Dear William, Daniel, Catherine, (and Michael & Baby Girl Y) (and your parents), (and any future descendants and their parents),

Yesterday I told you that things got a bit better in Baltimore; but, yesterday, throughout the day, demonstrations spread to other major cities — Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Minneapolis, New York, and Washington. Many people were arrested for disorderly conduct.

[Babcia Krysia wants you to know that there is more interesting stuff after this news article.]

2015_04_30_SupportGrows

 

Meanwhile, nothing is being done (publicly) to clarify the circumstances that lead to Mr. Gray’s death. Also, there is much debate about the parenting methods of the Mom who pulled her son out of the demonstration (I wrote to you about her yesterday) — some people feel that she should not have hit her child; others feel that she needed to take drastic measures to save her son’s life.

I am so conflicted about all of this — I am definitely against violence and disorderly conduct; but I am also against inappropriate governmental conduct. I wish the three of you were old enough to advise me on these issues — I would very much welcome your wisdom, perspective, experience and advice. But, remember, as you grow up, to gain wisdom, perspective and experience, so that you can give good advice, you need to keep up with the news, on a daily basis. Watch and read different news sources, so you are aware of different points of view. Whatever you see or hear, do so critically — think about it; does it make sense? What would you do under the circumstances? What else could be done? Who else should be consulted? What other option should be explored?

Seeing so much police activity on the television reminded me of my days as a New York City Auxiliary Police Officer.

It was circa [I explained this word to you HERE] 1970 or 1971 when I heard about the New York City Auxiliary Police Officer program. I was intrigued, found out more about it, took the training program, and joined the force. At the time, I lived in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, with my parents. I was an undergraduate student in college (Baruch College, part of the City University of New York).

Forest Hills was serviced by the 112th Precinct; so I joined the 112th Precinct.

As an Auxiliary Police Officer, I would be assigned to a patrol route, usually with another Auxiliary Police Officer, and our job would be to be the eyes and ears of the regular police officers — we were NOT expected to actually engage in any dangerous activities. We did not have guns. We had a uniform, a badge, a radio, a billy-club, and hand-cuffs (I think that the hand-cuffs were to assist a real police officer if the need arose — in my case, it never arose). During our patrol, we would check in periodically by radio (and, if we saw something suspicious); and a patrol-car would check-in with us also during our shift.

 

Once Babcia Krysia and I married in 1972, we moved to Greenpoint, Brooklyn. So, I transferred to the 94th Precinct in Greenpoint. But, I then went to Graduate School in the evenings, and I had a full time job in the daytime, so I did not have the time to continue with the Auxiliary Police Officer program; so, I had to resign. Nevertheless, I enjoyed my participation in the program; and I am very glad that I did it. It gave me the opportunity to see some of the routine of the job of the cops that protect us all.

Love,

Dziadziuś Paweł.

Dear William, Daniel, Catherine, (and Michael & Baby Girl Y) (and your parents), (and any future descendants and their parents),

After yesterday, today is a new day, and things are looking much better. The people of Baltimore took control of the situation, they stood between the trouble-makers and the police to insure that there would be no more violence, they started cleaning up, and the Maryland National Guard was activated to support the police in keeping the peace.

One mother became a national sensation when she spotted her son about to throw a rock at the police, and she ran out into the street and stopped him; all as the press was filming — she just may have saved his life; and she is considered by many to be a real hero.

These troubles in Baltimore are not just about police brutality; they are also about social injustice. They are not just about race discrimination — they are also about social discrimination. Poor people need jobs; poor people need housing; poor people need education; poor people need medical care; poor people need hope; and poor people need the means to stop being poor people.

Whatever you become in life, remember to do your part for the betterment of poor people — be that through your donations, and/or your expenditures, and/or your attitudes. Whatever your do; do something!

