We got to Jasna Gora just after 11 AM, the veil is dropped over the Madonna each day at 12 noon. Thus, I wondered whether we would make it whereas we were not inside yet. Helps to get a good guide! We got a Polish nun who looked like a 5' 2" babci used to getting across exactly what she wants and expects everyone will fall in line. She had a beaming smile and glistening blue eyes which made you want to do whatever she asked. In 10 minutes she gave us the history of Poland and explained its people's love of the Church. And, as part of her explanation, she covered why the Black Madonna is so significant to the Poles and the Polish Pope. She then proceeded to get us via the sacristry nearly on the alter for the final 15 minutes of prayers.
There was a huge crowd that filled the Church to overflowing. There we stood at the very front. The sight of the Black Madonna and evident devotion to Our Lady and Jesus shown by everyone was so moving I spontaneously broke into tears. Precisely at 12 noon, the curtain dropped and the ceremony ended. The emotion I felt has been matched only one other time in my life, the first time I went to the Vietnam Wall in DC. Overwhelming!! Uplifting!!
The tour then went to Auschwitz. A real downer. Because I had been to Dachau, I was not as stunned as many on our tour. However, one thought did strike me about "the Final Solution" that makes it so spine chilling: it took great planning with meticulous attention to detail. The men who did this, conducted the action like they were launching a large business. The worst part of it is not that they were evil, which they were, it is that they did it with no emotion, nothing more than stepping on a sidewalk. Being evil does not explain or describe them, they were worse than evil. Being evil implies a degree from good. How does a parent raise their children within sight of the crematorium and with the smell ever present. That is worse than being evil.
The last event of the day was a long, long ride to the outskirts of Sakopane. We traveled roads that seemed like climbing a major mountain; then down a swerving twisting corkscrewing road that although done at 30-40 KMH seemed way too fast. At least it was in the dark so we could not see the worst of it.
It was a very late night--11 PM checked in, 11:30 in bed sleeping!
Some have asked about the different spellings of "Polish grandfather.". The explanation is fairly simple. Dahju was selected because it was simple and as adjusted something kids could say without struggle and embarrassment. The true Polish name requires a "dz" sound by slurring the two letters together. The Polish word for grandpa, the familiar name as opposed to the more formal and distant grandfather, especially an issue with Poles. (One you are a member of the family or close enough to be considered such. The other is formal and used to address with respect an older man.) When I setup my Hotmail account I elected to call myself "Dziadzio Mozden" or "Grandpa Mozden." It is the same as Dahju except it is the true Polish spelling. Guess in the signing I am forgetting which mode I am in. Sorry for the confusion.
Pics tomorrow AM our time. Bedtime................
Dahju
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