by Monica Wiant | Jun 26, 2017 | Personal, Poland Project
We did not go 135 meters underground into a salt mine, nor did we go to the top of a 1,120 meter mountain. In spite of our plans to do both, Earth kept us on her surface today.On our way out of Krakow, the three of us attempted to visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine, one of...
by Monica Wiant | Jun 25, 2017 | Personal, Poland Project
Today, we visited the hills south of Krakow, the area where the second half of my grandparents’ World War II story takes place. It is a primary setting for the novel I’m working on. I will find many, many words to write about this place.But today, I just...
by Monica Wiant | Jun 24, 2017 | Personal, Poland Project
On a Sunday morning in the fall of 1942, my grandfather, Major Antoni Wegrzyn, walked into the Church of St. Wojiech in Krakow at 9 a.m. sharp. He was scheduled to meet with his new commander, Major Galica, of the Polish Underground Army, or Armia Krajowa.Major Galica...
by Monica Wiant | Jun 23, 2017 | Personal, Poland Project
My proudest accomplishment of the trip so far: I got my rental station wagon out of a tiny underground parking garage and into another one 300 km away.In between, I saw a stretch of central-to-southern Poland that sometimes reminded me of Minnesota or Wisconsin, and...
by Monica Wiant | Jun 22, 2017 | Personal, Poland Project
Warsaw is at a latitude of 52.2 degrees north. It’s farther north than Calgary and Saskatoon. These are the things a person learns at 4:12 a.m. while trying to figure out why it’s so light outside.It was a good day, albeit a long one. My mom, also awake at 4 a.m.,...
by Monica Wiant | Jun 21, 2017 | Personal, Poland Project
On the summer solstice, I flew above the north Atlantic, midnight sun glowing outside the airplane window, illuminating the clouds below us in a suspension that melted from violet dusk into pink dawn without ever touching the dark shades in between.It was a night...
by Monica Wiant | Jun 20, 2017 | Business, Leadership, Social Media
Blogging is a great way for leaders to communicate with employees. It fosters community, conversation, learning, and relationships that cross the org chart. If you’re stuck on “What do I write about?” here are a few suggestions. Include a link to an interesting news...
by Monica Wiant | Jun 15, 2017 | Personal, Poland Project
For 18 months, I’ve dreamed of visiting Poland to research my family’s history and to share it with my daughter. Last fall, I booked the flights. I persuaded my mother to join us. Three generations of women are going to explore our ancestral homeland.When it was far...
by Monica Wiant | Apr 1, 2017 | Personal
My daughter’s 10th birthday marks another milestone: The friendships I made on a now-defunct Internet forum have lasted a decade. It startles me even more than the fact that my tiny newborn is now a YouTube-watching, long-legged tween who texts me funny GIFs and...
by Monica Wiant | Jan 20, 2017 | Personal
Dear Evie,When you live through an important time in history, you carry it for the rest of your life. You will tell people what it was like. They will ask what you did, even if you were only a kid.I’m afraid we are living in those times, and here’s where we...
