The last day of a life-changing summer . . .

A recent houseguest, my friend Walt from back in Hibbing, inspired me to come out of hiding on cyberspace and get back to writing. So this entry will be dedicated to him as he lounges on my couch devouring a book that chronicles the methodologies and reasoning behind the development of the Auschwitz death camp. Quite timely since after living here in Poland for the last four years, and urging many a visitor to take the tour, I finally made the journey. But I'll save those thoughts for another time since I'm feeling a bit wistful and introspective about the last 9 weeks of summer.

One could make the case for it being the "best summer ever" but that would be like asking my mother which of her three boys is the favorite. I love all summers equally since each are special in their own way. But this one will always hold a special place in my heart since I became engaged to the woman of my dreams.

Do you ever notice that when magazines want to ramp up circulation, they always employ the "Top Ten List" gimmick? Every few months, Men's Health will reveal it's never before published (if you haven't read the mag before), Top Ten Ab-Blasting, Washboard-Building Exercises, or Outside Magazine's Top Ten Best Places to Live Right Now! (my former home of Boise topped the most recent list). So without further adieu, I give you the The Kielbasa Chronicle's Top Ten Pictures of Summer:




The beginning of June brought the Sonisphere Festival to town. 100,000 metalheads converged on an airport runway on the outskirts of Warsaw to see the four pillars of thrash metal (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax) rev it up to jet-engine decibel level.







It's the Iron Sheik, one of the World Wrestling Federation's most famous villains, in LAX airport. "Excuse me Mr. Sheik, I am a big fan from back in the eighties. Can I get a picture?" He was more than accommodating, a true gentleman.











The big family picture on the 4th of July. Can you count how many of us there is? And Luiza got to meet all of them.











Family Fun Time rolls into Nashwauk for the 4th of July Parade.











The ladies in the family enjoy some 4th of July Polish Punch as they watch some lawn games. Nobody fell out of their chair, much to my surprise.











It was really nice to share the beauty of outdoor Idaho with my big city girl from Poland.













On the last leg of our three week odyssey, my old friend and fellow chlorinated warrior, Steve showed us around in San Diego.











More fun on the Fourth with Steve and my brother Dave. Yes, we make it look easy, but this is harder than it looks.











Two of my very favorite people in the world came over at the same time in the beginning of August. Walt, all the way from Minnesota, and Carri from Boise, joined me in Warsaw for a big Euro-sized beer. We then went on to Krakow and Prague.






Joined three friends from Boise (Brad, Jen, and Nic) for a week in the majestic Dolomites on the Austria / Italy border. This is just one of the many jaw-dropping views we encountered during our many lung-busting treks up and down the peaks.