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Count Maurycy Beniowski (also known as Baron Maurice de Benyowski) was born in Poland to a noble family. At that time Poland was partitioned into three parts, Beniowski was born in the Russian part. As a youngster he took part in the Polish uprising to liberate Poland from the Russian rule (Konfederacja Barska) and after being captured by Russians was sent into exile to Siberia. However he managed to escape and after some tumultuous years he found himself leading an armed expedition headed toward Madagascar. On an African Island near Madagascar he managed to establish a stronghold, and pronounced himself the king of Madagascar. We can easily classify him as a pirate because he was not above attacking shipping lanes around Madagascar, and he didn't represent any authority. One of the nearby islands (Mauritius) was named after this Polish adventurer and to this day he is remembered there.

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The Bledowska Desert is an accumulation of loose sand away from any sea, created thousands of years ago by a melting glacier. It lies between Klucze, Chechlo, and Bledów. It is 9 km long, 3-4 km wide, and the average depth of sand is 25 m. As late as in the 1950s and 1960s you could still observe such phenomena as mirages, sand storms, sand vortices and oases here. Now the desert is quickly becoming covered with vegetation, colonized mainly by Caspian willows, and it's getting harder and harder to find patches of spectacular bare sand. Fortunately for the lovers of the exotic, some scientists think that the desert is going to recover, at least partially.Over the last few years, the Bledowska Desert has become a favorite with paragliding aficionados. Two factors contribute to this popularity: a series of relatively high hills making excellent launching sites and favorable air currents allowing you to soar high.

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While Christianity appears to be in a steep decline across most of Europe, in Poland the faith still burns brightly. The question is whether Poland is an anomaly, a quirky throwback to another era, or a harbinger of Europe's coming culture war. I have faith it is the latter.

JPII hoped that the intense spirituality of his native Poland would spark a "new evangelization" in Western Europe. During most of his papacy, there was scant sign of that happening. But more recently Poland has emerged at the fore of a fledgling movement to restore Christian values to Europe.

Poland's churches are still packed; its seminaries still ordaining great numbers of priests. The census data shows: 96 percent of the population identify themselves as Roman Catholic; 57 percent say they attend Mass every Sunday. Now, there seems to be more statues of Pope John Paul II across Poland than there once were of Lenin.

A few years ago, a typical Pole was Catholic in his private life. Today, they express it openly and want it expressed in public policy. Political parties are listening.

Aleksander Kwasniewski, the reformed communist who was Poland's former president said: "there is no excuse for making references to ancient Greece and Rome, and to the Enlightenment, without making reference to the Christian values which are so important to the development of Europe."

Lawmakers in the fall of 2006 have drawn up a resolution naming Jesus Christ as the honorary king of Poland, but the 46 MPs behind the idea have failed to win support from the country's powerful Roman Catholic church.

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On a trip to the Bay Area I was walking through San Francisco's Chinatown, I'm fascinated with all the Chinese restaurants, shops, signs and banners. Then I turned a corner and saw a building with the sign, "Ignacy Pacholski's Chinese Laundry."

"Ignacy Pacholski?" "How the heck does that name fit in here?"

So I walk into the shop and see an old Chinese gentleman behind the counter. I ask, "How did this place get a name like "Ignacy Pacholski's Chinese Laundry?"

The old man answers, "Is name of owner."

I ask, "Well, who and where is the owner?"

"Me, is right here," replies the old man.

"You? How did you ever get a name like Ignacy Pacholski?"

"Is simple," says the old man. "Many, many year ago when come to this country, was stand in line at Documentation Center. Man in front is gentleman from Poland. Lady look at him and go, 'What your name?' He say, 'Ignacy Pacholski.' Then she look at me and go, "What your name?' I say, "Sem Dem Ting.'"