Slides from my Dziadek

My parents were born in Lodz, Poland in 1963. On a road trip with my father I was listening to an episode of 99 percent invisible which talked about Soviet design. The host described a vending machine that poured soda into a cup on a chain because aluminum cans were too expensive. My dad remembered drinking from one of those. Another time my mom told me about the bread lines she stood in, and showed me the punch cards for state-issued bread.

Growing up I visited Poland every year. My grandparents still live in the same concrete bloc apartments that they did 60 years ago. They took me to austere metal playgrounds, and we played on dirt-floored structures. We went back to the apartments and ate pierogi and pyzy.

My vision of Poland was grey and dull. Recently my mom shared some slides that my grandfather shot on his USSR manufactured Zenit E. They show my parents in their early to mid teens. The photos are so full of life and beauty, and to see the feeling of my parents at an age familiar to me was moving.