Here it comes! Do you see it? It's the one that's all decorated in red and white, and a wee bit of blue. It's got this flag flying from it!My heritage float has 3 scenes portrayed on it. The first scene depicts the suffering that the Poles have endured over the years... Stark and bleak, this scene shows the mass graves of the Polish Army officers and intelligentsia that were slaughtered by the Russians at Katyn, and a pile of rubble to symbolize the total destruction of Warsaw by the Nazis during WWII. My family, like all of Poland, was effected by the travesties of the many wars fought on its soil, (WWI, WWII, invaded by the Swedes in 1650, et. al.)
The second scene depicts plain clothed peasants working in a field. They pause a moment to pray. A statue of Pope John Paul II and a Catholic church stand at the edge of the field. This symbolizes my peasant and strongly Catholic heritage in Poland. A somber and spiritual mood.
The third scene is lively and colorful. You will hear the sounds of polkas playing (on flutaphones!) and you'll see the colorful ethnic dress of PolAm dancers. Both the Polish and the American flags will be flying. There will be huge bowls of kielbasa, pierogi, and paczki, to symbolize the great bounty my family found here. Everyone is happy and proud! This scene depicts life in America, after my ancestors immigrated.
I love a parade, don't you? This is turning out to be a fantastic one! Thank goodness Randy decided not to go with the 10,000 descendants of Robert Seaver playing flutaphones to accompany his float or you wouldn't be able to hear my polkas!
Great idea Bill!
If you'd like to read about other floats in the genea-bloggers parade, visit Bill's blog on February 6th!
