyday good and mature people whose moral culture saw nothing wrong with this behavior. Or, the Aztec civilization, again probably very friendly, amicable people who happened to offer ritual sacrifices of humans, or the Colonial slave owner who was probably just as pious and devout a Christian as you and me, but their moral culture had not yet developed the wrongfulness of slavery. We therefore must use caution in applying a catechetical “just and unjust” blanket policy and not assume such peoples are automatically guilty. We shouldn’t be surprised then to see a lot of people in heaven who we thought would never, ever be allowed. Indeed it may be argued that the only reason you and I see an action as moral or immoral is simply because time has evolved for cultures to evaluate it as moral or immoral.
Take a look in the mirror
Perhaps the biggest absurdity of the recent election fanfare came a few days before the second debate, when the now infamous lewd audio of Mr. Trump’s sexual comments surfaced. Of course, everyone agrees that this type of banter is absolutely and undeniably wrong, period. Wait a second here… Finding myself literally cursing at the television screen while hearing the irony and hypocrisy of politicians, news media, and others alike in casting stones at Mr. Trump, let the truth be told please. What man or woman among us, sometime in their life, has not entertained similar sinful thoughts for at least a split-second, just an eensy-weensy amount of time, upon seeing an attractive other? Ask yourself the question, if a beautiful woman with tight-fitting jeans walks down the street, why do men look at her for an extra second? Are they admiring her jeans? No, in a split-second reaction, truthfully, they imagine what it’s like to possess her. Typically, after a second or two, our moral conscience kicks in and we dismiss the notion. Yes, we all sin, to varying degrees. Despite popular opinion however, thoughts are just as sinful as words. And wasn’t it Christ who said that merely thinking about another with lust is sinful? Media and political condemners of Mr. Trump might want to dismount from their “white stallions”, remove their “shining armor”, and take a look in the mirror.
Cafeteria Catholic Candidates and Company
I don’t know about you, but I found myself puzzled over a recent article in a newspaper having a predominantly Catholic audience, which petitioned voters to choose their next president carefully amidst a litany of topics outlined. Oddly enough, I didn’t see the Pro-Life/Pro-Choice topic listed. Shouldn’t it be?
First of all, like many of you, I find it absolutely abominable how anyone claiming to be a practicing Catholic can get down on their knees at Mass after receiving the Holy Eucharist while supporting a political candidate who would allow the murder of thousands of fetuses through abortion. Need we be reminded that protecting the sanctity of life is the number one and most important policy of the Catholic Church? For decades, it is what millions of devout Catholics have been fighting for through everything from Rosary rallies to marches on the Capitol.
And to those candidates who offer the strategic excuse of being “Catholic yet pro-choice” by not imposing their faith on politics, regrettably your faith is not negotiable. Our next president will choose a Supreme Court judge whose presence will decide the future of those above-mentioned fetuses. Will it be life or death? For true Catholic voters, this topic is of utmost importance and may very well be the sole reason for choosing a candidate.
Added to the fact that nationwide polls indicate the top two concerns facing our nation are security and the economy. It seems to me we have our priorities in order now, but you decide. And let’s not forget what honest Abe Lincoln once said: “Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.”
Death
Indeed a topic nobody cares to entertain. Do you find it strange that the only time people spend an hour or so around this subject is when they attend a wake or funeral? Who thinks about their own death? No one. Instead, our life involves 24 hours per day of “living”. We get up in the morning, eat breakfast, brush our teeth, wash and go to work or play, returning to another meal and a soft bed only to do the exact same thing the next day. Does anyone care to stop a moment and consider the reality that…you are going to die? Ironic isn’t it, if you could open the coffins of Bob Hope, Marilyn Monroe, or Fred Astaire, all you would see are bones. Indeed the epitome of “life”, now absolutely nothing. Yet, we continue to be ignorant of death, thus failing to be forced to then contemplate life.
Where's the Bunched Broomskirt and the Band?
Notice something strange about your weather station television hosts? I’ve been tuning in to a first-class meteorological giant of a station for very thorough forecasts around the clock. Temperatures for local towns stream across the bottom of the screen, and hourly predictions are posted. But apart from this automated data are of course a cohort of live meteorologists alternating on screen and translating the radar into plain English. That is, if you could tell them apart. Oddly enough, the station’s eight female meteorologists always seem to be wearing similar styled one-piece, skintight wardrobes. I mean, doesn’t anybody wear the old fashioned bunched broom skirt anymore? And, to the curious eye, none of these women are wearing wedding bands. Is it the in-thing now for a married woman to conceal her ring? A big discovery, and all because I wanted to find out when it would rain.
We Do It Too
The controversy surrounding Donald Trump’s supposed racist remarks may have exposed something much deeper than what appears. Of course, the initial reaction to Trump, who inferred that the judge presiding over the Trump University civil lawsuit would tend to rule against him simply due to the judge’s ethnicity, drew almost instinctual rebuttal from the GOP elite.
“Hold the phone, hold the phone!” as Telly Savalas said in The Battle of the Bulge. Interestingly, politicians as well as the rest of us may find it odd to point the finger at Trump when realizing that…we do it too. If an ethnic family of four opts to always have dinner at a restaurant of their ethnicity, are they being racist? If a ten-year-old kid of a certain ethnicity wears a sports team replica shirt, name, and number of a player of his ethnicity, is the kid exhibiting biased racist behavior? Therefore, in today’s misaligned mindset, it’s okay to show bias within an ethnicity when nobody gets insulted, but it’s racist to show bias outside an ethnicity and when conflict results. Ask yourself, what difference should there be?
Mr. Hyde
EWTN continues to be a favorite channel for many of us. However, I’m finding that all too often the message of Christ’s sacrifice for mankind and our ultimate pathway to salvation because of this seems to cover over a very important point nobody wants to talk about. Ask yourself, why did Christ have to come in the first place? Unfortunately you arrive at a very sad conclusion. While all of today’s focus seems to be on how to attain salvation, for example going to confession and receiving the Eucharist, which is all perfectly fine, does anyone want to begin the conversation by admitting that mankind is inherently fraught with evil?
It seems we are spending an inordinate amount of time on the solution to sin, but virtually no time on the cause of sin. Perhaps by honestly admitting our true nature, that there really is a “Mr. Hyde” under our Dr. Jekyll skin, can we begin to plot a course of proper treatment in utilizing all of our spiritual resources.
What Happened to All of My Toys?
Most of us who were around 10 years old in the early 1970s may remember staring at our television tubes with mouths opened in awe as Evel Knievel prepared yet another one of his daredevil stunt jumps. What Knievel toys did you have? The operative word being “did.” Like me, I’m sure you’ve now asked yourself the question, “What happened to all of my toys?”
My toy theory is that, when we reach our teens, we despise these toys because they are associated with “little kids.” Once in our 20s, reality sets in and retaining our childhood toys becomes meaningless. Until we hit our forties. Now, like you, I’d sail the seven seas to find that Evel Knieval motorcycle wind-up toy which I once had. To be or not to be a kid again, that is the question.
Candidates for the Psychiatrist's Chair...and is there and ideal Ideology?
Glenn Gramigna, former Pole-itics columnist for the Am-Pol Eagle and one of our best who passed away in the fall of 2013, might have offered some interesting reflections about all this hoopla going on in the ever-evolving race to the White House. No roller coaster ride at your favorite amusement park could ever come close to what we are witnessing. With a contested GOP convention looming in the midst, the Republicans seem to be facing a choice of… how to lose. Imploding on themselves may certainly be the post-election diagnosis, just as they did four years ago, and for that matter, eight years ago too.
Let’s get each of them into our psychiatrist’s chair as we attempt to identify the good stuff and the bad stuff running rampant that are perhaps stirring some of our readers into forming severely polarized opinions.
“Alright let’s get ‘em out, get ‘em outta here” seems to be the mantra at nearly all of Donald Trump’s rallies as protesters seek to create controversy. Sucker-punching doesn’t exactly help, nor does joking about it from the podium by the candidate. Barring a specific faith group of people from entering the country drew some squirmishes too. And looking to punish women for breaking anti-abortion laws seems unheard of in the America we know, right? But what’s the real story behind these apparently outlandish statements?
While so much criticism has instinctively been directed towards Mr. Trump, isn’t it strange that no one seems to be asking why he says what he says? Remember this is a guy with so much money that he doesn’t care but to tell it like it is. Whether you love him or hate him, it may be that Mr. Trump, through his unedited and off-the-cuff nature, is revealing our nation’s own longstanding and hypocritical inner psyche. We just never heard of it spoken out loud before.
Our next contender for the crown, Ted Cruz, seems to be an interesting mix of good-looks, religious zeal, and rehearsed monotone. I’m not sure if I witnessed any of his interviews, conversations, or debates as being sporadic and spontaneous. Rather, answers seem to emerge as being carefully crafted and politically correct.
CNN’s David Gergen, who served as advisor to several former presidents, seems to favor this more traditional approach to “presidential demeanor.” Wait a minute here, who ever said that a U.S. president has to act a certain way? Why can’t he or she curse and swear? Have we become so accustomed to 3-piece-suited presidents who look the part and prefer to speak eloquently rather than truthfully so as not to displease anyone?
Our final contestant is none other than Ohio governor John Kasich. And after months of name-calling, sizing of hands -and other body parts, negative ads, sex, lies, and videotape accusations between the other candidates, everybody in their right mind now seems to be asking the same question, “Why can’t this guy be the Republican nominee?” Kasich seemed like a “nobody” months ago. He has thus far only won a few delegates and is mathematically out of contention.
Yet, many agree that he comes across as the most favorable candidate in demeanor, knowledge, and overall appeal. But, now that many of us finally realize this, what does our late awakening tell us? Have we been so conditioned to choose a particular embodiment for the presidency that we may have overlooked this man? Indeed that might be the case.
...But let’s continue our electoral discussion and focus on some of the ideologies battling each other as represented by our presidential candidates.
Capitalism has never before been in so much of a spotlight, at least when Donald Trump is around. Donning silk ties, a jumbo jet, and a billion dollar bank roll, the Republican frontrunner represents the ideology in its purest form. Proponents argue that Trump epitomizes the “American Dream” success story and favor his point-blank approach to problem solving.
Opponents however, argue that the nation should stand for something other than success, citing the ideals of compassion, leniency, and tolerance. It was once said that capitalism is the furthest philosophy from Christianity, but is there something closer?
“I want free college tuition for everyone”, as Bernie Sanders says. The socialist is aiming at eliminating the highs and lows of society in every aspect. Fans of the Vermont Senator are significantly of the younger-class of voters who, comparable to the late 1960's movement, question authority and established policy.
On paper, socialism looks great. Nobody’s poor, nobody’s rich, and everyone is humming the words to Kumbaya. But if you tell person A that the government will give him everything he needs in life to be satisfied, and person B that the only way he’s going to be satisfied in life is by applying himself, who do you think will be more proactive, A or B?
Constitutionalists. Immediately images of a ruffled-shirted fellow wearing a white ponytail under a three-pointed hat and yelling from a balcony come to mind. Whoever thought that a document written in 1787 would be vehemently defended verbatim by lobbyists, special interest groups, and presidential candidates such as Ted Cruz despite 229 years worth of evolving times? To think that one model of an assault rifle alone cannot be banned in the wake of monthly shooting incidents all across the country seems proof enough of political insanity.
Is she a liberal or a progressive? Or perhaps a progressive liberal? As Hillary Clinton looks to increase her front-standing delegate status as the Democratic nominee, who in the world knows what’s what anymore? Liberals seek to use taxpayer money for the betterment of society, while progressives aim at using the government’s power to make large institutions play by a set of rules. Sound nice? In a controlled environment encased in a test-tube yes, but many would argue that right now this nation is out of control.
Blue-Collars and Back-Breakers
Controversial Mayor of New York City Bill DeBlasio has recently announced a $15 minimum wage standard for about 50,000 city employees, up from $11.79. Umm, that increase would translate into a lot of money. What seems odd is the fact that no one ever seems to talk about the value of work ethic anymore, only “how much more can we get for doing the same job”. What ever happened to the blue-collar, break-your-back, blood, sweat, and tears “Rocky Balboa” philosophy for achieving success, a hallmark for many proud and hard-working immigrants? If you recall the scene from H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine movie where the society of the future is just sitting around eating apples all day, well, is this where we are headed?
Bahhh!, Mooo!
Christmas at the Church of St. Stanislaus Kostka in Staten Island will be difficult to top next year. Said its pastor, Fr. Jacek Wozny, “The pulpit was created to resemble a well that signifies where Christ says come to him” as he referred to the pulpit decorated with hay and a wooden water bucket. Fr. Jacek has extensive study in the arts and transformed the entire altar into an old-world village scene from Poland. It was even reported that some children escaped the hands of their parents during Midnight Mass to venture into the altar scene. One parishioner commented that she thinks the only way this feat can be topped in next year’s altar village scene is for Fr. Jacek to have live animals present in the stable! Will we be hearing those familiar Bahhh and Mooo calls from sheep and cow? Stay tuned!
The Name-Changing Game
More often these days, you may find that people you befriend on websites such as Facebook have potentially foreign-looking last names, leaving you to wonder in discouragement if…it’s just another case of Americanization. Last week while browsing a social media website, I spotted a young adult from a very proud immigrant family who clearly cropped her last name. Now, I ask you, is it that parents are failing to instill a strong sense of heritage and honor in their children, or is peer-pressure so strong that young adults feel they must Americanize their last name?
Midnight Oil
No, not the band on the Short Memory tab of this website, but as a lifelong devotee of midnight homemade pizza, I am finding that the rather ingenious method of using a baking stone to cook a pizza may need more brainwork. After purchasing a heavy 16” round stone from a well-known retailer, my first few pizzas turned out extremely delicious. However, enter the oil caper. Apparently the stone gets so hot that extra virgin olive oil saturates the crust and makes its way not only onto the stone, but into the stone and any attempt to heat it results in a massive smoke storm in my oven. Maybe I will stick to baking muffins.
Daniel "Doc" Ostrowski
Daniel Ostrowski, 90
Retired architect, golfer, and true family man
Daniel Ostrowski, 90, of West Brighton, a retired architect and founding member of the Sunrise Club of golfers at Silver Lake golf course, died Wednesday at home in the midst of his family.
Born in 1925 to Polish immigrants, he lived in New Brighton and attended St. Peter's Boys High School.
Following school, he aided the allied war effort and was enlisted in the Army Air Forces.
After attending Geneva College in Beaver Falls, PA, he pursued a career as an architectural draftsman for Charles Dunker and Associates, and Epstein, Greenfield, & Sawicki Architects, both of the New York City area. He worked two jobs back to back each day, marrying and settling in West Brighton.
After retiring in the early 1990's, he landed a part-time job with the architect Ronald Victorio and Associates of West Brighton. Mr. Ostrowski was known for designing many homes on Staten Island. He also designed numerous bank vaults for popular branches in the area.
Nicknamed "Doc", after winning the 1967 Doc McCarthy Memorial Award for his golfing talent, the name became his signature trademark. He frequently captured Staten Island Advance golfing news headlines for his tournament play.
In his spare time, he enjoyed fly-fishing and family outings to the Adirondacks. He was also an avid fan of aviation and sported a collection of vintage model airplanes.
Mr. Ostrowski was a dedicated parishioner of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, New Brighton, and heralded his Polish heritage, often wearing a Polish Eagle emblem on his attire.
He is survived by his wife, Josephine (nee Perkowski) of 66 years, and two daughters, Joanne and Christine, as well as four sons, James, Thomas, John, and Andrew. Also, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. His younger sister, Emily, passed away on September 25th of this year.
"My father's life was one of self-sacrifice, dedication, and faith. He stood for the bedrock family ideals of cohesiveness, hard work ethic, and tradition. Our family has been blessed because of him", adds his son Andrew.
The funeral will be Tuesday from the Harmon Home for Funerals, West Brighton, with a Mass at 10 a.m. from St. Stanislaus Kostka Church. Burial will follow in St. Peter's Cemetery, West Brighton.
Retired architect, golfer, and true family man
Daniel Ostrowski, 90, of West Brighton, a retired architect and founding member of the Sunrise Club of golfers at Silver Lake golf course, died Wednesday at home in the midst of his family.
Born in 1925 to Polish immigrants, he lived in New Brighton and attended St. Peter's Boys High School.
Following school, he aided the allied war effort and was enlisted in the Army Air Forces.
After attending Geneva College in Beaver Falls, PA, he pursued a career as an architectural draftsman for Charles Dunker and Associates, and Epstein, Greenfield, & Sawicki Architects, both of the New York City area. He worked two jobs back to back each day, marrying and settling in West Brighton.
After retiring in the early 1990's, he landed a part-time job with the architect Ronald Victorio and Associates of West Brighton. Mr. Ostrowski was known for designing many homes on Staten Island. He also designed numerous bank vaults for popular branches in the area.
Nicknamed "Doc", after winning the 1967 Doc McCarthy Memorial Award for his golfing talent, the name became his signature trademark. He frequently captured Staten Island Advance golfing news headlines for his tournament play.
In his spare time, he enjoyed fly-fishing and family outings to the Adirondacks. He was also an avid fan of aviation and sported a collection of vintage model airplanes.
Mr. Ostrowski was a dedicated parishioner of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, New Brighton, and heralded his Polish heritage, often wearing a Polish Eagle emblem on his attire.
He is survived by his wife, Josephine (nee Perkowski) of 66 years, and two daughters, Joanne and Christine, as well as four sons, James, Thomas, John, and Andrew. Also, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. His younger sister, Emily, passed away on September 25th of this year.
"My father's life was one of self-sacrifice, dedication, and faith. He stood for the bedrock family ideals of cohesiveness, hard work ethic, and tradition. Our family has been blessed because of him", adds his son Andrew.
The funeral will be Tuesday from the Harmon Home for Funerals, West Brighton, with a Mass at 10 a.m. from St. Stanislaus Kostka Church. Burial will follow in St. Peter's Cemetery, West Brighton.
Eulogy
Get ready…to laugh!
Because my brothers and sisters and I have put together a small collection of sentimental favorites. Short stories which resonate in our minds.
We hope you like them…
Our first story comes from my brother Jim, who in his words tells us:
“I remember when I was around 9 years old, while on vacation at Twin Lakes, Pennsylvania one summer, we were out on the lake at dusk; dad was fishing for Largemouth Bass...he had many “Sports Afield” magazines that often pictured fish jumping 3 FEET above the lake’s surface when striking the lure...he had always repeatedly told me “it’s true, it’s true, wait and see, you’ll see someday”, etc., etc…
Well sure enough, he gets a strike and the fish SOARED above the water line, looked to be more than 3 feet, and landed with a mighty splash, proceeding to give my father the fight of a lifetime...but dad brought him in, a 6+ pound Largemouth Bass, which he gave to the hotel’s chef, and it was served to our table for supper that night (he of course didn’t eat any ...the only avid fisherman I ever knew who HATED fish!!...)
He had the hotel staff freeze the fish’s head, and he brought it home with intentions of mounting it on a plaque. To that end, he decided to put the head up in our backyard tree where “the flies can eat all the meat off the head, and just leave the skin and skull” said my dad.
Next morning…not a trace of the head could be seen, no doubt a tasty evening meal…for the local raccoon family!!”
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My sister Joanne recalls a more MELODIOUS story, and in her words:
“My earliest memories of my incredibly interesting father took place when I was very young. I often sat on his lap on the rocking chair while he sang to me a song, I don't know the name of it, but it went like this… (uh, and I’ll have to put on my Bobby Vinton imitation for this one) “Hush little JoJo don’t say a word, Daddy's gonna buy you a mocking bird, and if that mocking bird won’t sing, Daddy’s gonna buy you a diamond ring...” and so forth. I always told him ‘No other Daddies will come like that!’ a phrase that we said to each other through all the years which followed.”
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It’s almost Halloween, so what more appropriate story is there than my sister Chrissie’s epic tale of horror from years back when she says:
“When I was little, my leg got stuck in the porch railing between two wooden spokes. Dad said, ‘Somebody get a SAW’, and I screamed ‘DON’T CUT MY LEG OFF!”
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Next up is a foursome of short one-liners from my brother Tom, as he recalls:
· “Every time we dove into our pool, our father would say ‘TOO DEEP’.
· “Whenever it was time to go to bed, he would say to us “SPAĆ!”
· “When I had a catch with him in the backyard, he would throw his ‘SMOKEBALL’ so hard, that my hand would hurt.”
· “I caught my very first fish with him, but neither of us could remember if it was a CATFISH or a SUNFISH.”
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My brother John adds a short trilogy of stories when he says:
· “Daddy proudly told us that once, he went fly-fishing up at Martling's pond and caught about 40 Large Mouth Bass, and how we joked about how it was really probably just the same fish caught 40 times over and over again.”
· “When passing through the turnstiles on the Garden State Parkway while on our way to a day of crabbing, after he threw the toll in the collection basket, he commented on how much he would not have liked being that guy with the job of sitting inside that little basket collecting all those coins all day long.”
· “He used to tell everyone that the alligators that I once had, outgrew the tank I kept them in and became permanently HORSESHOE-SHAPED, and how they couldn't help but only to move around and around and around in a circle, even after being taken out and put on the ground.”
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This next story is one of my personal favorites:
Greenwood Avenue. Just up the road actually, not too far away. It’s a dead end street off of Forest Avenue, with the 5th hole of Silver Lake Golf course on one side of the street bordered by a chain-link fence. And I went up there the other day and...it’s still there. I walked through the SAME HOLE in the fence that my father took me through when I was about 15 years old. I had a shag bag full of golf balls and a 7-iron. And while I’d hit shots to the green, he BUSHWACKED for golf balls in the rough, always somehow finding that prized unblemished ball. And by the way, that golf ball that you took at the funeral parlor? That was one of those balls my father found.
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Get ready for this next story because it is...UNBELIEVABLE. When my father was about 17 years old, him and his buddy, are you ready for this? Actually swam across the Kill Van Kull! Now for those out-of-towners among us, the Kill Van Kull is the waterway between Staten Island and Bayonne, New Jersey, just down the block actually.
But that’s just HALF of the insanity. My father told us that the water was actually DIRTIER back then, than it is today, and, that while they were swimming, they had to push the (and I’ll use the politically correct term, “RAW SEWAGE” out of the way). Can you imagine the stuff bobbing up and down in the water, hitting them in the face as they swam? Unbelievable, but it’s true!
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The final story I’ll share with you today took place in pretty much the same location as that famous swim story we just heard about, which incidentally was most likely adjacent to the Gypsum plant where Dziadzia worked.
It was the fall of 1935, my father was 10 years old. A group of his friends, 10, 12 years old, went down to the train tracks to probably just bum around. And as you might be able to figure out, in that classic Hollywood scenario, no sooner does a train come ROARING around the bend while one kid happens to remain on the tracks playing with his toys. And as my father was telling me, it was a kid named Hubby Pakulniewicz, one of the older kids, who had the heads-up thinking to pull this kid off of the rail just in the nick of time, saving his life! It was a story of courage, a story of honor, and a story of bravery.
And there’s just one more thing to add to this story. That little kid who was left on the tracks, and whose life was saved that day, …that was Dan Ostrowski.
The Tranquilized Social
Have you ever noticed an oddity while attending a wake for a deceased elderly person? Who are those people kneeling at the casket and where have they been all these years, you may ask? Isn’t it sad that friends and relatives flock to pay their “respects” at a wake, as a dead body lies there filled with embalming fluid, yet hesitate to visit this person while they were alive and nearing death? Increasingly, wakes have become more of a “tranquilized social” where more focus is given to comforting the family rather than comforting the deceased when they were alive. I declare, who cares about what color tie matches your black suit, or whose car you’re following to the cemetery? If only we would pour our time and energy into cherishing an elderly individual while they are still alive, spending time and interacting with them.
Hot Dog
Well, he ate 19 hot dogs in 10 minutes but fell short, way short, of the new 2015 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest winner who consumed a total of 62. Yes, the math is correct, but 30-year-old Brian “Dud Light” Dudzinski, who hails from Phoenixville, PA, couldn’t match the gastrointestinal fortitude of his rival, Matt Stonie, who ate more than three times the quantity, including buns on the annual 4th of July extravaganza held in Coney Island, NY. Said the 11th ranked Polish-American eater in the world on his Twitter page, “Nothing like going to bed with a full stomach”.
Dudzinski’s “rap sheet” of competitive eating includes edible feats of digesting 72 wings in 10 minutes at this year’s World Wing Eating Championship, 9 pounds of Boysenberry pie in 8 minutes at the World Pie Eating Championship, and 9.25 pints of ice cream in 6 minutes at the World Ice Cream Eating Championship. Now, if only Dudzinski would enter a kielbasa eating contest!
The Rite of Summer
On the subject of oldies, how often do you break out vintage photos, slides, and maybe even 8 mm tape to reminisce? I had a chance to do just that last week and came across a plethora of memories from an age of halcyon days. As I panned through a collection of Kodachrome slides, an overwhelming sense of heartfelt emotion came over me in realizing the richness and togetherness of, for instance, our family’s summer vacations to the Adirondacks. One slide pictured a ten-year old kid wearing a striped T-shirt and bellbottom jeans perched atop the stone wall surrounding Fort Ticonderoga. Yes, that was me. Big, bug-eyed sunglasses, short skirts, and sandals seemed to populate every picture that both my mother and sister were in. Families went everywhere together by station wagon or camper, it was a rite of summer. What ever happened to this rite? I don’t hear of today’s families packing the trunk and driving across New York State anymore, do you?
Heartbreaker
To top off that melancholy, perhaps we can conclude with a somewhat humorous heartbreaker, times two. A few days ago, as I was engaging in an evening cycling workout along the bike path navigating through Ft. Wadsworth military installation, two rather attractive women were cycling ahead of me. Of course, I instinctively increased my cadence for a closer look and upon doing so heard that familiar native tongue oh so pleasantly welcoming to me. They were speaking Polish. Without a doubt I rode up alongside and exclaimed to the first, “Dzień Dobry!” Umm, no response. Pedaling further, I then exclaimed to the second, “Dzień Dobry!!” And just as the sun broke through the clouds, “Dzień Dobry” she replied!
Unfortunately the story ends on a heartbreaker, or two, or perhaps three if you consider that coldly stopping for a heartfelt exchange of phone numbers with these two women would have plummeted my own heart rate monitor considerably, thereby nullifying my workout’s diastolic and systolic rate. Oh well, the perils of a pure Polish heart…
Please Keep Off the Grass
Washington, D.C. certainly captures the hearts of all Americans, from politics to paintings, and moon rocks to cherry blossoms, if you haven’t yet visited our nation’s capital you simply need to do so. While on a business trip recently, I found time to meander through this colossal town and all of its sites, including one housing a native Buffalo hero.
First, getting around D.C. is a breeze and very user-friendly. The metro rail is color-coded with easy to read maps of all the interesting stops such as the Smithsonian complex of museums, Arlington National Cemetery, and of course the White House. One of my first stops was a visit to the Air and Space Museum, however it was closed at 7:30 p.m.
However, at about 8 p.m., I noticed the doors being opened and a bunch of sophisticated, well-dressed people being allowed in. Too tempting to bypass, I combed my hair, tightened my tie and simply tagged along in line, only to be greeted by champagne cocktails and caviar as well as a potpourri of delectable dishes being played to the tunes of a hip band blasting the night away. This event was clearly reserved for wealthy donors, and so I acted suave and proceeded to tour the entire museum.
The next evening, after seeing a play at Ford’s Theater where I sat just ten feet from the box where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, I probed my way through narrow passages around the back of the theater where the public never goes, to find the exact alley where John Wilkes Booth mounted his horse en-route to his getaway. Incredible, all the original bricks are still in place, and as a light rain began to fall, here I was standing solo with my mouth open in awe.
Later on I strolled in Lafayette Square on the north side of the White House and discovered none other than Tadeusz Kościuszko mounted high for all to see. It was a glorious tribute to our Revolutionary War hero and I was proud that the statue is clearly noticeable with large inscription for passers-by to see.
Our feminine readers may especially be interested in one of the largest diamonds on public display at the Natural History Museum, called the Hope Diamond. With super-sensitive security measures in place, I’m not sure if even the “Pink Panther” would want to attempt its theft.
If you’d like to climb to the top of the infamous Washington Monument, you’d better get to the ticket booth at around 5 a.m. for the day’s daily free-ticket giveaway. By 5:15, tickets are all gone. The next available reserved ticket date is two months from now.
I also enjoyed an evening visit to see my cousin Mary and her husband Phil, who live just outside of the city. You may recall the Am-Pol Eagle article published a few months ago featuring Mary’s Madame Curie connection. We rekindled some memories and spoke of Washington’s greatest spectacles, one of which being Arlington National Cemetery.
Before my trip, I had a chance to plot out the gravesites of several notable people. With over 400,000 people buried there, the task of finding them was challenging enough. Huge, hilly terrain greets the visitor who is left in absolute astonishment at the complexity of this place. My first destination was the tomb of John F. Kennedy. Of course, all I needed to do was follow the crowd. Probably the most popular of spots together with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, JFK’s tomb basks in the hot sun atop a hill.
Next, Section 3 held Astronauts Roger Chaffee and Gus Grissom, both of whom I featured in one of my first short stories written in 1975. However, due to time constraints, I was unable to hike the distance to see these two graves. I did spot Audie Murphy right at the edge of Section 46 though.
“At the edge” had no such luck for my final destination gravesite though. You see I saved the most revered for last, figuring to exit on the setting sun with some reflections appropriate for the moment. However, when I arrived at the small, serene, and picturesque section 7A under an umbrella of trees, I was greeted by a chained-off area and signpost saying “Please keep off the grass”.
Well, you might have guessed that I didn’t come all this way only to use the zoom feature of my camera. So, with no one in sight, and hearing only melodious songbirds above, I respectfully applied dignity in hitting the grass on all fours as I snuck up to the foot of the huge, bronze-colored gravestone of Matt Urban. What an absolutely wonderful sight. Urban’s stone sticks out very noticeably among the others, and is etched with gold leaf as well as a portrait image. He would have liked this spot indeed. And you know, even if I saw Arlington’s infantry coming to escort me from that grassy spot, I think I would have just stayed and listened to the birds.
The Right of your Pet Poodle
Yes, an appropriate title to our next topic, that being the recent comments made by Fr. Mitch Pacwa on his television program, EWTN Live. As you may know, I have strong admiration for this Jesuit priest. But as you may also know, this website holds fast to a point-blank philosophy regardless of favoritism. On that note, it wasn’t surprising to detect an absolute uproar from animal rights proponents, including myself, after hearing Fr. Pacwa’s doctrinal “exegesis” that animals don’t have rights, nor do they have immortal souls “like humans do” as he specified.
My sincere apologies, but this is a highly consequential topic which needs to be carefully criticized. To begin with, animal rights activists are not primarily seeking legal measures to protect animals, but instead are focused on establishing a societal-mindset of compassion, something that has not yet reached maturity since we are still eating animals, wearing their skin, and experimenting on them.
Secondly, who is to say that only humans have rights? Of what authority can one make such a definitive statement, even further exacerbated by stating definitively that humans have immortal souls and animals do not? Rather, can’t we be honest in admitting that life and death are a mystery? This brings the point to its ultimate crescendo. By the very nature of their job, the foundation of any religious steward such as Fr. Pacwa is grounded not in tangible fact, but in the mystery of faith. Wouldn’t it be ironic for such a person to then proclaim a monopoly on the truth? More on this topic can be found on the Animal Friendly section.
Snap-Brims and Bowties
Senior readers may have noticed a metamorphosis in gentlemen’s apparel over the past 60 to 70 years, and are probably shaking their heads in disgust. What ever happened to the pinched front fedora, the bowtie, and the double-breasted suit? Being a fan of the eight-panel newsboy cap worn during the Depression era, I’ve searched high and low for this antique only to find cheap imports attempting to fit the bill.
Fortunately, while surfing the Amazon marketplace, I came across a solo vendor offering authentic, handmade linen eight-panel caps circa 1930. You know, the kind that cover your eyebrows and droop over your ear making you look like a mobster. Needless to say I bought two. But such good fortune cannot be found in the suit department. After searching all the retailers like J.C. Penny, Men’s Wearhouse, Macy’s, Joseph A. Bank, and a host of others, I returned home somewhat heartbroken realizing that the suavelooking double-breasted men’s suit cannot be found on the racks anymore.
Snap-brim fedoras, yes, they still sell them. But when was the last time you saw a gentleman formally dressed from head to toe? Instead, today’s average businessman sports the trendy skinny suit jacket, dungaree pants, thin necktie, and sandals. I am united with our senior-most readers as we wonder what the silver-screen icon, Adolphe Menjou, who was voted the best-dressed man that ever lived, would say about all this?
A Song to Remember
Let’s start things off this week on a musical note, shall we say, in the key of C? Am-Pol Eagle senior readers and aficionados of the silver screen will appreciate the 1945 classic “A Song to Remember” which aired last week on the Movies network channel. The scene opens on a rainy evening in Żelazowa Wola, and as the camera pans around a simple country home, a young virtuoso is seen playing the piano. That of course was our beloved Frédéric Chopin.
