Uff-da!

Oh, yah, da polka mass, you betcha. :)

It was... like nothing else. Ever.

A 3 piece combo: clarinet/sax, concertina, and drums. Hawaiian shirts, 55+ all. And until you've sung the Agnus Dei to an oom-pa beat, and the Responsorial Psalm in Polish.. you haven't lived. "Gdzie wschodzi slonce, I kedy zapada, niechaj swiat Boska, chwale opowiada." it says.

Oh yeah? Same to you, buddy.

But what it really reminded me of, with that clarinet and the 1-2-3-hop, 1-2-3-hop rhythm, was.. Klezmer! Really. It was almost Yiddish. Especially when they were marching the Gospels around the altar to the sound of a wailing clarinet. Oy! Such pagentry you never saw!

Apparently, according to the handout, the first polka mass was held in 1973 in the Iron Range of Minnesota, for the Croatian and Slovenian workers there, and it spread to other "polka centers" (you know who you are) around the country.

Yeah well, I don't know how far it spread, but all I can say is the place was packed, and the priest's first comment after his welcoming greeting was.. "My goodness, is it Christmas already?

I don't know.. it was a little.. cheesy. :) Cute, yes.. but I'm not sure you want the Mass to be.. cute. I'll be glad when the cantor is back next week.

And after another week on the road in KC... I'll be glad to be back home. Bon Voyage!