Today we also celebrate two birthdays — my nephew’s (Zak Kostro) and my cousin’s (Alicja Stegawska). To see the Family Tree that I prepared for you, so you can see how these two individuals relate to you, you will need to find what is most comfortable for you — for me, I clicked on the Family Tree (below this paragraph), and then, I set my Screen Zoom to 25%, then I clicked on the Family Tree again, and then I could comfortably read the names, and scroll right and left as needed. [Do not forget to readjust your Zoom back to 100% once you are finished looking at this Family Tree; otherwise, everything will look very strange on your computer monitro.] Can you find yourself in this Family Tree?

Looking at this Family Tree, you may wonder how you relate to the people who are on the same horizontal level as the three of you (I mean: Gavin Dzikowski; Garett Dzikowski; Andrew Dzikowski; Kevin Dziowski; Jack Dzikowski; James Dzikowski; Vincent Gatto; Agela Gatto; Lena Tymowska; Maksym Tymowski; Kayah Bittner; Borys Bittner; and Nina Stegawska) — well, they are your Third Cousins.

The three of you (William, Daniel and Catherine) are First Cousins to each other (the reason for that is because you are children of siblings — Mark, Richard and Margaret).

Children of First Cousins are Second Cousins to each other. Children of Second Cousins are Third Cousins to each other.

You probably have many more Third Cousins because this Family Tree is ONLY from the point of view of my Maternal Grandfather (Antoni Dzikowski). Other Family Trees could be created from the points of view of my Paternal Grandfather (Zygmunt Kostro); Babcia Krysia’s Grandparents; William’s Mom’s Grandparents; Daniel’s Dad’s Grandparents; and Catherine’s Mom’s Grandparents.

So, you see, each one of you is part of a very large family!

Love,

Dziadziuś Paweł.

Dear William, Daniel, Catherine, (and Michael & Baby Girl Y) (and your parents), (and any future descendants and their parents),

The police, they can be your best friend, and they can be your worst enemy. The police is supposed to protect society and you, and when they do that, they are your best friend; but sometimes, some individuals turn bad, and abuse their power; and when they do that, they can make your life very miserable.

Just recently, in Baltimore, Maryland, a black young man saw a group of policeman and decided to run away from them — the policemen saw him running away, and apparently decided that he must have done something bad, so they gave chase, caught him, arrested him, and put him in a police van, to transport him to a police station. Many things about that incident are still not known as of today — but, what is known is: when the police spotted the young man running away from them, he appeared healthy; and about twenty minutes later, when he was in police custody, his spinal cord was almost completely severed, causing his death about a week later. Many people believe that this young man was murdered by the police. May people are very angry about this.

The anger of the people has been slowly building, in part because the police has been slow in giving a report as to what happened to Mr. Freddie Gray, the young man who was killed in Baltimore. To show their anger, people have been demonstrating, peacefully, in Baltimore.

Yesterday was Mr. Gray’s funeral. After the funeral, things turned ugly very fast. Here are the headlines as of this morning:

So, why am I writing to you about this — because I love you; and I want you to be safe.

In America, as an American, you have a Constitutional right to express yourself through peaceful protest. When appropriate, if you want to do so, you should do it — BUT, remember, there are always competing interests. Among those competing interests — you have obligations to your family; and to society.

Your family loves you, and your family needs you. You have an obligation to stay safe for your family; to help them through the hard times that we all face in our society.

That does not mean you ignore what goes wrong in our society. When you see thing go wrong, your should take steps to correct those wrongs; BUT, those steps must ALWAYS be such so YOUR family does not suffer because of what YOU do.

To a limited extent, your family has participated in public demonstrations. For example, on October 22, 2011, Babcia Krysia and I showed our support for the Occupy Wall Street Movement by visiting their encampment downtown New York City — some photos HERE. In October 30, 2010, your family also took part in a Rally To Restore Sanity, in Washington, D.C. — some photos HERE.

When I was in college (c. 1968-70), there were many protests against the Vietnam War — I did not participate in any of those protests, but I did participate, with my R.O.T.C. Military Society in the protection of protesters in front of our college by creating a human cordon between the protesters and the police. It was our belief that as military men, we were fighting for the American way of life, which included the right to protest, and therefore it was our obligation to protect the protesters that were voicing their opposition to the war. Our efforts were appreciated by the school administrators and the police — the protest was peaceful and no one was hurt.