My very first glimpse of the film I’m ashamed to say, as it was only then that I realized what an absolute delight it was to watch. As the film progressed, the boy became a man, played by none other than Cornel Wilde, who for the most part did a convincing job synchronizing his fingers on keyboard to the actual notes being heard.
Ah, yet Wilde’s hair was just too curly for the role, wouldn’t you agree? The famous Paul Muni played the part of Chopin’s mentor, Józef Elsner, who travels to Paris with the pianist looking for success. And what would a "colorized" film-noire classic be without a leading lady? You guessed it, Chopin’s real-life relationship with the eccentric Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin, or better known as French novelist George Sand, played by the radiant Merle Oberon, who incidentally looked exactly like Sand.
A pretty good film? "A Song to Remember" was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Cornel Wilde), Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Music Scoring, Best Sound Recording, and Best Writing.
Thirty-One Faces of the Matka Boska
May is one fine month indeed. Flowers are blooming, daylight is lengthening, and many folks reach for a new pair of polarized sunglasses. Still, there is one constant that appropriately rings in this merry month, and that is the image of Mary, Mother of God.
I had a chance to peruse just a couple of icons of Our Lady which surround my writing desk at my home office. To my right, the Matka Boska Ostrobramska, a gift given to me by a visiting friend from Warsaw. It is beautifully crafted of silver plating over a hand painted wooden face, backed in red velvet.
Interestingly, the Ostrobramska image is associated with the feast we just celebrated a couple of weeks ago, Divine Mercy. Saint Faustina wrote in her diary of the icon taking on "a living appearance" and speaking to her, telling her to "accept all that God asked of me like a little child, without questioning…"
To my left, a one-of-a-kind carved image of Mary which I picked up in a little side street shop in Łowicz, Poland some years back. Of course, with only embroidery in mind as I shopped, being that the town is famous for this, I was taken back a bit upon hearing from the vendor that this light-as-a-feather item was entirely made from the ashes of burnt cinders.
Glancing further around and peeking into some drawers, I was sure to locate one image of Mary for each of the 31 days of May. I’m sure you can do the same. With the month of Mary here, do you have a favorite among the many faces of the Matka Boska in your own little collection?
The Two Coach K Connection
I watched, you watched, the whole world watched. Last month's dramatic conclusion to the NCAA Championship was a sheer nail-biter. Duke University, beginning to fade late in the game, miraculously rebounded from nine points down and only thirteen minutes left to pull ahead of an astonished University of Wisconsin team in a thrilling victory for coach Mike Krzyzewski, popularly known as 'Coach K.'
Yes, you know him already, but did you know the little secret of the other coach K? When University of Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak spotted Krzyzewski in a 7-Eleven convenience store last summer, oh yes, some rekindling too place. "I said, hey there's the real Coach K," Krystkowiak noted, "Kinda gave him a high-five." Both go by the iconic label 'Coach K', which Krzyzewski gladly shares while Krystkowiak gladly surrenders.
Krzyzewski did acknowledge that his cloned 'K', Krystkowiak, carried a sign of Polish royalty being that the first vowel in his name comes after six consonants, which trumps Krzyzewski. And, Krystkowiak acknowledged his admiration for Krzyzewski in keeping his potential spelling bee name intact. The two Ks also talked about their humble beginnings, and their careers. "I love what you've done at Utah, it reminds me so much of my career," said Krzyzewski. And Krystkowiak’s response, "Wow."
The 7 Last Words of Christ
Indeed an entire book could be written about the final phrases spoken by Christ as he hung on the cross. But these seven "one-liners", as many scholars and historians agree, were not said by Christ to be exclusively meditated on Good Friday, but in addition to their superficial meaning, instead have deeper significance and relevance to everyday life. Keep in mind too that the number 7 has always stood for perfection, so was it mere coincidence that Christ spoke 7 phrases just before his death? What were his intentions? Who did he want to target with his words? Think about it. If you were dying, rather than only focus on that particular moment, would you not wish to also convey your words to reflect a broader scope of things? Whereas some would suggest that Christ's ministry ended with his Passion, AndrewOstrowski.com would respectfully disagree. It is this website's opinion that Christ's ministry did not in fact end before his trial and crucifixion, that if you really look at the heart of why he existed, the very pinnacle of his ministry should be his ordeal during the Passion. Here's why. Is his death not the ultimate reason why he came? You can put aside all the good stuff like miracle working and parable telling, essentially he came because we are bad. That was the reason. If we weren't bad, why would God incarnate into flesh and come at all? There would be no reason to come. Too many people don't realize that, thinking salvation comes from merely being a nice person and seeking to do good, but forgetting that they are born with a tendency to sin. Only after you realize the reason why Christ came and then honestly acknowledge that you are weak and susceptible to sin, do you then realize that these seven last words are critical to saving yourself. Let's condense our would-be 'book' into a summary of what exactly Christ meant by giving us his seven last words.
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do"
The obvious conclusion most people make is straightforward: Christ is petitioning the Father to forgive his torturers because they don't realize what they're doing by crucifying him. In the "know not what they do" part, Christ is not referring to the superficial fact of him being executed by the Romans, an innocent man, as would be the case with any innocent man, but rather he is referring to mankind. Was it not his own people who handed him over to be crucified? Is it not us who continue to "crucify" him by our thoughts and actions? Yet, he is petitioning the Father to forgive them, and subsequently, to forgive us. Do we make use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, for example?
"I assure you, this day you will be with me in paradise"
Very arguably quite symbolic are the circumstances surrounding this next expression. Christ was crucified with two thieves, one to his right, called Dismas, the other to his left, called Gestas. When Gestas criticizes Christ by looking for proof in telling him to save himself and them, Dismas offers the opposite by asking Christ to remember him in his kingdom. Interestingly, Gestas may therefore represent the bad in us, while Dismas represents the good in us. Do these two thieves on opposite sides of Christ, physically and spiritually, portray the entire story of mankind? Yes. We therefore have a choice. As explained above, knowing that we are born to sin, do we stay the course like Gestas did, or instead choose to put our faith in God like Dismas did?
"There is your son, there is your mother"
Even only moments away from death, Christ is still thinking of our well-being. In this expression, he establishes the apostle John as the new "son" of his mother Mary, and Mary as the new "mother" of John. Two points to make here, first, we need to remember that in biblical days, the designations of brother, sister, son, daughter, mother, father, etc. were not necessarily biological, but could also imply a closeness of affection. Christ obviously did not mean that John and Mary were to establish legal adoption status with each other, what he did mean was to point out that all of his followers, represented by John, are first to look to their mothers in recognition of life, and second, incidentally where we run into arguments between faiths, that his followers are to regard Mary as the supreme example of obedience in carrying out God's will. For Christ to specifically tell John "there is your mother" just moments before his own death clearly implies that he is relaying more than comforting words, but a significant directive. And who could be more approachable than a woman of the flesh just like you and me, but spared from sin thank God, who we can come to with all our troubles?
"Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani"
Or, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Indeed, arguably the most controversial and puzzling phrase Christ utters from the cross. Most people would ask: How could Christ, who is supposed to be God, ever think that his Father had forsaken him, that doesn't make sense? A noble conclusion, but, there is a reason why Christ uttered these words. Perhaps it may be easier to realize if we take an alternate approach; let's propose that Christ was purely divine and not of the flesh as we know it. Of course, the obvious conclusion would be, he would have been impervious to pain, guilt, fear, and rejection. Would you care at all if you were the "six million dollar man" with a bionic body and someone tried to pick a fistfight with you? No. But then, how would you know pain, guilt, fear, and rejection if you couldn't relate to them yourself? And how could people relate to you? This is essentially why God incarnated into Christ, so we could relate to him. It's no wonder then why Christ, as any human would do, questioned his own being, even though he was also divine. Don't we all lose faith at times?
"I thirst"
This two word phrase is a direct fulfillment of Psalm 69:22. Quenching one's thirst is usually associated with someone who has expended an amount of energy and is in need of a refresher. So was the case with Christ, however, rather than being refreshed, he was offered vinegar. Again, we see the human side of Christ instinctively seeking to save itself as we all would do. It is interesting to conclude that it was up to us to alleviate his suffering somewhat by giving him a "refreshing drink", but we didn't. Do we still offer him “vinegar”?
"Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit"
The act of total submission. Here we see Christ, who could have easily opted not to say anything in the state he was in, utter words of dependence on the Father. He surrenders himself to the Father, as opposed to, for example, those who want some kind of assurance from God that they lived a holy life thereby justifying their soul's destiny. For what reward would there be if we knew for sure that Christ was God? Yet, there are some faiths even today that require proof in order to put their faith in someone. Christ answers the ultimate question on this point. He surrenders his soul, not knowing the outcome, but trusting that his life's work will justify its destiny. Does your own life justify your soul's destiny?
"It is finished"
The final three words spoken by Christ before his death and resurrection. Clearly this expression sums up the entirety of his whole mission. "It" meaning that mission. These three words are actually loaded with importance. By declaring that his mission is finished, Christ is establishing that he indeed had a purpose in life, and contrary to what people want to hear and what sounds nice, his mission is over. Where people miss the point on this is that they think they are being benevolent by stating that Christ's mission never really ended, that he still continues his ministry to us from heaven. Although on the surface that sounds like a nice thing to say, in actually it is an injustice to Christ. What meaning would his life's end have if he did not impart his mission onto us and we just depended on him for everything as many people do? Rather, we need to come to grips with the fact that Christ completed his job, now he has his reward. What was his job? To show you how to attain salvation. Now it is your job to do it. What are you waiting for?
Fourteen Lenten Meditations
In 2003, I had the opportunity to attend the Via Crucis in Rome, presided over by then Pope John Paul II. The following are excerpted quotes of his meditations along with my reflections, and the Lord’s Prayer in Latin. Many churches carry out the Stations of the Cross weekly during Lent. Clip the page and save it, as a plenary indulgence may be gained by praying them.
I. JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH – “Pilate's verdict was pronounced under pressure from the priests and the crowd. The sentence of death by crucifixion was meant to calm their fury and meet their clamorous demand of Crucify him! Crucify him!” Ask yourself, how often have you too been scourged for defending what is right and unpopular?
Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum; adveniat regnum tuum; fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo, et in terra. Panem nostrum cotidianum da nobis hodie; et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris; et ne nos inducas in tentationem; sed libera nos a malo.
II. JESUS CARRIES HIS CROSS – “Pilate said to the crowd: ‘Ecce Homo, look what you have done to this man!’ But there seems to be another voice speaking as well, saying: Look what you have done, in this man, to your God!” Let’s be truthful, do you find yourself going along with the crowd on issues like abortion and contraception, or do you resist giving in to “the popular vote?” Pater noster…
III. JESUS FALLS THE FIRST TIME – “To the end, down to the bitter end, he is faithful to what he had said: ‘Not my will, but yours be done.’” Are you willing to expend your energy and fall down in defense of Christ because of controversy, rejection, or unpopularity? Pater noster…
IV. JESUS MEETS HIS AFFLICTED MOTHER – “His Cross becomes her Cross, his humiliation is her humiliation, the public scorn is on her shoulders.” When was the last time you examined your life and asked, would my mother be proud of me, am I doing things according to God’s will? Pater noster…
V. SIMON OF CYRENE IS FORCED TO HELP CARRY THE CROSS – “How long did he continue to walk beside this condemned man, all the while making it clear that he had nothing in common with him, nothing to do with his crime, nothing to do with his punishment?” Simon was forced. Are you forced to “carry a cross” or do you volunteer? Pater noster…
VI. VERONICA WIPES THE FACE OF JESUS – “In fact the Savior leaves his imprint on every single act of charity, as he did on Veronica's cloth.” How many times have you passed by a homeless person asking for spare change? Pater noster…
VII. JESUS FALLS THE SECOND TIME – “I am a worm, and no man (Ps 22:6). Not even an Ecce Homo here, but something much less, much worse.” This station marks where Jesus’ death notice was posted. What do you want your own death notice, or obituary, to say when it’s published in the newspaper? Pater noster…
VIII. JESUS MEETS THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM – “Here is a call to repentance, true repentance, and sorrow at the reality of the evil that has been committed.” He tells them to weep for their children, meaning your children and future generations. Do you have a “lost” child? What are you doing about it? Pater noster…
IX. JESUS FALLS THE THIRD TIME – “Every station along this Way is a milestone of obedience and self-emptying.” Do you empty yourself of the world and fall down completely, or find yourself halfway there on one knee because “who can do such a thing?” as Lazarus said. Pater noster…
X. JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS GARMENTS – “A person’s body is the expression of their soul.” When channel surfing, do you change the television channel when you come across movies displaying nudity and encouraging sins of the flesh? Pater noster…
XI. JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS – “The whole of this body, its hands, its feet, its every bone, is a priceless ransom.” Are you willing to ransom your body by having symbolic “nail holes” in your hands and in your feet? Pater noster…
XII. JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS – “Here we have the greatest, the most sublime work of the Son in union with the Father. Yes, in union, in the most perfect union possible.” Point blank, this means his death, crafted by the Father, was the ultimate goal, that being to conquer sin through salvation. Why then do you hesitate to go to confession? Pater noster…
XIII. JESUS IS TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS – “In the mystery of the Redemption, we are enriched by a gift from on high and at the same time ‘bought’ by the ransom paid by the Son of God.” Look at your life and ask yourself, are you worth the ransom paid? Pater noster…
XIV. JESUS IS PLACED IN THE SEPULCHER – “From the moment when man, as a result of sin, was driven away from the Tree of Life, the earth became a burial ground. A great planet of tombs.” Yet, that tree still exists. We can find it through Reconciliation, the Eucharist, and a sincere inner desire to seek it out. Pater noster...
Benedicat vos omnipotens Deus, Pater, et Filius, et Spiritus Sanctus…Amen.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1
5, 4, 3, 2, 1…Happy New Year! Of course, virtually everyone everywhere welcomed in 2015 with bright cheer and a smile as it should be, however for some one million or so screaming heads who once again situated themselves rump-to-rump while standing in the arctic zone of Times Square for hours on end to watch the ball drop beckons a fair degree of critique. You know, I’m wondering if these same people would be willing to devote a tenth as much effort to spirituality. The philosophical question we should be asking is why are more and more people willing to brave the yearly secular “cold” while reluctantly devoting less and less time to matters of the everlasting inner soul? It is a ridiculously sad irony, and I invite you to ponder on it.
What about the butterfly?
Will you be reunited with your pet in heaven? After an enormous amount of effort in correcting their misinterpreted news story about Pope Francis’ recent remarks on the topic, it appears most of the news media still consider the idea ridiculous. How unfortunate, and rather feeble-minded to do so. Was it not St. Francis who spent an inordinate amount of time caring for these creatures? Was he just wasting his time? Or Pope Paul VI, was he just kidding around when he said “One day we will see our animals in the eternity of Christ”? Or how about our own beloved St. John Paul II when he stated that “animals possess a soul and men must love and feel solidarity with our smaller brethren”? Is not everything possible with God?
The bigger issue may be, if one accepts the idea of a pet soul, what about a little girl’s pet butterfly, or a little boy’s pet goldfish? Should there be a line drawn as to what degree of life merits a soul, and who draws it?
In my opinion, no line should be drawn, but rather, all life continues down to the smallest form. A wild notion? Not if we truly believe that all things are possible with God. If only we would be more like Copernicus in being brave enough to broach moral issues of higher consequence instead of continuing to live in a bubble.
Read why you’ll see your beloved pets, and surprisingly more, in the article titled Do Animals Have Souls?
Fireside Classics!
“I mean Pottersville, don’t you think I know where I live?!” exclaims a fedora-topped gentleman to a bewildered Jimmy Stewart who has just crashed into a tree.
In this month's new topic, we’ll take a look at some of the heartwarming classics appearing on your television screen over the next several days. Beloved, adored, and cherished by families everywhere who know how to prepare for Christmas along with baking, decorating, gift-giving, and ultimately climaxing with the Nativity Mass.
Who among us hasn’t seen the 1946 classic It’s a Wonderful Life? Of course, no creature on Earth has missed it! But is there really a town named after the richest and meanest man in the film, Henry F. Potter played by the great Lionel Barrymore? Surprisingly, the answer is yes!
Pottersville is located about one hundred miles north of Albany. Of course, its name origins aren’t that rich and mean. Stewart’s role as George Bailey is no less than brilliantly performed from the moment he accepts a piece of luggage courtesy of old-man Gower played by H.B. Warner, to the film’s penultimate climax as tears run down his eyes anticipating suicide on a snowy bridge.
Producer Frank Capra’s film had never struck a favorable cord with the public audience until much later, and as you know today the film is a holiday gem.
“I thought you said one hundred soldiers at six-foot high” responds Stannie Dum to Santa who’s children’s toy-soldier order got kind of flipped around. Had it not been for Stan Laurel’s foolish character we would have never wholeheartedly enjoyed the film Babes in Toyland or better known as March of the Wooden Soldiers. What a delight, as I’m sure you agree.
This 1934 classic sports the typical Laurel and Hardy slapstick along a diabolical storyline featuring Mother Goose, Little Bo Peep, and Tom-Tom the Piper’s son. Reflecting on this film, one cannot help but imagine such a fairytale village existing somewhere, someplace, and unspoiled by man. Maybe that’s why we love watching it. Only, how did they ever manage to fire a cannon-load of darts into the rear-end of Ollie Dee? Very funny indeed!
One of my personal all-time favorites, even now as I sprout a gray hair or two, is the 1970 animated delight, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town. Hands-down, this is the real story of secular Santa Claus! Narrated by the legendary Fred Astaire and starring the voice of the late Mickey Rooney as Kris Kringle, the fantasy takes us to Sombertown, incidentally that town name is still available, where Kringle discovers that toys are forbidden.
Well, you can imagine the plot, as Santa eventually discovers a way to deliver Elf-made toys via Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer by secretly flying onto rooftops and then crawling down chimneys to fill stockings. I still pin my stockings up, do you? Cuddle up with your kids one frosty night and enjoy this film.
If anyone tells you that you might be an “undigested bit of beef, a piece of cheese, or a fragment of an underdone potato” as Alastair Sim told the ghost of Jacob Marley, rattle your shackles and shake your chains. The 1951 version of Charles Dickens’ holiday tale, A Christmas Carol, has decidedly become the world’s favorite. Sim portrays the character of Ebenezer Scrooge perfectly.
But we need to be fair in recognizing a few earlier versions of near-equal ranking, namely the 1935 classic Scrooge starring Seymour Hicks and an invisible Jacob Marley as well as the 1938 rival A Christmas Carol starring Reginald Owen and the very pretty former New York resident Lynne Carver who unfortunately passed away at just 38 years old.
Newer versions have come and gone of course, including attempts by George C. Scott, Henry Winkler, and Bill Murray all playing a rendition of Scrooge. One notable contender for the crown must go to Patrick Stewart’s 1999 release. In my opinion it is the best modern day remake of the tale, as a bald-headed grump almost chokes from his new-found laughter at film’s end.
Yet sitting on my desk is a newly discovered version, albeit from 1954, starring the familiar face of Basil Rathbone, with a musical score by the great Bernard Hermann. The DVD was purchased from Kmart.com for less than four dollars and is still in its wrapper. Coming over to watch it?
Only if it snows that is, as we can begin things by watching Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney in that forever-favorite, White Christmas.
“I mean Pottersville, don’t you think I know where I live?!” exclaims a fedora-topped gentleman to a bewildered Jimmy Stewart who has just crashed into a tree.
In this month's new topic, we’ll take a look at some of the heartwarming classics appearing on your television screen over the next several days. Beloved, adored, and cherished by families everywhere who know how to prepare for Christmas along with baking, decorating, gift-giving, and ultimately climaxing with the Nativity Mass.
Who among us hasn’t seen the 1946 classic It’s a Wonderful Life? Of course, no creature on Earth has missed it! But is there really a town named after the richest and meanest man in the film, Henry F. Potter played by the great Lionel Barrymore? Surprisingly, the answer is yes!
Pottersville is located about one hundred miles north of Albany. Of course, its name origins aren’t that rich and mean. Stewart’s role as George Bailey is no less than brilliantly performed from the moment he accepts a piece of luggage courtesy of old-man Gower played by H.B. Warner, to the film’s penultimate climax as tears run down his eyes anticipating suicide on a snowy bridge.
Producer Frank Capra’s film had never struck a favorable cord with the public audience until much later, and as you know today the film is a holiday gem.
“I thought you said one hundred soldiers at six-foot high” responds Stannie Dum to Santa who’s children’s toy-soldier order got kind of flipped around. Had it not been for Stan Laurel’s foolish character we would have never wholeheartedly enjoyed the film Babes in Toyland or better known as March of the Wooden Soldiers. What a delight, as I’m sure you agree.
This 1934 classic sports the typical Laurel and Hardy slapstick along a diabolical storyline featuring Mother Goose, Little Bo Peep, and Tom-Tom the Piper’s son. Reflecting on this film, one cannot help but imagine such a fairytale village existing somewhere, someplace, and unspoiled by man. Maybe that’s why we love watching it. Only, how did they ever manage to fire a cannon-load of darts into the rear-end of Ollie Dee? Very funny indeed!
One of my personal all-time favorites, even now as I sprout a gray hair or two, is the 1970 animated delight, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town. Hands-down, this is the real story of secular Santa Claus! Narrated by the legendary Fred Astaire and starring the voice of the late Mickey Rooney as Kris Kringle, the fantasy takes us to Sombertown, incidentally that town name is still available, where Kringle discovers that toys are forbidden.
Well, you can imagine the plot, as Santa eventually discovers a way to deliver Elf-made toys via Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer by secretly flying onto rooftops and then crawling down chimneys to fill stockings. I still pin my stockings up, do you? Cuddle up with your kids one frosty night and enjoy this film.
If anyone tells you that you might be an “undigested bit of beef, a piece of cheese, or a fragment of an underdone potato” as Alastair Sim told the ghost of Jacob Marley, rattle your shackles and shake your chains. The 1951 version of Charles Dickens’ holiday tale, A Christmas Carol, has decidedly become the world’s favorite. Sim portrays the character of Ebenezer Scrooge perfectly.
But we need to be fair in recognizing a few earlier versions of near-equal ranking, namely the 1935 classic Scrooge starring Seymour Hicks and an invisible Jacob Marley as well as the 1938 rival A Christmas Carol starring Reginald Owen and the very pretty former New York resident Lynne Carver who unfortunately passed away at just 38 years old.
Newer versions have come and gone of course, including attempts by George C. Scott, Henry Winkler, and Bill Murray all playing a rendition of Scrooge. One notable contender for the crown must go to Patrick Stewart’s 1999 release. In my opinion it is the best modern day remake of the tale, as a bald-headed grump almost chokes from his new-found laughter at film’s end.
Yet sitting on my desk is a newly discovered version, albeit from 1954, starring the familiar face of Basil Rathbone, with a musical score by the great Bernard Hermann. The DVD was purchased from Kmart.com for less than four dollars and is still in its wrapper. Coming over to watch it?
Only if it snows that is, as we can begin things by watching Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney in that forever-favorite, White Christmas.
One God, One Lifeboat
Channel surfing for interesting television shows is an enjoyable hobby of mine. However there is nothing more disenchanting than watching preachers from one faith belief after another proclaim their monopoly on the truth. Don’t you find it odd that, living in a predominantly monotheistic world, there are approximately 4,200 different religions?
That is, if so many people believe in one God and an afterlife, knowing that death is inevitable, why in the world should we all have uniquely separate beliefs? Is this to say that, in heaven, the Buddhists are in one section, the Hindus in another, those of the Jewish faith are in that corner, the Muslim another, and over there are the Christians, further dissected by the Catholics in section A and the Protestants in section B, further sub-sectioned by the Evangelicals, Methodists, Baptists, and the other 33,817 denominations in their own separate sections? And this is God’s fully-approved plan? This is absolutely nonsensical thinking at its best!
Yet, this is what we do. We stake claims in different faiths, doing it perhaps more robotically than consciously. How many of us merely follow protocol and pay lip service to our faith, never really thinking “outside the box” of the greatest mystery yet remaining, the afterlife? We are all in the same lifeboat, why should we create divisions among us? Perhaps if we closed our eyes for five minutes and considered this, we’d then be able to see.
Questionable Clairvoyants
I’m scratching my head as you might also be, having seen several television episodes of real-life paranormal encounters. In one show, a medium supernaturally communicates with dead people, asking them family-related questions and relaying the answers to a homeowner seeking to find explanations of alleged disturbances. I have to say, I do believe hauntings, ghosts, and goblins exist. After all, why should we doubt them if we claim to believe in an afterlife? What perplexes the objective viewer however, and casting doubts on the authenticity of the medium, is the fact that none of these clairvoyants ask the dead people about heaven, Christ, and the other 10,000 questions most of us have about life after death. If you could talk to your deceased relative, what question would you ask?
That Thumb Thing
Let’s begin on a very serious note, and one that continues to capture our attention from day to day, that of course being the escalating threat posed by ISIS. We have to applaud President Obama’s efforts in allying several Arab nations in the air assault began recently, which is pretty monumental. Yet, what nation wants to remain idle when this new cancer, manifesting as sort of a cross between the Vietcong and Nazi mindset, continues to spread with a now reported 250,000 count refugee exodus?
If you recall the touching scene from the film Apollo 13, when Tom Hanks spots the earth from space and puts his thumb up to the window of the spacecraft only to find it is the same size as our planet, doesn’t this whole war and the rest of our problems make you feel a bit embarrassed? For years, sci-fi films have portrayed aliens as naked, big-eyed, highly intellectual and advanced beings living together as one on their planet. Too bad we missed the lesson, as here we are continuing to kill one another in war, climbing corporate ladders in greed, cheating, stealing, deceiving, and competing in our mano-a-mano, winner-take-all world. Maybe we should all take a trip to space and do that “thumb thing”.
65!
Hope. Now there’s a word making these headlines a month ago and here’s the rest of that story. I’ll begin with a hint which our senior most married couples may appreciate. What’s better than a golden 50th but perhaps a notch below a diamond 75th? Of course, a 65th wedding anniversary! My parents, Daniel and Josephine Ostrowski celebrated the occasion on June 22 beginning with a concelebrated high Mass at St. Stanislaus Kostka church here on Staten Island. The Reverends Jacek Wozny and Louis Jerome presided as wedding vows were renewed in front of a churchload of family and friends. Of course, arranging the hymns was quite a task having numerous Polish selections to choose. But we seemed to cover the spectrum ranging from the tranquility of Serdeczna Matko to the vociferous Sto Lat. Mendelssohn’s wedding march ended the beautiful ceremony as Danny and Jozia walked down the aisle to a cheering congregation.
Afterwards, a grand reception was held in their home to the tastes of a dining room table full of Polish delights such as fresh and smoked kielbasa, gołąbki, placki, croquettes, and three types of pierogi. We can’t forget the Żywiec of course! And after a champagne toast, out came the cake. White whipped cream with red roses was an appropriate color combination, wouldn’t you say? Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the occasion under gorgeous skies and some familiar Polish melodies played by an accordionist!
Concluding our story from last time, my effort at securing a Polish pianist for the reception was successful, but at the last minute she needed to attend to an urgent matter so did not come. However, all hope was not lost. In true Polish spirit, she asked an accordionist-friend to come in her place, and he did. He played wonderfully, interacted with the guests, and harmonized the voices in song. Yet, the story ends on an even more honorable note, and perhaps one that only we Poles can relate to. When given a monetary gift at the conclusion of the day, Zbigniew Wanielista, a plumber by trade with a wife and two children in school who plays the accordion as a hobby, very politely refused. His explanation ran along the lines of it being “a favor for a friend,” but the humble, family oriented look in his eyes really told the hidden truth. I guess this needs no explanation, right? Tell me, why aren’t there more people like this in the world? Check out these two videos...
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The Big Band Bombshell
Having seen The Glenn Miller Story airing on the TCM channel, a favorite among our senior readers, I was astonished at how similar Jimmy Stewart resembles the musical genius Miller. If you’ve seen the film, it is a delightful glimpse into an age long gone, so much so that I was reminded of being looked at oddly by a suit salesman when I asked to try on a double-breasted suit with sharp pointed lapels. Though the once classy art-deco look has since died, except in our dreams perhaps, I was particularly flabbergasted afterwards upon learning the details of Glenn Miller’s death. As he was flying over the English Channel at the required low altitude, a squadron of British bombers was returning from a mission over Germany, however, still carrying a substantial load of bombs. Standard procedure was to first drop the load over water in order to ensure a safe landing. Unfortunately, Miller’s plane was directly below the drop and got hit. Unbelievably sad.
Proof Positive for a Centenarian + 3
We continue on a sad note, yet ultimately our sadness turns to joy. After 103 years on Earth, Sister Mary Margaret Perkowski, a Felician sister who was also my aunt, passed away quietly one recent morning. As I was scrubbing the sidewalls of my backyard pool that morning just before refilling it with fresh water, the sun popped out through the early morning cloud cover just as the phone rang. It was the mother superior of the convent located in Enfield, CT, relaying the news. Apparently Sister Margaret, as she was known, felt a bit on the weak side a day earlier, and then after breakfast that morning had fallen and bruised her head. As our senior readers know, injury caused by a fall of an elderly person is magnified exponentially. A few hours later, Sister Margaret passed away in her bed.
Some years back I had a chance to tour the convent and its claim to fame, a basement bakery presided over by a very tiny nun who begins baking babki precisely at 3 a.m. It was truly an experience learning the “ropes” of how to bake babki, the old-fashioned wooden spoon mixing technique, how to set your watch to the rise of the dough, and a perfect packing plan for shipping their specialty worldwide. The Felician sisters are located across the U.S. and overseas, and have provincial houses in Warsaw, Krakow, and Przemysl, Poland.
But aside from the edible delight, the real joy comes from knowing that Sister Margaret, born Pauline Perkowski in Elm Park, Staten Island is undoubtedly now amidst the heavenly realm in all its splendor. Dedicating one’s life to God’s service in the manner that she did as a sister, with her warm smile and amicable heart simply cannot be topped. About 15 years ago she expressed a burning desire to finally see the Holy Land by coming with me on one of my trips. Unfortunately during the months preceding she became increasingly immobile and therefore never got to fulfill her dream. That episode crossed my mind, and I have come to the earnest conclusion that she now is seeing everything that she longed for. As Psalm 30 puts it so aptly, “At nightfall weeping enters in, but with dawn comes rejoicing.” That sure is proof-positive we’re learning!
The Swiss Sugar-Coat Connection
On the political agenda, perhaps we should be asking the question, and simultaneously starting an argument, is the United States-Polish relationship being sugar-coated? It seems to me that in light of the rather tumultuous ongoings of Vladimir Putin and his annexation desires, parading the presidential mantra of “Poland will never stand alone!” first through the streets and then subsequently through the inner minds of Poles with some kind of assurance that the United States will never, ever let that happen to Poland is simply in need of a reality check.
As fellow Am-Pol Eagle journalist and Warsaw correspondent Robert Strybel very aptly pointed out, a $1 billion pledge cannot compare to a $10 billion need. The flip-flop reversal of Bush’s anti-missile policy by Obama speaks for itself in proving to us that within a four-to-eight-year political term, absolutely anything could happen with a relationship. Of course, it might get better, let’s not sound too pessimistic. But if you’re a level-headed, clear thinking oddsmaker, you might want to cash your chips in now rather than gamble with what the crystal ball will tell about the United States-Polish relationship.
Perhaps as it does you, this topic bothers me tremendously. Should not Poland increase its self-image by politely yet authoritatively standing its ground, laying stricter conditions for any U.S. deal, and being just a bit more independent? You know, it’s quite honorable, courteous and friendly to buddy-up with another nation, but there comes a point when you risk eventually becoming a puppet on a string, played to the tune of whatever political motive is the current affair. I will be the first one to condemn Switzerland for their neutrality position during World War II, but perhaps a beneficial lesson can be learned from their stubborn stance of self-image and cautious, tentative approach to allegiances.
The Last Bastion of Musical Hope
Are there any musicians left who enjoy being invited to a party and leaving the stipend to the generosity of the host? Unbelievably it appears not too many. After recently organizing a party, my hunt for a non-professional, side-job piano player found me calling half a dozen candidates only to be asked within thirty seconds of the conversation, “How much do you want to pay me?”
You know, verbally one must remain polite on the telephone, but deep down inside I could not help my gut feeling that this response was...insane!!! Is everything about money today? I mean a three-hour gig using my piano isn’t really asking too much, is it? “Normally it’s $600 sir, but you can give me $250.” Huh? I declare, what has happened to the old-school benevolence of offering your talent to an asker knowing the obvious protocol that they’ll give you something for it?
Finally, lo and behold, I found a remnant of probably the last bastion of hope left for this kind of dignity. And she was none other than a Polish musician, who couldn't make the party due to a conflict, but graciously asked another musician, an accordion player, to come in her stead. He refused the stipend offered to him upon party's end, citing that this was a favor asked of him by his piano friend. Can we please clone these two people before all hope becomes extinct? Thank God for good old-fashioned heart and soul!
