Monday 25 December 2023 The dream started in March 2023 and ended in mid-May 2023. This dream would repeat daily. At first, I was uncertain why I was dreaming that a hooded, spirit-like figure was guiding me, or was it impelling me, through a long beige-colored hallway of numerous locked doors. During each dream session, […]
Monday 18 December 2023 “If you’re going to finish the Katyn manuscript by July 15, 2023, you need to make some sacrifices. You need more time to write,” I insisted to myself. Once the Spring 2023 semester of teaching was over, I committed myself to finishing the manuscript. The previous year, I demanded of myself
Something For Something Read More »
Monday 11 December 2023 After too many bouts of writer’s block, I determined I would be—no, must be—finished writing the Katyn book manuscript by December 2022. Gingerly during Spring 2022, I reviewed the then current state of the manuscript. I still needed to write many chapters. What I already had wasn’t enough. I didn’t even
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MONDAY 04 December 2023 How dare I stop writing this eulogy? How do I even stop? And yet eulogists have done so, and, hence, I, too, must finish. But how? Steve’s life defied a simple conclusion, resisting a neat, tidy wrapping up. He always discovered another deeper insight: patience, I think, was his greatest virtue.
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Monday 27 November 2023 Although not particularly religious, Steve found spiritual nourishment in mankind’s artistic creativity. His musical record collection was modest but impressive. His collection consisted of classical music. A young man during the sixties and seventies, he didn’t listen to rock music; he never heard of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, or Aerosmith. “I
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Monday 20 November 2023 Steve was my second semester Freshman writing professor. His devotion to truth, understanding, and education was awe-inspiring. He did not allow you to settle for quick, simplistic answers. He demanded that you explain yourself completely. He expected you to show every step in your thought process. No shortcuts, no skipping. Until
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MONDAY 20 November 2023 “You must write his obituary. The world must remember him; otherwise, there’ll be no trace of him,” Steve’s neighbor demanded. That last part was not true; however, I understood what he meant. He repeated his command several times. Each time he pressed me to write it, dread nauseated me. “I’m afraid
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Monday 13 November 2023 This time last year, I was drafting Book Two for my Living with Katyn manuscript. At that point in time, I decided to call my manuscript chapters “Books,” being influenced by The Iliad and other classical texts which had similar divisions. During this critical moment, I recognized and accepted the insight
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“You can’t call Steve “Steve;” you need to change his name, too,” “King Arthur” suggested, after reading the first draft of the chapter I call BOOK TWO: An Explanation, Or the Education of Daniel Paliwoda. “At this point, nearly everyone in my Katyn book manuscript (MSS) has changed names. Steve needs a new name, too,”
The Stories Behind the Names Part 2 Read More »
When I wrote my Katyn book manuscript (MSS), I knew I needed to write about my friends, colleagues, former students—anyone not directly related to me but connected to my Katyn stories—in the Katyn MSS. I felt uneasy about how to represent them, especially their names. I didn’t write about them in an unflattering way; nonetheless,
The Stories Behind the Names, Part 1 Read More »