I did not participate in the Civil Rights Movement — I was in high school at the time of the Selma to Montgomery Marches — now, sometimes I feel bad that there was so much injustice all around me, and I was unaware of it, and did nothing about it.

What I want you to get out of all of this is that it is NOT OK to hurt people or to destroy other people’s property, no matter how righteous your cause is.

Also, you should always be prepared for things going wrong, despite your good intentions. You should always have an exit strategy.

Crowds can be dangerous. I am not saying that you should never be part of one; but your should always be aware at all times of what is happening around you, and have a plan for what you will do if things start going wrong. Where will you go? If you are with someone, plan on what you will do if you become separated — where will you meet up again? Do you have a means of communications (e.g., cell phones)?

Stay safe out there.

Love,

Dziadziuś Paweł.

Dear William, Daniel, Catherine, (and Michael & Baby Girl Y) (and your parents), (and any future descendants and their parents),

I received a great photo from Stephanie of Catherine on a hike with her parents. That photo reminded me of some of the many hikes that I took with my children.

If you ever decide to hike in Harriman State Park, New York, here is where you will find the Lemon Squeezer [click on the map to get the Google map]:

And, if you ever decide to go and climb Mount Washington in New Hampshire, this is where it is [click on the map to get the Google map]:

Love,

Dziadziuś Paweł.

Dear William, Daniel, Catherine, (and Michael & Baby Girl Y) (and your parents), (and any future descendants and their parents),

On April 24th, while discussing Saint Catherine’s Monastery, I mentioned that it is near Mount Sinai. Well, that reminded me that I should tell you about Mount Sinai, and the Ten Commandments.

Mount Sinai is located in the Arabian Peninsula.

A long time ago, there was a fella called Moses. Moses was a leader of the Jewish People. The Jewish People had been held as slaves by the Egyptian authorities, but Moses was able to lead his people to freedom. One day, as the Jewish People were traveling through the desert in the Arabian Peninsula, God appeared to Moses; and, at Mount Sinai, gave Moses two stone tablets, on which there were ten phrases. God told Moses that these ten phrases were God’s commandments for all people to follow.

Now, before we get to the actual ten commandments, we need to learn about some preliminaries.

First, the Jewish People used the Hebrew language (in contrast to us using the English language).

Second, the English language is written using Roman letters (similar to Greek letters) — while the Hebrew language uses Hebrew symbols.

Therefore, sometimes, you may see the ten commandments shown as a set of strange symbols.

The next concept to learn is Roman Numbers.

Often, the Ten Commandments are preceded by their corresponding Roman Numeral — so, the number 1 is shown as I
the number 2 is shown as II
the number 3 is shown as III
the number 4 is shown as IV
the number 5 is shown as V
the number 6 is shown as VI
the number 7 is shown as VII
the number 8 is shown as VIII
the number 9 is shown as IX
and the number 10 is shown as X

So, finally, the Ten Commandments are:

• I. I am the LORD your God. You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.
• II. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
• III. Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.
• IV. Honor your father and your mother.
• V. You shall not kill.
• VI. You shall not commit adultery.
• VII. You shall not steal.
• VIII. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
• IX. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
• X. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

Most people spend a lifetime learning the true meaning of the Ten Commandments. Different people state them slightly differently, but almost everyone agrees that these are the principles that we should all follow to be good people.

I hope that each one of you grows up and continues to be a very good person; as you already are right now.

Love,

Dziadziuś Paweł.

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Dear William, Daniel, Catherine, (and Michael & Baby Girl Y) (and your parents), (and any future descendants and their parents),

Today, let’s talk about Catherine’s Baptism.

Catherine was baptized on June 15, 2014, at St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church in Washington, D.C.

Of course, given who they are, Catherine’s parents could not resist for too long:

After church, we celebrated at Catherine’s home, with family and friends.

There are more pictures from the event HERE.

We previously discussed the concept of “Imieniny,” as to William — HERE and as to Daniel — HERE — so, now, let’s talk about Catherine’s Imieniny —

Catherine’s Patron Saint is Saint Catherine of Alexandria; and her feast-day is celebrated on November 25th.