John Paul II: Exactly why he is a Saint
Special Note: Nine years ago I wrote the following story for a newspaper here in New York City. With the intention of merely providing a reporter’s objective glimpse into the magnitude of our former Pontiff’s life, little did I realize that my words were spelling the name of a future Saint. Isn’t it odd that the obvious sometimes takes so long to become “obvious?”
As the bells toll high atop St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the Catholic Church lays to rest its greatest living icon, Pope John Paul II. The entire world seemed to pack into St. Peter's Square bidding farewell to this modern-age hero. Tears of sadness overcome by the knowledge that indeed history changed during his tenure. Watching live coverage from Rome like millions around the world, I reflected on the pope's 26 years as pontiff.
The Canoe Trip
It was during his canoe and camping adventures with friends on the Skawa River in Poland in the mid 1930s that the young Karol Wojtyla first began to learn of his life's calling. He would later refer to these outdoor activities as significant stepping stones in his life. For the young Karol, nicknamed "Lolek," his strict and disciplined Catholic upbringing geared him into a more philosophical mindset amongst the natural setting on the Skawa. Imagine a young blond haired boy of about 12 trying to find an answer to why a bird sings or what causes the river's water to move a certain way. These were the small building blocks in the eventual formation of his great theological mind to come.
Suffering however became a regular part of little Lolek's life. His infant sister died even before he was born in 1920. Before he turned 13, he lost both his mother and his brother to illness. He himself narrowly escaped death by miraculously surviving after getting hit by a truck. The permanent scar left from this accident was his noticeable stooped shoulders. This pattern of continuous grief greatly influenced his Pontifical disposition as the "Suffering Servant" in Christ once again took shape.
The Early Years
Upon entering the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Wojtyla became quite the handsome "Hollywood" man. His passion for theater was quite noticeable, and his collection of poetry resounds even today. At the University, he continued his childhood pursuit of philosophy. In 1941, the 21-year old future Pope experienced the definitive career move of his life. Finding his sickly and bedridden father dead while returning home one day, Karol would then begin to reflect more intensely on his life and his father's wishes for him to enter the priesthood. Wojtyla realized that the logical course of his life's philosophical endeavors would be ultimately fulfilled as a theologian. He studied for the priesthood secretly at an underground seminary in Krakow to avoid the occupying Nazi forces and was ordained in 1946, going on to earn a second doctorate in his beloved philosophy.
A definite hallmark trait that Wojtyla possessed was his uncanny ability to please the oppressive forces, be it the Nazis or the communists, while at the same time push ever so subtly for reform. His strategy was to build churches in areas of governmental oppression, or in layman's terms, sort of like sticking up the middle finger at the Soviet Politburo for instance. It worked. Dictatorships began to yield to the will of the people because of Wojtyla's efforts.
In 1962, he was appointed Archbishop of Krakow after serving on the second Vatican Council where his specialty was none other than religious freedom. His appointment as Cardinal in 1967 paved the way for this tough yet accommodating moderate reformer. The scene was set. Rome, September 1978. After a mere 34 days in office, Wojtyla's predecessor, John Paul I had mysteriously died of a heart attack. The Sacred College of Cardinals tossed and turned in deciding who would take on the task of pontiff. Finally the familiar white smoke emerged from the rooftop of the Vatican. Wojtyla became the first non-Italian pope in over 400 years, and one of the youngest at the age of 58. One of the key reasons why Karol Wojtyla became the divinely inspired choice for pope was his devotion to prayer. He was a man often seen down on his knees in quiet contemplation.
On a recent visit to the rugged mountains surrounding the Polish village of Zakopane, I found myself being swept away in the refreshing breeze. Deep breaths of Alpine air together with meadows of dazzling forsythia proved to be the perfect retreat. It was no wonder then to learn that the pope often visited here to contemplate. This was a man of inspiration and zeal.
The Solidarity Movement
To be a fly on the wall in Poland's northern city of Gdansk in the summer of 1980 meant having a front row seat to what was arguably the beginning of communism's downfall. Spearheaded by the pope, "Solidarnosc" as it was called, paved the way for freedom and reform among Poland's labor workers. Led by Lech Walesa, this movement essentially foreshadowed what was destined to come – an oust of communistic dictatorship and a new Poland in the making.
Tensions were building. On a spring day in 1981, during one of his regular pope-mobile tours around St. Peter's Basilica greeting the crowds, the pope was a standing target as a lone gunman opened fire. Ali Agca's bullet miraculously circumvented the pontiff’s heart by a percentage of an inch. John Paul II would later attribute this miracle to the work of Mary, mother of Jesus. The assassin was allegedly hired by the Soviet's KGB agency to dispose of their new troublemaker. And in true Christ like fashion, the pope later visited Agca in prison to reconcile him.
The Traveler
Pope John Paul II was statistically the most traveled pope in the history of the papacy. This great testament to his tenacity for evangelization and world cohesiveness runs chills down the spine. He had visited no less than 120 countries during his tenure. He also had the incredible distinction of speaking eight languages. The list of destinations seems endless. In 1998, the pope's presence in Cuba was clearly a critical boost for its people, long under the whip of hard-liner Fidel Castro. It was said that Castro himself miraculously lessened his fierce grip on the people soon after. And in Chile, the eventual collapse of Augusto Pinochet's reign was most likely the result of John Paul II’s charismatic visit. This man, who held the very core of Catholicism in his palm, shaped and molded the hearts of mankind tenaciously. This lion of the Church roared loud, reestablishing essential Church doctrine amidst a troubled world.
Clearly his goal was to place Christ back into society, in all its facets. Long lost and forgotten principles of brotherhood, sacrifice, and devotion to Mary that dwindled through the ages suddenly emerged. There was no place for a political agenda in the absence of God, in this man's eyes. The fruits of growth would only ripen with a faith belief, as he reasoned.
Indeed his inaugural visit to the United States was met with mixed emotions. Of course his presence was the great highlight of the year for so many people, but he didn't come to pat us on the back and sing praises. Rather, consistent with his divine driven zeal, the pope set the record straight on America's people: they were too materialistic. He argued that our culture of secularism placed little value on spirituality. The typical American wants everything. Rather, argued John Paul II, we should abandon the “self” and seek to follow the example of Christ thinking less of ourselves and more of others. This can only be accomplished through prayer and contemplation.
This traveling pope knew very well that the youths of today would be the Catholic church of tomorrow. His herculean efforts in gathering millions of young people at no less than 20 World Youth Days since 1986 was proof. From Argentina to Italy, John Paul II’s bravado in defending Christian values was triumphant. Youths began to reject temptation and put on the coat of Christ.
The Writer
John Paul II was notorious for his written work. Publishing books, letters, and encyclicals, the Pope championed this method of communication reaching into very deep social and moral issues. Though not always easy to read, his precision with the definitive teachings of Christ often clashed vehemently with modern-day rationale. Yes, it is tough to be a Christian.
Ironically though, it was probably because of his steadfastness to purity and principle which actually turned many people towards him. People came to realize that indeed this man was representing Christ himself. And as icing on the cake for this state-of-the-art techno society, the pope hit the music charts by cutting his own CD. Together with the help of the Vatican radio station, his recital of common prayers sung to the rhythm of a drumbeat completely won over the hearts of people young and old.
Witness to Hope
On a recent excursion to Rome, I had a chance to see the pope firsthand at a papal audience gathering. Getting closer to him, I began to see the real John Paul II. His contemplative eyes drew me into a world of compassion. The strands of brilliant white hair atop his head seemed to symbolize that yes, indeed this man represented purity at its best. And even though the frail physique of this Parkinson's disease sufferer was clearly evident, behind the deep lengthy wrinkles in his face was a man of profound faith, a witness to hope in a dreary world.
Karol Wojtyla, the Longest Running Act in Town
On April 2nd, we remember that sorrowful event exactly nine years ago when we lost our beloved Karol Wojtyla. Like you, I cannot believe nine years has passed already. It feels like just a few years at most. Perhaps this is due to his resonance in our minds and all that he impacted. Yesterday as I replayed his funeral video on the DVD which I purchased from EWTN.com, a thousand images came to mind, but not mostly of his latter years as we may tend to recall. Rather, I thought about the actor, the romantic, and the youthful downhill skier in Wojtyla.
Had it not been for his devoutly faithful mother Emilia, who was warned that she had virtually no chance of giving birth to a live child and should abort the pregnancy, little “Lolek” would never have been. Yes, 17-year olds have wandering eyes, didn’t we all? A damsel known as Ginka Beer quickly caught his attention, and it was this slender, dark-eyed beauty who was probably responsible for much of Wojtyla’s future papal social skills, introducing him to the art of acting in theatre. What really grabbed my attention was the thought of the now ordained Fr. Wojtyla, alias “Wujek,” masquerading himself as an uncle to groups of youth during spiritually inspired skiing and boating excursions, of course in defiance of the political powers at the time. What guts, huh? You’ve got to love this guy!
Of course, Wojtyla’s youth was a mere drop in the bucket compared to the entire span of his life’s work, and as the DVD video neared its conclusion, there was one moment which really spurred on throat swallows along with watery eyes, that being the momentary pause the pallbearers gave to the crowd as they carried his casket inside. It was almost as if we didn’t want this funeral to end and closure to come. Just keep it going, was the sentiment. Even though the video ended yesterday, it is difficult to even write of it now, with throat swallows and watery eyes upon each keystroke, and this is nine years after the fact. That certainly is proof that closure never really came. Wojtyla’s act just keeps going.
Seven Signs of the Season
People everywhere, in some manner, shape, or form, began to feel that certain “calling” this month, didn't we? The weather is turning and daffodils are yearning, yet, this transition wouldn’t be quite right without its prerequisite, the most solemn season on the calendar, Lent. Signs of shamrocks were on display, soon followed by chocolate Easter bunnies grabbing our attention. But in the meantime, why don’t we instead focus on seven other signs?
#1. Sell your ashes. What? Need we be reminded that we are dust, and unto dust we shall return? Yes, we do! How often do we get caught up in the world’s web, losing perspective of who we really are. Ash Wednesday physically brands us with a burnt, black forehead sign as a wake-up call in reminding us not to forget that our skin and bones don’t last. The lesson: give up investment in your body’s stock, rather, buy stock in your everlasting soul.
#2. Go to confession. Unfortunately recipients of the Sacrament of Reconciliation are on the decline. Mysteriously however, long confessional lines seem to appear between Palm Sunday and Holy Saturday in too many last-minute efforts at redemption. That’s great anyway, but why wait until Good Friday to make your annual pilgrimage? Go now! What better way to begin the Lenten season than as a sin-free “tabula rasa,” or clean slate, upon which all the sanctity of the season can be inscribed. It makes sense.
#3. Visit the Stations. Many Catholic churches conduct the Way of the Cross every Friday night during Lent, culminating on Good Friday. Here the priest recalls each of Christ’s 14 stops during the last hours of his life. You’ll relive what it was like for Christ to get condemned, scourged and ultimately crucified. Forget the Easter bunny, this is what the season is really all about. Take your kids.
#4. Gaze at a Crucifix. That’s right, get a good stare session in. Did you ever think about what it was like to be crucified? We’ve all stepped on splinters and cut our hands, but haven’t quite experienced an incision directly on a nerve and without anesthesia. Had open heart surgery? Yes that’s serious, but you’re asleep when it happens and none the wiser to it afterwards. Imagine being awake and without pain killers when you’re cut? Now you know how Christ felt. It was once said that a two-minute gaze upon a crucifix can turn a sinner into a saint.
#5. Pass on the popcorn. It’s hard isn’t it? While sitting there seven nights a week watching our favorite sitcom and reaching for our favorite snack. The issue here is not any particular item we have grown habituated to. Rather, it is our tendency to become dependent on something, devoting a great deal of attention to it. Fasting is not only about food refrain, it is about detaching ourselves from any such overly dependent time-and-attention getter. Time and attention which could be given to God.
#6. Almsgiving. No, not “armsgiving,” this isn’t war. And never was the Charles Bronson film Hard Times so apparent. Yes, economically speaking, these are truly hard times. Harder still for the beggar on the street asking you for a dime. We pinch a penny walking up and down the supermarket aisles trying to break even. But the real question we should ask ourselves during Lent is: How am I sacrificing if I am breaking even?
#7. Prayer. Let’s save the best for last. Even though all of the previous six points above are actually forms of prayer in one way or another, the real essence of Lent begins in your heart, mind and soul. Sure you can do good deeds, go to church, etc., etc., but how often do you pray quietly and contemplatively? John Paul II used to pray for hours, that’s right, hours per day. Can we be so bold as to attempt at least 10 minutes per day?
Fortunately for some people, these seven signs are a rehearsal for what we have been habitually doing every Lent. Personally, perhaps like you do too, I find this hallmark provides an inspiration to others who are not so devout. Kneeling that extra minute or vocalizing your response a little louder at Mass just so someone else might notice could do the trick. Who knows, perhaps because of your faith, somebody somewhere will take notice of your seven signs of the season and luckily save themselves. Let’s pass on the four-leaf clovers, after all, seven has always been a luckier number.
Sirach and the 30-60-90 Theory
“My son, take care of your father when he is old; grieve him not as long as he lives. Even if his mind fail, be considerate with him; revile him not in the fullness of your strength. For kindness to a father will not be forgotten, it will serve as a sin offering-it will take lasting root” as stated in the biblical book of Sirach chapter 3:12-14. Yet, why are so many of our elderly parents treated otherwise by their children? Probably as you have too, I increasingly continue to notice this very sad trend. We've all done it, me, you, and everybody else at times interacting with an elder. My theory is that, for instance, while a 60-year old may be still functioning as a 30-year old mentally, the 90-year old simply is not. But the 60-year old expects the elder to reason and comprehend because they themselves comprehend at their “old” age of 60. They then rebuke the elder because, and what I find most disturbing, these people refuse to accept the fact that their minds too will inevitably fail, thereby thinking they themselves are invulnerable and in complete control. Yet, time will find the once fully functioning 30-year old, now the invincible 60-year old, and inevitably the future 90-year old sitting on a park bench in Fall with head down amidst falling leaves and hasteful squirrels, lonely, somewhat sad, and never being phased by now their own children yelling at them so often. Rather, just serving as a blind, helpless receptor for rebuking. A very sad intellectual morphology. Perhaps the next time we communicate with a senior citizen, let’s try to recall the words of Sirach.
Winter Wonderland, Wow!
Winter 2004, Inside Out by Carol Benanti & Tom Flannagan
Who likes a Staten Island winter? Not many people. But ask West Brighton resident Andrew Ostrowski and he'll tell you: "There's nothing as captivating as discovering the Green-belt amidst a blanket of white."
Ostrowski, a freelance writer, took to the woods last week immediately after our latest dusting. As a writer, he draws inspiration from these solo walks among the trees and wildlife. And for him, this past winter was a wonder.
"I adore the snow," he said. "Gone are the days of yesteryear, when a snowstorm necessitated warm family conversation in front of a fireplace, or the serenity of handwriting a letter to a loved one as heavenly flurries fall from the skies. I cherish these winter attributes and being immersed in the solitude of a Greenbelt winter certainly is mind-refreshing."
His latest trek began at suburban street level and gradually ascended up into the heart of the "snow-white belt." He continued across the wooded terrain, navigating ice ponds here and there and traveling a southeast course.
"In addition to the tranquility of it all, the overwhelming attention-catcher for me was definitely the snow-covered branches. This was pure beauty, plain and simple. Here I was in the center of a winter wonderland, like something out of the 'Nutcracker' ballet. No artist's canvas could ever come close to this."
Navigating in the vicinity of High Rock Park, the writer describes himself as being "surreally" off Staten Island.
"Two hours into the trip, and I've forgotten the real world" he adds. "Here in the crux of this paradise, I see nests of birds, birch trees, dormant plants and shrubs, all awaiting the warmth of spring."
Ostrowski, known to be reflective in his writings, is critical of the typical Islander's attitude when it comes to the winter.
"I hear it over and over, everybody hates the snow. Whether it means shoveling the car out, delaying that supermarket trip or taking the extra three minutes to bundle up, a lot of folks fail to see the fulfilling side of a snowfall."
He concluded his rite of winter as the sun began to set, and as sure as future snows will come, you can bet Andrew Ostrowski will be waiting for them and looking skyward.
"I now have to begin the hibernating process of waiting until next winter. But this "DVD" was burned into my mind so not too many tears will be shed over the long wait."
The Purity of White
As you know, in early January much of New England was treated to a wintry wonderland, if I may dare to say so. I continue to be amazed at the negativity associated with snow. Everywhere you go, the “word on the street” seems to come from the common list of curses in our vocabulary, so much so that the purity of white becomes lost forever. Vintage stories of neighborhood homes being buried in five feet of snow, earmuffs and coal-fired ovens resonate out of the mouths of my senior citizen friends, and they say them with so much enthusiasm. Today, proclaiming those same stories about a modern day storm would wind you up in a mental institution. But why do so many people today simply hate the snow? Have we become so pampered by automobile ease, electric garage door openers and rock salt that we are opting out of actively living? “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately” as Thoreau said. Because of tradition, and the hint of a smile, fortunately many folks still see the purity of a winter’s snowfall.
9 Centuries of Francis
Sounding bells from afar as sun beams radiantly shine through the silver lining. A gentle wind approaching, almost signaling a revelation of divinity. We are in the Holy Land. Stretching from Syria in the north to Egypt in the south and from the island of Cyprus westward to Amman, Jordan, the Holy Land has been a significant spiritual impetus for many. Among them, the special province of the Franciscan Order known as the Franciscans of the Holy Land. Founded by Francis Bernardone in 1217, their journey has been one of struggle, humility, and perseverance. Francis and his companions, dressed in the simple garments of pilgrims, reached the seaport of Acre which became the first stronghold of the Franciscan presence in the Holy Land. Crossing the rugged terrain enroute to Jerusalem, they quickly became strangers in a strange land. Their mission was clear: Establish a presence, tend to the poor, and preserve the holy sites. St. Francis often referred to this land as the "Pearl of the Missions", since Jesus was born, lived, ministered, and died here. Thus, the small band of men quickly became known as the Pearl of the Franciscan Order. After its initial establishment, the province was further divided into custodies, which are monasteries in each geographic area. As their presence grew, it became clear to the inhabitants that they were a group to be reckoned with. Tensions climaxed in 1291 and the friars sought out sanctuary on the island of Cyprus. Gradually they were once again infused into the Holy Land, and in 1342 Pope Clement VI declared their work to be "the care of the Sacred Places in the name of the Christian world". But it was only after 1517 that the Franciscans of the Holy Land really solidified their foundation. The emergence of parishes, schools, and assistance to foreigners answered a long-awaited need. Parishes then set up orphanages and hospitals. Like a vine in fertile soil, the Franciscan presence extended.
The formation process of becoming a Franciscan of the Holy Land is meticulous. A future Friar Minor lives his life through the Gospel after the example set by St. Francis. This life expresses itself in loyalty to the Catholic Church, prayer and fraternity, chastity, and by living in obedience without property. The pre-novitiate program is geared to allow time for the potential candidate to grasp religious matters. He is trained in prayer, community life, and work. This initial period of formation lasts two years.
Religious life as a Franciscan begins with the novitiate period. It consists of twelve months of instruction on religious life, with the history and spirituality of the Franciscan Order stressed. The novice is trained to commune with God through personal and communal prayer and becomes immersed in the traditions of the Franciscan Order. At the completion of the novitiate, the novice professes temporary vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
The post-novitiate period then follows. It must last no less than three years and no longer than nine. The further growth of the newly professed friar is fostered, and it is here that the friar's unique skills and abilities are developed, whether technical, educational, or apostolic. At the conclusion of this period, the friar professes solemn vows dedicating himself for life to God, the Church, and the community of fellow friars. Those preparing for the priesthood will enroll in a course of studies and other friars will pursue specific programs as Brothers.
According to Father Angelo Ison, OFM (Order of Franciscans Minor) of St. Saviour's Monastery in Jerusalem, formation does not cease after this. "It must be seen as continuing" he says. "The friar is to constantly perfect his spiritual, doctrinal, and professional formation." Fr. Angelo stresses the importance of discernment. "Brotherhood and priesthood are complete vocations since they are both calls from God. He chooses the person and the candidate responds to his call."
Today, some 330 Franciscan friars carry out St. Francis' divine mission in the Holy Land. Their "base camp" here in the United States is in Washington, D.C. and according to Brother Fabian Adkins, who served as its head before being immersed in the Holy Land, "It is hard to explain the remarkable feeling of living, praying, learning, and teaching in these places. But that is the mystery that 2000 years later calls our friars to leave home and homeland for this Mediterranean land." He sums it all up stating "In these places, which are sacred because of the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ, Holy Land friars and Christian laity preserve not only the holy places themselves, but the Christian culture." This past summer, three new candidates for the Franciscan novitiate emerged from our Capital ready for the challenge. Four more will enter next fall.
Nine centuries later, the mission continues. St. Francis' vision for his friars in the Holy Land has not dimmed - the holy places are preserved, the Gospel is preached, the poor are fed, housed, clothed, and educated by his friars and the spirit of Christ and Francis continues to pervade the land called holy.
Just A Peek at Film-Noire
I’d like to shed some warm light on a topic most familiar to our senior readers, nostalgic film-noire. It is troubling to realize that all that remains of our silver screen stars are bones and a bunch of memories from a long forgotten era. Do you remember Merle Oberon in the Scarlet Pimpernel? She was an exquisitely beautiful and captivating actress. The story surrounds the French Revolution of 1789, where Oberon is the wife of the elusive Pimpernel, played by Leslie Howard, an Englishman set on freeing condemned French aristocrats. Despite her hesitant allegiance with Citizen Chauvelin, the notorious guillotine executioner played by Raymond Massey, she unknowingly reveals her husband’s secret identity only to flee to his side at film’s end! For beloved icons such as Merle Oberon, death somehow fails to be fathomed. Such is the power of life.
George Who?
And added to your recipe-making conversation around the dinner table this Christmas may arguably be the biggest story making headlines last month involving the death of John F. Kennedy. Many of our senior readers will remember where they were on November 22, 1963, upon hearing the tragic news. One year earlier and closer to home, then 6-year old Am-Pol Eagle reader Noelle Krolewicz will recall meeting JFK upon giving a doll to his daughter at the Pulaski Day Parade. But who killed JFK? Was it Lee Harvey Oswald, the grassy knoll phantom, or…George Hickey? George who? As you may have heard, the latest theory asserts that Hickey, a rookie Secret Service agent sitting on top of the back seat of an open car directly behind JFK, yanked out an AR-15 assault rifle upon hearing the first bullet fired from Oswald. After mishandling the safety latch on the trigger while the gun was on his lap and pointing straight ahead, the gun fired a bullet that hit Kennedy in the back of the head, killing him. Supporting evidence of gun smoke odor, entry wound angle, and an alleged Secret Service cover-up increases the chances that this theory is true. However, I think you may have better chances of landing a nickel on its edge after throwing it at this theory. What do you think?
A Wintery Wonderland
As you know, last week Buffalo and points westward around our state were treated to a wintry wonderland, if I may dare to say so. I continue to be amazed at the negativity associated with snow. Everywhere you go, the “word on the street” seems to come from the common list of curses in our vocabulary, so much so that the purity of white becomes lost forever. Vintage stories of neighborhood homes being buried in 5 feet of snow, earmuffs, and coal-fired ovens resonate out of the mouths of my senior citizen friends, and they say them with so much enthusiasm. Today, proclaiming those same stories about a modern day storm would wind you up in a mental institution. But why do so many people today simply hate the snow? Have we become so pampered by automobile ease, electric garage door openers, and rock salt that we are opting out of actively living? “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately” as Thoreau said.
The True Face of Mary
Speaking of purity, I discovered an image of Our Lady of Fatima buried deep down in one of my basement file cabinets. The 8 x 10 print backed in cardboard was of the infamous statue so popular around the world, most notably circulated by the Blue Army. After doing some research, goose bumps ran down my spine upon realizing that this image, while considering all the other images of Mary, is probably the closest to what the mother of Christ actually looked like. The testimony of Lúcia Santos, one of three children who were privileged to be chosen to receive Mary’s message, was quite revealing. This image, coupled with the Shroud of Turin image, is in my opinion a one-two punch of exactly what Mary and Jesus looked like. You can view the true face of Mary in the Totus Tuus Opus Dei section of this website.
Boston Strong
Congratulations to the white and red colors of Polonia once again shining strong! Oh, and we should also congratulate the Boston Red Sox for wearing those colors in winning the World Series of baseball! What an incredible series, wouldn’t you agree? Unfortunately Fox network, the series broadcasting station, failed to televise the opening pitch which was thrown by the one and only Carl “Yaz” Yastrzemski. But network pardon’s aside, the team displayed an incredible tour de force since finishing in last place one year ago. That combined with the “B-strong” motto adopted in response to last April’s marathon bombing made for a simply fulfilling season. And let’s not forget the white and red colors of Polonia they were wearing!
Spying
Where is Edward Snowden? He’s taking refuge in Russia of course. And it appears he may not need to remain incognito for too much longer in light of the recent honors he received from former National Security Administration chieftains for leaking sensitive information. Given the recent headline-breaking revelation that allied countries everywhere have been spying on each other was enough to cast doubts on Snowden’s classification as traitor. Should we be surprised to learn that, for many years, we have been spying on our allies and our allies have been spying on us? A handshake and a smile may be one thing, but you never know what goes on behind the closed doors of politics.
Wild Turkey
Appropriately enough for this month’s ending festive occasion of Thanksgiving, a flock of wild turkeys has been corralled right here in Staten Island, NY. It seems the gang of gooble-gobbles were exhibiting too much moxy in wandering out into traffic and raising many an eyebrow. Hunting is simply not permitted in urban neighborhoods you see, and downright discouraged by this writer we’ll add, so the authorities were left with no other choice than to round up the rebels and escort them by caged truck to an upstate farm. Following up to their status, local animal lovers have since learned that although the roads are now clear of feathers and rednecks, a sense of sadness has overtaken the birds who just plain wanted to be loved. However it is reported that the gang is indeed grateful for not being reserved on someone’s upcoming dinner plate.
The Battle of the Popes?
(via Facebook, a string of comments on the Pope’s recent statements) "The Pope is relaxing the rules on abortion and contraception even though nobody cares."–Anthony, N.Y. "It’s a victory for progressive Catholics."–Izabela, N.Y. "Finally the Catholic church is realizing the only way to survive is to embrace the people’s needs more and show mercy."–Elizabeth, Pa. "I wonder what John Paul II would think after all the efforts he devoted to ending abortion and contraception?!"–Irene, Pa.
Are we witnessing a battle of the Popes? Not really. Actually, Pope Francis isn’t relaxing any of the rules and efforts made by earlier popes such as John Paul II, even though the media is quick to portray that. He could’ve worded his statement a little better though, instead the world may be getting a false perception that abortion and contraception aren’t that important. Yes, mercy is most important, but in my opinion, each of us is called to a unique role, including those called to battle evil by devoting their lives to fight abortion and contraception, or the “Church Militant.” Mercy should be used to carry out that role, as I think Francis really means. I think John Paul II would agree. What do you think?
Lick That Stamp
Go ahead, try to lick it. I'm not referring to the glue, but the price. When was the last time you mailed a letter overseas? Arriving at my local post office the other day to send off an old fashioned hand-written letter, which I thought was kind of nostalgic in our modern day cyber world of e-mails, my eagerness quickly turned to hesitancy given the price to pay: $1.10 is the going rate for a first-class letter via air mail. Can you believe this?
Perhaps our senior-most readers will recall the pennies they paid with eagerness in sending off a long distance letter to a loved one. I bet our elders thoroughly cherished sitting by a fireplace on a regular basis as they composed their emotions with pen and ink, all the while being made affordable by the post office. And now, what do we have? Malcontent and reluctance over any personal desire to script a letter due to this outlandish price. Instead, we send e-mails which seem so impersonal that we must use the keyboard characters of : ) to convey a smile. We’re not robots yet, but the post office is certainly helping us make the transition.
Back to School for Nothing
September marks the traditional back to school movement in this country, a time when kids gear up for the unanticipated arrival at an 8-2:30 institution supposedly designed to educate them and prepare them for the future. Our culture has somehow automatically accepted the idea that schooling is necessary and "the right thing to do" without ever taking a moment to ask a question. How much influence does a youngster's schooling have on his/her future? "How can you ask such a question, everybody is supposed to go to school because it's been done that way for centuries, this is the norm for all children and adolescents, what are you crazy?" so say the typical mom and dad in Anywhere, USA. However, perhaps we need to step outside of ourselves and our beliefs for a moment and look objectively at reality, something we rarely if ever do, being creatures of habit. Fact for fact, there is in fact very little retention of knowledgeable experience attained by children in their grammer to high school years. Let's face it, who among you remembers what you've learned in mathematics class, or english class, or biology class? Nobody. At best, the average individual's retention span will perhaps recall an old teacher's personality, perhaps a best friend they had, or some specific instance they exerienced in the 12 years they attended school. The reality is, and we don't want to hear it, that all that blackboard chalk, textbook reading, and homework we went through basically had a zero effect on ouselves today, statistically. What people need to realize is that a child's 12 years of schooling is unfortunately not substantive as they think it is, but instead has a societive effect. The idea of engaging with new children, making friends, and going "through the motions" for 12 years is by far the overwhelming byproduct of education at those ages. And as shocking as it is to hear, in reality, teachers are not influential to a young mind, parents are. By far, the parent's influence is retained by the child, since birth in fact. That is why, fact for fact, home-schooled children outscore institution-educated children by a landslide. But we still send our kids to school, because we think that's right and everybody's doing it. In the 1940's everybody smoked cigarettes too, and now look what they're saying...
The Useless U.N.
If you see your next door neighbor on his porch strangling his wife, how long would it take you to intervene in order to stop it? I bet first you would yell at him, then simultaneously call 911 while you run over there and try to stop him, right? Of course, that would be the right procedure. Yet, what is happening in Syria, though comparably the same, is being met with quite the opposite reaction. Have you asked yourself the question, why should it take 9 days of beaurocratic deliberations and a "Congressional vote" in order to stop the mass death march using chemical warfare by the Syrian regime on its own people? Absolutely insane! President Obama first should be applauded for expressing a desire to act responsibly and immediately (like the example above) without "waiting for 911" so to speak. How many innocent people will die during the 9 day wait? Yet, politics as they are, we are waiting. And what of the United Nations? This institution, designed to be the "policeman" of the world equipped with its own army, representational of nearly every nation on earth, has once again failed by its inaction. I'm sorry, but not acting is acting, isn't it. For example, Switzerland's decision to remain neutral in the face of Hitler's atrocities should not be looked on as "neutral" thereby excusing them. Switzerland, in this website's opinion, is guilty because they chose not to act. Look at all the nations who "took a pass" when Obama asked for their allegiance to join and end the chemical warfare in Syria. All of these nations, by taking a pass, in effect should be held accountable for such a decision. There is no "free pass" when it comes to deciding on life and death. The United Nations, supposedly composed of representatives of these nations, has once again proven itself, like it did in the neverending Darfur tragedy, like it did when dictators in western Africa were cutting arms off of citizens with opposing views, and like it did in Lebanon when Hezbollah were allowed to continue threatening Israel by hiding out in schools, to be an absolute disgrace and a worthless, useless institution. Instead, shouldn't your answer to this more serious question be that whenever an unthinkable action occurs as currently in Syria and in the examples above, Congress shouldn't wait 9 days, but instead, drop its dinner, get over to the Capitol, and vote that very same day as the atrocity occurred. The U.N., rather than schedule a date on their calendar to sit and hear a bunch of talking heads deliberate, should pick up the hotline and dispatch the necessary counter-forces to end this atrocity. This is common, dignified sense. How many more lives must be lost before we wake up?
FB's Dirty Little Secret
Ever notice just to the right of your Facebook newsfeed page a potpourri of ads? Have you ever taken a closer look at what they are and perhaps why they are there? It dawned on me that what I have heard regarding Facebook's social engineering strategy was in fact true. They allow certain ads to populate your screen based on your profile. In another fact, FB uses virtually all of your messages, interests, likes, and subscriptions, even the friends you have, to market, or sell, interests. FB is the epitome of a cookie kingdom, and we're talking computer "cookies" here. "Okay, that's normal business, what about it?" you may ask. I found it interesting reviewing FB's policy on sexually explicit and offensive postings, that it clearly says that you have a right to report to FB any photo or message you deem such. But what I found quite ironic is that FB itself is posting ads clearly sexually explicit on that right side of the page. One photo was of a girl who basically was wearing a "bra" more or less three sizes too small for her, where her breasts were basically front and center and the very first thing the viewer notices. Just last week, another ad posted a rather intellectual looking woman wearing black-framed eyeglasses and whose breasts took up about 3/4 of the photo, nipples showing through her tight fitting T shirt. Why are these ads popping up on my screen? Because my FB profile says I'm single and though not made public, FB knows my DOB. Therefore, I'm targeted for women in my age range, run by ad companies who buy space from Facebook and obviously receive input from them with my profile stats (so much for FB's privacy policy). Interestingly, FB allows you to X-out the ad and choose not to have such ads from a particular company ever appear again. Great...but no sooner do you X-out of one semi-porno ad does another sexually explicit one arrive from yet another pimp dealer. Who's kidding who here? Facebook is using sex to sell. They sell their ad space to companies who post trashy ads, then have the gaul to have a policy stating they have zero tolerance for sexually offensive content! You know, for you and me, we can handle such things. But what about your 15 year old kid? Should we wonder then when our daughter comes home with the dreaded news of "I'm sorry, my boyfriend forgot to go to the drugstore this time" and you know the rest of the story. Facebook, take some responsibility!
