Poland - never again

Yet not just Poland but the whole E.U. has no problem criticizing America from killing all the Indians to bombing countries that say "Death to America".

America is the punching bag for the E.U., including Poland yet god forbid you criticize their country.
You are just one guy that refuses to walk on their eggshells with Political Correctness Mazur.

When Bush 2 was president, we had a visitor from Germany. With my usual sensitivity, I decided to troll a little during lunch so I asked him what he thinks about Bush. He smiled, and told us, the Americans in America, that Bush is terrible, a cowboy and a bully.

The poor ******* didn't know what was coming: So you wouldn't mind if we just packed up and brought home our boys now in Germany?

You should have seen his face and the smiles on the faces on my American co-workers.

He doubled down with: I would be very much against that. Why? Because it would be bad for our employment.

Those are direct quotes. This German pos just told us that the US Army is in Germany to help these mf-rs stay employed.

I served him an easy volley. He had so many ways to answer. Yet, he chose to be just one more arrogant Euro *******.

Foreign travel used to be romantic. At least in the movies and on the ocean-going ships. Today, it's a living hell to be stuck for ten hours on that bloody plane fearing a blood clot.

When you arrive, the novelty of not understanding the locals wears off in less that 20 minutes. After that, the hell continues.

My brother lives in France. He invited me to visit. So I projected forward and realized that I would be, you guessed it, without insurance and the ability to communicate without him. So I declined. That was a while back.

Today, with all that scum the fished out, I would be insane to even think about it. The pleasure of meeting him at some airport would be short. The rest of it - long.

No. Thanks.

That's truly fascinating. But, no matter if you are a troll or not, you are simply not contributing anything valuable here. The flood of some grandpa's posts how he made a great deal out of moving to America 50 years ago... you are polluting the forums with it. The whole thing is about as attracive as crap on the sidewalk.


OK you are a troll. Dude, the US forces in Germany are tiny and Germany is one of the leading economies in the world. They wouldn't even notice that. Besides, a significant share of Gerries would love to see them out even if that was really going to cost them some money.

You are parroting the "American right winger" tone. Wheather you are a psycho or have some agenda, I don't know but people should just ignore this whole bullshyt.

Hey, G spot, come out from behind the curtain and we can talk.


Give me a raise and I will.

Done! You now have 000,000,000,000.00 more dollars per hour than whatever Putin is paying you. Show some gratitude!

My trips to Poland confirmed again that foreign trips are not fun at all without being able to meet local people. I can spend only so much time talking to myself. Hence, during my first trip, I made every effort to engage anyone I could to find out how Poland is half a century later. At 76, my parents are both gone, and so are many of my classmates. According to the Polish tables, I passed away three years ago.

When I was refused the graduation list at Liceum 37, I was left with no choice but to take the initiative and approach strangers. To my great relief, it was a lot easier than I expected. As I strongly believe in creating my own events, I went to the two schools I mentioned before to amuse their students and myself for a couple of hours. Those of you who flat out didn't believe me never tried it or you just don't know me. Shyness is not in my DNA.

I went to the church in Radom where I received my first communion. The mass was in progress and a woman with a devine voice was singing. She was so good, I asked a priest where she was and how I can see her. They called her so when she came out, she walked up to me and shook my hand. She was in a hurry so we met again at 9 in the evening for a cup of tea. I walked her home when we were finished. I was hoping to see her again on my second trip but I didn't make to Radom.

I invited a student I met at Politechnika to dinner after he gave me a tour of the department where I graduated. He told me how much engineers make and about job prospects. No, I wasn't planning to restart my career. I was just curious and I liked seeing how fluent in English he was. No, we never spoke Polish.

My low point happened in Jedlnia-Letnisko. The owner of the Hotel pod Rozami, Ryszard, invited me to dinner that included tartar, smoked fish and his own home made booze. As I said earlier I don't drink. Drinking that stuff turned out to be a very big mistake. I didn't throw up. I tripped and fell down when I walked into my room hitting a night stand with my head. Things went dark and stayed that way until 6 a.m. With my face all bloody and my left eye purple, I would be not be able to recognize myself in a police lineup. I was stupid to drink too much and the message was clear.

I also went to see Instytut Electrotechniki w Miedzylesiu where I worked after graduation. It was Saturday so it was closed except where the guard was. We spoke for exactly an hour after my usual opening: so how is life here? I found out that they will be closing the place as a relic from the past.

