A Cat Named Klecko

Some days are good.

Others are bad.

Today made me smile.....

Well maybe not at first, as most of you know, today is August 27th, and that's Sue McGleno's birthday.

And today marks the 10th year I have had to work the Big Top during her special moment.

I posted last year to you L.A.B. Rats that this is also the day that my wife uses guilt to force the CEO of Capitol Cities favorite bakery to go to Dairy Queen to purchase her an ice cream cake.

As I stood inside my demo kitchen (A.K.A. The Fish Bowl) I was thinking about this until I saw something unusual, a pretty woman walked towards me holding a vase of flowers.

This woman was - I'm guessing in her 70's and at the same time.....she handed the vase to me, while speaking in Polish.

My life has been good, and bad, but one of the things that has pumped me with pride has been that I have become a safe haven for the Pollacks of Saint Paul.

Most of them come to visit me at the Fair if they get around to attending.

When the woman started speaking in her native tongue, my heart sank.

"You don't speak Polish Klecko?" she asked........

"Nah, as a kid my grandparents told me that as an American, I should place my full attention on English."

As I said this, I won't lie....I felt ashamed, not that anybody wronged me or anything, but I've always assumed that God converses in Polish, and at one time or another it might be good for me to pick this up.

Now the woman went on to explain to me how the Russians / Communists used to come to the city of her youth and strip the grain from the milling houses.......

"You don't know how much you value bread Klecko until somebody has taken yours from you."

As this women spoke, I was in awe of her.

I could see in her eyes that she had lived a life of survival.

Odds are she had - had things much tougher than me, and yet she brought me flowers and stories.

What else could a guy want?

My next show was about to start, so I pried myself away, and in closing I confessed to the woman.....

"You have inspired me beautiful lady, I am just sad I don't know how to send you away with a proper good bye in Polish."

Now the woman looks at me with a stern face and says....and get this!!!!!!

"Klecko, you have learned a second language, you speak to us with your bread. It is a language that you have mastered."

Then she kissed me on the cheek and left.

I was numb, that may have been the most encouraging thing that any soul has uttered to me.

Later in the day, when My last demo was over, I had to go over to our bread booth and send Bread-Girl on a 30 minute break.

So she takes off, I'm in a good mood now right?

And then a couple walks up to me, I don't know them, and the woman says to me........ 

"Klecko I named my cat after you."

I stood there silent, I mean I was speechless, and then the woman continued......

"I rescued this cat, and if was pretty damaged and rough, but now things are better, the cat is happy."

Guess who got a free cherry strudel?

Are you kidding me?

10 years at the State Fair have given me a lot of memories, but flowers from a Pollack, and the knowledge that some Klecko-Kitty exists in the world is pretty freaking glorious.

Some days are good.

Others are bad.

But today in many ways was epic.

With that said....I better go, sue McGleno wants to cut the cake.