Gone with the Wind
I would like to call attention to a dying tradition and unfortunate metamorphosis being experienced by a good number of our senior citizens. More often than not, I’m finding that our elder folks are finding themselves rather chagrin with today’s ever-changing news and entertainment industries. Just the other day a senior fellow was remarking that his beloved TCM (Turner Classic Movies) channel seems to be showing fewer film-noire classics and airing more recent blockbuster films. Tyrone Power and Bette Davis mean absolutely nothing to today’s audience regrettably. On the news front, how is a senior citizen supposed to navigate an iPhone “app” which seems to be the premier publishing route taken by an increasing number of newspapers? Thank goodness for the Am-Pol Eagle in perhaps taking the more costly route of print publishing in honoring tradition and practicality for our elderly readers! But this topic asks a bigger question of the scary metamorphosis taking place in our media. Why doesn’t society’s younger audience seem to appreciate antiquity, sentimentality, and tradition? Yesterday’s movie and today’s news is not good enough, they want tomorrow’s. How sad. Perhaps David O. Selznick’s familiar film opener sums it all up for our seniors: “It was a tradition Gone with the Wind…”
Insults at 1500'
Nik Wallenda successfully walked his way across a chasm of the Grand Canyon on a two inch steel wire as many of you recently witnessed. This was of course a magnificent feat, magnified by the fact that Wallenda chose not to wear a tethering device. During the skywalk, the daredevil Wallenda was continuously asking Jesus to “calm the winds” and thanking God for assistance which seemed to add a nice spiritual component. But it eventually dawned on me that something didn’t seem quite right here. As commendable and noble as it appeared, in actuality wasn’t this gentleman being just a bit disrespectful to Jesus? Considering all the efforts Christians make to cherish the sanctity of life, this guy was gambling with it and then wanted Jesus to uphold his gamble. You may argue, "Well, what about an Indy 500 race car driver, or a downhill skier, aren't they gambling with their lives?" Consider that Wallenda's "sport" was a make or break one, either he lived or he died, in essence his actions had clear-cut consequences and he knew it. With other dangerous sports, the participants have only a side chance of dying, with the main purpose being to navigate a course or set a speed record for example. Wallenda was putting his God-given life on the line, and asking God to help him roll the dice. I’m sorry Mr. Wallenda, invoking God’s help demands a degree of personal responsibility. Life means something.
Artificial Ingredients and the TDF
As a supplement to this website's section "Le Tour" where you can further read behind-the-scenes of the Tour de France, this month's new topic comes just in time for the start of the infamous July spectacle. Marred by the recent Oprah Winfrey interview of Lance Armstrong, the Tour has suffered insult to injury and as we shall see, will undoubtedly be infused with "artificial ingredients" and never come clean. Drug use in the Tour de France has a long history, and a sad one. In a sport where physically testing a body's limit is par for the course, combined with a direct connection between salary and results, it is no wonder then why performance enhancing drugs are rampant. Amphetamines were the drugs of choice through the 1970's, combined with caffeine through the 80's. More recently, such substances as testosterone and erythropoietin (EPO) have been added. This is in addition of course to the well-known "natural" technique of blood doping, which is extracting your blood, refrigerating it for awhile, then injecting it back into your body, which by this time has regenerated the lost RBCs (red blood cells), resulting in an increased RBC count in your bloodstream. RBCs carry oxygen to weary cells, so the more you have, the more you can endure. Several riders have been caught via unannounced sporadic testing, but, the crook is always one step ahead of the cop, isn't that correct? With the help of team physicians, riders have found clever ways at beating the rap.
One way, only a theory of mine and never proven, involves the strategic use of the domestiques. These guys are the work horses for the team, all focused on getting their leader to the top of the General Classification, or ranking. A technique that is plausible is for these domestiques, maybe one or two of them, to be intentionally loaded up on EPO or another substance and to then nurse the team leader through about three quarters of the race, after which they drop out of sight and purposely finish back in the pack. The net effect is that the team leader, who had no reason to take drugs, has just had three quarters of the day's work done for him (breaking the wind, water supply, etc.) by the drugged domestiques. The team leader finishes with a fast time, and for that he is automatically tested with a urine test. The faster you are across the line, the more chance that you will undergo testing. About three randomly selected riders are also chosen from all regardless of finishing time, but the chances that one of these domestiques is picked is small since the field is large. The leader finishes strong, tests clean, and the team physicians chalk up another victory for themselves. It is a terrible tragedy. But as long as money rules, rules will be broken.
Yet despite Tour organizers realizing that drugs play a factor, you would think that ALL riders should be tested to solve the problem, yet only a few are. Hmm, I smell a rat. Imagine if that were the case, by the end of the first week of this three week race you would have a drastically reduced field of riders, which would then hurt the team tactics, which in turn would then hurt the sponsors. And as in any professional sport, money dictates everything. Are the organizers then under pressure from sponsors to intentionally limit the testing?
The crucifixion of Lance Armstrong by the public may then be a bit polarized. Rather than condemn this individual participant, perhaps it should be condemning the whole Tour organization. Of course, personal choices to take illegal substances are individual responsibilities and individuals bear the consequences, but when rules are skewed to favor financial gain of sponsorship, how can we then blame the individual cyclists, their team directors, or their physicians?
The hyperbole of focusing on a single rider becomes even more clear when you discover the physical parameters of this colossal race. Riders race every day for 21 days, with each day typically covering over 100+ miles. "Okay, I can do that drug-free, why do these guys have to take dope?" you say. You're right, you certainly can ride 100+ miles per day for three weeks, but there's one problem. It is physically impossible for a human to ride 100+ miles per day for three weeks at breakneck speeds. Typical speeds in the Tour are 35mph and every year they increase, including uphill mountain climbing, time trialing, and bunch sprinting. Physiologically, it is a fact that after an exertive workout, the body's testosterone levels drop. Testosterone is used by the body to recover, which normally takes about a day to rebound to normal levels. For example, Greg LeMond's wife reported that he was typically very fatigued and "out of it" the day following a big race. That's because his body was in the process of recovery. Now, applying these same physiological facts to today's Tour de France cyclist will leave you perplexed as to how riders can race 100+ miles per day at breakneck speeds, have their testosterone levels drop, and then wake up the next day and do it all over again, and again, and again. It needs no further explanation. Even former Armstrong teammate Tyler Hamilton's interview on 60 Minutes revealed how team physician's would monitor a rider's daily testosterone level and make sure measures were taken to expedite the recovery by the next morning.
So in a nutshell, ethics are broken because organizers relax the rules because sponsors have too much influence because society needs them. Did you follow that? So the next time you hear about doping in the Tour de France, ask yourself who is really at fault, the rider, the team director, the team physician, the race organizer, the sponsor...or us? It may be that your cereal's "No Additives, No Preservatives, 100% Natural Ingredients" slogan may never make it to the Tour de France.
S.J. Goes Home
Recently, while I was listening to WABC-AM radio, I smiled when, to my delight, the following advertisement was aired: "Parents, teachers, dog lovers and people of all ages, read the children's book, S.J. Goes Home, by J.C. Carr. Kids love reading the true story of S.J., a rescued puppy mill dog—and you'll want to save a life and adopt your new furry, best friend from an animal shelter today! Read S.J. Goes Home available now in bookstores and on Amazon.com."
What a great ad, I thought. It was succinct, but most of all, intriguing. Being a person concerned with animal adoption, welfare, and the humane treatment of animals, it peppered my curiosity. I soon found myself on the Amazon.com page, where I read a full description of the book and reviews by people who ordered it, and by an independent book reviewer. Indeed, I too had to read the book and I placed an order with a click of my mouse and eagerly waited for the story of S.J., the rescued puppy mill collie to arrive.
Upon its arrival, I read the book and I was moved by it on many levels and it led me to write my own review. First, it did indeed make me want to go to an animal shelter and adopt a pet, thus, saving a life. But, it also aroused a deep sense of compassion for S.J. and all of the animals that had the misfortune to be bred and born into puppy mills, as well as all those lovable animals confined to 2'x2'x2' steel cages in local shelters. I also learned of the inhumane treatment these animals endure, especially the adults of the many litters, while being subjected to years of confinement in mass puppy mill breeding facilities for the sole purpose of monetary profit. Many of the puppies have a chance to be sold, but the adult animals are sentenced to life in a cage for up to ten years or more. These are cogent themes Carr emphasizes throughout the book. The story of S.J. also demonstrates that animals are sentient, social beings, wanting nothing more than to truly be man's best friend, while depicting S.J. as forgiving after all he has endured and grateful for being adopted. The text is accurately complimented by intricate, quite stirring and moving illustrations by artist Kerri Carabetta who brought S.J. and his collie family to life while contrasting life in the puppy mill, animal shelter and his newly adopted home. Below is an excerpt from the description on the back cover of the book.
"I watched as the women rescued my family. I knew this could be my last chance! I had to do something! As the woman closed the cage door, I placed my paw on her hand. I looked at her, with my head held high, loudly barking: LOOK AT ME! PLEASE, TAKE ME TOO!"
S.J., the main character, narrates his feelings while communicating through moving gestures and vocalizations, pleading to be rescued from his life of confinement in the puppy mill. The reader is taken on a heartfelt journey as he describes the three defining stages of his life: from difficult beginnings in a puppy mill, to his rescue and temporary placement in an animal shelter, to the extraordinary circumstances that led to his adoption by the author. The story, beautifully depicted in full color illustrations, vividly yet delicately captures a myriad of emotions as evoked by the puppy mill and shelter dogs. The story and images will instill compassion for the dogs in children, parents and educators as they are educated to the plight of puppy mill and shelter dogs. After reading S.J. Goes Home, readers will champion the humane treatment of animals, realizing that pet adoption is both a rewarding and wonderfully heartfelt deed; therefore becoming, like the author, a staunch advocate for shelter dog, cat, and other animal adoptions. So, as the radio advertisement aptly states: Read the children's book, S.J. Goes Home, and adopt your new furry, best friend from an animal shelter today and save a life!
But there is yet a more revealing story behind S.J.'s story you need to hear about... Consider the following facts:
-J.C. Carr (the author) had a childhood collie which her parents found on the street, brought in, and the family named him Scotty. That was in 1959. Scotty has been long passed away of course.
-On the morning of May 6th, 2002, J.C. Carr had to euthanize her second collie, named A.J., who weighed 58 lbs at the time.
-On the exact same day, May 6th, 2002, a collie was rescued and brought to a shelter, and the shelter named him Scotty as detailed on page 25 of the book. He weighed exactly 58 lbs at the time.
-Soon after, J.C. Carr began an internet shelter search to adopt a collie after losing A.J. and spotted the sheltered Scotty, who not only had the same name as the 1959 collie, but looked like both the 1959 Scotty and her former A.J., and weighed exactly the same incoming 58 lbs as the outgoing A.J..
-S.J. is that collie!
Nope, this is obviously no coincidence, something else occurred here. An incarnation? Objectively speaking, it would be difficult to conclude otherwise. Go back and re-read the above factual points. You will then realize that incarnation (not re-incarnation) is a very valid phenomenon, as expressed in the Totus Tuus section of this website. Read about my own cat as more proof! Perhaps we need to step outside of ourselves from time to time to objectively realize the 'boxes' we might be living in. Just think of all the religions of the world, why should there be so many if there is just one God who oversees everyone? Isn't it foolish then for faiths to discredit certain beliefs each other holds? Or, if we declare that all things are possible when it comes to God and spirituality as is the case, shouldn't we accept the possibility that such concepts as incarnation may indeed hold some truth? S.J.'s story appears to me, objectively, to be quite revealing of this. In addition to my own cat, you can also read the story of Ryan Hammons in the Archives section below.
Read the compelling story S.J. Goes Home as it takes you from sheer sorrow to rewarding rapture, all the while igniting the reader with a burning desire to make a difference in one lonely forgotten animal's life, and by doing so maybe, just maybe, drawing the reader a little closer to the ultimate mystery and meaning of life.
What do you think?
I would highly suggest acquiring the book, S.J. Goes Home, authored by J.C. Carr, professionally illustrated by Kerri Carabetta, and narrated by the one and only S.J.!
Click here to see the real life photo of S.J., his autobiography and that of his author and illustrator, as well as learning how to really become animal friendly!
What a great ad, I thought. It was succinct, but most of all, intriguing. Being a person concerned with animal adoption, welfare, and the humane treatment of animals, it peppered my curiosity. I soon found myself on the Amazon.com page, where I read a full description of the book and reviews by people who ordered it, and by an independent book reviewer. Indeed, I too had to read the book and I placed an order with a click of my mouse and eagerly waited for the story of S.J., the rescued puppy mill collie to arrive.
Upon its arrival, I read the book and I was moved by it on many levels and it led me to write my own review. First, it did indeed make me want to go to an animal shelter and adopt a pet, thus, saving a life. But, it also aroused a deep sense of compassion for S.J. and all of the animals that had the misfortune to be bred and born into puppy mills, as well as all those lovable animals confined to 2'x2'x2' steel cages in local shelters. I also learned of the inhumane treatment these animals endure, especially the adults of the many litters, while being subjected to years of confinement in mass puppy mill breeding facilities for the sole purpose of monetary profit. Many of the puppies have a chance to be sold, but the adult animals are sentenced to life in a cage for up to ten years or more. These are cogent themes Carr emphasizes throughout the book. The story of S.J. also demonstrates that animals are sentient, social beings, wanting nothing more than to truly be man's best friend, while depicting S.J. as forgiving after all he has endured and grateful for being adopted. The text is accurately complimented by intricate, quite stirring and moving illustrations by artist Kerri Carabetta who brought S.J. and his collie family to life while contrasting life in the puppy mill, animal shelter and his newly adopted home. Below is an excerpt from the description on the back cover of the book.
"I watched as the women rescued my family. I knew this could be my last chance! I had to do something! As the woman closed the cage door, I placed my paw on her hand. I looked at her, with my head held high, loudly barking: LOOK AT ME! PLEASE, TAKE ME TOO!"
S.J., the main character, narrates his feelings while communicating through moving gestures and vocalizations, pleading to be rescued from his life of confinement in the puppy mill. The reader is taken on a heartfelt journey as he describes the three defining stages of his life: from difficult beginnings in a puppy mill, to his rescue and temporary placement in an animal shelter, to the extraordinary circumstances that led to his adoption by the author. The story, beautifully depicted in full color illustrations, vividly yet delicately captures a myriad of emotions as evoked by the puppy mill and shelter dogs. The story and images will instill compassion for the dogs in children, parents and educators as they are educated to the plight of puppy mill and shelter dogs. After reading S.J. Goes Home, readers will champion the humane treatment of animals, realizing that pet adoption is both a rewarding and wonderfully heartfelt deed; therefore becoming, like the author, a staunch advocate for shelter dog, cat, and other animal adoptions. So, as the radio advertisement aptly states: Read the children's book, S.J. Goes Home, and adopt your new furry, best friend from an animal shelter today and save a life!
But there is yet a more revealing story behind S.J.'s story you need to hear about... Consider the following facts:
-J.C. Carr (the author) had a childhood collie which her parents found on the street, brought in, and the family named him Scotty. That was in 1959. Scotty has been long passed away of course.
-On the morning of May 6th, 2002, J.C. Carr had to euthanize her second collie, named A.J., who weighed 58 lbs at the time.
-On the exact same day, May 6th, 2002, a collie was rescued and brought to a shelter, and the shelter named him Scotty as detailed on page 25 of the book. He weighed exactly 58 lbs at the time.
-Soon after, J.C. Carr began an internet shelter search to adopt a collie after losing A.J. and spotted the sheltered Scotty, who not only had the same name as the 1959 collie, but looked like both the 1959 Scotty and her former A.J., and weighed exactly the same incoming 58 lbs as the outgoing A.J..
-S.J. is that collie!
Nope, this is obviously no coincidence, something else occurred here. An incarnation? Objectively speaking, it would be difficult to conclude otherwise. Go back and re-read the above factual points. You will then realize that incarnation (not re-incarnation) is a very valid phenomenon, as expressed in the Totus Tuus section of this website. Read about my own cat as more proof! Perhaps we need to step outside of ourselves from time to time to objectively realize the 'boxes' we might be living in. Just think of all the religions of the world, why should there be so many if there is just one God who oversees everyone? Isn't it foolish then for faiths to discredit certain beliefs each other holds? Or, if we declare that all things are possible when it comes to God and spirituality as is the case, shouldn't we accept the possibility that such concepts as incarnation may indeed hold some truth? S.J.'s story appears to me, objectively, to be quite revealing of this. In addition to my own cat, you can also read the story of Ryan Hammons in the Archives section below.
Read the compelling story S.J. Goes Home as it takes you from sheer sorrow to rewarding rapture, all the while igniting the reader with a burning desire to make a difference in one lonely forgotten animal's life, and by doing so maybe, just maybe, drawing the reader a little closer to the ultimate mystery and meaning of life.
What do you think?
I would highly suggest acquiring the book, S.J. Goes Home, authored by J.C. Carr, professionally illustrated by Kerri Carabetta, and narrated by the one and only S.J.!
Click here to see the real life photo of S.J., his autobiography and that of his author and illustrator, as well as learning how to really become animal friendly!
The Ostrowski Interview
I was recently asked if I'd once again be willing to answer a few questions in support of my longtime fellow journalist friend's hometown newspaper in Warsaw where she is a columnist. I humbly agreed...
Maria Radomska: Andrew, it's been a few years since we last chatted for an interview, so thanks once again for giving me the time for my community newspaper here in Poland. We're not the NY Times but still have an eager audience! How are you and your family to start things off?
Andrew Ostrowski: Thank you Maria. It's always a pleasure to chat with you. I'm happy you are still running strong with your newspaper and honored for the opportunity to chat. My family is doing well thanks! My father has been in and out of the hospital but he's doing better, just got to keep a lookout of course.
MR: Your Am-Pol Eagle columns have a following here in Poland, mostly Rzeszow I hear. I'm not a scientific pollster but I know Poles in general have an affinity for Polish Americans such as you who are proud of their heritage and who set good examples for them to follow. Do you think Poles moving to the U.S.A. are in danger of losing their own culture in small ways maybe?
AO: It's a privilege to have an international outreach and I too have an affinity for them as well. Your question brings back memories of a young woman I met on my family's pilgrimage to Poland a dozen years ago. She spoke along similar lines and yes, I do think there is a real danger of cultural gentrification so to speak. The problem may be that in striving for the American Dream, many immigrants are suddenly given so much opportunity and freedom that it makes their previous lifestyles appear to be shackled. Too much freedom may actually not be a good thing when introduced so quickly. Pretty soon going to weekly Mass turns to biweekly, budgeted dollars are now spent wastefully, and Capitalism competes with Christianity in a manner of speaking. Polish culture can be preserved, and it has been with many immigrants, but too many are losing it.
MR: Do you feel Poland's government is doing its best at aligning itself with America and what examples should it take from the democratic process?
AO: I've always stated and will continue to state that Poland is actually doing more than its best at befriending American interests. I say that with a bit of chagrin because in my opinion, you know, you can't just give in to another country's beckoning all the time because it weakens your own image a bit. Of course, allegiance with some decisions are appropriate, but when you have Poland first at the door to accept a U.S. policy decision, I find myself thinking, wait a minute here. As far as the democratic process, I'd like to see Poland (as well as the U.S.) introduce more parties. To think everything is either Republican or Democratic, or even Independent, is ridiculous. I myself have multiple agreements and disagreements with various parties and no one party seems to attract me entirely.
MR: Spirituality is something you write about a lot. Do you think people around the world are getting more serious about faith or is that topic on the decline? I will ask you the common question too, do you believe in ghosts and why or why not?
AO: I absolutely adore spirituality and as opposed to the Star Trekkers, I think it is the final frontier. Proportionally I would say that interest in spirits and souls has increased globally, but unfortunately also increasing simultaneously are secular values, causing people to favor unfaithful lives. I will point out that the important thing to see in this tragedy is that choices for good and bad don't seem to be consciously made anymore, but rather people's lives automatically shift towards paganistic values without them actually realizing it due to culture pressure. Flip your TV channel, so many popular movies, i.e. James Bond, now display casual sex as if this is acceptable, and it appears like society considers it acceptable, that's the problem. You can't have an authentic faith and be in-sync with society at the same time, let's face it. But then again, it has never been popular being a faithful person. I certainly do believe in ghosts. Interestingly, science has just reached major breakthroughs with such devices as the K-2 meter and the SB-7 spirit box, which are physical devices proven to pick up spiritual activity. So I think it would be accurate to say that no one really dies, they just transition to their true state of being which is the same for all of us, for all life in my opinion. That's right, included are birds and bees and butterflies in my theory as well. All life continues after death, everything, nothing is left out.
MR: Your new Am-Pol Eagle series, The Facebook of Poland, is another delight to read. What made you decide to write a one-on-one reflection of these people you met along the road?
AO: Thanks kindly. My original series detailing the Ostrowski family pilgrimage to Poland back in 2001 went across very well with very positive reader reviews which I was absolutely thrilled about. But there was some unfinished business let's say, in that several of the folks we met on our clockwise tour of the country received cursory mention and in the back of my mind I was thinking, hey, an entire book can be written about some of these folks. That's when I decided to offer the Facebook series profiling individuals we met and sharing their story with everyone.
MR: We have an increasingly large body of subscribers interested in sports. Poland is a big sporting country with soccer stars, skiers, tennis standouts, and boxers. Cycling too, which leads me to my next question since you're a big fan of it, how long have you been bicycling and can you tell us some of your experiences along the way?
AO: I've been riding the iron horse since I was about 10 years old or so. Iron then, now we're talking carbon fiber and the like. I had a stint during the late 1980's on the USCF calendar of races but nothing dramatic. Raced a bit here and there with a handful of amateur pick-ups in France while visiting my sister during the summers and luckily avoided the pelvic-crushing category 5 crashes. My first race, in 1985 was at a high school in Ramapo, NJ. It was a criterium, which traversed a closed-circuit course. Bang! I narrowly escaped a massive pile up crash just behind me because some jerk decided he was a star by cutting across the lane to get to the front of the peloton, a no-no in cycling etiquette. We were all pleased, especially those wearing bloody elbows and ripped lycra to watch him get disqualified by the officials. Otherwise cycling is an enjoyable sport, tough, and expensive.
MR: Your website, AndrewOstrowski.com, dedicates a whole section to animals and the subject resonates with a lot of people here in Poland. You talk very philosophically about animal life. Do you think laws should be established preventing researchers from using animals for drug and cosmetic testing?
AO: That would be great, but it's never going to happen. Society needs it's hairspray and pain killers far too much to be cognizant of animal welfare, regrettably. It is an absolute tragedy what is happening to animals today. Granted shelters and the ASPCA do a fine job at promoting adoption, but they make one big mistake. Consider that 70% of all sheltered pets in populated urban areas are euthanized within a few months if unadopted. What really bothers me is the stupidity of euthanizing such an animal after it has been spayed or neutered, cleaned up and given disease-preventative shots. If nobody adopts it, why not release the animal back into the wild where it would now have a good chance to live? People forget that animals have instinctual means of survival. A cat for example, can easily survive by catching birds and mice. But the bigger question is, is it really that burdensome and costly to maintain a sheltered animal? No. If society really wanted to, it could build bigger cages and give them some degree of humane treatment as orphans. I become so sad after leaving a shelter knowing that some of these little ones won't be alive next week because we fail to act fully.
MR: How do your Polish American meat readers take to your non-Polish veggie-only diet? What is your favorite Polish food?
AO: I figured you'd throw that first question in! So far I've not met too much resistance, although I cannot see the frowns behind closed doors. Look, I applaud the traditional foods and consider them integral to Polish culture. But health is an important issue which means that for the informed individual, some degree of moderation with foods containing sodium nitrate, a proven cancer causing ingredient, should be taken. I also subscribe to the ethical reasons for not eating meat, being an animal lover. I wear no leather too. My favorite Polish food is placki with sea salt.
MR: For the sake of our young lady readers, may I invade your privacy by asking if you have a Polish sweetheart?
AO: Who, what, when? Just kidding, I wouldn't consider it an invasion. At the moment, there is no Polish princess atop a parapet for whom I serenade with mandolin. I guess I am still searching from castle to castle.
MR: Finally, what advice would you give to a young reader who aspires to promote Polish heritage, culture, and arts and what kind of role model should they follow?
AO: I would suggest they hold firmly to their efforts and strive to establish the backbone of tradition which has been the hallmark of Polish culture for eons. Along the way they'll probably encounter those looking to nibble away and alter that backbone, be it in regards to faith or fabric, but the key is to stay strong which only gains more respect in the end. As for role models, in recent years we've seen some pitfalls of Polish American sports and business figureheads, which only enforces the approach taken by our true mentors, such as Karol Wojtyla and Carl Yastrzemski. That's the approach we should take, let's take it.
I was recently asked if I'd once again be willing to answer a few questions in support of my longtime fellow journalist friend's hometown newspaper in Warsaw where she is a columnist. I humbly agreed...
Maria Radomska: Andrew, it's been a few years since we last chatted for an interview, so thanks once again for giving me the time for my community newspaper here in Poland. We're not the NY Times but still have an eager audience! How are you and your family to start things off?
Andrew Ostrowski: Thank you Maria. It's always a pleasure to chat with you. I'm happy you are still running strong with your newspaper and honored for the opportunity to chat. My family is doing well thanks! My father has been in and out of the hospital but he's doing better, just got to keep a lookout of course.
MR: Your Am-Pol Eagle columns have a following here in Poland, mostly Rzeszow I hear. I'm not a scientific pollster but I know Poles in general have an affinity for Polish Americans such as you who are proud of their heritage and who set good examples for them to follow. Do you think Poles moving to the U.S.A. are in danger of losing their own culture in small ways maybe?
AO: It's a privilege to have an international outreach and I too have an affinity for them as well. Your question brings back memories of a young woman I met on my family's pilgrimage to Poland a dozen years ago. She spoke along similar lines and yes, I do think there is a real danger of cultural gentrification so to speak. The problem may be that in striving for the American Dream, many immigrants are suddenly given so much opportunity and freedom that it makes their previous lifestyles appear to be shackled. Too much freedom may actually not be a good thing when introduced so quickly. Pretty soon going to weekly Mass turns to biweekly, budgeted dollars are now spent wastefully, and Capitalism competes with Christianity in a manner of speaking. Polish culture can be preserved, and it has been with many immigrants, but too many are losing it.
MR: Do you feel Poland's government is doing its best at aligning itself with America and what examples should it take from the democratic process?
AO: I've always stated and will continue to state that Poland is actually doing more than its best at befriending American interests. I say that with a bit of chagrin because in my opinion, you know, you can't just give in to another country's beckoning all the time because it weakens your own image a bit. Of course, allegiance with some decisions are appropriate, but when you have Poland first at the door to accept a U.S. policy decision, I find myself thinking, wait a minute here. As far as the democratic process, I'd like to see Poland (as well as the U.S.) introduce more parties. To think everything is either Republican or Democratic, or even Independent, is ridiculous. I myself have multiple agreements and disagreements with various parties and no one party seems to attract me entirely.
MR: Spirituality is something you write about a lot. Do you think people around the world are getting more serious about faith or is that topic on the decline? I will ask you the common question too, do you believe in ghosts and why or why not?
AO: I absolutely adore spirituality and as opposed to the Star Trekkers, I think it is the final frontier. Proportionally I would say that interest in spirits and souls has increased globally, but unfortunately also increasing simultaneously are secular values, causing people to favor unfaithful lives. I will point out that the important thing to see in this tragedy is that choices for good and bad don't seem to be consciously made anymore, but rather people's lives automatically shift towards paganistic values without them actually realizing it due to culture pressure. Flip your TV channel, so many popular movies, i.e. James Bond, now display casual sex as if this is acceptable, and it appears like society considers it acceptable, that's the problem. You can't have an authentic faith and be in-sync with society at the same time, let's face it. But then again, it has never been popular being a faithful person. I certainly do believe in ghosts. Interestingly, science has just reached major breakthroughs with such devices as the K-2 meter and the SB-7 spirit box, which are physical devices proven to pick up spiritual activity. So I think it would be accurate to say that no one really dies, they just transition to their true state of being which is the same for all of us, for all life in my opinion. That's right, included are birds and bees and butterflies in my theory as well. All life continues after death, everything, nothing is left out.
MR: Your new Am-Pol Eagle series, The Facebook of Poland, is another delight to read. What made you decide to write a one-on-one reflection of these people you met along the road?
AO: Thanks kindly. My original series detailing the Ostrowski family pilgrimage to Poland back in 2001 went across very well with very positive reader reviews which I was absolutely thrilled about. But there was some unfinished business let's say, in that several of the folks we met on our clockwise tour of the country received cursory mention and in the back of my mind I was thinking, hey, an entire book can be written about some of these folks. That's when I decided to offer the Facebook series profiling individuals we met and sharing their story with everyone.
MR: We have an increasingly large body of subscribers interested in sports. Poland is a big sporting country with soccer stars, skiers, tennis standouts, and boxers. Cycling too, which leads me to my next question since you're a big fan of it, how long have you been bicycling and can you tell us some of your experiences along the way?
AO: I've been riding the iron horse since I was about 10 years old or so. Iron then, now we're talking carbon fiber and the like. I had a stint during the late 1980's on the USCF calendar of races but nothing dramatic. Raced a bit here and there with a handful of amateur pick-ups in France while visiting my sister during the summers and luckily avoided the pelvic-crushing category 5 crashes. My first race, in 1985 was at a high school in Ramapo, NJ. It was a criterium, which traversed a closed-circuit course. Bang! I narrowly escaped a massive pile up crash just behind me because some jerk decided he was a star by cutting across the lane to get to the front of the peloton, a no-no in cycling etiquette. We were all pleased, especially those wearing bloody elbows and ripped lycra to watch him get disqualified by the officials. Otherwise cycling is an enjoyable sport, tough, and expensive.
MR: Your website, AndrewOstrowski.com, dedicates a whole section to animals and the subject resonates with a lot of people here in Poland. You talk very philosophically about animal life. Do you think laws should be established preventing researchers from using animals for drug and cosmetic testing?
AO: That would be great, but it's never going to happen. Society needs it's hairspray and pain killers far too much to be cognizant of animal welfare, regrettably. It is an absolute tragedy what is happening to animals today. Granted shelters and the ASPCA do a fine job at promoting adoption, but they make one big mistake. Consider that 70% of all sheltered pets in populated urban areas are euthanized within a few months if unadopted. What really bothers me is the stupidity of euthanizing such an animal after it has been spayed or neutered, cleaned up and given disease-preventative shots. If nobody adopts it, why not release the animal back into the wild where it would now have a good chance to live? People forget that animals have instinctual means of survival. A cat for example, can easily survive by catching birds and mice. But the bigger question is, is it really that burdensome and costly to maintain a sheltered animal? No. If society really wanted to, it could build bigger cages and give them some degree of humane treatment as orphans. I become so sad after leaving a shelter knowing that some of these little ones won't be alive next week because we fail to act fully.
MR: How do your Polish American meat readers take to your non-Polish veggie-only diet? What is your favorite Polish food?
AO: I figured you'd throw that first question in! So far I've not met too much resistance, although I cannot see the frowns behind closed doors. Look, I applaud the traditional foods and consider them integral to Polish culture. But health is an important issue which means that for the informed individual, some degree of moderation with foods containing sodium nitrate, a proven cancer causing ingredient, should be taken. I also subscribe to the ethical reasons for not eating meat, being an animal lover. I wear no leather too. My favorite Polish food is placki with sea salt.
MR: For the sake of our young lady readers, may I invade your privacy by asking if you have a Polish sweetheart?
AO: Who, what, when? Just kidding, I wouldn't consider it an invasion. At the moment, there is no Polish princess atop a parapet for whom I serenade with mandolin. I guess I am still searching from castle to castle.
MR: Finally, what advice would you give to a young reader who aspires to promote Polish heritage, culture, and arts and what kind of role model should they follow?
AO: I would suggest they hold firmly to their efforts and strive to establish the backbone of tradition which has been the hallmark of Polish culture for eons. Along the way they'll probably encounter those looking to nibble away and alter that backbone, be it in regards to faith or fabric, but the key is to stay strong which only gains more respect in the end. As for role models, in recent years we've seen some pitfalls of Polish American sports and business figureheads, which only enforces the approach taken by our true mentors, such as Karol Wojtyla and Carl Yastrzemski. That's the approach we should take, let's take it.
Ahh, Ancient Aliens
Were we visited by extra-terrestrials eons ago who imparted advanced knowledge and physics into the minds of primitive Man which can only explain how, for example, the Pyramids of Egypt were built so precisely and in perfect alignment with Stonehenge and Easter Island and how the stones of the ancient city of Puma Punku, Bolivia could be cut so razor sharp and precise that today's modern lasers cannot even achieve such exactitude? "Yes, proof enough, we were visited by ancient aliens", so say the soothsayers! ...No, we were not, say I.
