October

Here it is, October; one of the most beautiful months in the year.  It's a funny name, too, as 'oct' means eight as in octopus and octagon.  But October is the tenth month of the year!  It's because on the Roman calendar October was the eighth month of the year.  March, the beginning of spring, was the first month.

The leaves around here are starting to put on their autumnal display.

Emilia and Adam's school

For baseball fans October can be bitter-sweet.  It's the start of the playoffs, eventually culminating in the World Series.  For most fans the end of the regular season brings an end to their favorite team's season.  Their team didn't make it to the playoffs ("again!" in a lot of cases).  For most baseball fans, October is the time for watching somebody else's teams compete in the World Series.  As a life-long Milwaukee Brewers fan I know that feeling very well. 

When I was 13 years old my team did make it to the World Series in 1982.  I don't know how to describe the thrill of that.  Either you've experienced that or you haven't.  It was one of the better World Series; a back-and-forth series with Milwaukee eventually losing to the Saint Louis Cardinals in 7 games.  I'll admit I cried after Milwaukee lost that seventh game. 

I'll remember not only that World Series but that entire season for the rest of my life.  That was the year I went to my first ever major league baseball game: August 14th, Milwaukee County Stadium, the burly Brewer slugger Gorman Thomas hit a home run in a losing cause as Milwaukee fell to the Toronto Blue Jays 4-2.  It was Richland County Night at the ballpark.  I think it was WRCO radio that organised tickets and chartered a school bus to take fans from Richland Center to Milwaukee and back.  I went with my Dad, step-mother and step-brother and I remember getting home at around 1 o'clock the next morning.



My favorite baseball player of all time, Robin Yount, #19.

The Battle of Lepanto

October 7th marks the anniversay of the Battle of Lepanto, which occured in 1571.  The significance of this battle is that the Muslim Ottoman Empire (centered in Turkey) was a dominant power in the Mediterranean Sea.  Christian Europe was in danger of falling under Islamic control.  A naval fleet made up of an alliance of Christain forces (Venice, Spain, the Papal States, Genoa, Savoy and Malta), led by the legendary Don Juan, met the Ottoman naval force in the Gulf of Patras near Greece.  The Christian forces were outnumbered.  Pope Pius V encouraged all Christians to pray the rosary, asking the Virgin Mary to intercede on behalf of the Christian forces.

During a meeting in Rome on October 7th, many hundreds of miles from the scene of the battle, the pope suddenly stood up and walked over to the window.  Looking out the window he said, "This is not a moment for business; make haste to thank God, because our fleet this moment has won a victory over the Turks."

When news of the Christian victory reached Rome days later, the city rejoiced.  The pope instituted a new feast day for October 7th, Our Lady of Victory.  The Church still celebrates this day as the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.

On a literary note, the Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes, of Don Quixote fame, fought in that battle and lost the use of one arm.

Some poems

Back in 2000 I had the honor of having a poem accepted for publication for the first time.  A monthly magazine called The Villager, published by the Bronxville Women's Club of Bronxville NY, published the following in their October 2000 edition.

Three Views On October

"Oh, he's a fat one, sated on the fruits of summer.
But his days are numbered, he's nearing death.
Smell the sweet decay on his breath."

"No.  He's a harlequin, this jolly October.
An audacious fellow, dressed in florescent red and yellow.
Look at him laughing and dancing in the face of winter!"

"Excuse me, gentlemen, I must intervene.
Our October is a haughty Queen,
with a gold and scarlet cloak, and hair of amber.
Her eyes of evening blue look coolly to the future."


There were a total of five different poems by five poets included in that month's edition.  The other four are very good, so I'm flattered that my poem was considered worthy to be included with those.  My favorite of the five poems is this one by a William Beyer:

October

October moves

Like a proud peacock,

Gold

As wheat,

Red

As fire,

Passing up

The garden path

With great desire.

 



Angels

Vampires are currently the craze in popular culture, both here in Poland and in the United States (at least it was when I left the States a year ago).  It wasn't so long ago that angels were "the thing" in popular culture.  A lot of silliness has been written about angels, but they're a healthier topic of interest than vampires.

How the "living dead" who feed off the blood of live human beings have become sex symbols is beyond me.  When I think about it, that seems a Satanic inversion of the Eucharist, where Christians attain everlasting life through participation in the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ (see Gospel of John chapter 6; 1 Corinthians 10:16 & 11:23-29)

C. S. Lewis warned against a morbid fascination with Satan and devils and I'd counsel the same in regards to vampires. 

Today, however, I'd rather talk about angels.  September 29th is the Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael on the Catholic calendar.