She was born c. 282 A.D. and died (was executed and became a martyr) c. 305 A.D. She lived and died in Alexandria, Egypt.

Wow! That last paragraph is HEAVY!!!

“c. 282 A.D.” has TWO abbreviations — “c.” and “A.D.” — “c.” is an abbreviation for the Latin word “circa,” which means “approximately.”

“A.D.” is an abbreviation for the Latin words “Anno Domini,” which mean “In the year of the Lord.” That means that the first Christmas was in year 0 A.D. (more precisely, our Lord Jesus Christ was born in the year 0 A.D.). So, today, we live in the year 2015 A.D. — that means that it has been 2,015 years since Jesus Christ was born.

By the way, the years BEFORE Jesus Christ was born are stated as “B.C.,” so, 10 B.C. means 10 years before the birth of Jesus Christ.

The next thing to focus on is “executed and became a martyr” — there are two HEAVY words here: “executed” and “martyr.”

A person is executed when someone with power over them kills them. Some people believe that the government may execute people when they do VERY bad things; others believe that NO-ONE should execute anyone for any reason.

A “martyr” is a person who dies for their beliefs. Depending on a person’s point of view, martyrs can be considered crazy or evil people; or heroic or saintly people. Saint Catherine was executed because she would not give up her belief in Jesus Christ — and for that reason, many people consider her a Saint.

The last thing I want to focus on is “Alexandria, Egypt.” Alexandria is a big city is the country called Egypt, which is in the continent called Africa.

Now, let’s see a short movie about Saint Catherine:

And here is a short movie about Saint Catherine’s Monastery located by Mount Sinai:

 

O.K. everyone, mark your calendars, so you will remember that November 25 is Catherine’s Imieniny.

Love,

Dziadziuś Paweł.

Dear William, Daniel, Catherine, (and Michael & Baby Girl Y) (and your parents), (and any future descendants and their parents),

Today we celebrate TWO birthdays — today is Tadziu’s birthday, and today is Stephanie’s birthday!

Tadziu was born on April 22, 1958, in Elmhurst (Queens), N.Y.

Stephanie was born on April 22, 1974, in Southampton, N.Y.

Now-days, both Tadziu and Stephanie do wild and crazy things — Tadziu is a member of the Coney Island Polar Bears Club and goes swimming outdoors in the winter; and Stephanie participates in Mudderella events.

Obviously, they both enjoy life!

So, Happy Birthday! and Sto Lat! to both of them.

Love,

Dziadziuś Paweł.
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Dear William, Daniel, Catherine, (and Michael & Baby Girl Y) (and your parents), (and any future descendants and their parents),

On June 18, 2011, I told you that in 2007, I wrote a book — I always wanted to write a book, but I never did, until I heard of the NaNoWriMo Project. This got me excited, and I decided to do it. Every day, I would write a bit. I found it very difficult, but I kept it up, and the finished product is available for you here.

This project was an opportunity for me to tell the reader — that is you, my family — what my work-life was like, and what my Mom’s history was. If you do read it, I hope that you enjoy it.

Love, Dziadziuś Paweł.

My book follows [actually, it may be easier for you to download the book and read it from your computer, or after you print it; to download it, go HERE]:

20071201_TheLifeILeadNovelByPGK
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Dear William, Daniel and Catherine (and Michael & Baby Girl Y) (and your parents), (and any future descendants and their parents),

When William was born, I started writing letters to him, with the intent that they would be available to all my grandchildren (if I had more than one). Once Daniel was born, I wrote to William and Daniel. Eventually, though, I stopped writing letters (before Catherine was ever born) because my attention was drawn to other tasks.