I find it interesting and quite gullible how so many viewers of these television programs can abandon their own intellect and become suckered in to the rather compelling disposition of these T.V. show hosts, who even though PhD's, have probably themselves given up all reason for this starry-eyed dream. We do have minds of our own, unfortunately nobody wants to think for themselves, but prefer to adapt their life to whatever the zeitgeist is. I further find it bizarre, but not surprising, to hear the one-sided approach taken by proponents of these theories who never show you the flip side of the coin. Like...
Puma Punku, for example. How could all of these colossal stones be cut so perfectly by a virtual "caveman" type of society running around sacrificing themselves to the gods and drinking tons of cocoa? Surely somebody from outer space followed the Nazca Lines geoglyphs carved into the land and gave them the know-how? Think a bit more.
What the shows do not tell you is that ancient Man indeed devoted their entire life to the gods so much so that every moment of their lives, from birth to death, involved countless hours (if a clock existed then!) of service in order to please the gods and gain favor for the afterlife. In layman's terms, that means generation after generation after generation of these peoples performed redundant, meticulous work at for example, building a city or structure. Just think, a 10 year old spends 16 hours a day for 75 years using basic tools to carve a groove into a stone. He does this because his culture believes that will please the gods and when he dies, his spirit will be one with the gods. His son does the same, and then his son's son, and so on. When you consider the fact that ancient cultures lived this way for multiple generations, it becomes quite fathomable to understand how a razor sharp tongue and groove fitted stone could be achieved. But we find that hard to believe, how 12 generations of people could work at carving the same groove to perfection. That, in fact, was the case. By the way, these TV shows also don't tell you that geoglyphs, rather than being landing maps for spaceships, were actually burial landmarks so the gods would know were the culture's dead were. One host even totes an ancient Incan lapel pin which he claims is an extra-terrestrial airship because it sports a tail piece resembling a Boeing 747. He would be wise to open up a book on ancient exotic birds only to discover that many Central American species, now extinct, looked precisely like his pin.
Oh, ancient structure A in the U.K. is on a perfect line with ancient structure B in Asia which is also on a perfect line with ancient structure C in South America. Ah ha! Proof that aliens had something to do with that alignment, right? Wrong, when you stop to consider that astronomy was proportionally more advanced in ancient times than it is today. The ancients knew far too much about the stars and spacial alignment which they used to plan their cities, structures, births, deaths, and everything in between.
Ancient aliens? Rather, it only takes a few seconds to think once in awhile...
Moon Gardening
As you may know, I am an avid gardener. As May means gardening time, I thought to do a little pondering over something I heard on a reputable television talk-show. Take a look at the Farmer's Almanac gardening schedule day by day for the month of May. Look closely, then read the question I pose, then start scratching your head like me in absolute lunacy...
May 2013
1st Plant Late Beets, Potatoes, Onions, Carrots, And Other Root Crops.
2nd-3rd Kill Plant Pests On These Barren Days.
4th-6th Favorable Time For Planting Late Root Crops. Also Good For Vine Crops That Can Be Planted Now.
Set Strawberry Plants. Good Days For Transplanting.
7th-8th Poor Planting, Fine For Cultivating Or Spraying.
9th-11th Favorable For Planting Beans, Corn, Cotton, Tomatoes, Peppers, And Other Aboveground Crops.
12th-13th Any Seed Planted Now Will Tend To Rot.
14th-15th Most Favorable For Planting Corn, Cotton, Okra, Beans, Peppers, Eggplant, And Other
Aboveground Crops. Plant Seedbeds And Flower Gardens.
16th-19th A Barren Period. Good For Killing Plant Pests, Cultivating, Or Taking A Short Vacation.
20th-21st Excellent Time For Planting Corn, Beans, Peppers, And Other Aboveground Crops. Favorable For
Sowing Hay, Fodder Crops, And Grains. Plant Flowers.
22nd-24th Excellent For Planting Aboveground Crops, Starting Seedbeds And Planting Leafy Vegetables.
25th-26th Do No Planting.
27th-28th Plant Late Beets, Potatoes, Onions, Carrots, And Other Root Crops.
29th-31st Kill Plant Pests On These Barren Days.
My question concerns this moon phase planting schedule. It indicates the precise days when to plant and when not to plant. Can someone please convince me how planting an above ground plant on May 24th, 2013 is great as it indicates, but not one day later on the 25th? My argument would be that it takes days if not weeks for the plant to become established once planted, probably having gone through multiple lunar cycles before it takes root. For seeds, this is even more apparent, yet, on this schedule it says seeds will rot if planted on the 13th but not on the 14th. Why specify an exactitude of days, when perhaps the real factor is the temperature? I agree that the moon's force may draw moisture to the surface more, but explain logically to me how one-day differences can make or break a plant's growth and yield? Moon gardening, lunar-cy?
Poles Shine Strong on Sagan's 69th Anniversary
On the night of March 24th, 1944, 220 POWs at the Stalag Luft III prison camp in what is now Sagan, Poland lie secretly in waiting for what was undoubtedly the greatest escape ever in the annals of war, and we have a few Poles to thank for it. As I’ve mentioned before, the 1963 film The Great Escape is one of my favorites. Here now is a glimpse of the true story of that escape, spurred on by a handful of crafty artisans including a Polish architect and a Polish muscleman. Let’s take a look.
The “Big X” Committee
Central to the entire escape operation was the so-called “X” organization, headed by RAF Squadron Leader Roger Bushell and Group Captains Harry “Wings” Day and Herbert Massey. After Day was transferred to an Officers-only camp midway into the escape’s planning, Massey took control as SBO, or Senior British Officer. Together they assembled the best escape artists in the entire camp for a cumulative effort at blitzing out a proposed 250 men through 3 tunnels! But it was the 33-year-old South African born Bushell who was the absolute mastermind of the entire operation, earlier being black-booked by the Gestapo as a potential trouble-maker. Bushell’s goal was to cause the Nazis so much ruckus that they would be forced to divert soldiers away from the battlefield to find the escapees. It worked.
Brains and Brawn
For those of you familiar with The Great Escape, you will recall Charles Bronson playing the part of Danny Velinski, tunnel king. In actuality, Bronson’s role was an amalgamation of several real men, principal among them being Flying Officer (F/O) Stanislaw Krol. This muscle-bound Polish workhorse, who celebrated his 28th birthday just two days before the escape, was largely responsible for boring out the tunnels. But escaping through a tunnel was only as good as its concealment, and that is where Polish architect Wlodzimierz Kolanowski lended his expertise in designing the tunnel traps. Kolanowski placed entrances to two of the tunnels directly underneath hot stoves located in the center of the huts which the POWs moved via a pair of bed boards, greatly reducing the likelihood that a German escape detection guard, or “ferret”, would discover them. The other entrance was placed underneath a shower drain, with pipes rerouted and a 2’x2’ removable cutout being made in the tile floor which could be quickly put back in place.
Key Players
An integral part of the escape involved a potpourri of talents from POW “experts” in particular fields. Among them was the Scrounger who was responsible for acquiring everything from tools to timetables through blackmail, deception, and theft. The Manufacturer’s task was to produce equipment designed to get the job done. Escape outfits were the responsibility of the Tailor, who often dyed RAF uniforms to resemble gentleman’s lounge suits. Security and Diversion experts such as F/O Pawel Tobolski worked hand in hand, some organizing singing choirs to offset any noticeable noise during tunnel construction. Dispersal men had the especially difficult job of camouflaging roughly 200 tons of dug tunnel sand and dirt. And escapees could only stay free thanks to the Forger, whose job was to produce counterfeit documents, business cards, train tickets, and Ausweise passes (permission to be on Reich property).
The Great Escape
Tom, Dick, and Harry were the names of the three tunnels. Unfortunately Tom was discovered and destroyed, while work on Dick was halted due to new above-ground hut construction. But Harry proved successful. Imagine what it was like descending 28 feet below ground, then riding a trolley railway 336 feet within a 2’x2’ opening. Several POWs withdrew due to claustrophobia. A false alarm occurred when Tobolski entered hut 104 dressed as a German soldier, his escape outfit! Nevertheless on that heroic night, the POWs proceeded to escape, despite the tunnel exit being 30 feet short of the woods, a surveying blunder requiring a rope signal to be set up. As man after man emerged and darted into the woods, unfortunately a misinterpreted tug on the rope exposed an escapee to the guards as whistles blew, leaving a total of 76 men temporarily escaping.
The Aftermath
73 of those men were eventually caught, with only three making it to freedom. Infuriated by the escape, Hitler immediately ordered all 73 to be executed, however was persuaded to settle on a lesser number. 50 escapees were then brought to remote locations and shot in cold blood. Among them were Bushell, Krol, Kolanowski, Tobolski, Major Antoni Kiewnarski, and Flying Officers Jerzy Mondschein and Kazimierz Pawluk. Their ashes are buried in the Old Garrison Cemetery in Poznan, Poland. We honor these men.
On the night of March 24th, 1944, 220 POWs at the Stalag Luft III prison camp in what is now Sagan, Poland lie secretly in waiting for what was undoubtedly the greatest escape ever in the annals of war, and we have a few Poles to thank for it. As I’ve mentioned before, the 1963 film The Great Escape is one of my favorites. Here now is a glimpse of the true story of that escape, spurred on by a handful of crafty artisans including a Polish architect and a Polish muscleman. Let’s take a look.
The “Big X” Committee
Central to the entire escape operation was the so-called “X” organization, headed by RAF Squadron Leader Roger Bushell and Group Captains Harry “Wings” Day and Herbert Massey. After Day was transferred to an Officers-only camp midway into the escape’s planning, Massey took control as SBO, or Senior British Officer. Together they assembled the best escape artists in the entire camp for a cumulative effort at blitzing out a proposed 250 men through 3 tunnels! But it was the 33-year-old South African born Bushell who was the absolute mastermind of the entire operation, earlier being black-booked by the Gestapo as a potential trouble-maker. Bushell’s goal was to cause the Nazis so much ruckus that they would be forced to divert soldiers away from the battlefield to find the escapees. It worked.
Brains and Brawn
For those of you familiar with The Great Escape, you will recall Charles Bronson playing the part of Danny Velinski, tunnel king. In actuality, Bronson’s role was an amalgamation of several real men, principal among them being Flying Officer (F/O) Stanislaw Krol. This muscle-bound Polish workhorse, who celebrated his 28th birthday just two days before the escape, was largely responsible for boring out the tunnels. But escaping through a tunnel was only as good as its concealment, and that is where Polish architect Wlodzimierz Kolanowski lended his expertise in designing the tunnel traps. Kolanowski placed entrances to two of the tunnels directly underneath hot stoves located in the center of the huts which the POWs moved via a pair of bed boards, greatly reducing the likelihood that a German escape detection guard, or “ferret”, would discover them. The other entrance was placed underneath a shower drain, with pipes rerouted and a 2’x2’ removable cutout being made in the tile floor which could be quickly put back in place.
Key Players
An integral part of the escape involved a potpourri of talents from POW “experts” in particular fields. Among them was the Scrounger who was responsible for acquiring everything from tools to timetables through blackmail, deception, and theft. The Manufacturer’s task was to produce equipment designed to get the job done. Escape outfits were the responsibility of the Tailor, who often dyed RAF uniforms to resemble gentleman’s lounge suits. Security and Diversion experts such as F/O Pawel Tobolski worked hand in hand, some organizing singing choirs to offset any noticeable noise during tunnel construction. Dispersal men had the especially difficult job of camouflaging roughly 200 tons of dug tunnel sand and dirt. And escapees could only stay free thanks to the Forger, whose job was to produce counterfeit documents, business cards, train tickets, and Ausweise passes (permission to be on Reich property).
The Great Escape
Tom, Dick, and Harry were the names of the three tunnels. Unfortunately Tom was discovered and destroyed, while work on Dick was halted due to new above-ground hut construction. But Harry proved successful. Imagine what it was like descending 28 feet below ground, then riding a trolley railway 336 feet within a 2’x2’ opening. Several POWs withdrew due to claustrophobia. A false alarm occurred when Tobolski entered hut 104 dressed as a German soldier, his escape outfit! Nevertheless on that heroic night, the POWs proceeded to escape, despite the tunnel exit being 30 feet short of the woods, a surveying blunder requiring a rope signal to be set up. As man after man emerged and darted into the woods, unfortunately a misinterpreted tug on the rope exposed an escapee to the guards as whistles blew, leaving a total of 76 men temporarily escaping.
The Aftermath
73 of those men were eventually caught, with only three making it to freedom. Infuriated by the escape, Hitler immediately ordered all 73 to be executed, however was persuaded to settle on a lesser number. 50 escapees were then brought to remote locations and shot in cold blood. Among them were Bushell, Krol, Kolanowski, Tobolski, Major Antoni Kiewnarski, and Flying Officers Jerzy Mondschein and Kazimierz Pawluk. Their ashes are buried in the Old Garrison Cemetery in Poznan, Poland. We honor these men.
Asking Questions along the Via Crucis
I. JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH - Imagine that you are standing on the Lithostrotos, the first station, where Christ was condemned by Pontius Pilate, scourged, spat at, and crowned with thorns. Ask yourself: “How often have you too been scourged for defending what is right and unpopular?”
II. JESUS CARRIES HIS CROSS - “Ecce Homo” (Behold the Man) said Pilate as he presented the cross-carrying Jesus to the approving crowd. Be truthful, do you find yourself going along with the crowd on issues like abortion and contraception, or do you resist giving in to “the popular vote?”
III. JESUS FALLS THE FIRST TIME - A white-stoned Polish chapel marks this station. Obviously out of energy and burning his own muscle cells, Jesus succumbs to the weight of the cross. Are you willing to expend your energy and fall down in defense of Christ because of controversy, rejection or unpopularity?
IV. JESUS MEETS HIS AFFLICTED MOTHER - Just before the long climb up the Via Dolorosa, you can only imagine what facial expression Mary had at the sight of her son. When was the last time you examined your life and said: “Would my mother be proud of me, am I doing things according to God’s will?”
V. SIMON OF CYRENE IS FORCED TO HELP CARRY THE CROSS - Rather than have their “prize” cheated from them, the Roman soldiers pressed an onlooker into involuntary service. How often do you volunteer yourself through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving?
VI. VERONICA WIPES THE FACE OF JESUS - Veronica must have been like a “needle in the haystack” for showing care and compassion as she wiped the bloody sweat from Christ’s face. Be honest and ask yourself: are you more like the needle or more like the haystack?
VII. JESUS FALLS THE SECOND TIME - A tiny Franciscan chapel marks the station where Jesus’ death notice was placed for all to see. What do you want your own obituary (your death notice) to say when it’s published in the newspaper?
VIII. JESUS MEETS THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM - “Don’t weep for me, but rather weep for your children” as Christ told these women. He means your children. What are you doing about it?
IX. JESUS FALLS THE THIRD TIME - Christ would have easily been able to see the rock of Calvary in the short distance. Yet, he got up again on his own and continued towards his death. Is your soul prepared for death?
X. JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS GARMENTS - Jesus’ clothes were stripped to humiliate him because the body was considered a sacred vessel. When channel surfing, do you change your television channel when you come across movies displaying nudity and encouraging sins of the flesh?
XI. JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS - Left wrist, nailed. Right wrist, nailed. Two feet crossed, nailed. His hands and feet were vehicles of doing good. Do you have symbolic “nail holes” in your hands and in your feet? If not, then why not?
XII. JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS - You are standing on Calvary and reminded of the coldness of Christ’s death, that it was not the scourging, or crowning with thorns, or weight of the cross that made him suffer so much. Rather, it was our own sins. Have you been to Confession? If not, your sins contribute to his ongoing suffering.
XIII. JESUS IS TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS - You remind yourself of the late John Paul II’s funeral. He was glorified because he tried his best to be perfect like Christ. Are you trying your best to be perfect, why not?
XIV. JESUS IS PLACED IN THE SEPULCHER – You’ve arrived at the final station, the dimly lit Tomb of Christ. When you die, will your soul have earned enough electricity to light up your way, or will you be left behind in the dark with the millions who chose not to live for Christ? Keep your battery charged.
I. JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH - Imagine that you are standing on the Lithostrotos, the first station, where Christ was condemned by Pontius Pilate, scourged, spat at, and crowned with thorns. Ask yourself: “How often have you too been scourged for defending what is right and unpopular?”
II. JESUS CARRIES HIS CROSS - “Ecce Homo” (Behold the Man) said Pilate as he presented the cross-carrying Jesus to the approving crowd. Be truthful, do you find yourself going along with the crowd on issues like abortion and contraception, or do you resist giving in to “the popular vote?”
III. JESUS FALLS THE FIRST TIME - A white-stoned Polish chapel marks this station. Obviously out of energy and burning his own muscle cells, Jesus succumbs to the weight of the cross. Are you willing to expend your energy and fall down in defense of Christ because of controversy, rejection or unpopularity?
IV. JESUS MEETS HIS AFFLICTED MOTHER - Just before the long climb up the Via Dolorosa, you can only imagine what facial expression Mary had at the sight of her son. When was the last time you examined your life and said: “Would my mother be proud of me, am I doing things according to God’s will?”
V. SIMON OF CYRENE IS FORCED TO HELP CARRY THE CROSS - Rather than have their “prize” cheated from them, the Roman soldiers pressed an onlooker into involuntary service. How often do you volunteer yourself through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving?
VI. VERONICA WIPES THE FACE OF JESUS - Veronica must have been like a “needle in the haystack” for showing care and compassion as she wiped the bloody sweat from Christ’s face. Be honest and ask yourself: are you more like the needle or more like the haystack?
VII. JESUS FALLS THE SECOND TIME - A tiny Franciscan chapel marks the station where Jesus’ death notice was placed for all to see. What do you want your own obituary (your death notice) to say when it’s published in the newspaper?
VIII. JESUS MEETS THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM - “Don’t weep for me, but rather weep for your children” as Christ told these women. He means your children. What are you doing about it?
IX. JESUS FALLS THE THIRD TIME - Christ would have easily been able to see the rock of Calvary in the short distance. Yet, he got up again on his own and continued towards his death. Is your soul prepared for death?
X. JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS GARMENTS - Jesus’ clothes were stripped to humiliate him because the body was considered a sacred vessel. When channel surfing, do you change your television channel when you come across movies displaying nudity and encouraging sins of the flesh?
XI. JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS - Left wrist, nailed. Right wrist, nailed. Two feet crossed, nailed. His hands and feet were vehicles of doing good. Do you have symbolic “nail holes” in your hands and in your feet? If not, then why not?
XII. JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS - You are standing on Calvary and reminded of the coldness of Christ’s death, that it was not the scourging, or crowning with thorns, or weight of the cross that made him suffer so much. Rather, it was our own sins. Have you been to Confession? If not, your sins contribute to his ongoing suffering.
XIII. JESUS IS TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS - You remind yourself of the late John Paul II’s funeral. He was glorified because he tried his best to be perfect like Christ. Are you trying your best to be perfect, why not?
XIV. JESUS IS PLACED IN THE SEPULCHER – You’ve arrived at the final station, the dimly lit Tomb of Christ. When you die, will your soul have earned enough electricity to light up your way, or will you be left behind in the dark with the millions who chose not to live for Christ? Keep your battery charged.
God Help Our Senior Citizens
After witnessing the ordeal my father had to endure during his recent hospital stay, I want to enlighten those of you who might one day consider institutionalizing your senior loved one for that tender loving care you may think is provided. While I agree that a decision to admit a senior to a nursing home or rehabilitation center may sometimes be necessary, I urge you to reconsider. In short, you can’t remove a senior citizen from their home of many years and expect them to adapt to a new environment. My father’s one week stay in the hospital caused him to lose 21 pounds, become depressed, develop a lung infection, and immobility to the point where the doctor recommended that he be checked into a rehab center for physical therapy. But should we be surprised that so many senior citizens enter a hospital or nursing home for reasons other than being sick, but then actually get sick because they’re in the hospital or nursing home? Sure, they feed you, but half the time an elderly person can’t reach the tray. And if it’s reachable, the food is terrible. My father got malnourished after a week of only being able to eat tapioca pudding and ice cream. Thank God I got him out of there and declined the rehab center, where I’m certain he would have died. He is now comfortably back in his home among his family. My senior friends, please talk to your children now and insist they keep you in the warm, comfortable, and familiar embrace of your own home. As Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz, “There’s no place like home”.
After witnessing the ordeal my father had to endure during his recent hospital stay, I want to enlighten those of you who might one day consider institutionalizing your senior loved one for that tender loving care you may think is provided. While I agree that a decision to admit a senior to a nursing home or rehabilitation center may sometimes be necessary, I urge you to reconsider. In short, you can’t remove a senior citizen from their home of many years and expect them to adapt to a new environment. My father’s one week stay in the hospital caused him to lose 21 pounds, become depressed, develop a lung infection, and immobility to the point where the doctor recommended that he be checked into a rehab center for physical therapy. But should we be surprised that so many senior citizens enter a hospital or nursing home for reasons other than being sick, but then actually get sick because they’re in the hospital or nursing home? Sure, they feed you, but half the time an elderly person can’t reach the tray. And if it’s reachable, the food is terrible. My father got malnourished after a week of only being able to eat tapioca pudding and ice cream. Thank God I got him out of there and declined the rehab center, where I’m certain he would have died. He is now comfortably back in his home among his family. My senior friends, please talk to your children now and insist they keep you in the warm, comfortable, and familiar embrace of your own home. As Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz, “There’s no place like home”.
Angels and Demons: The Forgotten Truth
As we still try to fathom what occurred on that fateful day in Newtown, CT, let's take a look at what increasingly is becoming a forgotten truth. As you know, 28 people died that day, 20 of whom were 6-7 year old children at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, 8 adults including the killer’s mother, and of course the killer who committed suicide. Death at any age is sad, but since this incident involved twenty young children, I think it is appropriate to focus on them to better understand my point. Charlotte Bacon, Daniel Barden, Olivia Engel, Josephine Gay, Ana Marquez-Greene, Dylan Hockley, Madeleine Hsu, Catherine Hubbard, Chase Kowalski, Jesse Lewis, James Mattioli, Grace McDonnell, Emilie Parker, Jack Pinto, Noah Pozner, Caroline Previdi, Jessica Rekos, Avielle Richman, Benjamin Wheeler, and Allison Wyatt are the youngsters who lost their lives as viciously as can be imagined. One of the children was 7 year old Chase Kowalski, who was pictured in last week’s issue of the Am-Pol Eagle. This boy’s parents seemed to exemplify the sentiment of the entire parental group with their words of faith and hope. Indeed, as Msgr. Robert Weiss, pastor of the boy’s parish of St. Rose of Lima pointed out, “This whole community was very devoted and rich in their faith.”
In the days following this tragedy, as you probably noticed too, there was an incredible outpouring of emotion from virtually the entire world. It was truly heartwarming to see so many people offering condolences, assistance, and prayers to everyone affected. But what I found particularly disturbing was that, upon hearing multitudes of reporters, interviewees, moralists, ethicists, priests, ministers, talk-show hosts and even the President speak, not one of them, NOT ONE, even to the smallest extent, mentioned that this tragedy could have been the work of the Devil. Respectfully, the crux of my point being that, ironically, these same people were sincerely falling to their knees, offering prayers and truly invoking God and his angels so much so that tears were coming out of their eyes. Why, my friends, if we give so much credence to believing in God, heaven, and angels, do we give zero credence to the existence of Satan, hell, and demons? Is it some kind of immature and unpopular notion in our “modern day” to consider that Satan, the Devil, negative energy, or call it what you like, can spur-on some people’s malevolent actions? Or is that merely old-fashioned folklore that got replaced with modern man’s intellectualism? Yes, the perpetrator of this crime had a mild mental condition, however had no history of violence, but came from a split family, had no apparent faith belief, was isolated, rejected, and in the vicinity of deadly weapons. Is that not an “open wound” waiting to be infected by evil? We just saw a similar incident happen in Webster, NY with the killer using the exact same modus operandi. Sure we should genuinely try to find the root cause of these terrible tragedies, looking meticulously at background histories, drugs, peers, and even do autopsies on the killers. But to neglect consideration of which we hold to be true, that being belief in spiritual forces, as a possible cause, is clearly hypocritically foolish. If we believe that God and his angels exist and have power, we should equally believe that Satan and his demons exist and have power. As I’ve said before in past columns, evil makes itself known very obviously, its hallmark evident usually around major religious holidays like Easter and in this case, Christmas. Are not 6-7 year old children the perfect examples of innocence, love, and grace? To fire three to eleven bullet shots in the faces of each of these twenty children as was done was undoubtedly meant to extinguish and obliterate that innocence, love, and grace in light of the Christ child’s coming. Yet there is a bigger question to ask, and that is, do we ourselves have “open wounds” being infected to a smaller extent? Is evil perhaps ever so subtly entering our thoughts and actions? In what ways are we extinguishing that which is good? My friends, if there is a God, it stands to reason there is a Devil. Perhaps our “intellect” in surveying multitudes of excuses for heinous acts such as this is Satan’s greatest asset. Maybe we can learn a lesson from little Chase Kowalski and his classmates in keeping our thoughts angelically pure as theirs were, enabling us not to forget that evil equally exists all around us.
As we still try to fathom what occurred on that fateful day in Newtown, CT, let's take a look at what increasingly is becoming a forgotten truth. As you know, 28 people died that day, 20 of whom were 6-7 year old children at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, 8 adults including the killer’s mother, and of course the killer who committed suicide. Death at any age is sad, but since this incident involved twenty young children, I think it is appropriate to focus on them to better understand my point. Charlotte Bacon, Daniel Barden, Olivia Engel, Josephine Gay, Ana Marquez-Greene, Dylan Hockley, Madeleine Hsu, Catherine Hubbard, Chase Kowalski, Jesse Lewis, James Mattioli, Grace McDonnell, Emilie Parker, Jack Pinto, Noah Pozner, Caroline Previdi, Jessica Rekos, Avielle Richman, Benjamin Wheeler, and Allison Wyatt are the youngsters who lost their lives as viciously as can be imagined. One of the children was 7 year old Chase Kowalski, who was pictured in last week’s issue of the Am-Pol Eagle. This boy’s parents seemed to exemplify the sentiment of the entire parental group with their words of faith and hope. Indeed, as Msgr. Robert Weiss, pastor of the boy’s parish of St. Rose of Lima pointed out, “This whole community was very devoted and rich in their faith.”
In the days following this tragedy, as you probably noticed too, there was an incredible outpouring of emotion from virtually the entire world. It was truly heartwarming to see so many people offering condolences, assistance, and prayers to everyone affected. But what I found particularly disturbing was that, upon hearing multitudes of reporters, interviewees, moralists, ethicists, priests, ministers, talk-show hosts and even the President speak, not one of them, NOT ONE, even to the smallest extent, mentioned that this tragedy could have been the work of the Devil. Respectfully, the crux of my point being that, ironically, these same people were sincerely falling to their knees, offering prayers and truly invoking God and his angels so much so that tears were coming out of their eyes. Why, my friends, if we give so much credence to believing in God, heaven, and angels, do we give zero credence to the existence of Satan, hell, and demons? Is it some kind of immature and unpopular notion in our “modern day” to consider that Satan, the Devil, negative energy, or call it what you like, can spur-on some people’s malevolent actions? Or is that merely old-fashioned folklore that got replaced with modern man’s intellectualism? Yes, the perpetrator of this crime had a mild mental condition, however had no history of violence, but came from a split family, had no apparent faith belief, was isolated, rejected, and in the vicinity of deadly weapons. Is that not an “open wound” waiting to be infected by evil? We just saw a similar incident happen in Webster, NY with the killer using the exact same modus operandi. Sure we should genuinely try to find the root cause of these terrible tragedies, looking meticulously at background histories, drugs, peers, and even do autopsies on the killers. But to neglect consideration of which we hold to be true, that being belief in spiritual forces, as a possible cause, is clearly hypocritically foolish. If we believe that God and his angels exist and have power, we should equally believe that Satan and his demons exist and have power. As I’ve said before in past columns, evil makes itself known very obviously, its hallmark evident usually around major religious holidays like Easter and in this case, Christmas. Are not 6-7 year old children the perfect examples of innocence, love, and grace? To fire three to eleven bullet shots in the faces of each of these twenty children as was done was undoubtedly meant to extinguish and obliterate that innocence, love, and grace in light of the Christ child’s coming. Yet there is a bigger question to ask, and that is, do we ourselves have “open wounds” being infected to a smaller extent? Is evil perhaps ever so subtly entering our thoughts and actions? In what ways are we extinguishing that which is good? My friends, if there is a God, it stands to reason there is a Devil. Perhaps our “intellect” in surveying multitudes of excuses for heinous acts such as this is Satan’s greatest asset. Maybe we can learn a lesson from little Chase Kowalski and his classmates in keeping our thoughts angelically pure as theirs were, enabling us not to forget that evil equally exists all around us.
The Energizer Battery of Battle
As of this writing, there is now a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. But don’t bet on it lasting too long. If you’re scratching your head as I am, need we explain why? It appears the presence of diplomatic peacemakers at the Middle Eastern podium is nothing more than a Vaudeville show, and like a broken record, year after year the same tune keeps playing. Having been to the region three times, let me tell you why this conflict, as the Energizer battery says, keeps going and going and going. What happens when you have a repressed people who have inhabited a land for eons, gradually witness an encroachment by another people who are financially superior? That is a lose-lose situation for them. May we draw an analogy to the American Indian, when Colonial settlers invaded their space, and some went on a scalping rampage? We seem to automatically label some people as “bad” because they fire a rocket and ask the question, “How can they do such awful things?” when perhaps we should be asking, “Why are they doing these things?”
Is Yours a Holiday?
Christmas is just around the corner. If you’ve dropped by Home Depot or Lowe’s, December 25th might seem like tomorrow given the cornucopia of two-story tall air filled balloons of Santa, Rudolph, and the Grinch, strings of lights running the entire length of the store, and every style of ornament decoration this side of the Mississippi. It appears the hoopla is in full swing…yet do we know better? I find it particularly noteworthy to remember that truly authentic celebrations of holidays are primarily supposed to be acknowledgements of Holy days by most ethnicities. For example, where secular society might prepare for Christmas by reveling in a giant Frosty the Snowman balloon, the truly genuine Polish traditionalist might put on an heirloom Koledy phonograph record to sit and meditate on its splendor. As Tiny Tim said, “God bless us, every one.”
The Popular Vote
If you believed my earlier prediction that Barack Obama would win the presidency by 3-5%, you should have legally booked your bet with Las Vegas odds-makers, in which case you’d be a little bit wealthier right now. Indeed, such was the margin in those key battleground states we all stayed up until midnight to watch. What perturbs me is not so much the victory, but how it was attained. Looking at the electoral map of the states, we saw that 2/3 of the country was painted in red, while 1/3 was in blue. What’s wrong with that picture? Even the popular vote went to Romney, who 63% of the people said would do a better job at fixing the economy which was supposedly everyone’s primary concern. Yet he didn’t win. As I’ve always said, perception is everything in politics, regardless of the record. Perhaps it would be true to conclude that Obama did not win this election, rather, that Romney lost it. Now that the election is over, I can simply tell you that my own conscience is somewhat grieved given the fact that another 1.2 million innocent little pre-born kids will be aborted this year, about 3,300 per day, in this modern-day holocaust. As a suggestion, perhaps the church-going Democrats among us who cheered “hoorra!, hoorra!” at that midnight hour might ponder that fact the next time they kneel down in prayer.
But first, to clear up the Democratic rebuttal to my comment that Obama lost the popular vote, indeed he did, if the voting census was measured proportionally. I’m talking about the representational disparity that exists between people living in overcrowded urban areas versus those living in spacious rural areas. Studies indicate that the closer people live to one another, the more likely they vote the same way. Therefore, the balance of Republicans and Democrats is completely skewed based on this fact. So my question is, why should a typical state with “red” covering 98% of its towns lose to “blue” just because a few hundred thousand people living on top of each other in big cities vote the same way given this psycho-social phenomenon?
The definition of “popular vote” is: “a majority decision in choosing a candidate”. The key word is “decision”. Those above studies also indicate that the closer people live to one another, the less likely they are to “decide” for themselves, but instead follow the community trend. That’s why the popular vote is erred due to big city community populaces voting without really “deciding”. Granted some in cities do decide independently, but if you want an accurate measure of popularity, look elsewhere.
As of this writing, there is now a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. But don’t bet on it lasting too long. If you’re scratching your head as I am, need we explain why? It appears the presence of diplomatic peacemakers at the Middle Eastern podium is nothing more than a Vaudeville show, and like a broken record, year after year the same tune keeps playing. Having been to the region three times, let me tell you why this conflict, as the Energizer battery says, keeps going and going and going. What happens when you have a repressed people who have inhabited a land for eons, gradually witness an encroachment by another people who are financially superior? That is a lose-lose situation for them. May we draw an analogy to the American Indian, when Colonial settlers invaded their space, and some went on a scalping rampage? We seem to automatically label some people as “bad” because they fire a rocket and ask the question, “How can they do such awful things?” when perhaps we should be asking, “Why are they doing these things?”