Now, why the hell did I write all of that. Two reasons: because I can and to show you that most people are in the center of the curve. I am an outlier. I do things most people don't because they are too timid, lazy, or afraid of being rejected. I am not any of that so I am not surprised to be greeted her with "you are a liar".

The contrast between Poland on my first trip and what I saw here is astounding. Those I approached there, including the teachers who never met me and who risked that the gray guy who just walked in may say something wrong, had a reason not to trust me. That is why, to put them at ease, in each case, I asked them to watch me from the back of the class and alert me immediately if the subject was not acceptable. They never did because I am not stupid.

not something that usually occurs during mass in Poland...


During mass? After? Polish priests usually don't clientele with the faithful (a habit began during communism for the protection of both)

I have never visited the consulate in Chicago. However, they have always been very helpful with my work visas. A few times I cut it very close but they were able to get them done and returned before my flights

I will say paying to pee came as a shock to me the first time I went to Poland. Got off in Rzepin to switch trains and they wanted money to use the facilities. I was not as fluent then so it was very interesting. Thankfully they let me pee. I learned you never go anywhere in Poland with out a pocket full of coins. They are necessary for the WC and bus tickets.

Now imagine a kid with no money.

This is how disgusting things can be in Poland. I got off as Gdank-Oliwa. It's a decent size station and I have to go really bad. No restroom. I am not kidding. No f***** restroom. I don't mean that I have to pay. Oh, no, that would not be a problem. That station has no restroom. Period.

I noticed a 50-something guy standing close. So I walked up and asked "gdzie tu jest ubikacja? (where is the restroom here?). His answer: cienko czy grubo? (number 1 or number ?). Before I would get into such fine details, he offered this gem of advice: If it is number 1, you can do it behind these bushes over there. In Polish, of course.

To say that at this point I was desperate would be understatemnt. Where is the nearest restaurant? It's down the street toward the cathedral.

This is when I made him an offer I prayed he would not refuse: Take me there and I will buy you lunch. In ten minutes we were walking into Classic Restaurant. Our server spoke perfect American English. This is from their website: Zapraszamy Was do najbardziej amerykańskiej restauracji w Gdańsku. (We are inviting you to the most American restaurant in Gdansk). Felt good to be home if only for an hour.

Beautiful story, just breathtakingly sublime. I've never experienced such catharsis reading about someone else's bowel movements.

Σας ευχαριστώ! (I find myself so moved that only modern Greek will do.... do)

Did ever have bowel movement? If you did you would know that it is more important than a tsunami in Asia - like the one in 2004 that killed 250,000.

As far as my post above, it's a story about Poland still being a third-world country in the most critical aspects of life. It would be true and relevant even if I had no desire to s*** in Poland during my entire two-week stay.

BTW, where would you, the brilliant one who never has bowel movements, go while standing on the platform at Gdansk-Oliwa? Run to the cathedral and pray?


Do you know what zakrystia is. That's a place where the priests are when they are doing nothing.

That zakrystia had a door. If you grab and move the handle sometimes a door will open. This specific one did so I walked in and asked: where is the singer?

I know that the complexity and the temerity of this is mind blowing to a Polak. How would anyone dare walk into the sanctum where mere mortals should not dare.

Easy. I am now an atheist and don't buy any of that holy this and holy that. I turned atheist when it dawn on me that all those so called miracles are one big fat lie for the gullible. That happened when I was 14. Do you know why miracles are lies? Because never in the history on mankind, an amputee got his own arm back. It's always something bacterial or neurological. Never ever a missing limb.

My friendly advice to you: ignore me. You will always lose.

Looking in a mirror again?

You keep ranting there, "Rich", you're doing a grand job of wrecking PF.

He says that about all of us Americans.

I'm getting confused... When some of the posters write about Poland you quite often check if they are truly Polish and accuse some of 'pretending to be Polish' yet here you writems to someone supposedly born and raised in Poland as 'American'. Is it double standards or do you know something we don't?

I am neither capable nor do I have such desire.

Don't tell them but PF can ban me in the next ten seconds to make you feel secure again.


Being born in Poland and being an American are not mutually exclusive. That's the whole beauty of "America" and that is why, with all the options available to me once out of Poland, I, without any hesitation, chose the US.

As soon as I got my naturalization certificate, in combination with how I felt, I was an American: legally, mentally, and every other way possible.

For a while following my arrival here, I was concerned that I might be approached to spy against the US for Poland, one reason being that my first employer, Stewart Warner, had a military department. No, I was not there but it was in the same building. Some would agonize over the decision what to do after such a phone call.

