Chapter 1, The Meeting of Lester & Danuta

First a little background

On the 31^st July, 1989, Lester was on the Volga River on the Pushkin, a river cruising ship. At a dock tied up next to a ship full of Russian and Polish people, he met a Polish family from Zabrze. They invited Lester to Poland for a three week visit during February 1990. They showed him the best of everything worth seeing throughout southern Poland. On the 7^th March, Lester took a train trip by himself to the north of Poland to see, including others, Gdansk.

The First Meeting

On the 9^th March, while on the train going to Warsaw from Gdansk, he met Danuta. She was going to the American Embassy in Warsaw to pick up her visa. They talked over coffee and tea, and exchanged addresses. They parted in Warsaw.

The Follow-up

On 16^th April, 1990, Lester sent a letter to Danuta's home in Poland. It arrived on 26th. However, Danuta had already left for America on the same day, and did not get it then. She received it two months later on the 20^th June, in Cincinnati, Ohio. She called him on the same day to tell him that she had just received it. After this time, they had many phone calls and sent many letter back and forth.

The Second Meeting

Coincidentally, on the 28^th July, 1990, they were both in the Washington, DC, area. They had arranged to meet at and take a tour of the White House. Danuta introduced her relatives from Crofton, Maryland, who were with her at the tour. After the tour, Lester drove Danuta to Arlington, Virginia, and introduced her to his son, Jerry, and grandkids, Dina and Peter. The next day, Lester left on his trip to Turkey and the Danube River cruise. A couple of days later Danuta returned to Cincinnati.

Danuta and Lester at the White House	On the river ship at Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad), on the Volga River in Russia. On the left Margaret Grzejszczak, Lester, her mother, Halina, and on the right her father, Bogdan.
At the Grzejszczak home in Zabrze. From left, Lester (sitting), neighbor Wojtek Denega, Halina, and her mother.	Danuta and Lester at the White House entrance just after their tour.

Continue on to Chapter 2, "On To California"