My Polish Rose

 Photo by Connie Henry

10 December 2013

     The story behind the photo is always more interesting than the photo. Every time I see this picture of a rose I have to laugh. Connie took this picture last summer. I grant you, it's a prize-winner. On our second trip to Poland we were cruising down the Oder River along the Poland/Germany border on a luxury river vessel appropriately named the Chopin. The nicest thing about the trip - we were the only Americans on board along with mostly Germans and a few English people. You get introduced to practically everyone on such a small craft. Dinners were extravagant. So much so, I gave up eating after the third day on board. We took day-trips along the way to see castles and old monasteries. There was some interesting World War II history, too. At night we would seek out the lounge to listen to a young Russian lady play melancholy romantic pieces on the piano - she would finish with a few Chopin pieces that always brought down the house. We had a Polish river-pilot on board who would drag out his accordion and join her. Connie and I danced and danced and made friends with two or three German couples. They were determined to make sure they got their money's worth out of the trip, and have a lot of fun.

     One night the boat's  Hotel Manager talked to us. He's second in command to the Captain and is responsible for everything pertaining to the safety and comfort of the passengers. He asked us the usual 20 questions but then honed in on Connie's heritage. We told him she still had relatives in Krakow. She told him her family name was Konieczny. At this his face lit up with a broad smile. He grabbed my arm and loudly said, "Ah! You lucky Man! You're married to a Polish Rose!" We all laughed. One of the things I love about the Polish people is they still have a sense of the romantic concerning a man's affection for his spouse. So much so that they would even connect a nationalism to it. From that day forward I had to think of Connie in a new light and I gained a lot of insight into how different cultures certainly have different views of the state of matrimony.
     It's not that the Hotel Manager's exclamation wasn't humorous - it was, and we all got a good laugh. Attached to it was a sense of  authentic reverence in his deference to Polish women. It made me feel very proud that I'm married to a "Polish Rose."