Is Yours a Holiday?
Christmas is just around the corner. If you’ve dropped by Home Depot or Lowe’s, December 25th might seem like tomorrow given the cornucopia of two-story tall air filled balloons of Santa, Rudolph, and the Grinch, strings of lights running the entire length of the store, and every style of ornament decoration this side of the Mississippi. It appears the hoopla is in full swing…yet do we know better? I find it particularly noteworthy to remember that truly authentic celebrations of holidays are primarily supposed to be acknowledgements of Holy days by most ethnicities. For example, where secular society might prepare for Christmas by reveling in a giant Frosty the Snowman balloon, the truly genuine Polish traditionalist might put on an heirloom Koledy phonograph record to sit and meditate on its splendor. As Tiny Tim said, “God bless us, every one.”
The Popular Vote
If you believed my earlier prediction that Barack Obama would win the presidency by 3-5%, you should have legally booked your bet with Las Vegas odds-makers, in which case you’d be a little bit wealthier right now. Indeed, such was the margin in those key battleground states we all stayed up until midnight to watch. What perturbs me is not so much the victory, but how it was attained. Looking at the electoral map of the states, we saw that 2/3 of the country was painted in red, while 1/3 was in blue. What’s wrong with that picture? Even the popular vote went to Romney, who 63% of the people said would do a better job at fixing the economy which was supposedly everyone’s primary concern. Yet he didn’t win. As I’ve always said, perception is everything in politics, regardless of the record. Perhaps it would be true to conclude that Obama did not win this election, rather, that Romney lost it. Now that the election is over, I can simply tell you that my own conscience is somewhat grieved given the fact that another 1.2 million innocent little pre-born kids will be aborted this year, about 3,300 per day, in this modern-day holocaust. As a suggestion, perhaps the church-going Democrats among us who cheered “hoorra!, hoorra!” at that midnight hour might ponder that fact the next time they kneel down in prayer.
But first, to clear up the Democratic rebuttal to my comment that Obama lost the popular vote, indeed he did, if the voting census was measured proportionally. I’m talking about the representational disparity that exists between people living in overcrowded urban areas versus those living in spacious rural areas. Studies indicate that the closer people live to one another, the more likely they vote the same way. Therefore, the balance of Republicans and Democrats is completely skewed based on this fact. So my question is, why should a typical state with “red” covering 98% of its towns lose to “blue” just because a few hundred thousand people living on top of each other in big cities vote the same way given this psycho-social phenomenon?
The definition of “popular vote” is: “a majority decision in choosing a candidate”. The key word is “decision”. Those above studies also indicate that the closer people live to one another, the less likely they are to “decide” for themselves, but instead follow the community trend. That’s why the popular vote is erred due to big city community populaces voting without really “deciding”. Granted some in cities do decide independently, but if you want an accurate measure of popularity, look elsewhere.
Inside a Suit of Armor
Traditionally, the month of October is tagged as “Arms and Armour” month. (We prefer the classic spelling of Armour!). But how many of us have at least a working knowledge of what absorbed the mind of the medieval period, paving the way for the Renaissance and many of the values and beliefs we hold dear today? If asked, your average street corner pedestrian might very well recollect a time where men drew swords and sported shiny helmets, and yes, maybe you would hear a word or two mention of long-haired damsels in distress atop some castle tower calling for their Romeo. But that's it, a very blunt, uninformed response to what has tragically been a long, lost iconic world. Indeed, even some people categorize anything older than a few centuries in the same class as the dinosaur age.
But let's step into a time machine and take a look at some intricate details of the helm of the "Knight in Shining Armour". For it was this iconic symbol that evolved into our everyday code of chivalrous behavior. If it weren't for the Knight, perhaps we would be living in an entirely greedy, selfish, and unethical world. Originally serving in a protective capacity, or goal is to explore the physical symbol more closely in an effort to remind ourselves of the origins of what we know as being a Knight in Shining Armour.
The enemy is approaching. Are you ready? Then have your loyal squire assist you in mounting your armour for battle...or, if you would prefer to joust, see the link below.
The Pig-Faced Bascinet Helm, Medieval, circa late 14th C.
Smooth Tapered Crest The crest of this helm was intentionally designed to come to a point at the top. This caused any downward sword strike or oncoming lance to deflect off thereby preventing the force to be applied to the helmet and knight.
Narrow Eye Slits An ingenious solution which prevented exposure while simultanously allowing sight. In actuality, an indvidual can see perfectly through a hole no smaller than the eye's pupil. The slits were therefore pupil height. And being that his enemy was around him, not on top of him, peripheral vision was made capable by the elongated slits.
Ventilation Holes Without oxygen, you wouldn't be able to do much in any full contact activity. Holes were therefore drilled into the faceplate, the vast majority being on the right side. Why so? For two reasons. First, most men wielding a sword were right-handed. Even today, most people are right-handed. A right-handed knight's swiftest facial blow landed on his enemy's left cheek. Therefore, the more carbon steel present on that side, the less chance of penetration. Secondly, for pretty much the same reason, even in tournament combat, a charging knight on horseback holding a jousting pole in his right hand would strike his opponent's left side. Hence, the reason for the next point.
Reinforced "Blow" Side Medieval helmets such as the one pictured were typically made of 13 gauge carbon steel. However, within the helmet, certain adjustments were made by the master armourer to maximize protection depending on the combat. For example, a custom made jousting helmet would be gauged something like 13-12-13, where the blow side would be forged slightly thicker than the rest of the helm. To counter the weight off-balance, steel would be added here and there to allow the helm to sit atop a knight's head completely balanced. At one point, helms were crafted with such sophistication that indeed, one could shop for a helmet for every occasion. And if you're wondering why the above helm was called "pig-faced", yes, the sophistication became so profound that names were even assigned to the numerous categories based on how the helmet looked!
For a complete analysis of "Inside a Suit of Armour" including additional armour pieces, weaponry, and a jousting video, have your archers point their arrow to October's feature presentation at Real Live Relic Hunter.
Narrow Eye Slits An ingenious solution which prevented exposure while simultanously allowing sight. In actuality, an indvidual can see perfectly through a hole no smaller than the eye's pupil. The slits were therefore pupil height. And being that his enemy was around him, not on top of him, peripheral vision was made capable by the elongated slits.
Ventilation Holes Without oxygen, you wouldn't be able to do much in any full contact activity. Holes were therefore drilled into the faceplate, the vast majority being on the right side. Why so? For two reasons. First, most men wielding a sword were right-handed. Even today, most people are right-handed. A right-handed knight's swiftest facial blow landed on his enemy's left cheek. Therefore, the more carbon steel present on that side, the less chance of penetration. Secondly, for pretty much the same reason, even in tournament combat, a charging knight on horseback holding a jousting pole in his right hand would strike his opponent's left side. Hence, the reason for the next point.
Reinforced "Blow" Side Medieval helmets such as the one pictured were typically made of 13 gauge carbon steel. However, within the helmet, certain adjustments were made by the master armourer to maximize protection depending on the combat. For example, a custom made jousting helmet would be gauged something like 13-12-13, where the blow side would be forged slightly thicker than the rest of the helm. To counter the weight off-balance, steel would be added here and there to allow the helm to sit atop a knight's head completely balanced. At one point, helms were crafted with such sophistication that indeed, one could shop for a helmet for every occasion. And if you're wondering why the above helm was called "pig-faced", yes, the sophistication became so profound that names were even assigned to the numerous categories based on how the helmet looked!
For a complete analysis of "Inside a Suit of Armour" including additional armour pieces, weaponry, and a jousting video, have your archers point their arrow to October's feature presentation at Real Live Relic Hunter.
Debunking the DaVinci Code
Isn't it interesting when some lone desperado like Karen King, who I'm embarassed to affiliate with Harvard, makes claim that she has old papyrus text stating that Christ was married? As if to say, suddenly she made some phenomenal discovery, look at her. And incredibly, we look and start to question things. What fool would pay credence to anybody making such a ludicrous remark? Ludicrous not because of what she states, but ludicrous because she stated it! To think that eons of biblical research has been done by countless scholars who unanimously conclude that Christ was certainly not married based on multitudes of data, and then to suddenly give any credibility to this woman is absolutely ridiculous. Has the media come forth to make this point? No. Instead, the woman will probably now write a book and make $100 million because of our stupidity. I find it interesting that we tend to give even 30 seconds notice to this claim, all the while ignoring roughly 2000 years of historical fact as recorded. But no, let's secure our seat at Ron Howard's film and entertain the idea of a grossly inaccurate account. Make no mistake, this is not King Kong we're talking about, but a claim and a film which profoundly opposes central Christian belief and potentially igniting rebellion and rejection of that belief. We talk about the recent video that uproared the Muslim world, where was the Christian uproar in reaction to these claims?
For the uniformed and people who prefer to base their lives around media reports, the DaVinci Code attempts to infer the claim that "Well, the Catholic Church must have known about the marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene because they tried to cover it up by assassinating those who knew and would tell." Yet here is where the film tries to manipulate the facts. Indeed, as we know from the historical record, the Catholic Church had some very bad administrators up to no good during the medieval period. It is true that these leaders, perhaps even a few Popes, took a part in ordering assassinations. But where the film derails is in its neglect to state the real reason why the Church too a role in assassinations, which was purely for financial gain. During the period, coming out of the Dark Ages, the Church was obviously in the business of expanding and attracting more people across Europe. Obviously, the more followers you can have, the more income is brought in, and the richer you become. Any kind of "hiccup" along the way would greatly tarnish your efforts, even blackmail, extortion, and private wheeling and dealing land and estate deals took place involving church officials. Incidentally, even many years later, just look what happened to Joan of Arc! So, in actuality, the Church did take a part in these assassinations, but not because the story was true and they wanted to prevent it from escaping, but rather because the story was false and being made public would greatly set back their finances, nobody would want to join, and therefore no money would be coming in. It was purely an economic strategy, albeit a terrible one. Yet today, we see individuals manipulate the historical record to their own liking, often profiting from the gullibility of the average Joe.
Isn't it interesting when some lone desperado like Karen King, who I'm embarassed to affiliate with Harvard, makes claim that she has old papyrus text stating that Christ was married? As if to say, suddenly she made some phenomenal discovery, look at her. And incredibly, we look and start to question things. What fool would pay credence to anybody making such a ludicrous remark? Ludicrous not because of what she states, but ludicrous because she stated it! To think that eons of biblical research has been done by countless scholars who unanimously conclude that Christ was certainly not married based on multitudes of data, and then to suddenly give any credibility to this woman is absolutely ridiculous. Has the media come forth to make this point? No. Instead, the woman will probably now write a book and make $100 million because of our stupidity. I find it interesting that we tend to give even 30 seconds notice to this claim, all the while ignoring roughly 2000 years of historical fact as recorded. But no, let's secure our seat at Ron Howard's film and entertain the idea of a grossly inaccurate account. Make no mistake, this is not King Kong we're talking about, but a claim and a film which profoundly opposes central Christian belief and potentially igniting rebellion and rejection of that belief. We talk about the recent video that uproared the Muslim world, where was the Christian uproar in reaction to these claims?
For the uniformed and people who prefer to base their lives around media reports, the DaVinci Code attempts to infer the claim that "Well, the Catholic Church must have known about the marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene because they tried to cover it up by assassinating those who knew and would tell." Yet here is where the film tries to manipulate the facts. Indeed, as we know from the historical record, the Catholic Church had some very bad administrators up to no good during the medieval period. It is true that these leaders, perhaps even a few Popes, took a part in ordering assassinations. But where the film derails is in its neglect to state the real reason why the Church too a role in assassinations, which was purely for financial gain. During the period, coming out of the Dark Ages, the Church was obviously in the business of expanding and attracting more people across Europe. Obviously, the more followers you can have, the more income is brought in, and the richer you become. Any kind of "hiccup" along the way would greatly tarnish your efforts, even blackmail, extortion, and private wheeling and dealing land and estate deals took place involving church officials. Incidentally, even many years later, just look what happened to Joan of Arc! So, in actuality, the Church did take a part in these assassinations, but not because the story was true and they wanted to prevent it from escaping, but rather because the story was false and being made public would greatly set back their finances, nobody would want to join, and therefore no money would be coming in. It was purely an economic strategy, albeit a terrible one. Yet today, we see individuals manipulate the historical record to their own liking, often profiting from the gullibility of the average Joe.
Pro-Life, etcetera, etcetera
Perhaps one of the biggest issues facing society today is the continuing debate between the Pro-Life and Pro-Choice movements. Of course, most people are generally familiar with the positions taken by each. Pro-life proponents are in favor of allowing a fetus to be born while pro-choice proponents are in favor of a woman's desire to decide this. The arguments for each are both strong and weak depending on which perspective one takes. In essence, it may boil down to be another case of that classic "church vs. state" dilemma. However, this issue aside, it is this month's featured story on AndrewOstrowski.com for another reason. Don't you find it just a little bit interesting that many so-called Pro-Lifers have additional "etcetera" criteria tagged on to their stance? Some, such as Mitt Romney for example, hold fast to their view that they are flat-out against abortion. The sincerity and authenticity of their response harkens up feelings of divine wisdom and nobleness on their part as they seem to stand up for protecting the rights of the unborn. Yet, never before was the word "etcetera" more critical than when it is applied to the many Pro-Lifers, mostly politicians, who make use of it. Taking the position that one is "Pro-Life but allow abortion in the case of rape" is absolutley ludicrous. Is this to say that a rape-conception fetus is somehow different, inferior, or "of lesser worth" than a fetus conceived otherwise? The problem it seems is that proponents of the "etcetera" clause have shifted the very foundation of the Pro-Life position away from its core, that being the sanctity of all life, and onto the parent and the upbringing responsibility. However, the heart of Pro-Life has always been about conception, the fetus, and the eventual child, NOT about the circumstances that brought about the life. The sanctity of all life being the ultimate focus. Granted society has its share of problems, including having to deal with heinous acts such as a rape-conception. But what kind of integrity does a society possess when it crafts exceptions to its foundational doctrines such as "In God We Trust" while simultaneously believing it is in the right? Have we not then created our own "God" by doing so, carefully adjusting principles to suit our needs? Do you have any "etceteras" of your own?
Losing My Religion
That's me in the corner
That's me in the spotlight
Losing my religion
Trying to keep a view
And I don't know if I can do it
Oh no, I've said too much
I haven't said enough
Remember that tune? The lyrics drawn from the 1991 release of Losing My Religion by R.E.M. The melody came to me recently while learning via the EWTN network of a continued number of Eastern European people who for one reason or another are "losing their religion." It was interesting to see the growing number of folks there who prefer to defy established faith, historical fact, and humbleness and humility, preferring to convince themselves that they are somehow equal to the general religious populace on the ultimate road to salvation. For all intents and purposes, just living on earthly times. This may be perfectly fine, but it fails to admit the fact that, since its origin, European culture has not been capable of attaining grace on its own. Indeed, religion has played a major role in the development of Eastern Europe, used most notably in the fall of Communism. The bottom line in all religions of Eastern Europe is the reception of grace to assist along the path to heaven. Indeed, if European Man were capable of attaining grace without religion would there have been any need for the prophets of old or even a Messiah? How then could they have had any wars, if they were so perfect to begin with? Perhaps it could be argued that, given the rocky history of Eastern Europe, supernatural evil may be more powerful than physical Man, therefore justifying the need for its religion.
Consider this
Consider this, the hint of the century
Consider this, the slip
That brought me to my knees, failed
What if all these fantasies come
Flailing aground
Now I've said too much
Crisis in the Catholic Church
As you are well aware, attendance at the Catholic Mass has been tragically decreasing. Our eldest readers may recall how some 40 years ago, parishes offered Mass almost every hour on Sunday, with filled pews and often standing-room only High Masses. Today however, there is no problem finding a seat. In fact, recent statistics reveal that fewer than 25% of Catholics attend Mass. The remaining 75% are categorized as “A&P” or “Ashes and Palms” Catholics, stopping by a church twice a year to retain their “good standing.” I therefore pose this question very somberly and seriously: One need not be a rocket scientist to honestly calculate that 40 years from now, at this rate, will there be a Catholic Church? This is a terrible fact that confronts us. Parishioner counts are down, priest numbers dwindling, churches closing, parishes consolidating, secularism growing, spirituality diminishing, and parents failing to raise their kids through devout, faith-inspired lives. Do we really care? Whether you agree with my hypothesis or not is perfectly fine, but there is no denying it… the Catholic Church is headed for serious trouble. Let’s try to approach this logically.
Fact #1: Statistics indicate that since the 1990s, parishioner counts in U.S. Catholic churches have been dropping at a disproportionate rate, meaning year after year the number of people attending Sunday Mass decreases as the neighboring populace increases. In a healthy equation, one should equal the other.
Fact #2: Fifty years ago, it was common to find a 20-year-old man entering the seminary to become a priest. Today, a 20-year-old man entertaining thoughts of becoming a priest is nowhere to be found.
Fact #3: Probably the most tragic ingredient in this poisonous mix is parenthood. How many parents today prioritize spirituality in their child’s upbringing? Seven days a week, kids are hit with every kind of secular distraction under the sun. Life has now become totally Machiavellian, that is, entirely humanistic and physically driven. What values will these kids then pass on to their own children, and then these children’s children, and so on? Indeed, at the rate we’re going, barring some miraculous spiritual evolution, great-grandchildren will remember the Catholic Church as an old, outdated institution, a token of memory gone with the wind that you can only read about in history books.
The solution? With statistics indicating that priests will eventually disappear, the Church may be forced to allow the Diaconate more control. Women may have to be incorporated into the Mass, which will once again be restructured, and allowed to perform the transubstantiation. Local “house churches,” those early apostolic meeting places, may once again appear to counter the closing church/consolidation/real estate issue.
The picture I’ve painted is bleak, and I don’t like it. Of course, we can offer an honest prognosis, but there may be something far more effective than any words. It was once said that a solo prayer can move more earth than 3,000 Caterpillar tractors. Perhaps there is hope yet.
The Olympics of Faith
The Olympic games are always exciting to watch. Every four years, countries come together in a mass effort to promote the values of friendship, brotherhood, and unity. Indeed, after watching the opening ceremonies and the parade of nations, one cannot help but feel mutually part of the human family, despite all our troubles and conflicts, disease, strife, and war. Everybody's waving and cheering one another at this multi-million, perhaps billion, dollar spectacle. But it dawned on me that, if so much hoopla can be made in bringing about the Olympic opening ceremonies, and rightfully so as they are a great morale builder, can't we ever have such a thing as an "Olympics of Faith"? Imagine all the nations of the world coming together to share ideas on spirituality! The parade of nations would consist of not athletes, but everyday people of different faiths with a desire to promote the same values of the traditional Olympic games: friendship, brotherhood, and unity. Imagine events such as round tables of Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, and a host of other faiths all sharing ideas for the betterment of us all. Comparing and contrasting different belief systems, who is God, where does he exist, how do we attain salvation, what do we do to go to heaven, etc.? Would this not be the ultimate form of unity, everybody trying to brainstorm ideas on our ultimate fate? What could be more important than that? In a world where religion, not sport, is a major factor in its division and one of the main causes for war, should we not be making an effort to understand one another's point of view as we host an Olympics of Faith every four years? Ironically, we seem to give most of our attention to an otherwise temporary thrill in the Olympic games. At the moment it is as if the London summer Olympics are the center of our minds and all else is secondary. But, do you remember four years ago, we thought the same thing about the Beijing Olympics...and now we don't. And four years before that we thought the same thing about the Athens Olympics...and now we don't. Yet, year after year we hold firmly to the belief that we have a soul and after we die we're going to heaven. But we give this absolutely no hoopla, no opening ceremony, no parade of nations, no coverage, and no waving and cheering. How ironic, this thing called spirituality we deem everlasting and our ultimate goal, is given the very least attention. If we believe a human lifespan is say, 75 years, and we believe a heavenly lifespan is infinite, should we not devote the majority of our time to thinking about the latter? One need not be a religious person to do so, this is simply common sense: We are supposed to think most about the thing that carries the most weight, right? Yet, we continue to occupy our interests in the temporary thrills of life such as the Olympics, opting to bypass consideration for the everlasting thrills of spirituality. Yes, we want our spirit to live forever, but we just don't want to ever think about spirituality. How ironic. Perhaps what the world needs is an "Olympics of Faith".
Lech Piasecki: The King of Two Deals on Two Wheels
With the start of the Tour de France beginning on June 30th and running through July, this month's feature story goes to the one and only Lech Piasecki, a true hero of Poland! Piasecki is a time trial specialist, the type of bicycle race pitting man against clock in an all-out exertive effort. He has always been one of my favorite cyclists, but not so much for his tenacious strength on two wheels, but more so for his intellectual moxy for making big deals. You see, after Piasecki won the Amateur World Championship in 1985, a hoard of pro cycling teams bombarded him with huge contract offers. The Italian team Colnago won over his heart (literally speaking too!) but at a price. Despite the “official” report, the word on the street was that Piasecki, now realizing his worth, petitioned the Polish Cycling Federation to garnish another deal with Colnago before he signed his deal. The Federation would only release Piasecki with “an ample supply of racing bicycles for the development of Poland’s cycling program”. In short, Poland got the bikes, and Colnago got Piasecki, who was largely responsible for today’s Polish cycling sport. In celebration of Lech Piasecki, watch him in action at the 1987 Tour de France as he hammers home a 7:09 time trial effort in the below video!
Perhaps one of the biggest issues facing society today is the continuing debate between the Pro-Life and Pro-Choice movements. Of course, most people are generally familiar with the positions taken by each. Pro-life proponents are in favor of allowing a fetus to be born while pro-choice proponents are in favor of a woman's desire to decide this. The arguments for each are both strong and weak depending on which perspective one takes. In essence, it may boil down to be another case of that classic "church vs. state" dilemma. However, this issue aside, it is this month's featured story on AndrewOstrowski.com for another reason. Don't you find it just a little bit interesting that many so-called Pro-Lifers have additional "etcetera" criteria tagged on to their stance? Some, such as Mitt Romney for example, hold fast to their view that they are flat-out against abortion. The sincerity and authenticity of their response harkens up feelings of divine wisdom and nobleness on their part as they seem to stand up for protecting the rights of the unborn. Yet, never before was the word "etcetera" more critical than when it is applied to the many Pro-Lifers, mostly politicians, who make use of it. Taking the position that one is "Pro-Life but allow abortion in the case of rape" is absolutley ludicrous. Is this to say that a rape-conception fetus is somehow different, inferior, or "of lesser worth" than a fetus conceived otherwise? The problem it seems is that proponents of the "etcetera" clause have shifted the very foundation of the Pro-Life position away from its core, that being the sanctity of all life, and onto the parent and the upbringing responsibility. However, the heart of Pro-Life has always been about conception, the fetus, and the eventual child, NOT about the circumstances that brought about the life. The sanctity of all life being the ultimate focus. Granted society has its share of problems, including having to deal with heinous acts such as a rape-conception. But what kind of integrity does a society possess when it crafts exceptions to its foundational doctrines such as "In God We Trust" while simultaneously believing it is in the right? Have we not then created our own "God" by doing so, carefully adjusting principles to suit our needs? Do you have any "etceteras" of your own?
Losing My Religion
That's me in the corner
That's me in the spotlight
Losing my religion
Trying to keep a view
And I don't know if I can do it
Oh no, I've said too much
I haven't said enough
Remember that tune? The lyrics drawn from the 1991 release of Losing My Religion by R.E.M. The melody came to me recently while learning via the EWTN network of a continued number of Eastern European people who for one reason or another are "losing their religion." It was interesting to see the growing number of folks there who prefer to defy established faith, historical fact, and humbleness and humility, preferring to convince themselves that they are somehow equal to the general religious populace on the ultimate road to salvation. For all intents and purposes, just living on earthly times. This may be perfectly fine, but it fails to admit the fact that, since its origin, European culture has not been capable of attaining grace on its own. Indeed, religion has played a major role in the development of Eastern Europe, used most notably in the fall of Communism. The bottom line in all religions of Eastern Europe is the reception of grace to assist along the path to heaven. Indeed, if European Man were capable of attaining grace without religion would there have been any need for the prophets of old or even a Messiah? How then could they have had any wars, if they were so perfect to begin with? Perhaps it could be argued that, given the rocky history of Eastern Europe, supernatural evil may be more powerful than physical Man, therefore justifying the need for its religion.
Consider this
Consider this, the hint of the century
Consider this, the slip
That brought me to my knees, failed
What if all these fantasies come
Flailing aground
Now I've said too much
Crisis in the Catholic Church
As you are well aware, attendance at the Catholic Mass has been tragically decreasing. Our eldest readers may recall how some 40 years ago, parishes offered Mass almost every hour on Sunday, with filled pews and often standing-room only High Masses. Today however, there is no problem finding a seat. In fact, recent statistics reveal that fewer than 25% of Catholics attend Mass. The remaining 75% are categorized as “A&P” or “Ashes and Palms” Catholics, stopping by a church twice a year to retain their “good standing.” I therefore pose this question very somberly and seriously: One need not be a rocket scientist to honestly calculate that 40 years from now, at this rate, will there be a Catholic Church? This is a terrible fact that confronts us. Parishioner counts are down, priest numbers dwindling, churches closing, parishes consolidating, secularism growing, spirituality diminishing, and parents failing to raise their kids through devout, faith-inspired lives. Do we really care? Whether you agree with my hypothesis or not is perfectly fine, but there is no denying it… the Catholic Church is headed for serious trouble. Let’s try to approach this logically.
Fact #1: Statistics indicate that since the 1990s, parishioner counts in U.S. Catholic churches have been dropping at a disproportionate rate, meaning year after year the number of people attending Sunday Mass decreases as the neighboring populace increases. In a healthy equation, one should equal the other.
Fact #2: Fifty years ago, it was common to find a 20-year-old man entering the seminary to become a priest. Today, a 20-year-old man entertaining thoughts of becoming a priest is nowhere to be found.
Fact #3: Probably the most tragic ingredient in this poisonous mix is parenthood. How many parents today prioritize spirituality in their child’s upbringing? Seven days a week, kids are hit with every kind of secular distraction under the sun. Life has now become totally Machiavellian, that is, entirely humanistic and physically driven. What values will these kids then pass on to their own children, and then these children’s children, and so on? Indeed, at the rate we’re going, barring some miraculous spiritual evolution, great-grandchildren will remember the Catholic Church as an old, outdated institution, a token of memory gone with the wind that you can only read about in history books.
The solution? With statistics indicating that priests will eventually disappear, the Church may be forced to allow the Diaconate more control. Women may have to be incorporated into the Mass, which will once again be restructured, and allowed to perform the transubstantiation. Local “house churches,” those early apostolic meeting places, may once again appear to counter the closing church/consolidation/real estate issue.
The picture I’ve painted is bleak, and I don’t like it. Of course, we can offer an honest prognosis, but there may be something far more effective than any words. It was once said that a solo prayer can move more earth than 3,000 Caterpillar tractors. Perhaps there is hope yet.
The Olympics of Faith
The Olympic games are always exciting to watch. Every four years, countries come together in a mass effort to promote the values of friendship, brotherhood, and unity. Indeed, after watching the opening ceremonies and the parade of nations, one cannot help but feel mutually part of the human family, despite all our troubles and conflicts, disease, strife, and war. Everybody's waving and cheering one another at this multi-million, perhaps billion, dollar spectacle. But it dawned on me that, if so much hoopla can be made in bringing about the Olympic opening ceremonies, and rightfully so as they are a great morale builder, can't we ever have such a thing as an "Olympics of Faith"? Imagine all the nations of the world coming together to share ideas on spirituality! The parade of nations would consist of not athletes, but everyday people of different faiths with a desire to promote the same values of the traditional Olympic games: friendship, brotherhood, and unity. Imagine events such as round tables of Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, and a host of other faiths all sharing ideas for the betterment of us all. Comparing and contrasting different belief systems, who is God, where does he exist, how do we attain salvation, what do we do to go to heaven, etc.? Would this not be the ultimate form of unity, everybody trying to brainstorm ideas on our ultimate fate? What could be more important than that? In a world where religion, not sport, is a major factor in its division and one of the main causes for war, should we not be making an effort to understand one another's point of view as we host an Olympics of Faith every four years? Ironically, we seem to give most of our attention to an otherwise temporary thrill in the Olympic games. At the moment it is as if the London summer Olympics are the center of our minds and all else is secondary. But, do you remember four years ago, we thought the same thing about the Beijing Olympics...and now we don't. And four years before that we thought the same thing about the Athens Olympics...and now we don't. Yet, year after year we hold firmly to the belief that we have a soul and after we die we're going to heaven. But we give this absolutely no hoopla, no opening ceremony, no parade of nations, no coverage, and no waving and cheering. How ironic, this thing called spirituality we deem everlasting and our ultimate goal, is given the very least attention. If we believe a human lifespan is say, 75 years, and we believe a heavenly lifespan is infinite, should we not devote the majority of our time to thinking about the latter? One need not be a religious person to do so, this is simply common sense: We are supposed to think most about the thing that carries the most weight, right? Yet, we continue to occupy our interests in the temporary thrills of life such as the Olympics, opting to bypass consideration for the everlasting thrills of spirituality. Yes, we want our spirit to live forever, but we just don't want to ever think about spirituality. How ironic. Perhaps what the world needs is an "Olympics of Faith".
Lech Piasecki: The King of Two Deals on Two Wheels
With the start of the Tour de France beginning on June 30th and running through July, this month's feature story goes to the one and only Lech Piasecki, a true hero of Poland! Piasecki is a time trial specialist, the type of bicycle race pitting man against clock in an all-out exertive effort. He has always been one of my favorite cyclists, but not so much for his tenacious strength on two wheels, but more so for his intellectual moxy for making big deals. You see, after Piasecki won the Amateur World Championship in 1985, a hoard of pro cycling teams bombarded him with huge contract offers. The Italian team Colnago won over his heart (literally speaking too!) but at a price. Despite the “official” report, the word on the street was that Piasecki, now realizing his worth, petitioned the Polish Cycling Federation to garnish another deal with Colnago before he signed his deal. The Federation would only release Piasecki with “an ample supply of racing bicycles for the development of Poland’s cycling program”. In short, Poland got the bikes, and Colnago got Piasecki, who was largely responsible for today’s Polish cycling sport. In celebration of Lech Piasecki, watch him in action at the 1987 Tour de France as he hammers home a 7:09 time trial effort in the below video!
Sixty Seconds of Empathy
Have you ever seen a street-side cat rummaging around a garbage can looking for food? How about a herd of cattle being blindly steered into a slaughter house? Or your local zoo, where living, breathing creatures are put behind bars for our entertainment? We never really think about these things, not even for sixty seconds, do we? Instead, the run-of-the-mill tragedy after tragedy continues to happen. Save for a few lonely desperados such as Greenpeace, ASPCA, and PETA, 99% of us are ignorant of animal welfare. We think nothing of where the hot dog, hamburger, or chicken cutlet comes from...only its taste. We think nothing of the shoes on our feet, probably leather...only how they look and feel. And how about the pleasant air freshener in your living room, did you know that some rabbit probably died just so you could smell it?
Interestingly, we sincerely believe that we hold empathy for our war dead on Memorial Day, we kneel and pray for our beloved deceased at church services, and we are entirely shocked at blatant, cold blooded murder that we hear about in our daily news and television. Even the sincerest among us, in earnest, can be so hypocritically guilty in light of our feelings towards animals. Think of the nicest person you know, you can probably bet they eat meat and wear leather, right?
Yet why is it that we are not altogether consistent in our empathy for different forms of life? Is it not truly odd that a compassionate person caring for a pet poodle simultaneously does not mind eating a ham sandwich? Honestly, this should not be. Should not such a person intelligently express their compassion, if it is truly authentic, towards all forms of life; that would make sense, wouldn't it?
Perhaps one of the biggest tragedies of Man is that he does not take a mere sixty seconds to empathize with an animal, just about the time it took you to read this topic. Remember, every time you eat a piece of meat, wear a piece of leather, or commercially odorize your home, an animal dies. Wouldn't it be better to save an animal's life?
Further Reading
Spiritual, or Secular, Salutations
Opening Note: It seems, oddly enough, at times of heightened religious occasion, a myriad of controversies envelop. Or is that really so odd considering that 98% of the world believes in God...so it would follow logically that there must also exist an anti-God. Whether that is a contributing factor or not will remain a mystery, but this doesn't preclude talking about it.
I've encountered all of the following, as you might also have, during this past Lent, which leaves me with the task of humbly attempting to put to rest misbeliefs on the topics while simultaneously trying to clarify them. I will add, that I myself am part of the public pool of candidates succumbing to these misalignments.
