Saturday afternoon we drove to the Polish church in Pompano Beach, where the parish hall had been turned into a voting space for what the writer Timothy Garton Ash called “the most important elections in Poland since 1989.” That year we were living in Philadelphia, and took a chartered bus, with dozens of Poles, to their consulate in Manhattan. Then, pretty much everyone voted for Solidarity (having already voted with their feet to leave Poland). This year, the vote was surely more divided between the ruling Law and Justice Party and the opposition. (Clever name that: How can you say “I’m against Law and Justice”?) Which is why Hania voted for the first time since 1989: Normally, she doesn’t think it fair that she has a voice in choosing a government whose policies won’t affect her.
After she handed in her ballot we drove to the Polish market on Federal Highway, which was more crowded than I’d ever seen it: The tables in the front were occupied by young couples and families, and the aisles were thick with people stocking up on pickles and pierogies. Having thought about their homeland in the voting booth, Poles now wanted to taste it.
