Program Note!

I should post today, but I'm not. I'm in mourning and taking a day. Eighty years ago today, German troops rolled into Poland and eviscerated their military. My people fought bravely and, like Poles always, with courage and an in-your-face bravado.

They did the original work on Enigma, giving the English a head-start on breaking the unbreakable German code. A book on the myths of stoic brave England in 1940 points out that the first flyers in the air to encounter the Luftwaffe were Polish, not English, as they weren't trained enough yet. The Poles were ferocious flyers and, essentially, began the victory in the Battle of Britain.

Somehow as I get older, the massacre that began on September 1, 1939, means more to me. The Poles were horribly mistreated by both the Russians and the Germans. When I took Kate to eastern Europe last spring, we didn't bother going to Warsaw as it had been utterly destroyed during the war and, having been rebuilt during the Soviet era, is apparently no big deal to look at, given the Soviets' sprightly, fun-laced architecture. Instead we went to Krakow, which had had a vibrant Jewish community as well and was still intact. There are remnants of the Jewish community, and people come from around the world to visit the synagogues.

Rather than be too down about this, I'll conclude with a joke: You're Polish, and you're being simultaneously invaded by Germans and Russians. Whom do you shoot first? Answer: Depends on whether it's business or pleasure.

I think that's really funny even though I don't understand it. When Kate and I went to Poland, the travel company we used provided us with a local contact, the wonderful Igor Setkowicz. We've become pen pals. I asked him what he thought of the joke, specifically what it meant, and he said he didn't know either, but also thought it was funny. I hope I get to meet Igor someday.

So there we'll let it sit. Happy Labor Day, everyone!