At high holy days, what has become rather upsetting is the increasing trend for people to greet one another with the salutation "Happy Easter" and "Merry Christmas". Why is there a problem with that, you may ask? There is absolutely no problem, if the greeter and recipient are real Christians. You may further ask, "Well, I know plenty of Christians who exchange this greeting at Easter and Christmas, what are you talking about?" To answer this, and arrive at the critical point to be made, you first have to distinguish what qualifies one to be a Christian. For example, Person A is a regular Church goer, says their prayers, and sincerely tries to live according to the teachings of Christ. Person B has no affiliation with a religion, does not pray, interprets Easter as "a happy occasion on a sunny day where people wear nice clothes, go to church, and kids hunt for eggs" and very vaguely recalls a mild religious component, that Jesus rose from the dead. Now, A would do justice to greet B in the hopes of spurring on an increased respect for the true meaning of Easter. B, however, even though meaning well, is perhaps somewhat out of sync by offering a greeting of "Happy Easter". As much as B may mean well, which is great, the problem is that from the very bowels of B's intentions, there is no depth of basis for what Easter truly means. Easter is really not about bunnies and being friendly, even though those intentions display a fantastic and applaudable attitude. Easter technically is about celebrating the resurrection of Christ which can only be appreciated by understanding his life and passion, specifically on Holy Thursday and Good Friday as the new Passover Lamb being sacrificed to show us that sin can be overcome and a new life awaiting in the resurrection. This is technically what Easter is about and paramount to its understanding, and quite important. Even religious institutions are falling victim to a sort of misalignment, as not enough focus is being given to Christ’s Passion by seeing a far too soon celebration of the Easter Vigil just 24 hours after Good Friday’s service! Parishioners are bombarded with the Easter message of joy, but can’t really “connect the dots”. Rather, the celebration of joy can only come after the acknowledgement of suffering. It would therefore be wrong to play-down the suffering aspect of Christ’s passion, because even though evangelism is about spreading the Gospel, or “good news” joyously, the recipients need to know why we are celebrating, not merely that we are celebrating. The well known evangelist Joel Osteen, for example, is renowned for preaching a message of joyous hope for mankind, however, what he fails to consider is that salvation involves suffering too. Indeed, the very crux of Christ’s mission was to provide hope in the midst of turmoil, as he spelled out in his Sermon on the Mount. Increasingly, more and more folks are associating these Holy days, for example, Easter with tangential niceties but forgetting about the root reason, or at least putting the root secondary. If you study Man's timeline with respect to Christianity, you'd notice that Man began in paganism, adopted Christianity, and now is sadly reverting back to paganism. It is an extremely sad fact. In the above example, actually if you really think about it, isn't it just a bit disrespectful for someone such as person B to do this? It shows little consideration for Christ's passion, and without the passion, without the conquering of death on the cross, Easter becomes just another holiday like 4th of July, Thanksgiving, and Memorial Day and our faith becomes merely a label. Of course, no one is doing this intentionally; this being a societal evolution of misalignment in a way. We are all, including myself, person "B" at times in our life. However, as I like to think, it is not our mistakes that count against us in the end, it is what we do about the mistakes we make. Do we make an effort to reconcile and rebound? If you find yourself in such a predicament, do not blame yourself, for as devout a person you may be, still there exists room for improvement. Instead, take time to honestly reflect on the true nature of these special days. You will soon find yourself taking part in both the holiday and the holy day festivities!
Judging Others
This is a very touchy issue indeed. The big controversy seems to be, at what point does criticism become judgment. I once received an e-mail rebuke that I was passing judgment on choosing not to attend a Catholic church wedding ceremony for a divorced person. As you can imagine, this situation has been on the rise, with something like 52% of first marriages ending in divorce. Everybody was going "along with the crowd" except me. When asked why I opted out, I delicately stated that I did not think it was appropriate to stand before a couple in this predicament, as a witness to their marriage in a Catholic setting. Perhaps if they were at sea and married by a ship captain, then of course I would attend. Clearly divorce has not been allowed in traditional Catholicism, however as the Zeitgeist, the spirit of our times, would have it, our society has unfortunately wielded its influence to allow this. "You shouldn't judge others, only God is allowed to judge!" so I was reprimanded. I entirely agree...but not when it runs counter to the heart of what I profess to believe if I declare myself a true Catholic. For me, and many others in this category of integrity such as those belonging to Opus Dei, spiritual practices are no different than typical laws of society. And what happens if people decide not to yield to society's laws? For example, the typical traffic light, why should we wait until it turns green, why not go through whenever we like? Or the groceries in the supermarket, why not fill our wagons up and just steal them? Because established laws, whether they be secular or spiritual, are designed because of one fact that people seem to forget: humans are not altogether altruistic. Rather, they need rules and regulations to keep them in line. That's just the way it is, has been since the dawn of Man, and probably will continue to be. So, to constructively criticize someone for an obvious aberration may not necessarily be judging, but merely an enforcement of law. The police officer who pulls you over for going through a red light does not offer his opinion that you broke the law, he states so. And likewise, defenders of spiritual law simply do the same. That is why, for example, religious institutions such as the Catholic Church have guidelines on how to act, these are its 'laws' if a follower wishes to be a part of it. For what would we have but mass chaos in quicksand if no spiritual or secular laws were enacted? And where would our future be if everybody used the "you should not judge" excuse to do whatever they wanted?
Of course, defending our spiritual law should be done with care and compassion, something that we all, including myself, often forget to do. We are all breaking these laws to some extent. Some people are very religiously observant, but have no heart, and, some people have a ton of heart, but detest religion. As you see, we could all borrow certain qualities from each other. As pro golfer Tom Watson once said, “the best player is one who makes the least number of errors.”
Saintly Sinners
Complementary to the above is the often used phrase "all of us are sinners", given as a response to one's questionable actions. This phrase is quite true, and no one should think that they are above or beyond sin. Even in the littlest unseen ways, our instantaneous thoughts for example, carry as much weight as words. Admission of sin is quite commendable, and even more so when it is done through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. But there is a problem here. While certainly true and applaudable, declaring oneself to be a sinner is only fully valid if the recipient does something about it. Too many people seem to think that their wrongful actions are justified by following up with use of this phrase. As if repentance suffices simply by admitting that all of us are sinners. Similarly, using the words "I'm sorry" cannot be excluded from the point. How many times have we, including myself, said we're sorry to someone for something and just left it at that. Spirituality then takes on a very limited scope, when so-called faithful people are contented, lose no sleep, and feel no guilt simply by going through these motions of protocol. One's faith belief then becomes misaligned, when for example being a Catholic now means that all you have to do is apologize and admit that everybody sins and you feel you've done your duty as a Catholic. Taking this example further, what then becomes of the original faith belief, when people only attend Mass occasionally, don't go to Confession, and practice contraception, all the while sincerely believing they are good Catholics because most Catholic people they know do this? It is a terrible trend, and in time evolves a faith belief into something grossly opposite its original principle. Declaring that all of us are sinners as a catch-all excuse is therefore poor justification if the individual does nothing about it. We have all fallen victim to this, including me. Even the Saints sinned, but chose to then make amends in order to rebound. And in the end, isn’t it all about the choices we choose?
How a Compass Can Get You Lost
I was recently in a conversation with someone about religious institutions and how some people feel they are too restrictive. The person I was chatting with, a very conscientious, kind, good hearted individual, explained very eloquently that he thinks people should "follow their own compass" in deciding what values to hold as important for salvation. Initially I agreed with the person, however more needs to be discussed. It is true that each of us has a choice to make regarding our faith belief, some choose Christianity, some Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. Some people choose their own beliefs, and some choose not to believe. To say that some people do not have disagreements with their chosen faith belief would be wrong. Indeed, in actuality most people find some aspect of their belief as not to their personal liking. Yet they still retain allegiance to the belief. This is human nature. You'll never get 100% compliance of course in something so complicated and significant as a religious belief. However, as much as the idea of "following your own compass" sounds commendable, I disagree with this person for one big reason: it fails to recognize the fact that humans are proven failures in spirituality and susceptible to evil. From the dawn of Man, was it not Adam and Eve who were living in a heavenly state but opted to disobey? This original sin has spiraled down into mankind and in a way, is part of our "DNA" if you will. Those who feel that they can attain salvation on their own and not be aligned with a particular faith are grossly neglecting this fact. Indeed, the very reason that a Messiah came was specifically because we are born sinners! If we were not, there would have been no Christ, no religion, and we would presently be living in heaven on earth. Mankind indeed needs structure and some degree of religious framework in order to attain salvation. When building a house, if you fail to follow the blueprints and 'wing-it' on your own, the house will collapse. Having a father who is an architect and a friend who is a contractor, I can attest to this! The "blueprints" of spirituality have been thoroughly tested and weathered; if anything we are at a distinct advantage having learned from thousands of years of religious belief systems and their prophets. Yet there are still some who insist their own bravado can independently ignore this fact and they can get to heaven. Granted all religious institutions, such as the Catholic Church, have their share of problems. Institutions are run by humans who make mistakes. But it would be foolish to abandon such institutions and 'wing-it', given the nature of Man's tendency to sin and the fact too that, if we say that we believe in God in the first place, we should equally acknowledge that Evil exists, and you wouldn't want to be in the forest by yourself when that beast is lurking. I personally would rather be part of a proven, weathered and defending team, even though I may disagree with some of its restrictions, wouldn’t you?
As an example, earlier the subject of contraception arose and this individual stated that he didn't think there was absolutely anything wrong with it. As you can see, this person, as amicable and good-hearted as they are, created their own value belief for whether contraception was right or wrong, and perhaps fell victim to society's pressures, many of which are undoubtedly influenced by evil. Would it not be better to consider the Catholic Church's longstanding, 2000 year's worth of thinking on the topic in such minds as Thomas Aquinas and Karol Wojtyla? I think we need to be honest in admitting that we are not individually strong enough to withstand temptation, that we need religious institutions to create the framework inside of which we can paint the portrait of ourselves so as to attain salvation and return to that pre-Man heavenly Garden of Eden. Humbleness, humility, and a bit of smarts may be what we all need more of.
The Everlasting Immortals of Lutcza
Note: this is the final part of the series “Lutcza and the search for babci Turon’s house”. Part's 1 and 2 can be found here.
Memories of an age long forgotten invaded our minds as we exited Lutcza’s old church of the Assumption. Standing there, we visualize into words our little babci running across the nearby wildflower meadow at the beckoning of church bells. Yet, here in Lutcza, we’ll shortly discover that nothing is forgotten.
“Let’s check the cemetery for any Turons” said Joanne. I have always held a special affinity for cemeteries, being surrounded by the dead, thus realizing what life is about. As we enter, it is filled in disarray with various 19th and 20th century tombstones and iron crosses. However, its revelations soon become quite clear. Turons are here, there, and everywhere! Judging by the extent of the Turon family baptismal records, we realize that yes, these graves hold the bones of our distant relatives. An incredible discovery in itself! However, as an avid gardener, the quest for deeper “roots” leave me scratching my head a bit…
Driving down the road, we spot two very old gravestones in the distance just at the edge of a hilly forest. “Up there!” I exclaim, as we then turn onto a gravel road and approach the site. As we pull over to the right, I dash over to inspect the two stones, glance into the woods, and suddenly realize that this duo is all that remains visible of an ancient, abandoned cemetery, completely absorbed by the growing forest! Up to my belly button in tall straw grass and thick weeds I braved this forgotten cemetery attempting to spot an ancient Turon. Nearly all of the headstones were washed out and worn, rendering their identity impossible. I then spot the ruins of a small shrine with about ten thousand blackbirds nesting inside.
As I bushwhack like a hunter out for his prey, they quickly get spooked and haphazardly fly towards me like something out of a Dracula film. Creepy.
Exiting the ancient cemetery wearing a sour puss, I relayed that emotion to the others who were standing outside the parked car. And then, absolutely out of nowhere, appears a woman in a red vest! She smiles at my mother and exchanges a distant hello. Then, one word became two, two became three, and the next thing we knew, we were sitting around a kitchen table with her family enjoying warm conversation and paczki! Ten minutes ago, we never knew these people, and now it seemed as if we knew them forever.
She, together with her husband, daughter, son-in-law, and their two children holding newborn kittens, exhibited the gracious hospitality known only to fairytales. Both the woman and her husband were quite knowledgeable on Lutcza’s history, and, via an English translation from their son-in-law, took us into their backyard and provided us with the answer to our ultimate question. The husband pointed to a hilltop in the distance overlooking the old Assumption church as we received his translated confirmation: “There, on that hilltop lived the Turon family.”
Sadly, nothing remained of our babci’s homestead but a few blades of grass. However, it soon became clear to us that despite the lack of a tangible structure, despite the skeletons and the washed out gravestones, our quest revealed that essentially, our babci’s life never really ended. Poland immortalizes her life and countless others through what we have just witnessed. And what a blessing that is for us.
No Nuke for You
It’s interesting to discover that, what’s good for you, may not be good for another. Or should it? Perish the thought that Iran engage in a nuclear program to allow itself the ability to develop and become a more energy efficient nation, and yes, at the same time arm itself with a contemporary weapon. “Oh no” say we, “they can’t develop nuclear power, they’re bad people.” The headlines are everywhere, and the talk of the American town is “Just say no to Iran”.
Interestingly, did anybody stop to realize the countless number of people saying no to America when it wanted and succeeded in developing the world’s number one arsenal of nuclear strength? Yet, we are “civilized” and Iran is uncivilized, isn’t that it? How dare we allow a regime who stated that Israel should be eliminated, to own nuclear power. On the surface, the logical mind would agree: No nuke for you, Iran! Because you have made that statement of hatred, it would follow then that you might use your nuclear power against your neighbor. A perfectly reasonable conclusion. However, reasonable in who’s mind?
The typical Iranian may indeed make an equally logical argument against America. If life and death are the real concerns of this whole issue, the United States would then be guilty of killing millions of innocent people, perhaps exponentially quadrupling the number of potential fatalities that an Iran vs. Israel conflict would cause. “When, Mr. Iranian” we refute, “did we kill so many people in the basis of your claim?”
Abortion. You see, by condemning Iran for its threat of a nuclear bomb, what we fail to do is consider that, to the Iranian, we continue to “nuke” millions of our own pre-born people through legalized abortion. In Iran, if someone were to have or perform an abortion, they would be taken to the town square and nearly disemboweled. Cruel, uncivilized, you might say? That is where we return to what is considered “reasonable and civilized.”
What we consider as reasonable and civilized may be considered as unreasonable and uncivilized to other cultures, and, what we consider as unreasonable and uncivilized may be considered as reasonable and civilized to other cultures. Americans, simply because of legality, consider abortion to be reasonable and civilized, and for example, hanging an accused criminal from a soccer field goal post to be unreasonable and uncivilized. We conclude therefore, that it’s “okay” for pre-conceived babies to die, and, that it’s outlandish to hang a person in such a manner. This does not bother our conscience. On the other side of the perspective, Iranians consider abortion to be a grave sin, unreasonable and uncivilized, and executing someone from a goal post to be reasonable and civilized. This does not bother their conscience.
Therefore, perhaps we should think twice about condemning a nation for its actions, and in this case, its nuclear ambitions. In our mind, yes, we see potential trouble. But we need to realize that in their mind, yes, they are saying the exact same thing about us.
This essay is not in defense of a particular position on nuclear weapons, but merely to shed light on the root cause of our conflicts. So, the real question is, who is one nation to declare what another nation should or shouldn’t do? What we are ultimately dealing with is a global ethnic, cultural, and moral value system conflict. So-called “natural law” may not necessarily be universal. Because what is “natural” may be entirely dependent on upbringing, culture, and history. It is said that we are all “tabula rosa”, or blank slates, at birth and only through life do we develop a value system. The wandering nomad in the desert may have an entirely different value system than the executive on main street. Are we to declare which one is right and which one is wrong?
And therein lies the issue…
Ostrowski's Response: The Curious Case of Ryan Hammons
In response to my story titled "The Curious Case of Ryan Hammons" (see below), a total of 137 people responded with their opinions. Results were tallied and posted, 51 people declared the story to be true, 17 were not sure, and 69 said it was false. Not surprisingly, the results seemed to confirm the fact that the majority of us are living our faiths...in a box.
I want to clarify perhaps a misunderstanding many people may have had upon reading my Hammons story. Several people indicated that "it is better to stick with their own faith rather than consider other possibilities", and that "we should not follow man's thinking on the subject". I also received a few responses saying "if the boy wasn't Christian, we don't know what happens to his soul."
First, by mentioning "rather than" in the sentence above, readers may have missed the point. The basis of my theory was to explain that we need not take sides with one faith and reject another, but rather consider the harmony of all of them. To consider "other possibilities" does not necessarily mean that one must reject another faith, as in the "rather than" response. This is my whole point. Many people like to categorize spirituality within a given framework (Christianity/Hinduism/Buddhism, etc.) simply because the mind finds this a convenient way of understanding and then they can live their life by this framework. However, what I am suggesting is that we should further add consideration for other faith beliefs into our life, not to abandon our given faith, but to expand it by adding other ideas. For example, I am a Catholic, I am remaining a Catholic, and (not but), I also believe some aspects of other faith beliefs such as Incarnation in Hinduism. Buddhism also has some very valid truths, as well as several other religions. As you see above, I used the word 'and', not 'but', because 'but' implies a compromise on the former, however using 'and' implies an integration of the two.
We need to finally realize that ultimately we are all in the same boat. Because all faiths bring some degree of validity to the table, it is wise then to think outside the box, realizing that divisions of religions, like our world has developed into, are terribly immature if we are to consider the very nature of an omnipotent, all powerful God, who manifests himself in a trillion ways across the planet. But the problem is, we like to think that this manifestation is exclusive to Christianity, or Hinduism, or Judaism, or Islam, etc. So Man does actually need to think more and realize his human understanding of spirituality is merely a grain of sand on the beach. Can you imagine what your deceased relatives are experiencing right now? In our wildest imagination we cannot fathom the immeasurable scope of life after death. All things then become known, and we will perhaps see the little 'box' we all lived in, with our mouths open in awe at what we never thought was possible. We need to perhaps remember what Mohandas Gandhi said: "Yes, I am a Hindu, and a Buddhist, and a Christian, and a Jew, and a Muslim." He makes a perfect point.
Some readers also countered by arguing that, "Well, how can one be, for example, a Hindu and a Christian at the same time? Surely these faiths have conflicting beliefs." In actuality however, that conclusion is absolutely incorrect. What we need to understand is that all religions have evolved since their creation, however, the core of all religions is essentially the same. It was only because of Man's intervention that religions developed distinctions and exclusive tenets, which were added to the faith's core after the founder of the faith departed. For example, if we look at the core of Christianity, nowhere in Christ's teachings does he indicate that Reincarnation is wrong. It was only centuries later that disciples of the Christian faith, specifically Catholicism, decided that Reincarnation was wrong. One may then argue, "Well, the decisions of these disciples are guided by the Holy Spirit so we must conclude that whatever they teach us is true." Yes, I would agree, but at the same time, make the point that if we accept some men's decisions as being guided by the Holy Spirit, why then do we reject other men's decisions as not being guided by the Holy Spirit? Rejecting Reincarnation means rejecting what Gandhi taught. But should not Gandhi be worthy of being guided by the Holy Spirit? So, our religions today have unfortunately become very exclusive and covetous due to Man's infiltration and selfish desire for his faith to be unique, far from their original core founder's mission which was identical in all religions.
To clarify the point, I often ask people two questions. Let's say there's a sweet, loving, and innocent 10 year old Christian boy who suddenly dies. Does he go to heaven? Every Christian I have asked this to, including Catholics and Evangelicals, very firmly say "Yes, this boy will go to heaven." I then ask them a follow-up question. Let's say there's a sweet, loving, and innocent 10 year old Buddhist boy who suddenly dies. Does he go to heaven? And their response is, "Well, we don't know what God holds in his infinite mercy." On the surface, this may seem like a nice answer to give, however, it is actually an immature insult to spirituality. Do you see the mentality driving the different responses? By not giving the same firm response as in the former question, the Christian is inferring that the Buddhist boy may not go to heaven, even if it's a subtle inference, in however nice a statement they want to give. And you need not be educated about Buddhism, or any different religion than your own, to offer the correct answer, which should be the same for both questions.
For the 69 people who said that the Hammons boy case, which was well documented, examined, and tried to be debunked, was false, your negative reply may be proof-positive that we are indeed living our faiths...in a box.
The Curious Case of Ryan Hammons
Six year old Ryan Hammons of Oklahoma has been for the past three years declaring himself to be a former Hollywood actor. The young boy specifically pointed out his “former” self while browsing through a film-noire photo book. A child’s fantasy, you might say? Not quite, because Ryan described over one hundred details about the life of the man in the photo, who appeared obscurely in the background, having no clue as to his identity which was not listed anywhere. In fact, the case was brought to a University of Virginia past-life research group, who's doctors have documentated hundreds of such cases usually occurring in children less than ten years old. The group petitioned the Hollywood film preservation society, who meticulously identified the man in the photo from archived original film scripts as Marty Martyns. Interestingly, 90 out of 102 details the young boy gave since he was three and before he even saw the photo were completely true, including the street Martyns lived on, interior details of the Rolls Royce he owned, and the name of his wife. Ryan, or “Marty”, was asked why he had come back. And the boy’s response: “My old me has to relearn lessons because of greed.”
Reincarnation? My earnest opinion, which supports the idea of Purgatory, is that souls such as Martyns are paying reparations for their sins by their spirits being incarnated, not reincarnated, in other people. Interestingly, when this story was relayed to a few of my elder friends and relatives, their immediate reaction was "No, no, no. Nobody's spirit comes back. They belong to the church in heaven and we belong to the church on earth, that's all." This typical "we're right and everybody else is wrong" response is found in many westernized religions, including Christianity. Objectively speaking, to flat out condemn any spiritual phenomenon without disproving it is entirely wrong. Yet we see this philosophy manifesting itself in the thousands of religious sects and branches in our everyday world, each purporting that they are the one true faith. If you disagree with Ryan Hammons being the incarnated spirit of Marty Martyn, then prove your point. If you cannot prove your rebuttal, then the objective mind must accept the fact that all indications from diligent and exhaustive efforts reveal that this is clearly a case of either incarnation or reincarnation. But still, we crawl back into our holes and stubbornly refuse to accept the facts.
It may not be so far-fetched for the typical Catholic, for example, to understand what happened here, since Catholics already believe in Purgatory, a "holding state" between Heaven and Hell. Consider that Martyn's soul, along with billions of others, are in Purgatory praying for the opportunity of reparation for their sins. Most people already accept that the souls of the dead are praying for us, just as we pray for them, in fact we often invoke their intercession don't we? Indeed, Andrew Ostrowski.com would argue that if anyone needs prayers more, it would be us on earth rather than the other way around, the souls in Purgatory. This website would further argue that deceased souls are probably continuously praying for us left and right because these souls went through the life/death process, committed their sins which they regret, and now are desperately seeking grace, so therefore they intensely pray for us as a reparation. Well, why then is it so incomprehensible to believe that God answers a deceased person's "prayer" allowing them to be instilled into our earthly lives to help us? Indeed that would be an excellent way to offer earthly assistance and the ultimate answer to a prayer! Incarnation of deceased spirits is very real and happens all the time unbeknownst to us, as in the case of Ryan Hammons. It is very important to point out that with incarnation the host soul, such as Ryan's, still bears responsibility for their own soul, but the spirit of the deceased soul helps the earthly host soul perfect itself, thereby allowing the deceased soul to gain grace so as to leave Purgatory. We don't realize this of course simply because we don't spend time thinking about it.
Honestly and sincerely, step back a minute and ask yourself: "Why is it hard for me to believe this?" You may soon realize that you have probably been groomed and conditioned to accept a certain religious mindset. I would offer a solution. Instead of being robotic, ritualistic people of a religion, let's try to use our God-given minds to think, think, and think even more about what life and death are really about. Ask questions, be open minded, don't be afraid. Asking questions and thinking about your soul is how you learn and grow. Consider that there is ample evidence supporting many facets of spirituality, including Incarnation, even though your faith belief may never teach about them. Only afterwards then can we appreciate the true meaning of life and death and see the universality of it all. For example, I am a devout Catholic, and I accept some principals of other religions simply because I have pondered them, researched them, and came to an intellectual conclusion. I am a Catholic not because I have been blindly conditioned, rather, I am a Catholic because I personally pondered its teachings and made intellectual conclusions. We should not "take sides" with our faith, but rather see that there is truth and merit in nearly all religions, including the fact that this young boy is clearly experiencing an incarnation of a deceased soul. So, dead people are actually not dead after all, but in fact very much alive and interactive in people's lives, through intercession and incarnation. And what a wonderful thing to realize. Why then do we fail to spend time sincerely thinking about our life after our death? The big question is, after reading about this young boy, are you going to once again close the book and continue to live your life as usual, caught up in your everyday web of physical doings, what you will eat, what you will wear, or are you going to take a little extra time to think about your own very real, validated, and proven life after your own death as this story proves? When are you going to start thinking?!
See this website's section Totus Tuus Opus Dei for the distinction between Incarnation and Reincarnation.
Read the story about Ryan Hammons and Marty Martyn
See http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0912/22/lkl.01.html for a televised media discussion on the topic.
Wartime Accountability
Veteran's Day has always been quite memorable, and this year I had the opportunity to view three films that simply do a superb job at portraying our heroic servicemen, specifically from World War II. Twelve O'clock High, starring Gregory Peck, highlights the aerial bombardment efforts of the Allied forces against Germany's war-specific technical factories, such as ball bearing plants. As I watched the film, I was reminded of my own uncle, Stanley Ostrowski, who took part in these missions. The Great Escape appeared next on the screen, which details the heroic tunneled escape of 76 Allied prisoners of war from the infamous Stalag Luft 3 in what is now Zagan, Poland. And lastly, The Stranger, a brilliantly suspense-filled film-noire starring Edward G. Robinson and Orson Welles. Robinson, a Nazi war crimes hunter, tracks the notorious SS officer Franz Kindler, played by Welles, as the desperate German escapes to the U.S. and finds safe haven as a college professor in a quaint New England town. A potentially true to life story, although accountability has never fully been reached in regard to all of these war criminals. However, what failed to escape my attention was the afterthought of this so-called "accountability". What has been done to bring to justice ALL of the contributors to the "final solution?" I'm referring specifically to the company that supplied Zyklon B, the principle killing agent at Majdanek concentration camp in Poland. This cyanide based pesticide was first used on sick Poles at Auschwitz, then used to kill roughly 1.2 million more people. The company defended itself by claiming its product was meant for "rodent extermination" as was clearly stated on the label. However, how does such a company escape full prosecution when it obviously supplied thousands of Zyklon B canisters to the Nazi war machine? Not to mention the bricklayers and oven suppliers who built the crematoriums and said nothing. Indeed there may still be numerous "Franz Kindlers" out there.
Who's the real Bull in Bullying?
We begin this week with reports of yet another bullying incident making headlines. It is rather interesting to learn that repeatedly, despite exemplary efforts made by newscasters such as Anderson Cooper and Dr. Phil, no one seems to realize the root cause of these tragedies. Blame is continually placed on big, brash kids who taunt calls of “sissy” at fellow schoolmates who happen to speak or appear less masculine. However, are these antagonistic kids really to blame? What should we expect when our children are brainwashed by so-called PG-13 rated movies promoting the ideal male image as being muscular and aggressive? Added to that, the all-American values our culture promotes is its man-against-man competitive drive instilled in our children. And God help the kid who prefers reading a book over playing football. Perhaps we should be blaming ourselves, not our kids.
Un-Occupy Wall Street
If only society would realize that, regrettably, the only reason that America has always stood atop the world and is idealized has been largely due to...the rich. Clearly it is an historic fact that private sector big businesses and entrepreneurial moguls have always been the impetus for economic growth in this country, NOT the fair-minded Democratic ideal we all think our country embodies. Indeed, arguably the only reason you and I are successful is because somebody somewhere is not. Such is the price paid for capitalism. For what is the "American Dream", but a desire to prosper, not to share the wealth as these protesters seem to be hinting at in some form of Democratic Socialist movement likened to the John Doe club. If there exists such a Utopian society somewhere in the figment of our imagination, there must be an unlimited supply of resources to be had. Unfortunately, reality tells us that there is only so much to go around, therefore our society has resorted to a battle between the have and the have-nots, masked under the guise of "Democracy". Ask the homeless person living in the gutter, proof positive, or the tycoon living on the hilltop. The Occupy Wall Street argument is ignorant of the fact that the mere ability of these protesters to protest in the first place is entirely because of capitalistic freedom. Were their signs and drums given to them for free? No, they earned money, bought the materials, and now are toting these signs and beating these drums, paid for with money. Essentially how then does that become different than the tycoon earning money and buying a yacht? Is this a qualitative issue or a quantitative one? Is it not therefore ironic and hypocritical for a group of people, having the freedom to protest and earn and spend money, to then protest against the very reason why they are able to stand there? True, capitalism is one of the furthest ideologies to Christianity. However, how does one grow in Democratic Socialism? Perhaps we have finally reached the crossroads of our juxtaposed self-destruction.
Sex Ed 101 in your kid's classroom
In a "brilliantly brainless" decision, New York City schools chancellor Dennis Walcott has decided that Sex Education 101 will now be a mandatory class for all NYC public high school students. Great, let's set an honorable example, show the kids how mature we are, and feed them info on the tactical methods of how not to get pregnant so they can be just like us when they grow up. Idiotic thinking strikes again! How about teaching the kids about the sanctity of life, and that the procreative process which gives life is therefore sanctified as well? Shouldn't our goal be to get these kids to appreciate life to the point where they cherish it, care for it, and nurture it, thus reserving their sexual activity for the exclusive intent of bringing a new life into the world? Wouldn't that be the best approach? But no, we throw them a prophylactic and a couple of how-to slide shows using a banana and consider ourselves "very wise and learned educators." Fortunately, protests have ensued, signifying the last dying hope of a people still showing some degree of moral fabric about them. The mere fact that the story has made headlines is evidence in itself that we still hold ourselves accountable to some kind of moral standard, as low as that may be. And talk about anti-discrimination policy supposedly enforced in the learning curriculum. Is it not then a discriminatory act to only teach kids the methods of contraception and to not teach them about abstinence? Surely this then is discrimination against religion, including Catholicism and Christianity on the whole!
Dangers of the la-de-da society
Have you ever dreamed of living in a cool, oceanfront town, where fresh air is plentiful, songbirds are singing, and everybody is wearing a smile? Indeed such places exist, such as the small town I once happened upon around Chesapeake Bay. Driving the required minimal speed limit enforced by privately hired police, I noticed home after home, each one worth more than my watch's calculator function could display. Comprised entirely of upper middle class residents, everything about this town was perfect. No garbage in the gutters, no potholes in the roads, no graffiti, and nobody arguing, everybody greeting one another happily and saying nice things. In short, the perfect, quintessential la-de-da society bearing no troubles, no worries, and no fear. Wouldn't you like to live there? You'd better ditch God, because in the la-de-da society, there simply is little to no need for faith. Why? To answer this we must realize that faith often develops out of a society's need to alleviate its woes with some kind of assurance that better things are to come. Indeed studies indicate that cultures having the most diverse peoples are more inclined to have active faith communities simply due to different peoples interacting with one another causing strife. Additionally, in such diverse cultures, intellectualization often increases because it forces people to think more about such strife situations. The result being the need for religion to factor into the remedy. However, in the la-de-da society, there is little strife, and so there is little need for religion. What happens to a family of five when the parents fail to regularly habitualize their children to established faith practices? In the la-de-da society, parents teach their children to be a "nice person" and feel no need to regularly condition their kids spiritually. What then will these children eventually teach their own children, and what will their own children eventually teach their children? In time, the la-de-da society itself thus becomes the religion. A homeowner in such a society would say "Well, what's wrong with teaching my child to be a nice person?" The answer is, nothing is wrong. But only a fool would fail to realize that Man, by his very nature as witnessed in history, is not strong enough to live a spiritual-less life and simultaneously maintain perfection. If he were, we would all be living in heaven on earth. Therefore, the la-de-da society, as innocent as it may seem, actually ends up being counterproductive in the end.
Have you ever seen a street-side cat rummaging around a garbage can looking for food? How about a herd of cattle being blindly steered into a slaughter house? Or your local zoo, where living, breathing creatures are put behind bars for our entertainment? We never really think about these things, not even for sixty seconds, do we? Instead, the run-of-the-mill tragedy after tragedy continues to happen. Save for a few lonely desperados such as Greenpeace, ASPCA, and PETA, 99% of us are ignorant of animal welfare. We think nothing of where the hot dog, hamburger, or chicken cutlet comes from...only its taste. We think nothing of the shoes on our feet, probably leather...only how they look and feel. And how about the pleasant air freshener in your living room, did you know that some rabbit probably died just so you could smell it?
Interestingly, we sincerely believe that we hold empathy for our war dead on Memorial Day, we kneel and pray for our beloved deceased at church services, and we are entirely shocked at blatant, cold blooded murder that we hear about in our daily news and television. Even the sincerest among us, in earnest, can be so hypocritically guilty in light of our feelings towards animals. Think of the nicest person you know, you can probably bet they eat meat and wear leather, right?
Yet why is it that we are not altogether consistent in our empathy for different forms of life? Is it not truly odd that a compassionate person caring for a pet poodle simultaneously does not mind eating a ham sandwich? Honestly, this should not be. Should not such a person intelligently express their compassion, if it is truly authentic, towards all forms of life; that would make sense, wouldn't it?
