However, I was ousted by the Pilsudski coup (the May coup) but quickly returned to the post. The following year I retired and moved to my family’s mansion in Andrzejewo near Vilnius. In 1930 I published a book containing my memoirs on the Polish-Bolshevik War entitled “War of 1920: Memoirs and Thoughts (Wojna w roku 1920. Wspomnienia i rozwazania). I also wrote many articles on the conflicts of early 20th century for a variety of Polish newspapers. In 1935 I was elected as a Member of Parliament and remained in the Sejm until the outbreak of World War II in 1939.
During the invasion of Poland, I volunteered for the Polish Armed Forces, but was not accepted due to my age (74 at the time) and poor health. Nevertheless, I served as an adviser to the command of the Polish southern front. After the defeat of Poland, I avoided capture by the Germans and the Soviets and managed to reach France, where I joined the Polish government in exile led by General Wladyslaw Sikorski. As an active member of the Polish National Council, an advisory body, I fled to London after the defeat of France in 1940.
I declared after the end of the Second World War that I would return to Poland, but suddenly I died on July 9, 1947 in London. My body was taken back to Poland and buried in the Powazki Military Cemetery in Warsaw.
During my life, I have received many honors and awards to name a few: the Commander’s Cross of the Virtuti Militari, the Grand Cross of the Polonia Restituta and the Polish Medal “Decade of the Restoration of independence”.
MUSEUM CORNER. A spring musical concert will be held at the Polish American Museum on Sunday, May 22 at 3 p.m. The program includes classical, contemporary, traditional and patriotic music by talented young artists of Polish origin. The doors to the museum will open at 2 p.m. and there will be an admission fee of $10 for adults and $5 for students. The Polish American Museum located at 16 Belleview Ave., Port Washington is the only Polish American museum located on Long Island. The museum is staffed by volunteers and is non-profit. Museum hours are Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and vary during the summer months. For more details, call 516-883-6542.
CURIOUS. The medicine continued. The Egyptians added to the ancient medicine chest. The Ebers Papyrus, a scroll dating from 1900 BC. named after German Egyptologist George Ebers, reveals the trial-and-error skill acquired by early Egyptian physicians. Constipation was treated with a laxative of ground senna pods and castor oil; for indigestion, a chew of peppermint leaves and carbonates (known today as antacids); and to numb the pain of tooth extraction, Egyptian doctors temporarily doused a patient with ethyl alcohol. The scroll also provides rare insight into the hierarchy of ancient medicine preparation. The “Chief Medicine Preparer” was the equivalent of a head pharmacist, who supervised the “Medicine Collectors”, field workers who harvested essential minerals and herbs. “Help preparers” (technicians) dyed and sprayed ingredients, which were mixed according to certain formulas by the preparers. In addition, the “Medicine Custodian” oversaw the warehouse where local and imported mineral, herbal and animal ingredients were kept. (To be continued.)
SUPERSTITIONS. Ah, Friday the 13th has had an unsavory reputation ever since that foggy day when man first learned to count. However, those who believe that 13 is unlucky wore many lucky symbols of this number every time they had a US dollar – at least since 1945. The design on the back of the banknote connects Egyptian allegorical designs to our times, in as symbolic uses. of the number 13 were arranged around each of the two sides of the Great Seal of the United States. For example, an incomplete or truncated pyramid of 13 steps. There are 13 leaves and berries on an olive branch and in the left talon of the American bald eagle are 13 arrows. Incidentally, this Native American eagle is the symbol of invincibility, while the ancient Egyptian golden eagle was the bird of regeneration. This design was commissioned on the dollar bill by Henry Morgenthau Jr., who was Secretary of the Treasury at the time. Also, as all Americans know, the many uses of the number 13 in the design refer to the original 13 colonies. Today, it is a lucky number for millions of Americans.
OF INTEREST. Saturday, May 14 marks World Migratory Bird Day in the Americas. It is officially celebrated on the second Saturday in May in Canada and the United States, while on the second Saturday in October, this day is celebrated in Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean.