I suffered no so such pain. Exactly in less than a minute I would be talking to the FBI asking for instructions. That minute I would need to find their phone number.

Unless you are Johnny Reb (and there is a real possibility that you are) I'm not interested what you think about that matter. You were not the one who questioned posters. Not to mention that Jr also was telling other posters that made US their homes that they don't have the right to talk and should instead discuss their homelands (Australia I think was mentioned)

I have no clue what you are saying.

No problem as my questions were directed at Jr (Johnny Reb)

That's a relief. I thought I was getting senile.

Thanks.

I am bored and it's raining so here is another little story I probably would not be able to deliver from Poland.

Yesterday I was in Champaign, Illinois. At about 11, I left the campus and was on my way to my car two blocks away.

To my left, sitting on a store step, was an old guy with a cup in front of him. The cup had a couple of singles in it to reveal its current purpose. I don't donate cash as cash is often used to buy booze, so I passed him. What caught my attention was that he didn't say a word. For beggars it's rare.

That made me stop, turn around and see him look at me. I approached him and asked: Did you eat today?

Just like that. No "prosze pana, czy pan" or other ridiculous and redundant crap.

No. Do you want to eat? Sure. Where? McDonald's would be good. OK, let's go.

He got up and we crossed the street to go there. I opened the door and let him in.

At the counter I said: He will pick. I will pay. OK?

So he picked and I paid.
Thanks. No problem. Have a nice day. I walked out and was back on the way to my beautiful, silver convertible Lexus.

Life can be sweet for some of us. I am one of the fortunate.

Later, on the way home, I asked my daughter to remember to say at my funeral that I loved life.

If you read up to this point, how many perfect strangers did you treat to lunch lately?

BTW, that guy was black, if it matters to you.

Nice what kind? Sc430 or is convertible? I like the way the f type is sedan looks a lot but too bad it's a 6 cyl. The old scs from the 90s are awesome its same engine as a supra yet unlike the supra very affordable. Amazing car for tuning and drift if you're into that stuff

I'm looking to buy a new toy for the summer. I test drove a 2016 BMW 650i over memorial day. I really want an sl550 but it's a bit too pricey for me atm.

It's an SC. That V8 sound is what keeps me away from the Infinity's sixes with that high pitch. I will have real problem when the time comes to replace my SC or my wife's LS430. By then, all the cars will be running on 2.0T's four-bangers. Yikes.

I really like both 650i and SL550. I am often on cars.com looking at the 650i. I could afford used. It's the upkeep that keeps me away.

On an unrelated subject of attaching pics. What are the rules as far as size in pixels? For the farters like delph, I wouldn't mind posting pics of the objects like cars as they don't need high resolution to prove that I own one. Hey, delph, I bought mine used cheap ($21,000). For cash. You see, I am too poor to borrow.

Another question: what character defect motivates people to distrust others when ABSOLUTELY NOTHING is at stake? If I offered my alleged car as a collateral, I could be questioned. I got it. But here?

I'm thinking about getting something similar to this - olx.pl/oferta/pontiac-firebird-3-8-v6-196-km-CID5-IDtqUnD.html#eedef1e56e - I absolutely love the way they look, and they're not difficult or expensive to maintain. They're absolutely beautiful, and if you get it converted to LPG (like half of Poland...), it's very reasonable on fuel.

I'd love to get one of the V8 5.7L beasts, but I've never seen one for sale in Poland.

Just one comment. My fetish is wide tires. I found out that the rims from 2005 Mustang Cobra fit my SC430 (bolt pattern and offset). So I bought a set - 18x9 fronts and 18x10 rears. So, now I have 285 tires as rear. My next set will be 295 DWS06.

@delphiandomine

Yeah the firebird/camaro is a good car and fun to work on. But it is undriveable in the winter. German rwds make the rear heavy and have superior weight distribution so they don't have that problem, not so much with American cars even with winter tired. I especially love the early 00 trans am ws6. Very fast car but unfortunately only in a straight line. Americans didnt really consider handling in their v8 rwds till recently.

The whole ls line are amazing, super reliable, and tons of power. The 5.7 is probably one of the best engines that America ever made and extremely populae. Theyre the same engines that numerous other gm cars use from corvettes to suburnans. The fuel economy isnt too bad on the ls's - no worse than a mid size suv and with lpg itll be way better, but of course it will always ruin your engine esp with a cast iron engine. Really only aluminim engines can deal with The heat from lpg for a long time without being destroyed. The 3800 is already a big engine by polish standards.

