Pożegnanie Polska, Część 2: Czerwony
As I write this it is late afternoon on 1 September in Washington State. This date has been on my mind quite a bit of late, as it is the 80th anniversary of the invasion of Poland that began World War II in Europe. In Poland the event is referred to as Wojna obronna 1939 roku (the Defensive War of 1939). It is not "celebrated" as a holiday, of course, but is remembered nonetheless. In 1997 the day was declared as Dzień Weterana (Veterans Day), but it does not rank as a National holiday in the same way as 1 August ( Narodowy Dzień Pamięci Powstania Warszawskiego , National Warsaw Uprising Remembrance Day). I felt fortunate to be able to take Kościuszko out today. In honor of the sad occasion I wore my Polish cycling kit, which actually fit when I was in Poland, but now hangs rather loosely and, I might add, unstylishly on my frame. The weather today, here, was only a bit cooler than on that fateful day in Poland. Quite warm and dry, to be exact. I suspect that as German ...