Thanksgiving in Cuba
Top 5 Things We Learned in Cuba
This Thanksgiving holiday a pack of us decided to head down to Cuba to help out folks struggling after the hurricane season and wide-spread power outages. Combine WNC Helene’s damage (no power, water, gas, internet, nor cash money) with the persistent decades-long corrosion we see in Keys (potholes, outdated sewage, neglected buildings, and insufficient trash pickup).
"It’s poverty on a universal scale juxtaposed against some of the most beautiful natural settings on the globe." #my2cents
To comply with Uncle Sam’s “Trading with the Enemy Act” of 1963 (I was 3), we traveled under the approved category of “in support of the Cuban people; humanitarian projects; (and) activities of private foundations.”
With all the crooked fingers in Red & Blue states pointing at Cuba, I’m still wondering why I saw so many brand-hammer new Chevrolets driving past us? Why is there 7up at every bar, yet everyone is still mad because Castro took over the Coca-Cola business? So is the Embargo helping or hurting the communists?
Possibly, the Embargo is allowing a select group of Americans and Cubans to enjoy “free-trade” while a sh*t-ton of good folks are struggling to eat, work, and have a place to call home.
One of the nicer buildings on east side of Havana
Politics aside, which is damn hard to do in this little country, Cuba is an endless string of home-made contradictions and international hypocrisies. A new friend of ours best put it, “Don’t try to make me try and make sense of something you are trying to understand that I simply cannot make sense of or understand myself.
Let’s go to work.
FELIZ ACCION DE GRACIAS
While most Americans were enjoying turkey & stuffing and NFL football, we got to sit in Cubans homes located just 90 miles south of Key West. Speaking broken Cuban & American languages, we discussed the plight of pilgrims who were immigrating into America in 1621, the hospitality of native people, and the inevitable blending of family values/diverse cultures throughout North, Central, and South America.
We ate what the locals ate … the fish, vegetables, fruits, and breads were fantastic. Even if they were being cooked on the back of an old refrigerator coil and metal frame from an air conditioner. The art was real, innovative, and deeply moving in both hope and pain. The music is lovely.
We played baseball with local kids with a bat carved from a tree limb and a baseball made from a sock and black electrical tape. I threw the heat and only gave up one hit. He was 6, and I channeled my Davidson Youth Baseball coaching days. Not sure if he hit the ball or my pitch hit the bat. #bigfun
Here Are The 5 Things
Our conversations were full of passion, laughter, and too often sadness as we learned a ton about Cubans and Cuba, including:
#1 – Cuban people may be the nicest and kindest people on the globe. Because of our work at PCG, humanitarian efforts, or travel for family, Kelli and I have had the opportunity to visit many places around the globe and meet a ton of really really nice people. However, Cubans are a very special breed of kind. Is it the “survival of the fittest” evolution? (Sorry flat earthers, Darwin’s theory is correct enough for this #SWOM) The Cubans who just couldn’t take it, objected too much, or stood against communism are either hiding, gone or dead. The folks we met … the survivors … are making the best of life in a very poor nation with a smile on their faces and big hearts.
#2 – Cuba is about as pretty a place as we’ve ever visited. Right, wrong, or indifferent, we couldn’t stay in Government hotels … at least that’s what Google AI search indicated. That put us in folks homes (AirBnB works, but we knew a guy who knew a friend for 24 years who knew some wonderful locals). Turns out … when you drive from Havana, Playa Larga, and Vinales … you see some amazing nature, vegetation, salt-water, and farmlands. Don’t get me wrong, you are gonna see some really poor folks in some really sad settings, but the views are often spectacular.