Check out the Pontiac gto. They only made rhem from 04 to 06. It's basically an Australian car - the holden manero with Pontiac gto badging and a ls2/3 engine. My friend had one in highscholl red with black/red suburban.

It'll be very hard to find a car like that on the polish market though. And itll likely be very expensive. Parts and maintenance is cheap and simple though. I remember like 15 years ago there were supposedly only 3 corvettes in all of Poland. Not sure what the situation is now but you're far more likely to see maseratis and ferraris and especially hi end BMW Audi and merc than american sports cars.


Same especially with offset rims. I have staggered 22s on my glk350 for the summer and the stock 20s for winter

Me neither as he/she is being very general in their trolling me.


Johnny Reb does not respond to non member guest posters.

Girls and women dressed badly would never make my list of the reasons why I don't want to visit Poland again. Still, it caught my attention and not in a good way.

I am talking about those idiotic jeans faking to have been worn out on the owner rather than in a Chinese jeans factory.

Why would so many beautiful women spend money to look like they are poor or sluts is beyond me. I would never wear a suit with holes. That's what the homeless or the bums do out of necessity.

So I asked a clerk where such jeans are sold why. Predictably, I was told that girls want to be like their friends, a "logic" as circular as they ever come.

So here is my position: girls, your jeans with those two holes on your knees tell everybody that you engage in the activity the me-too movement is so much against.

How else would you get those two holes? Gardening?

I'm not a big fan of infiniti/Nissan. The only cars i like they make is the nissan gtr and the big infiniti SUV I think it's called the qx56. Infiniti And Nissan interiors are hideous imo and they use very cheap parts.

The Lexus sc is a great car. I've never owned a Lexus but I was considering buy an is300 a while back - the older generation of is

As they say, you can't go back once you try black. Lexus is in the same category. With their great reliability and so totally awesome dealers, you would get literally addicted to the brand.

I never once was without a loaner car. They wash my cars for free while I am having coffee in the morning - plus those damn nutty bars I should not eat.

The fact that I am next to the biggest Lexus dealer on the globe, Lexus of Arlington Heights, with miniature golf, exercize machines, and a playroom for kids does not hurt either. I was told that it took 150 million bucks to build that place.

Yeah out of the Japanese brands, I definitely like Toyota/Lexus by a long short... followed by Honda/Acura. I absolutely love the SUV's - especially the Toyota Land Cruiser and Toyota 4runner. The lexus suv's eh not so much. I think the GX is ugly. Same with the GS sedan, but the LS is super sexy as is the IS - especially the F line. It's a great brand to buy as opposed to lease since it holds its value so well. One thing that bugs me though about Toyota/Lexus is their metal is pretty thin like most Japanese cars. Also some of them are pre

The only thing I don't like about Lexus is they are pretty plain. I think other luxury cars are a lot better looking. I've always been partial to German cars especially Mercedes. I've had 6 Mercedes since I got my license a bit over 10 years ago - 3 E Class, 2 S Class and a GLK. Of course not at the same time lol. BMW I've only had one - a 328i which was customized to look like an M3 clone. I bought that car though more for my gf and didn't really drive it much. But I liked it a lot - great handling, fun to drive (5 speed), decent HP/torque - great daily driver. Although I'm over 6 feet so I prefer larger cars. I also had an Audi Alloard - only audi I've owned. That was probably one of my favorite cars all around. Awesome twin turbo v6, ridiculously good handling, air ride suspension so you could lower/raise it, and I loved how it looked. It was two tone on the outside - black with gray plastic trim and two tone black with grey trim interior. Only problem is that it seemed to always have the check engine light out - always some sensor or relay would mess up. That was annoying. And if you keep it past 100k miles youll have to change out the tubros eventually. They're fairly cheap though they are the same K04's that a ton of VW/Audis use in their 2.0t's. And on that note I had one Saab - a 9-3 aero (which was like the M version/AMG version of Saab). I traded it in for my Jeep Cherokee (my first car) because fuel was crazy expensive back then and it was the only new car I bought. I'll never do that again - i'd buy one that's like a year old and maybe 10-15k miles since its an enormous savings. That saab also had a ton of electrical problems - it was under warranty but within the 1st year I probably took it to the dealership like 5-6 times. The radio would stop working all of a sudden and worst of all the alarm would randomly go off. I'd be driving on the eway and suddenly my car starts honking and the lights flashing because it thinks it got stolen. You could turn the car off and back on and it'd go away but it was still annoying asf. I was pissed since that was basically my first new car too so I didn't expect it to have so many problems.

Anyway.... enjoy the lexus dr