Tobias and the three Archangels

All three major world religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - teach the existence of angels.  The word angel comes from a Greek word meaning "messenger."  Angels are mentioned numerous times in both the Old and New Testaments, sometimes as "messenger of God".

Many people believe in guardian angels.  Do they exist?  Our Lord Jesus says this, "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father." (Matthew 18:10) 

What about archangels?  Let's take them one by one.

Michael

In Hebrew, Michael means "Who is like God?"  It's a rhetorical question which expects an answer in the negative, "No one."  Michael is one who performs acts of justice and power.  In art he is typically portrayed holding a sword.

Michael is mentioned three times in Daniel:  . . . but the prince of the kingdom of Persia stood in my way for twenty-one days, until finally Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me. (10:13); No one supports me against all these except Michael, your prince, standing as a reinforcement and a bulwark for me. (10:21); At that time there shall arise Michael, the great prince, guardian of your people; It shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since nations began until that time.  At that time your people shall escape, everyone found who is written in the book. (12:1).

Michael is mentioned in two places in the New Testament: Yet the archangel Michael, when he argued with the devil in a dispute over the body of Moses, did not venture to pronounce a reviling judgement upon him but said, "May the Lord rebuke you!" (Jude 1:9); Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels battled against the dragon.  The dragon and its angels fought back, but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.  The huge dragon, the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the whole world, was thrown down to earth, and its angels were thrown down with it. (Revelation 12:7-9)

Notice the mention of evil angels in the passage from Revelation.

Some believe this mention of an archangel refers to Michael: For the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. (1 Thessalonians 4:16)

Gabriel

Gabriel means "the strength of God" and he serves as a messenger to humans from God.  He is typically portrayed in art holding a lily.

Gabriel is mentioned twice in Daniel: While I, Daniel, sought the meaning of the vision I had seen, a manlike figure stood before me, and on the Ulai I heard a human voice that cried out, "Gabriel, explain the vision to this man."  When he came near where I was standing, I fell prostrate in terror.  But he said to me, "Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the end of time." (8:15-17); I was still occupied with this prayer, when Gabriel, the one whom I had seen before in vision, came to me in rapid flight at the time of the evening sacrifice.  He instructed me in these words: "Daniel, I have now come to give you understanding . . . " (9:21-22)

In the Gospel of Luke, Gabriel appears to Zechariah and the Virgin Mary to announce the births of John the Baptist and Jesus (Luke 1:11-38).  The passages are too long to include here entirely, but they're some of my favorite in all of Scripture: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard.  Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John."  To Mary: "Hail, favored one!  The Lord is with you."  "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus."  " . . . for nothing is impossible with God."

Raphael

Raphael means "God heals" and he brings God's healing to humans.  In art he is usually depicted holding a fish.

The angel Raphael is one of the main characters in the Book of Tobit.  (Tobit was declared canonical by the Council of Carthage in 397.  However, Protestants consider the book apocryphal since it was never considered canonical in Judaism.)  I'll quote Wikipedia to give a brief synopsis of Tobit: Raphael first appears disguised in human form as the travelling companion of Tobit's son, Tobiah, calling himself "Azarias the son of the great Ananias". During the adventurous course of the journey the archangel's protective influence is shown in many ways including the binding of the demon in the desert of upper Egypt. After the return and the healing of the blindness of Tobit, Azarias makes himself known as "the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord" Tobit 12:15 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raphael_(archangel)  (See also Revelation 8:2 regarding the seven angels who stand before the Lord.)

 Song of the Angels by William-Adolphe Bouguereau

 

 

Some excerpts from a text by Father Adolphe Tanquerey: The angels show forth God's greatness and perfection.  It is God, then, whom we honour in the angels.  They are like mirrors reflecting the perfections of their infinite Creator.  They have at heart our sanctification.  They long for our salvation that we may join them in glorifying God.  Thus it is with joy that they accept those God-given missions to minister to our sanctification.  Victors over demons, they ask but to shield us from the perfidious enemies of our souls.  They present our prayers to the Most High by joining their own supplications to our requests.  It is, therefore, to our advantage to call upon them, especially in the hour of trial, and above all, at the hour of death, that they may defend us from the attacks of our enemies and conduct our souls to paradise.





