The 8th grade exam was something that we all feared and loathed on unparalleled levels. It was the one to make you or break you... it was the one that allowed you to either attend the High School of your choosing or go straight to vocational school and learn your trade. Or as the adults liked to explain - you either go to High School or go dig trenches and pick garbage.
The pressure was on from the get go, 4th grade was when shit really started to hit the fan and just as you were getting the hang of things... bam! The 5th and 6th grades came around to kick you down the curb with Chemistry, Physics, History and Geography .. and as if that wasn't enough... calculus was peaking its wretched mug... sine, cosine and all the other nonsense that the vast majority of us would forget about before we even left the school grounds at the end of 8th grade... but here it was... the end .... and the endless abyss that was my mind at that time.
I had a girlfriend and cutting school was the thing to do. With over 200 hours unexcused I must've been reaching some sort of school record.
The idea was to give blood.
We walked into the clinic, my partner knew the drill and I just followed him straight up the stairs to the right window. Our school IDs in hand we signed in and sat in the hall waiting. Giving blood beats sitting at a desk on a sunny day, it takes just about 20 mins and then ... you're free.
Summer was upon us, which meant that the outdoor municipal pool was open and we knew exactly how to sneak in without paying. Giving blood was a routine... but not this time, this time we got the Dr's stamp and a batch of desk notes with his name on it... now we could just write out our own sick notes and hand them in... it's good to be the king.
The pool was the place.
We approached from the south side, the wall was crumbling here and the barbed wire was rusty and easy to bypass. It didn't take long before we found ourselves on the bleachers of Warsaw's biggest outdoor pool where shit was poppin. Kids from all neighboring schools were hanging out, the smell of beer, weed and cigarettes blended well with the sound of bodies splashing and diving in from any and every angle. I was happy to spot Maciek. He was an old-school punk who always traveled in his pajamas, army boots, thick chain around his neck and a hawk the size of life... and that's how he swam. Pajamas, chain and the whole 9. Stoned and drunk out of his tits.
It was the late 80s, we were the kids who felt the winds of change. Everyone was politicking and debating the upcoming changes, we all knew that communism was done and over with, shit, we got Public Enemy and Fat Boys on legit cassettes and in heavy rotation with old school punk. None of us knew what to expect. What was to become of us? What of the annual cut day where we'd meet up in thousands and fight against the militia in the middle of Warsaw? No more cobble stone throwing? No more water cannons and rubber nightsticks? What are we to do with this new thing called freedom? How are we, the children of the eastern block, going to fit in with the rest of the world from behind the curtain? What did we know about the west and its ways? We felt ready thou... we've all watched Star Trek and The Wonder Years, we thought we understood. How are we, raised on socialist values, supposed to grow up in this new reality which was approaching at break neck speed.
The girlfriend.
We met at a summer camp, it was the first real love, or so I thought. I was sure of it. No doubt about it. The same summer that I watched Maciek dive hawk first into the pool with his checkered army boots and pajamas was to be the last time that I was to see her... but I didn't know that just yet, life was about to take an unexpected turn.
Studying.
Yea, I knew that I was supposed to, but it was a magnificent summer with temperatures in mid 30s and a never-ending sunshine. Each day I'd fill my notebook with notes from my old books and some other completely useless publications which were supposed to help me pass the test. I was faking it to make it...
Dr's notes.
The entire school was called in for a meeting at the auditorium. It turned out, as they proudly announced, that some kids were paddling Dr's notes and from now on, any kid with a note from Dr. Pigeon [no, I'm not even kidding] would have to get their parent's signature too... I smelt a rat.
Chedda!
Beer, traveling to see my girl and the pool... all very expensive stuff. At 14 you're not really able to work, plus the communist reality is not one to promote entrepreneurship. So we did the next best thing.
- Come check this out!
- What is it?
- Just wait...
The path led through inner city social gardens where folks grew their fruit and vegetables. This one was different however. There was a hidden gem there that a friend of mine discovered while stealing apples and cherries.
- Shit! That's a military base!
Oh yea... The fence was cut... I didn't ask, all I saw was a smashed window in a hangar not too far from the path. Just a hop and skip away, some bopping and weaving through the shrubbery and we were right by it. Then, through the busted window. Shit! Inside, from wall to wall the entire warehouse was lined with military boxes.
- Look! Come look!
Each box filled with gas masks, helmets and bio-suits to protect against chemical agents.
- You can sell the masks and the helmets for crazy money at the market!
One day I thought I'd introduce my neighbor to this idea. Once inside, we took our sweet time. The door swung open and two young soldiers stood staring straight at us. There was nowhere to run. We were busted. They smiled. Approached us very casually; in the middle of the warehouse stood a Foosball table.
- You win, you leave, you lose, we go see the sergeant.
We won.
The news.
- I need to talk to you.
My mother was very somber and sounded serious. I was sure it was about the upcoming exam or my cutting school or... whatever. She took me out to a pizza place, now I knew it was serious.
- Your father's coming. She said after a long pause. - He's coming to pick you up and take you to America.
The exam.
The Polish part was simple, ace'd that shit without an issue... it was the math that tripped me up. I had to retake it... and so I did... and passed.
The misunderstanding.
I had to tell her, I wanted to spend the last day just chilling in the old city. So I trooped out to see her, she lived on the other side of the city so I came with a friend. We made plans to meet in the old city, on the 8th of June, two days before my departure. After an hour of waiting I started talking to this homeless dude, he must've been about 18 and told me he had AIDS, I ended up drinking beer and eating cheap ice-cream with him... she never made it. As I found out few months later from her letter... she thought that I was going to pick her up from her place... We exchanged a few letters and a single phone call... then, after many moves and .. well, life happened.
Euro 2012...
Warsaw, June Not having a TV is an amazing thing. Just not when you want to watch a game live. This wasn't just any game. It was Poland vs. Russia and it was happening right here, in Warsaw.
- You mind if I go and check out the game live?
- Sure. Go ahead.
My wife's cool like that. I got there just in time to see the riots pick up. The hools were starting beef with the cops and bottles were starting to fly. Torches were being fired off and the police cordoned off a large chunk of the parking lot in front of the giant fan zone which was about to fill to the brim with over 100K fans who all came to witness the marvel that is football on a giant TV screen while drinking watered down beer. The place was full, the riot was in full swing. I found myself stuck between the cops in full riot gear and the hools, drunk and ready to rumble. At one point I thought to myself - fuck this, I'm going home. I turned around... the endless sea of heads in each direction was not something that I was looking forward to parting... there she was. Right behind me just standing and staring at the giant TV screen. With her, her daughter and husband. I said, hi... and introduced myself. We embraced for a moment, then she introduced me to her husband and daughter, she called her mom and ... ended up coming to our place and crashing... Funny how life works out sometimes.
What's the chance of us running into each other... .. .
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