My Mom's from Lublin My Dad's from Seattle

Gene Olson's mother was a Norwegian and his father a Swede. He was born in Seattle. Both Jolanta Olson's parents were Polish from Lublin, a town in southeast Poland. She was born in Poland. Olson's newest memoir, My Mom's from Lublin; My Dad's from Seattle, documents his parents' vastly different childhoods. In Communist Poland, chocolate was very scarce. You would be lucky to get a little piece at Christmastime. One day, playing outside as a little girl, my mother saw a small pebble. She had been thinking about chocolate all morning, so she put the stone in her mouth, hoping it was a piece of chocolate. Of course it wasn't. My father, on the other hand, could have a Hersey Bar anytime he wanted. His hands and face would be covered with so much chocolate, he'd have to take a bath. This nostalgic and loving tribute is filled with photos and childhood memories. Jolanta Olson writes, I'm glad my mom and dad found each other, because without them I'd be nothing. My mom's from Poland, my dad's from Seattle, and that makes me half Polish and half Seattle-ish!