The Village

This is the time of potato harvesting in Poland.  Last Saturday Renata and I helped collect potatos for our brother-in-law Janusz.  In one sense it's easy enough work; a tractor pulls a potato dredger through the field which leaves the potatos lying on the surface and we simply have to pick up the potatos, put them in buckets and empty the buckets into a wagon.  But the squatting and standing over and over, for 5 hours in our case, is very physically wearing.  Our backs and legs were extremely sore that day and Sunday.  Four days later as I write this the back of my legs are still sore.

Aside from the pleasure of helping a relative we received 3 large sacks of potatos (I'd estimate about 150 lbs each) for our efforts.  Now that's a lot of mashed potatos, fries and potato pancakes!

The weather last Saturday as we collected potatos was cool and windy with the skies alternating from sunny to grey overcast to sunny again.  From time to time I stood up straight to stretch my back and look around.  The long rectangular field we worked on lay in a patchwork of similar long rectangular fields on slightly undulating ground.  Behind us (as we worked from one end of the field to the other) was Janusz's village of Leśnica.  Before us and slightly to the left was another village, Cieśle, with a pine-forested hill just beyond it.  Smoke drifted faintly from a few chimneys.  Farther off to the right were more hills and forests.  Here and there in the fields were black and white Holstein cows grazing. 

Żarczyce Duże, satellite view

Most of us love to gaze in awe at wild, "unspoilt" scenery like mountains and forests.  I do as well.  However, the scenery I prefer most of all is cultivated geography like I described in the previous paragraph.  I'm not alone in this view as writers as disparate in worldview as Milan Kundera (an unbeliever and libertine) and Hilaire Belloc (a dyed-in-the-wool Catholic) have both written paeans to rural cultivation.

Raw wilderness is awe-inspiring, true.  It displays the artistry of God.  But before we get sentimental about such "unspoilt" wilderness, let's remember that nature is "red in tooth and claw."  Animals live by instinct.  Weaker animals like the old, sick or very young are vulnerable as prey to other animals.  Mothers will even eat their own offspring in times of famine.  Animals in the wild feel no emotions of love or sentiment.  Humans can look with admiration at such wild scenery, but we cannot live in it.  We look at it, feel inspired perhaps, then get back into our cars and go back to the comforts of our homes.

I will even argue that cultivated life is superior to raw wilderness because humankind was given domination over the earth by God (see Genesis 1:27-30 and Psalm 8:5-9).  Cultivation is a form of creation; it is the transforming of what is naturally available through human creativity and ingenuity into a liveable, orderly, secure and peaceful environment.  I write this with the understanding that humans will cheat, rob and murder their neighbors.  But who is willing to leave civilization and live in the trees like monkeys? 

It takes a village

Back in the 1990s, then First Lady Hillary Clinton published a book titled It Takes A Village.  The title is attributed to an African proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child."  That is true on the surface.  The family unit is the most important element in the raising of children, but neighbors, friends, teachers and clergy also have very important roles to play in the formation of children.  For example, we have neighbors on both sides of us with children the same age as ours.  It's good that we can trust them and let our children play at their houses and likewise they trust us to let their children play at our place.  Our childrens' interaction with their friends' parents - learning to speak and behave respectfully toward them - is a valuable part of character formation.

The issue that conservative commentators had with Mrs Clinton's book is her advocation of a large role for government in the raising of children.  However much Mrs Clinton recognized the role of family, neighbors, friends etc in the raising of children in her book, the policies that she and the current administration advocate run in a contrary direction. 

Liberals generally, and the current administration particularly, seem intent on diminishing the public role of independent entities at the expense of an all-powerful central government. 

Some examples:  On February 28, 2008 the 2nd District Court of Appeal in California ruled that parents must have a teaching credential to home school their children.  This would have had the effect of banning homeschooling.  The ruling was overturned later that year thanks to an outcry from parents and church leaders.  Yet it remains a liberal wish to eliminate parental choice in the education of their children. 

Washington DC created a scholarship program in 2004 that granted money to families that allowed those families to enroll their children in private schools.  The DC public school system, which spends more money per student than any other public system IN THE WORLD is an absolute mess.  Test results and graduation rates are abysmal.  Therefore parents welcomed the opportunity to send their children to better private schools.  The vast majority of scholarship recipients sent their children to religious private schools which of course operate outside government regulations.  Newly elected President Obama and the Democrat-controlled congress decided to phase out the program in 2009.  Although the president and members of congress can afford to send their own children to private schools, they prefer that the poorer residents of Washington not have that choice.