Now, however, I would like to resume this form of communication with you (and any other of my grandchildren and great-grandchildren who may be born hereafter, and the rest of my family who may read these letters). But, before I do so, let me review what has been done so far:

• June 1, 2011 — The birth of William
• June 10, 2011 — Introduction to the family
• June 12, 2011 — Schools
• June 12, 2011 (Evening) — Family Tree
• June 13, 2011 — Imieniny / Name Day
• June 14, 2011 — The beginnings of the Polish people
• June 15, 2011 — Antoni Dzikowski Family Tree
• June 16, 2011 — Family history according to Ciocia Teresa
• June 16, 2011 (Afternoon) — So often, my clients are their own worst enemies
• June 17, 2011 — The Knights of the Teutonic Order
• June 18, 2011 — Your first book
• June 19, 2011 — Father’s Day
• June 20, 2011 — Your Great-Grandfather Kostro’s Resume
• June 21, 2011 — Niagara Falls
• June 22, 2011 — My personal military history
• June 23, 2011 — Dachau
• June 24, 2011 — Zygmunt and Janina Kostro
• June 25, 2011 — Electronic Calculus, Inc.
• June 25, 2011 (Mid-morning) — My college trip to Europe
• June 25, 2011 (Afternoon) — How I came to the United States
• June 26, 2011 — My house in Ramos Mejia, Argentina
• June 27, 2011 — The various jobs I had
• June 28, 2011 — Kissing the hand of a lady
• June 29, 2011 — Your Third Cousin, Once Removed — Liliana Kujawska
• June 30, 2011 — Świętowit
• July 2, 2011 — Trip to Warszawa in Poland
• July 3, 2011 — Keep Your Elbows Off The Table
• July 4, 2011 — Call me “Dziadziuś” 
• July 5, 2011 — September 11, 2001
• July 7, 2011 — Driving under the influence of alcohol
• July 8, 2011 — The first house that Babcia Krysia and I purchased
• July 9, 2011 — Baptism
• July 10, 2011 — We went for the weekend to London, England
• July 11, 2011 — Wójcio Rysiu hiked the Appalachian Trail
• July 12, 2011 — Binary Numbers
• July 13, 2011 — Poetry
• July 14, 2011 — Bastille Day
• July 15, 2011 — Babcia Krysia’s Grandmother (one of your eight Great-Great-Grandmothers), Apolonia Wegleswska (nee Kosinska)
• July 16, 2011 — Lead a balanced life
• July 17, 2011 — My Wojcio Bolek
• July 18, 2011 — Talking Over Skype & The Book I Wrote
• July 19, 2011 — I went to Airborne School
• July 20, 2011 — How to spit properly
• July 21, 2011 — Photos from when Marek was born
• July 22, 2011 — Approximation Day
• July 23, 2011 — Time Value of Money
• July 24, 2011 — Fingerprints
• July 25, 2011 — Freedom of Information Act
• July 26, 2011 — Not everyone named “Kostro” is from our family
• July 28, 2011 — A “Kostro” participated in the Civil War
• July 28, 2011 (Afternoon) — Marek was a very good student
• July 29, 2011 — Marek’s Babtism
• July 29, 2011 (Afternoon) — When buying real estate: Location, Location, Location!
• July 30, 2011 — Babcia Krysia’s cousin — Elzbieta Naumann
• August 1, 2011 — Babcia Krysia’s office
• August 2, 2011 — I was a pilot
• August 3, 2011 — A Sigmoidoscopy checkup
• August 4, 2011 — A “Draft Card”
• August 5, 2011 — My brother Tom’s wedding
• August 6, 2011 — My sister Elzunia’s wedding
• August 7, 2011 — My sister Hanka’s wedding
• August 8, 2011 — My sister Olenka’s wedding
• August 9, 2011 — What’s happening
• August 10, 2011 — My brother Tom
• August 11, 2011 — My first cousin Michael Dzikowski
• August 11, 2011 (Afternoon) — Marek on TV
• November 3, 2012 — Daniel Sasieta was born
• November 4, 2012 — Introduce our Family members to Prince Daniel
• November 5, 2012 — Different residences
• November 7, 2012 — When you are able to vote, please do so
• November 12, 2012 — Veterans Day
• November 14, 2012 — Who is Daniel?
• November 15, 2012 — Tom’s Art
• November 16, 2012 — Two Sisters Art Shows
• December 7, 2012 — Pearl Harbor

Love,

Dziadziuś Paweł.

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