Perhaps one of the biggest tragedies of Man is that he does not take a mere sixty seconds to empathize with an animal, just about the time it took you to read this topic. Remember, every time you eat a piece of meat, wear a piece of leather, or commercially odorize your home, an animal dies. Wouldn't it be better to save an animal's life?
Further Reading
Spiritual, or Secular, Salutations
Opening Note: It seems, oddly enough, at times of heightened religious occasion, a myriad of controversies envelop. Or is that really so odd considering that 98% of the world believes in God...so it would follow logically that there must also exist an anti-God. Whether that is a contributing factor or not will remain a mystery, but this doesn't preclude talking about it.
I've encountered all of the following, as you might also have, during this past Lent, which leaves me with the task of humbly attempting to put to rest misbeliefs on the topics while simultaneously trying to clarify them. I will add, that I myself am part of the public pool of candidates succumbing to these misalignments.
At high holy days, what has become rather upsetting is the increasing trend for people to greet one another with the salutation "Happy Easter" and "Merry Christmas". Why is there a problem with that, you may ask? There is absolutely no problem, if the greeter and recipient are real Christians. You may further ask, "Well, I know plenty of Christians who exchange this greeting at Easter and Christmas, what are you talking about?" To answer this, and arrive at the critical point to be made, you first have to distinguish what qualifies one to be a Christian. For example, Person A is a regular Church goer, says their prayers, and sincerely tries to live according to the teachings of Christ. Person B has no affiliation with a religion, does not pray, interprets Easter as "a happy occasion on a sunny day where people wear nice clothes, go to church, and kids hunt for eggs" and very vaguely recalls a mild religious component, that Jesus rose from the dead. Now, A would do justice to greet B in the hopes of spurring on an increased respect for the true meaning of Easter. B, however, even though meaning well, is perhaps somewhat out of sync by offering a greeting of "Happy Easter". As much as B may mean well, which is great, the problem is that from the very bowels of B's intentions, there is no depth of basis for what Easter truly means. Easter is really not about bunnies and being friendly, even though those intentions display a fantastic and applaudable attitude. Easter technically is about celebrating the resurrection of Christ which can only be appreciated by understanding his life and passion, specifically on Holy Thursday and Good Friday as the new Passover Lamb being sacrificed to show us that sin can be overcome and a new life awaiting in the resurrection. This is technically what Easter is about and paramount to its understanding, and quite important. Even religious institutions are falling victim to a sort of misalignment, as not enough focus is being given to Christ’s Passion by seeing a far too soon celebration of the Easter Vigil just 24 hours after Good Friday’s service! Parishioners are bombarded with the Easter message of joy, but can’t really “connect the dots”. Rather, the celebration of joy can only come after the acknowledgement of suffering. It would therefore be wrong to play-down the suffering aspect of Christ’s passion, because even though evangelism is about spreading the Gospel, or “good news” joyously, the recipients need to know why we are celebrating, not merely that we are celebrating. The well known evangelist Joel Osteen, for example, is renowned for preaching a message of joyous hope for mankind, however, what he fails to consider is that salvation involves suffering too. Indeed, the very crux of Christ’s mission was to provide hope in the midst of turmoil, as he spelled out in his Sermon on the Mount. Increasingly, more and more folks are associating these Holy days, for example, Easter with tangential niceties but forgetting about the root reason, or at least putting the root secondary. If you study Man's timeline with respect to Christianity, you'd notice that Man began in paganism, adopted Christianity, and now is sadly reverting back to paganism. It is an extremely sad fact. In the above example, actually if you really think about it, isn't it just a bit disrespectful for someone such as person B to do this? It shows little consideration for Christ's passion, and without the passion, without the conquering of death on the cross, Easter becomes just another holiday like 4th of July, Thanksgiving, and Memorial Day and our faith becomes merely a label. Of course, no one is doing this intentionally; this being a societal evolution of misalignment in a way. We are all, including myself, person "B" at times in our life. However, as I like to think, it is not our mistakes that count against us in the end, it is what we do about the mistakes we make. Do we make an effort to reconcile and rebound? If you find yourself in such a predicament, do not blame yourself, for as devout a person you may be, still there exists room for improvement. Instead, take time to honestly reflect on the true nature of these special days. You will soon find yourself taking part in both the holiday and the holy day festivities!
Judging Others
This is a very touchy issue indeed. The big controversy seems to be, at what point does criticism become judgment. I once received an e-mail rebuke that I was passing judgment on choosing not to attend a Catholic church wedding ceremony for a divorced person. As you can imagine, this situation has been on the rise, with something like 52% of first marriages ending in divorce. Everybody was going "along with the crowd" except me. When asked why I opted out, I delicately stated that I did not think it was appropriate to stand before a couple in this predicament, as a witness to their marriage in a Catholic setting. Perhaps if they were at sea and married by a ship captain, then of course I would attend. Clearly divorce has not been allowed in traditional Catholicism, however as the Zeitgeist, the spirit of our times, would have it, our society has unfortunately wielded its influence to allow this. "You shouldn't judge others, only God is allowed to judge!" so I was reprimanded. I entirely agree...but not when it runs counter to the heart of what I profess to believe if I declare myself a true Catholic. For me, and many others in this category of integrity such as those belonging to Opus Dei, spiritual practices are no different than typical laws of society. And what happens if people decide not to yield to society's laws? For example, the typical traffic light, why should we wait until it turns green, why not go through whenever we like? Or the groceries in the supermarket, why not fill our wagons up and just steal them? Because established laws, whether they be secular or spiritual, are designed because of one fact that people seem to forget: humans are not altogether altruistic. Rather, they need rules and regulations to keep them in line. That's just the way it is, has been since the dawn of Man, and probably will continue to be. So, to constructively criticize someone for an obvious aberration may not necessarily be judging, but merely an enforcement of law. The police officer who pulls you over for going through a red light does not offer his opinion that you broke the law, he states so. And likewise, defenders of spiritual law simply do the same. That is why, for example, religious institutions such as the Catholic Church have guidelines on how to act, these are its 'laws' if a follower wishes to be a part of it. For what would we have but mass chaos in quicksand if no spiritual or secular laws were enacted? And where would our future be if everybody used the "you should not judge" excuse to do whatever they wanted?
Of course, defending our spiritual law should be done with care and compassion, something that we all, including myself, often forget to do. We are all breaking these laws to some extent. Some people are very religiously observant, but have no heart, and, some people have a ton of heart, but detest religion. As you see, we could all borrow certain qualities from each other. As pro golfer Tom Watson once said, “the best player is one who makes the least number of errors.”
Saintly Sinners
Complementary to the above is the often used phrase "all of us are sinners", given as a response to one's questionable actions. This phrase is quite true, and no one should think that they are above or beyond sin. Even in the littlest unseen ways, our instantaneous thoughts for example, carry as much weight as words. Admission of sin is quite commendable, and even more so when it is done through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. But there is a problem here. While certainly true and applaudable, declaring oneself to be a sinner is only fully valid if the recipient does something about it. Too many people seem to think that their wrongful actions are justified by following up with use of this phrase. As if repentance suffices simply by admitting that all of us are sinners. Similarly, using the words "I'm sorry" cannot be excluded from the point. How many times have we, including myself, said we're sorry to someone for something and just left it at that. Spirituality then takes on a very limited scope, when so-called faithful people are contented, lose no sleep, and feel no guilt simply by going through these motions of protocol. One's faith belief then becomes misaligned, when for example being a Catholic now means that all you have to do is apologize and admit that everybody sins and you feel you've done your duty as a Catholic. Taking this example further, what then becomes of the original faith belief, when people only attend Mass occasionally, don't go to Confession, and practice contraception, all the while sincerely believing they are good Catholics because most Catholic people they know do this? It is a terrible trend, and in time evolves a faith belief into something grossly opposite its original principle. Declaring that all of us are sinners as a catch-all excuse is therefore poor justification if the individual does nothing about it. We have all fallen victim to this, including me. Even the Saints sinned, but chose to then make amends in order to rebound. And in the end, isn’t it all about the choices we choose?
How a Compass Can Get You Lost
I was recently in a conversation with someone about religious institutions and how some people feel they are too restrictive. The person I was chatting with, a very conscientious, kind, good hearted individual, explained very eloquently that he thinks people should "follow their own compass" in deciding what values to hold as important for salvation. Initially I agreed with the person, however more needs to be discussed. It is true that each of us has a choice to make regarding our faith belief, some choose Christianity, some Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. Some people choose their own beliefs, and some choose not to believe. To say that some people do not have disagreements with their chosen faith belief would be wrong. Indeed, in actuality most people find some aspect of their belief as not to their personal liking. Yet they still retain allegiance to the belief. This is human nature. You'll never get 100% compliance of course in something so complicated and significant as a religious belief. However, as much as the idea of "following your own compass" sounds commendable, I disagree with this person for one big reason: it fails to recognize the fact that humans are proven failures in spirituality and susceptible to evil. From the dawn of Man, was it not Adam and Eve who were living in a heavenly state but opted to disobey? This original sin has spiraled down into mankind and in a way, is part of our "DNA" if you will. Those who feel that they can attain salvation on their own and not be aligned with a particular faith are grossly neglecting this fact. Indeed, the very reason that a Messiah came was specifically because we are born sinners! If we were not, there would have been no Christ, no religion, and we would presently be living in heaven on earth. Mankind indeed needs structure and some degree of religious framework in order to attain salvation. When building a house, if you fail to follow the blueprints and 'wing-it' on your own, the house will collapse. Having a father who is an architect and a friend who is a contractor, I can attest to this! The "blueprints" of spirituality have been thoroughly tested and weathered; if anything we are at a distinct advantage having learned from thousands of years of religious belief systems and their prophets. Yet there are still some who insist their own bravado can independently ignore this fact and they can get to heaven. Granted all religious institutions, such as the Catholic Church, have their share of problems. Institutions are run by humans who make mistakes. But it would be foolish to abandon such institutions and 'wing-it', given the nature of Man's tendency to sin and the fact too that, if we say that we believe in God in the first place, we should equally acknowledge that Evil exists, and you wouldn't want to be in the forest by yourself when that beast is lurking. I personally would rather be part of a proven, weathered and defending team, even though I may disagree with some of its restrictions, wouldn’t you?
As an example, earlier the subject of contraception arose and this individual stated that he didn't think there was absolutely anything wrong with it. As you can see, this person, as amicable and good-hearted as they are, created their own value belief for whether contraception was right or wrong, and perhaps fell victim to society's pressures, many of which are undoubtedly influenced by evil. Would it not be better to consider the Catholic Church's longstanding, 2000 year's worth of thinking on the topic in such minds as Thomas Aquinas and Karol Wojtyla? I think we need to be honest in admitting that we are not individually strong enough to withstand temptation, that we need religious institutions to create the framework inside of which we can paint the portrait of ourselves so as to attain salvation and return to that pre-Man heavenly Garden of Eden. Humbleness, humility, and a bit of smarts may be what we all need more of.
The Everlasting Immortals of Lutcza
Note: this is the final part of the series “Lutcza and the search for babci Turon’s house”. Part's 1 and 2 can be found here.
Memories of an age long forgotten invaded our minds as we exited Lutcza’s old church of the Assumption. Standing there, we visualize into words our little babci running across the nearby wildflower meadow at the beckoning of church bells. Yet, here in Lutcza, we’ll shortly discover that nothing is forgotten.
“Let’s check the cemetery for any Turons” said Joanne. I have always held a special affinity for cemeteries, being surrounded by the dead, thus realizing what life is about. As we enter, it is filled in disarray with various 19th and 20th century tombstones and iron crosses. However, its revelations soon become quite clear. Turons are here, there, and everywhere! Judging by the extent of the Turon family baptismal records, we realize that yes, these graves hold the bones of our distant relatives. An incredible discovery in itself! However, as an avid gardener, the quest for deeper “roots” leave me scratching my head a bit…
Driving down the road, we spot two very old gravestones in the distance just at the edge of a hilly forest. “Up there!” I exclaim, as we then turn onto a gravel road and approach the site. As we pull over to the right, I dash over to inspect the two stones, glance into the woods, and suddenly realize that this duo is all that remains visible of an ancient, abandoned cemetery, completely absorbed by the growing forest! Up to my belly button in tall straw grass and thick weeds I braved this forgotten cemetery attempting to spot an ancient Turon. Nearly all of the headstones were washed out and worn, rendering their identity impossible. I then spot the ruins of a small shrine with about ten thousand blackbirds nesting inside.
As I bushwhack like a hunter out for his prey, they quickly get spooked and haphazardly fly towards me like something out of a Dracula film. Creepy.
Exiting the ancient cemetery wearing a sour puss, I relayed that emotion to the others who were standing outside the parked car. And then, absolutely out of nowhere, appears a woman in a red vest! She smiles at my mother and exchanges a distant hello. Then, one word became two, two became three, and the next thing we knew, we were sitting around a kitchen table with her family enjoying warm conversation and paczki! Ten minutes ago, we never knew these people, and now it seemed as if we knew them forever.
She, together with her husband, daughter, son-in-law, and their two children holding newborn kittens, exhibited the gracious hospitality known only to fairytales. Both the woman and her husband were quite knowledgeable on Lutcza’s history, and, via an English translation from their son-in-law, took us into their backyard and provided us with the answer to our ultimate question. The husband pointed to a hilltop in the distance overlooking the old Assumption church as we received his translated confirmation: “There, on that hilltop lived the Turon family.”
Sadly, nothing remained of our babci’s homestead but a few blades of grass. However, it soon became clear to us that despite the lack of a tangible structure, despite the skeletons and the washed out gravestones, our quest revealed that essentially, our babci’s life never really ended. Poland immortalizes her life and countless others through what we have just witnessed. And what a blessing that is for us.
No Nuke for You
It’s interesting to discover that, what’s good for you, may not be good for another. Or should it? Perish the thought that Iran engage in a nuclear program to allow itself the ability to develop and become a more energy efficient nation, and yes, at the same time arm itself with a contemporary weapon. “Oh no” say we, “they can’t develop nuclear power, they’re bad people.” The headlines are everywhere, and the talk of the American town is “Just say no to Iran”.
Interestingly, did anybody stop to realize the countless number of people saying no to America when it wanted and succeeded in developing the world’s number one arsenal of nuclear strength? Yet, we are “civilized” and Iran is uncivilized, isn’t that it? How dare we allow a regime who stated that Israel should be eliminated, to own nuclear power. On the surface, the logical mind would agree: No nuke for you, Iran! Because you have made that statement of hatred, it would follow then that you might use your nuclear power against your neighbor. A perfectly reasonable conclusion. However, reasonable in who’s mind?
The typical Iranian may indeed make an equally logical argument against America. If life and death are the real concerns of this whole issue, the United States would then be guilty of killing millions of innocent people, perhaps exponentially quadrupling the number of potential fatalities that an Iran vs. Israel conflict would cause. “When, Mr. Iranian” we refute, “did we kill so many people in the basis of your claim?”
Abortion. You see, by condemning Iran for its threat of a nuclear bomb, what we fail to do is consider that, to the Iranian, we continue to “nuke” millions of our own pre-born people through legalized abortion. In Iran, if someone were to have or perform an abortion, they would be taken to the town square and nearly disemboweled. Cruel, uncivilized, you might say? That is where we return to what is considered “reasonable and civilized.”
What we consider as reasonable and civilized may be considered as unreasonable and uncivilized to other cultures, and, what we consider as unreasonable and uncivilized may be considered as reasonable and civilized to other cultures. Americans, simply because of legality, consider abortion to be reasonable and civilized, and for example, hanging an accused criminal from a soccer field goal post to be unreasonable and uncivilized. We conclude therefore, that it’s “okay” for pre-conceived babies to die, and, that it’s outlandish to hang a person in such a manner. This does not bother our conscience. On the other side of the perspective, Iranians consider abortion to be a grave sin, unreasonable and uncivilized, and executing someone from a goal post to be reasonable and civilized. This does not bother their conscience.
Therefore, perhaps we should think twice about condemning a nation for its actions, and in this case, its nuclear ambitions. In our mind, yes, we see potential trouble. But we need to realize that in their mind, yes, they are saying the exact same thing about us.
This essay is not in defense of a particular position on nuclear weapons, but merely to shed light on the root cause of our conflicts. So, the real question is, who is one nation to declare what another nation should or shouldn’t do? What we are ultimately dealing with is a global ethnic, cultural, and moral value system conflict. So-called “natural law” may not necessarily be universal. Because what is “natural” may be entirely dependent on upbringing, culture, and history. It is said that we are all “tabula rosa”, or blank slates, at birth and only through life do we develop a value system. The wandering nomad in the desert may have an entirely different value system than the executive on main street. Are we to declare which one is right and which one is wrong?
And therein lies the issue…
Ostrowski's Response: The Curious Case of Ryan Hammons
In response to my story titled "The Curious Case of Ryan Hammons" (see below), a total of 137 people responded with their opinions. Results were tallied and posted, 51 people declared the story to be true, 17 were not sure, and 69 said it was false. Not surprisingly, the results seemed to confirm the fact that the majority of us are living our faiths...in a box.
I want to clarify perhaps a misunderstanding many people may have had upon reading my Hammons story. Several people indicated that "it is better to stick with their own faith rather than consider other possibilities", and that "we should not follow man's thinking on the subject". I also received a few responses saying "if the boy wasn't Christian, we don't know what happens to his soul."
First, by mentioning "rather than" in the sentence above, readers may have missed the point. The basis of my theory was to explain that we need not take sides with one faith and reject another, but rather consider the harmony of all of them. To consider "other possibilities" does not necessarily mean that one must reject another faith, as in the "rather than" response. This is my whole point. Many people like to categorize spirituality within a given framework (Christianity/Hinduism/Buddhism, etc.) simply because the mind finds this a convenient way of understanding and then they can live their life by this framework. However, what I am suggesting is that we should further add consideration for other faith beliefs into our life, not to abandon our given faith, but to expand it by adding other ideas. For example, I am a Catholic, I am remaining a Catholic, and (not but), I also believe some aspects of other faith beliefs such as Incarnation in Hinduism. Buddhism also has some very valid truths, as well as several other religions. As you see above, I used the word 'and', not 'but', because 'but' implies a compromise on the former, however using 'and' implies an integration of the two.
We need to finally realize that ultimately we are all in the same boat. Because all faiths bring some degree of validity to the table, it is wise then to think outside the box, realizing that divisions of religions, like our world has developed into, are terribly immature if we are to consider the very nature of an omnipotent, all powerful God, who manifests himself in a trillion ways across the planet. But the problem is, we like to think that this manifestation is exclusive to Christianity, or Hinduism, or Judaism, or Islam, etc. So Man does actually need to think more and realize his human understanding of spirituality is merely a grain of sand on the beach. Can you imagine what your deceased relatives are experiencing right now? In our wildest imagination we cannot fathom the immeasurable scope of life after death. All things then become known, and we will perhaps see the little 'box' we all lived in, with our mouths open in awe at what we never thought was possible. We need to perhaps remember what Mohandas Gandhi said: "Yes, I am a Hindu, and a Buddhist, and a Christian, and a Jew, and a Muslim." He makes a perfect point.
Some readers also countered by arguing that, "Well, how can one be, for example, a Hindu and a Christian at the same time? Surely these faiths have conflicting beliefs." In actuality however, that conclusion is absolutely incorrect. What we need to understand is that all religions have evolved since their creation, however, the core of all religions is essentially the same. It was only because of Man's intervention that religions developed distinctions and exclusive tenets, which were added to the faith's core after the founder of the faith departed. For example, if we look at the core of Christianity, nowhere in Christ's teachings does he indicate that Reincarnation is wrong. It was only centuries later that disciples of the Christian faith, specifically Catholicism, decided that Reincarnation was wrong. One may then argue, "Well, the decisions of these disciples are guided by the Holy Spirit so we must conclude that whatever they teach us is true." Yes, I would agree, but at the same time, make the point that if we accept some men's decisions as being guided by the Holy Spirit, why then do we reject other men's decisions as not being guided by the Holy Spirit? Rejecting Reincarnation means rejecting what Gandhi taught. But should not Gandhi be worthy of being guided by the Holy Spirit? So, our religions today have unfortunately become very exclusive and covetous due to Man's infiltration and selfish desire for his faith to be unique, far from their original core founder's mission which was identical in all religions.
To clarify the point, I often ask people two questions. Let's say there's a sweet, loving, and innocent 10 year old Christian boy who suddenly dies. Does he go to heaven? Every Christian I have asked this to, including Catholics and Evangelicals, very firmly say "Yes, this boy will go to heaven." I then ask them a follow-up question. Let's say there's a sweet, loving, and innocent 10 year old Buddhist boy who suddenly dies. Does he go to heaven? And their response is, "Well, we don't know what God holds in his infinite mercy." On the surface, this may seem like a nice answer to give, however, it is actually an immature insult to spirituality. Do you see the mentality driving the different responses? By not giving the same firm response as in the former question, the Christian is inferring that the Buddhist boy may not go to heaven, even if it's a subtle inference, in however nice a statement they want to give. And you need not be educated about Buddhism, or any different religion than your own, to offer the correct answer, which should be the same for both questions.
For the 69 people who said that the Hammons boy case, which was well documented, examined, and tried to be debunked, was false, your negative reply may be proof-positive that we are indeed living our faiths...in a box.
The Curious Case of Ryan Hammons
Six year old Ryan Hammons of Oklahoma has been for the past three years declaring himself to be a former Hollywood actor. The young boy specifically pointed out his “former” self while browsing through a film-noire photo book. A child’s fantasy, you might say? Not quite, because Ryan described over one hundred details about the life of the man in the photo, who appeared obscurely in the background, having no clue as to his identity which was not listed anywhere. In fact, the case was brought to a University of Virginia past-life research group, who's doctors have documentated hundreds of such cases usually occurring in children less than ten years old. The group petitioned the Hollywood film preservation society, who meticulously identified the man in the photo from archived original film scripts as Marty Martyns. Interestingly, 90 out of 102 details the young boy gave since he was three and before he even saw the photo were completely true, including the street Martyns lived on, interior details of the Rolls Royce he owned, and the name of his wife. Ryan, or “Marty”, was asked why he had come back. And the boy’s response: “My old me has to relearn lessons because of greed.”
Reincarnation? My earnest opinion, which supports the idea of Purgatory, is that souls such as Martyns are paying reparations for their sins by their spirits being incarnated, not reincarnated, in other people. Interestingly, when this story was relayed to a few of my elder friends and relatives, their immediate reaction was "No, no, no. Nobody's spirit comes back. They belong to the church in heaven and we belong to the church on earth, that's all." This typical "we're right and everybody else is wrong" response is found in many westernized religions, including Christianity. Objectively speaking, to flat out condemn any spiritual phenomenon without disproving it is entirely wrong. Yet we see this philosophy manifesting itself in the thousands of religious sects and branches in our everyday world, each purporting that they are the one true faith. If you disagree with Ryan Hammons being the incarnated spirit of Marty Martyn, then prove your point. If you cannot prove your rebuttal, then the objective mind must accept the fact that all indications from diligent and exhaustive efforts reveal that this is clearly a case of either incarnation or reincarnation. But still, we crawl back into our holes and stubbornly refuse to accept the facts.
It may not be so far-fetched for the typical Catholic, for example, to understand what happened here, since Catholics already believe in Purgatory, a "holding state" between Heaven and Hell. Consider that Martyn's soul, along with billions of others, are in Purgatory praying for the opportunity of reparation for their sins. Most people already accept that the souls of the dead are praying for us, just as we pray for them, in fact we often invoke their intercession don't we? Indeed, Andrew Ostrowski.com would argue that if anyone needs prayers more, it would be us on earth rather than the other way around, the souls in Purgatory. This website would further argue that deceased souls are probably continuously praying for us left and right because these souls went through the life/death process, committed their sins which they regret, and now are desperately seeking grace, so therefore they intensely pray for us as a reparation. Well, why then is it so incomprehensible to believe that God answers a deceased person's "prayer" allowing them to be instilled into our earthly lives to help us? Indeed that would be an excellent way to offer earthly assistance and the ultimate answer to a prayer! Incarnation of deceased spirits is very real and happens all the time unbeknownst to us, as in the case of Ryan Hammons. It is very important to point out that with incarnation the host soul, such as Ryan's, still bears responsibility for their own soul, but the spirit of the deceased soul helps the earthly host soul perfect itself, thereby allowing the deceased soul to gain grace so as to leave Purgatory. We don't realize this of course simply because we don't spend time thinking about it.
Honestly and sincerely, step back a minute and ask yourself: "Why is it hard for me to believe this?" You may soon realize that you have probably been groomed and conditioned to accept a certain religious mindset. I would offer a solution. Instead of being robotic, ritualistic people of a religion, let's try to use our God-given minds to think, think, and think even more about what life and death are really about. Ask questions, be open minded, don't be afraid. Asking questions and thinking about your soul is how you learn and grow. Consider that there is ample evidence supporting many facets of spirituality, including Incarnation, even though your faith belief may never teach about them. Only afterwards then can we appreciate the true meaning of life and death and see the universality of it all. For example, I am a devout Catholic, and I accept some principals of other religions simply because I have pondered them, researched them, and came to an intellectual conclusion. I am a Catholic not because I have been blindly conditioned, rather, I am a Catholic because I personally pondered its teachings and made intellectual conclusions. We should not "take sides" with our faith, but rather see that there is truth and merit in nearly all religions, including the fact that this young boy is clearly experiencing an incarnation of a deceased soul. So, dead people are actually not dead after all, but in fact very much alive and interactive in people's lives, through intercession and incarnation. And what a wonderful thing to realize. Why then do we fail to spend time sincerely thinking about our life after our death? The big question is, after reading about this young boy, are you going to once again close the book and continue to live your life as usual, caught up in your everyday web of physical doings, what you will eat, what you will wear, or are you going to take a little extra time to think about your own very real, validated, and proven life after your own death as this story proves? When are you going to start thinking?!
See this website's section Totus Tuus Opus Dei for the distinction between Incarnation and Reincarnation.
Read the story about Ryan Hammons and Marty Martyn
See http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0912/22/lkl.01.html for a televised media discussion on the topic.
Wartime Accountability
Veteran's Day has always been quite memorable, and this year I had the opportunity to view three films that simply do a superb job at portraying our heroic servicemen, specifically from World War II. Twelve O'clock High, starring Gregory Peck, highlights the aerial bombardment efforts of the Allied forces against Germany's war-specific technical factories, such as ball bearing plants. As I watched the film, I was reminded of my own uncle, Stanley Ostrowski, who took part in these missions. The Great Escape appeared next on the screen, which details the heroic tunneled escape of 76 Allied prisoners of war from the infamous Stalag Luft 3 in what is now Zagan, Poland. And lastly, The Stranger, a brilliantly suspense-filled film-noire starring Edward G. Robinson and Orson Welles. Robinson, a Nazi war crimes hunter, tracks the notorious SS officer Franz Kindler, played by Welles, as the desperate German escapes to the U.S. and finds safe haven as a college professor in a quaint New England town. A potentially true to life story, although accountability has never fully been reached in regard to all of these war criminals. However, what failed to escape my attention was the afterthought of this so-called "accountability". What has been done to bring to justice ALL of the contributors to the "final solution?" I'm referring specifically to the company that supplied Zyklon B, the principle killing agent at Majdanek concentration camp in Poland. This cyanide based pesticide was first used on sick Poles at Auschwitz, then used to kill roughly 1.2 million more people. The company defended itself by claiming its product was meant for "rodent extermination" as was clearly stated on the label. However, how does such a company escape full prosecution when it obviously supplied thousands of Zyklon B canisters to the Nazi war machine? Not to mention the bricklayers and oven suppliers who built the crematoriums and said nothing. Indeed there may still be numerous "Franz Kindlers" out there.
Who's the real Bull in Bullying?
We begin this week with reports of yet another bullying incident making headlines. It is rather interesting to learn that repeatedly, despite exemplary efforts made by newscasters such as Anderson Cooper and Dr. Phil, no one seems to realize the root cause of these tragedies. Blame is continually placed on big, brash kids who taunt calls of “sissy” at fellow schoolmates who happen to speak or appear less masculine. However, are these antagonistic kids really to blame? What should we expect when our children are brainwashed by so-called PG-13 rated movies promoting the ideal male image as being muscular and aggressive? Added to that, the all-American values our culture promotes is its man-against-man competitive drive instilled in our children. And God help the kid who prefers reading a book over playing football. Perhaps we should be blaming ourselves, not our kids.
Un-Occupy Wall Street
If only society would realize that, regrettably, the only reason that America has always stood atop the world and is idealized has been largely due to...the rich. Clearly it is an historic fact that private sector big businesses and entrepreneurial moguls have always been the impetus for economic growth in this country, NOT the fair-minded Democratic ideal we all think our country embodies. Indeed, arguably the only reason you and I are successful is because somebody somewhere is not. Such is the price paid for capitalism. For what is the "American Dream", but a desire to prosper, not to share the wealth as these protesters seem to be hinting at in some form of Democratic Socialist movement likened to the John Doe club. If there exists such a Utopian society somewhere in the figment of our imagination, there must be an unlimited supply of resources to be had. Unfortunately, reality tells us that there is only so much to go around, therefore our society has resorted to a battle between the have and the have-nots, masked under the guise of "Democracy". Ask the homeless person living in the gutter, proof positive, or the tycoon living on the hilltop. The Occupy Wall Street argument is ignorant of the fact that the mere ability of these protesters to protest in the first place is entirely because of capitalistic freedom. Were their signs and drums given to them for free? No, they earned money, bought the materials, and now are toting these signs and beating these drums, paid for with money. Essentially how then does that become different than the tycoon earning money and buying a yacht? Is this a qualitative issue or a quantitative one? Is it not therefore ironic and hypocritical for a group of people, having the freedom to protest and earn and spend money, to then protest against the very reason why they are able to stand there? True, capitalism is one of the furthest ideologies to Christianity. However, how does one grow in Democratic Socialism? Perhaps we have finally reached the crossroads of our juxtaposed self-destruction.
Sex Ed 101 in your kid's classroom
In a "brilliantly brainless" decision, New York City schools chancellor Dennis Walcott has decided that Sex Education 101 will now be a mandatory class for all NYC public high school students. Great, let's set an honorable example, show the kids how mature we are, and feed them info on the tactical methods of how not to get pregnant so they can be just like us when they grow up. Idiotic thinking strikes again! How about teaching the kids about the sanctity of life, and that the procreative process which gives life is therefore sanctified as well? Shouldn't our goal be to get these kids to appreciate life to the point where they cherish it, care for it, and nurture it, thus reserving their sexual activity for the exclusive intent of bringing a new life into the world? Wouldn't that be the best approach? But no, we throw them a prophylactic and a couple of how-to slide shows using a banana and consider ourselves "very wise and learned educators." Fortunately, protests have ensued, signifying the last dying hope of a people still showing some degree of moral fabric about them. The mere fact that the story has made headlines is evidence in itself that we still hold ourselves accountable to some kind of moral standard, as low as that may be. And talk about anti-discrimination policy supposedly enforced in the learning curriculum. Is it not then a discriminatory act to only teach kids the methods of contraception and to not teach them about abstinence? Surely this then is discrimination against religion, including Catholicism and Christianity on the whole!
Dangers of the la-de-da society
Have you ever dreamed of living in a cool, oceanfront town, where fresh air is plentiful, songbirds are singing, and everybody is wearing a smile? Indeed such places exist, such as the small town I once happened upon around Chesapeake Bay. Driving the required minimal speed limit enforced by privately hired police, I noticed home after home, each one worth more than my watch's calculator function could display. Comprised entirely of upper middle class residents, everything about this town was perfect. No garbage in the gutters, no potholes in the roads, no graffiti, and nobody arguing, everybody greeting one another happily and saying nice things. In short, the perfect, quintessential la-de-da society bearing no troubles, no worries, and no fear. Wouldn't you like to live there? You'd better ditch God, because in the la-de-da society, there simply is little to no need for faith. Why? To answer this we must realize that faith often develops out of a society's need to alleviate its woes with some kind of assurance that better things are to come. Indeed studies indicate that cultures having the most diverse peoples are more inclined to have active faith communities simply due to different peoples interacting with one another causing strife. Additionally, in such diverse cultures, intellectualization often increases because it forces people to think more about such strife situations. The result being the need for religion to factor into the remedy. However, in the la-de-da society, there is little strife, and so there is little need for religion. What happens to a family of five when the parents fail to regularly habitualize their children to established faith practices? In the la-de-da society, parents teach their children to be a "nice person" and feel no need to regularly condition their kids spiritually. What then will these children eventually teach their own children, and what will their own children eventually teach their children? In time, the la-de-da society itself thus becomes the religion. A homeowner in such a society would say "Well, what's wrong with teaching my child to be a nice person?" The answer is, nothing is wrong. But only a fool would fail to realize that Man, by his very nature as witnessed in history, is not strong enough to live a spiritual-less life and simultaneously maintain perfection. If he were, we would all be living in heaven on earth. Therefore, the la-de-da society, as innocent as it may seem, actually ends up being counterproductive in the end.