Education isn't the only realm where liberals are working to consolidate government control.  The litany continues:

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) under the current administration sued Boeing because Boeing wanted to open a large manufacturing plant in union-free South Carolina.  The State of South Carolina counter-sued the NLRB and won.  Boeing can open its plant, creating thousands of new jobs. 

Under the current administration the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued a Luthern Church because that church fired a teacher with a disability.  Fortunately the US Supreme Court, in an unanimous 9-0 decision, upheld a church's right to hire and fire employees without hindrance from government regulation.  Had the government prevailed in this case it's easy to see how churches would eventually be forced to hire or retain people openly homosexual, for example, or who otherwise publically proclaim opinions or beliefs contrary to the church they work for.

There have been numerous cases in recent years of individuals and groups being sued (successfully) for not providing services for "gay marriage" ceremonies - a wedding photographer in New Mexico and a Methodist church hall in New Jersey - or a fertility doctor in California sued for refusing to assist a lesbian couple in having a baby. 

And finally there's the case of the current administration's recent Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate 1) forcing private insurance companies to provide free contraception, sterilization and abortifacient drugs and 2) forcing religious instutions like hospitals, universities, soup kitchens and homeless shelters to carry such insurance even if contraception, sterilization and abortion run counter to their beliefs.

The common theme running through all of this is the attempted weakening of the role of independent institutions and bodies in public life.  The goal is the domination of government over all aspects of our lives.  So much for the village.

Reader, if you've made it this far, I apologize for the length of this post.  But please keep all this in mind when voting this November 6th.

Basic

Webster's defines basic, as an adjective, as: of, relating to, or forming the base or essence: FUNDAMENTAL.  Ask any current or former member of the United State Air Force what "basic" means to them and they'll immediately answer, "basic training!"

Twenty-three years ago on September 7th, 1989, I entered Air Force basic training at Lackland Air Base, San Antonio TX.  I've been thinking about those days this past week.

It all began at the MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) in Milwaukee WI the day before.  We had all gone through the MEPS routine some weeks or months before that - being tested psychologically, academically and medically.  This final go through at the MEPS included a final medical check, lots and lots of paperwork and the "Oath of Enlistment."  I remember there were about 7 of us going into the Air Force together; all from Wisconsin except one guy from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan - a large, quiet, Scandanavian-looking fellow by the name of Larsen.  He'd eventually get the nickname "lumberjack."

Airman Peaslee (left) getting his head shaved

 

 

Air Force basic training in those days was only 6 weeks, compared to 8 weeks for both the Army and Navy and an unbelievable 12 weeks for the Marines.  But let me tell you, those 6 weeks felt like 6 months!

 

The "fun" started after a long nighttime bus ride from the San Antonio airport to Lackland, followed by a late evening meal in a mess hall.  I think all of us were too nervous to eat.  But so far, so good - all was relatively quiet.  Then it was back on the bus to be taken to our barracks.  And that's when all bedlam broke loose.  Some TI (training instructor) boarded the bus and shouted at us to get off the bus.  After we were all off the bus and formed up into lines, suddenly other TI's appeared out of the shadows shouting their heads off.  They would single out individuals among us for an up close, face-to-face bawling out.  We were ordered to pick up our suitcases.  And then set them down.  And then pick them up.  And then set them down again.  We were meant to follow these orders all together as a group.

 

Then we were rushed into the barracks and up the stairs to our dormatory.  What I remember most from that first night was when all of us were sitting on the floor of our "day room," a common meeting room separate from the sleeping area, and were each given our dog tags and chain.  After sliding our dog tags onto the chain we were supposed to clasp the chain together.  My hands were shaking so badly I could barely manage to put the ends of my chain together.  I was terrified that I would be the last one to finish and so would be singled out for some extra screaming.  I quickly glanced around and noticed nearly everybody around me was having the same problem trying to connect their chains with uncontrollably shaking hands!

 

Once we were in our beds and the lights put out, we thought we were going to get some peace.  But no.  After a couple of minutes, the lights went up and the TI came storming up and down the aisles between our beds, shouting for us to get up.  We all stood at attention next to our beds, some of us getting another dose of up and personal shouting.  At some point we did finally get to bed for good that night.

