EASTBOUND AND DOWN

Over one very long night, contributor Jonathon Ramsey traveled from Warsaw all around Poland in a borrowed Dacia Jogger minivan to deliver supplies to Ukrainian refugees.

- Jonathon Ramsey

HOTEL WINDOW THE VIEW OUT MY EIGHTH-FLOOR in Warsaw hit the Cold War kid in me. Barren trees lining the empty street, yellow sodium lights and LEDs illuminating the early-spring snow-it looked like something out of a spy film. I was there waiting for a phone call that would be my signal to drive boxes of mysterious goods into a country at war. I could almost feel the ghost of Robert Ludlum.

I wasn't supposed to be in Poland; I was supposed to be on vacation in Provincetown, Massachusetts. But en route, I was diverted by a text from my friend Krista Barnes, who asked: "Can you go to Poland for three days to drop donations, all paid?"

That unusual message makes a bit more sense if you know that Krista runs a humanitarian nonprofit. The Reel Project's work typically concentrates on eastern Africa, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine found her partnering with Ukraine United Association, run by Nick Zaiets, a Ukrainian in L.A., and Fly for Good, a group specializing in booking inexpensive airfares for humanitarian missions.

Which is how I found myself at the KLM counter at LAX on a Friday in April, checking in for a flight to Warsaw. I'd be playing Krista's wingman, helping her deliver donations to Ukrainian refugees.

I'd intended to look through all the supplies I'd be carrying to ensure that I wouldn't be starring in an episode of Locked Up Abroad, but the Ukrainian chap standing next to a baggage cart had already shrink-wrapped the numerous boxes and suitcases. He said three things to me: "How many boxes can you take?" Followed by, "Each box is about 22 or 23 kilograms." Then, when it was clear that we could take the whole cart, "I'll get more boxes." He did, then disappeared.