I was away for barely three weeks, and what revelations awaited me on my return. The Bolesławiec press is not afraid of a crisis. It must be a phenomenon on a global scale, because new titles are being created here while the old ones hold on bravely.
On the cover of the new newspaper, I saw nothing less than a polished Azorek and his master, Uncle Andrzej. In the photograph, Uncle Andrzej is holding Azorek on a leash. Perhaps so that the dog would not pee on the monument funded by his master. Photographs on the Internet show that the monument was visited only by personae non gratae (people unwelcome at Uncle Andrzej’s establishment). The Bolesławiec district head from Civic Platform was there—the party that expelled Uncle Andrzej from its club ranks because he was a polished Civic Platformer. The deputy mayor also attended, a persona less non grata than the mayor. District head Przybylski arrived wearing a sweater, which displeased some anonymous author writing in that same new Bolesławiec newspaper. The sweater outraged him because it did not match the solemnity and significance of funding the monument. The inappropriate attire of the non grata official supposedly insulted the other excellencies invited to the ceremony.
Once I had recovered from these monument revelations, another persona non grata published an open letter to the mayor on the Bolec portal. This time, he was unwelcome at City Hall after the last election. In his letter, Maciej Małkowski (Ziemia Bolesławiecka) expressed such enormous polished concern for Bolesławiec children in overcrowded classes at municipal primary schools that I nearly fell for it.
The problem really does exist, and I agree that the classes are overcrowded. The thing is, Maciej Małkowski once had a real influence on the quality of teaching in the municipal schools. He was the deputy mayor responsible for education. And somehow, once he no longer held that position, his concern for the children increased. Perhaps the demotion did him good, because from a lower position he finally noticed the problem.
It would be worse if, like the monument to Uncle Andrzej, Małkowski’s concern for children could serve to gather votes in future local elections for the position of city mayor. But we will find that out in two years.
Finally, somewhat for relaxation, I immersed myself in Angelika Krzemińska’s (BolecMamy) column and hit rock bottom painfully. Angelika wrote a piece titled “I’m Sitting on a Horse.”
BolecMama has always dealt with mothers’ problems, so the title was strange. Angelika began her column with a question typical of women’s magazines:
Don’t know what to do with your life? Feel the monotony of everyday life? Have you always thought you were fantastic, that you should be famous and everyone should admire you...
The author’s answer to these questions was completely incomprehensible:
Nothing could be simpler—buy a “slippery blanket” and improve your life while getting rid of the little pest that “limits your development.”
I read it and thought: a) the author has gone mad; b) the author has gone mad, and a specialist recommended literary therapy; c) the author must have fallen off that horse on her head. And what the hell is this “slippery blanket”?!
The matter was resolved in the next part of the text. In this “humorous” or “ironic” way, Angelika described her frustration at seeing Madzia’s mother on the cover of Super Express. Katarzyna W. appeared on that cover sitting on a horse in a bikini. Everything became clear. Both the title and, unfortunately, the “slippery blanket.”
It is sad that Bolec-Mama, who surely has other strengths, is doing something she should not meddle in, and that none of her friends—and certainly no one in the editorial office—will make her realize it.
Andżelika, you should not publish what you write. And if you continue doing so, be aware that you are doing it badly. But I admit that although you cannot write, at least in this case your intentions were pure and sincere. Unlike those of people who do good things, but whose intentions may be polished.
(Grażyna Hanaf)