 

But dark and early the following morning - 4 a.m. to be exact - in barged the TI banging a trash can and shouting and bellowing at us to get up and get dressed.  Our first full day of basic lay before us.

 

That first week of basic was the most difficult.  In basic they have you on the go for practically your entire waking day.  We barely had a chance to catch our breath.  We had to undergo more sight and hearing tests that first week and I seriously thought about faking poor eye-sight just in order to be released and sent home.  In the end I decided not to do that and try to stick it out.  I'm very glad I did.

 

There were sort of 3 phases to Air Force basic.  The first was the brief "rainbow" phase.  The new arrivals to basic who hadn't yet been issued their military uniforms were still marching around in their multi-colored civilian clothing.  Hence, they were called "rainbows."  Then, up until our 5th week, we were only allowed to wear our brownish-green camouflage uniforms.  Then finally, during our final two weeks, we wore our "blues," our blue uniforms.  Everyone who hadn't yet attained 4 weeks would look with envy on those "flights" (each group of trainees is called a flight) marching by in their smart looking blue uniforms.  I remember how full of ourselves we felt when we were finally able to don our blues!

 

My funniest memory: being on the constant go it seemed we never had enough time for keeping all of our clothes ironed and boots polished.  The TI's never let up criticizing us on our wardrobe.  So, one day all of us in my flight decided that after lights out, we'd wait a certain length of time and then get up quietly and catch up on our ironing and polishing.  Each of us had to take a 2-hour turn according to some rota schedule acting as door guard for our dormatory during the night.  Whoever was on door guard duty had to watch out in case one of TIs decided to make a surprise nighttime visit.

 

There we all were, in our t-shirts and underwear, ironing or polishing away.  Some of us had set up shop in the restroom.  Suddenly there was a noise at the door and somebody went rushing around the dormatory, whispering fiercely that a TI was coming.  Those in the sleeping area went scurrying into or even UNDER beds.  Some of us in the restroom slipped into toilet stalls and sat there with our boots and polish on our laps.  The TI went roaring up and down the dormitory threatening all kinds of punishment.  Yet he didn't stay long.  I imagine he had to quickly get away from us so he could bust out laughing somewhere.  We must have been a pretty ridiculous sight!

 

Air Force basic has since been increased to 8 weeks, but those 6 weeks were the most intense period of my life.  We lost and gained a few members along the way, but there were roughly 50 of us in the flight.  We came from all over America.  There were a couple of New Yorkers, an Iowan farmer and a Californian surfer.  We had surnames like Alvarez, Beebe, Casterline, Gargano, Goldsmith, Hisashima, Klein, MacDonald, Petrovich, Turner and Walters.  And I can tell you, by the end of basic our flight of individual characters could march and drill as a unit with the best of them.  We were sharp and we felt real pride in our blue uniforms.

 

And then it was all over.  Most of those 6 weeks in San Antonio during September and October were scorching hot, but I remember the cool dark morning we all got up to prepare to leave Lackland.  We were splitting up to go to our various technical training school assignments.  I distinctly remember that the TI's never shouted at us that final morning but actually spoke to us as normal humans.  That was a new feeling!  We had been waiting for this day for over 6 long weeks.  We felt excited, relieved and even a little sad.  Our flight had formed an intense comaraderie and most of us would never see one another again.

 

A handful of us flew to the New Orleans airport and then took the long bus ride to Keesler Air Base in Biloxi, Mississippi for our technical training and a new phase in our Air Force lives began.

 

Airman Peaslee

 

 

September 11th

 

When I graduated from technical training school at Keesler the week before Christmas 1989, the world was at a turning point.  That was the year communisim collapsed in eastern Europe.  As I was preparing to leave Keesler and spend some leave time in Wisconsin, the Romanian army mutineed and eventually executed the communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.  During this same time the United States invaded Panama, which had nothing to do with communism but brought home to me what it meant to be in the military.  As the communist threat was fading from the world, other enemies were out there waiting.

 

Like everyone I clearly remember where I was when I heard about the terrorist attacks of 9/11.  I was living in Katowice Poland.  I had finished teaching summer school and had a few free weeks before the regular school year started.  It was afternoon in Poland when the attacks in New York took place.  I had been asleep on the sofa when Renata called from her job at the British Council Library.  "Turn on the TV!  A plane has crashed into a building in New York!"  Her voice sounded agitated. 

