Henrietta Hay's Column

Some wise soul once said that we have great influence on our children. The trouble is, we have no idea what it will be and it takes years to find out. One of mine turned out to be an adventurer. Since I am a notorious stay-at-home I often wonder about it. If I didn't know better I would think the nurses at the old St. Mary's in 1947 switched kids on me.

I don't think there is a square foot of Mesa County that he did not explore in depth. When he was grown he managed to land jobs that involved lots of travel. Whether that was coincidence or whether he picked the job for the trips, I have no idea. I still shudder when I think of him hitchhiking from Poland to the Black Sea or having coins tossed to him by tourists who thought he was a native Turk when he and his new friends were swimming in the Bosporus. These things and many others I did not know until much later, thank goodness. In any case, one of his jobs had landed him in Warsaw and it had the added bonus of a beautiful Polish bride and a second family in Warsaw.

In 1976 I accompanied the kids to Warsaw to meet my new in-laws. The major impression I brought back with me was of a great, gray, austere city with the warmest, most charming and hospitable people I had ever met.

In 1976 the stores were nearly empty. While I was being shown the city and the surrounding countryside, my hostess spent most of each day standing in line to buy enough food for our dinner. They had TV, but it was rather dreary. There were not too many cars, mostly little Polski Fiats. People on the street seemed strangely subdued. There were soldiers about, but I was told that they were Polish. No Russian soldiers there. We were allowed to photograph anything except the Russian Embassy with its armed guards.

The Palace of Culture is the central building in Warsaw. It was built by Joseph Stalin in the early 1950's and is the tallest building in Warsaw. I was told that it was the ugliest building in the world and the Poles have laughed at it for years - privately. They took me to the top of it and I can understand the standard joke. "Where can you get the best view of Warsaw?" "From the top of the Palace of Culture." "Why?" "Because it is the only place in town where you can't see the Palace of Culture."

My wandering son just returned from several days in Warsaw, and reports that the picture is somewhat different than the one I remember. His comments are based strictly on personal observations during a brief visit and are his personal reactions only. He writes, "Warsaw is much livelier than it was. For the first time, not only are the store shelves full, but the sidewalks too are lined with people selling everything from fruit and flowers to television sets.

"Today the top of the Palace of Culture is sporting banners for the Digital Equipment Corporation. "There are lots more cars. Thanks to the new capitalist influence, the trams and busses sport a new American influence -- billboards. They advertise Panasonic, Sony and the like. Well, sort of an American influence. Didn't we teach the Japanese all they know?

"Today the TV commercials are very attractive and the evening news looks quite professional. While I was there the Pope flew home in an official Polish Government plane. On the side it read 'Republic of Poland,' -- in English!

"It seems clear to me that if the entrepreneurs can be successful enough and fast enough, Poland will flourish. I will be pleased to be able to say, 'I knew her when . . .' But there are a lot of people who were accustomed to bureaucratic jobs and are not ready for the 10 hour days required to respond to business opportunities. In addition, some of the less desirable aspects of western life have shown up as well -- poverty, drugs and crime. The political pressures which are sure to arise to deal with these problems could damage the country's progress."

I am very glad that I was lured out of my chair back in 1976 long enough to visit this fascinating country. And it is interesting to have a personal view, however casual, of the tremendously difficult effort that is being made to transform Poland from a communist to a capitalist state. Like my wandering son, I too am glad to remember that "I saw a little of her when."