EASTER BREAKFAST AT THE ROLANDS, APRIL 8, 2007

The Roland family, who we met Easter Saturday as they blessed their Easter basket at St. Florian’s church, are as delightful as one could imagine: great testimonial to the strength of immigrant families who have faith at the core of their unit.  Consisting of John and Krystina and their four children, Patrick, Mark, Ania and Emily, they display a cohesive love that is truly a joy to witness.

They were also kind enough to invite the entire Visionalist Production team, tired from two days of straight shooting (including an Easter all-nighter), to breakfast at their sleek, but comfortable Bloomfield Hills home.  John, who owns Cranbrook Building Company, did all the interior work himself, along with son Patrick.

Having come from a small town in southern Poland in the late eighties, on the heels of Solidarity (of which John played a role), Polish Easter traditions are still very much at the heart of the Roland Home.  Krystina explained the two separate tables loaded with food, one specifically for food blessed at St. Florian.  The meal began with a prayer in Polish as they lit a candle, then a tribute to members of their extended family who have passed away, including Patrick’s godfather Michael Krolewski.

John’s mother arrived to help with the breakfast preparations, and though Kasimiera Ruchala does not speak much English, she displays the same love and strength as the rest of her family.  And kitchen skills as well:  the meal consisted of traditional Polish Easter soup, hard boiled eggs, kielbasa and ham, and of course, babka, the sweet spongy yeast cake that is always baked for Easter Sunday.

Meanwhile, the children all made a beeline for the chocolate eggs:  turns out that chocolate had been the universal sweet each gave up for Lent.  As John pointed out:  “For kids, forty days is like a whole lifetime!”

With the close bond of the Roland family, that lifetime promises to be meaningful and enviable.