 

I turned on CNN International.  My first thoughts were that it was an accident.  However I quickly realized that two buildings had been hit by separate planes.  I can't recall in what order I learned what had happened, but I don't think it was long before I learned of the two planes hitting the World Trade Center as well as the plane that hit the Pentagon and the one that crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.  I was physically shaking most of that day.  Like most Americans, my emotions ranged from shock to appalling fear to rage.  Even writing this now brings a lump into my throat.

 

One other major thing I remember from the days following the attack was how Americans in great numbers donated blood.  People feared more attacks and wanted to make sure the blood banks were well supplied.  I heard stories of people standing in line for hours without complaint to give blood.  That's America!

 

For 11 years now we've avoided another major terrorist attack on our country.  Getting back to the title of this post, one of the basic functions of the national government is to provide for the national defense and secure our borders.  Our federal government, under Presidents Bush and Obama, has been successful in this.  Now, if the government would just stick to its basic purposes!

 

 

 





Birthdays, Fighter Pilots and Football

On September 8th, Catholics, Orthodox Christians as well as some Anglicans celebrate the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary - in other words, Mary's birthday.

How do we know she was born on September 8th?  We don't (nor do we know what day Jesus was born, but we celebrate His birthday on December 25th).  However, as early as the 7th century the Syrian church was celebrating the Feast of the Conception of Mary on December 9th.  This feast spread to the west and the date (for reasons I haven't discovered) was changed to December 8th.  And 9 months after December 8th is September 8th.

Of the canonized saints, the Catholic Church only celebrates the birthdays of two as feast days: the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist.  Nearly all the other saints' feast days are celebrated on (or near) the date of their deaths. 

Why is that?  As I understand it, this is because when a saint dies (and you and I are called to be saints; "be holy for I am holy" Leviticus 11:44) that is his or her birthday into eternity with God.

Mary with parents Joachim and Anne

"For your freedom and ours"

September 1st was the 73rd anniversary of Germany's invasion of Poland which started World War II.  One of the many interesting stories concerning Poland's part in the war is about the thousands of Polish pilots and aircraft technicians who managed to escape from Poland through (then) neutral Romania or Hungary to France where they regrouped into air combat units.

Unfortunately the French provided the Polish pilots with inferior fighter planes.  However, the Polish pilots gained combat experience against German pilots and even managed to shoot down some of the far superior German Messerschmitt fighter planes.

After France collapsed from the German invasion of May-June 1940, the Polish air forces were evacuated to England.  The British high command distrusted the capabilities of the Polish pilots and forced them to wait in training centers to learn English and RAF (Royal Air Force) command procedures. 

As the Battle of Britain (an ongoing air battle between Germany and Britain, July 10 to October 31 1940) geared up during the summer of 1940, the RAF suffered many losses due to inexperienced pilots, while most of the experienced Polish pilots remained grounded. 

Eventually the Brits let the Poles fly and the Poles distinguished themselves.  They flew courageously (if at times even recklessly) and though they made up about 5% of RAF pilots during this time, they are credited with 12% of the "kills" or German bombers and fighters shot down.

World War II ended with Poland under Soviet occupation and so most Polish pilots who had fought on the side of the allies all during the war, with the idea that by helping the allies defeat Nazi Germany they would eventually free Poland, opted not to return home.  Had they returned home to Poland they would have been imprisoned by the communist authorities and most likely die far away in bleak and cold Siberia.  So they stayed to live in England or emigrated to the USA, Canada or Australia and so lived out their lives far from home, but free.

For some more detail on the action of Polish pilots in the RAF, see http://www.historynet.com/the-forgotten-few-polish-airmen-fought-during-the-battle-of-britain.htm

Are you ready for some football?

The National Football League kicks off it's 93rd season this week.  That's reason for joy for many (including this writer) and a matter of indifference or dread for others.  A lot of guys are obsessed with football and a lot of wives have a long string of Sundays ahead (plus Saturdays if their men are into college football) where they're effectively widows.

Yes, I know, lots of women love football and not all men do.

The Christian rule to follow in this of course is moderation.  With the morning pre-game shows followed by games at noon (CT) and then 3 pm (CT), then post-game shows and now Sunday night football, a person could be glued to the TV for over 12 hours.

Healthy?

Oh, and by the way, Sunday is the Lord's Day, is it not?  (Well, thank God for early Sunday mass, right?)

One of my boyhood heros, Green Bay Packer James Lofton, #80