#3 – Hurricane damage and power outages are a way of life. We did not have a single day without power outage and/or no hot water in all three cities. It was manageable, but the Cubans have no hope of a life without these struggles. The government’s response is slow, outdated, at times antiquated, incomplete, inconsistent, and falls behind the rural areas in Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Bahli, Botswana, South Africa, and Bahamas. A local told us, “Havana looks like a bombed city that was never in a war.” #YEP
#4 – Horses are still used everyday on the farm and in the towns. Look, I grew up in rural Western NC as a dirt farmer. I plowed with horses/mules. We used horses to pull stumps, drag sod, and pull wagons to the barn. But we still had mowers, cars/trucks, rototillers, and a ton of other gas-powered equipment. In Cuba, they use horses, mules, oxen for all of it … I mean all of it. Often times, there are less scooters and cars than livestock on the roads. These Cuban folks make our Amish folks look like Elon Musk with all the high-tech innovations used in Lancaster and Shipshewana.
#5 – There are many sides to the Cuban-American story. During the 1960’s until Obama-era and now with Biden/Trump, there is fake-news propaganda from every angle with the truth somewhere in the “Cuban” mix: USA/Russian, Miami/Havana, Government/Business, Presidential/Congress, Communist Party/Castro, Capitalism/Communism, Military/Humanitarian, Industrial/Agricultural, as well as Global/Local interests.
Bottom line: Cuba is beautiful in so many ways, the people are kind and smart, and the governments who are responsible for the economic situation are failing miserably for most citizens.
If our goal as proud Americans since 1963 is to help the average Cuban citizen have a better life, it doesn’t appear the greatest country in the world (think USA) is winning that war. Krissy Wejebe told us that a women put it this way, "We live in paradise prison."
If our goal is to get reimbursement for big American companies and affluent exiled-Cubans who lost property in Cuba during the revolution … well that’s another thing all together.
Let’s consider that post-WWII, the government in Cuba was less than ideal and folks suffered mightily until Castro revolution. At least that’s what we were told. During that time, American companies profited from corruption and military unrest … until they didn’t. Good luck in finding that truth.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
So on this national holiday designed to celebrate being thankful and holiday shopping, we are grateful for our new friends and shared experiences in Cuba. We are particularly thankful for Rob O'Neal and his travel expertise and lifelong friendships throughout Cuba, including:
JC, his wife, and daughter – Best driver in Cuba in Under 8 Seats Van division. Excellent family of Dominos players.
Alvin – Best driver in Cuba in 24 Passenger Van division. Excellent Dominos player.
Yoyi and his lover – Craftsman, woodworker, beekeeper, coffee/sugar cane farmer, and chef. Fly fisherman and maker of the flies.
Sam? - Short man with big heart and big wife. Fisherman and chef. Excellent energy.
Kenny, his wife, Sessy, and Julito - AirBnB Super Hosts, hiking/horse guide, and passionate change-agents for the Cuban people.
Bob? - sugar cane/coffee/tobacco farmer, bee keeper, and excellent cigar roller.
Yovi - Rancher, farmer and so-so barrel racer.
Lady Doctor - AirBnB Super Host and former geratrics doctor. Excellent Dominos player and trash talker. #knockknock
We will update the list above with proper names/spellings but for now you are getting my best hillbilly version.
If you are called to provide any humanitarian or financial support to these wonderful neighbors of Key West, please leave a comment below, and we can see to it that ya'll e-meet properly.
Rob O'Neal is a fantastic ambassador for Conch Republic and has spent a life-time of helping those less fortunate in Cuba. Again, comment below if you ever want to go to Cuba and have a look-around. His friends are an integral part of the energy that supports those who need it most throughout the country. Some of Rob's pictures are below. Check them out!
Finally, thank you Ms. Anna Quindlen for allowing us to leverage your good works and readers to try to do some good. #annaquindlen #annaqwrites #happyguide
With video/editing cred @kellidarlin ... Here's today's vid-clip:
Tony McLean Brown
A Western NC hillbilly through and through, Tony McLean Brown was born in the small town of Enka-Candler outside of Asheville. His parents re-named him when he was 3 years old to Tony (a nickname provided by his grandfather) McLean (middle name of his Uncle Michael) while retaining his legal surname Brown.
Throughout his career, Tony McLean Brown worked as a farmer, computer programmer, and management consultant – in his adventurous years – author, song-writer, bass player, poet, pilot, mountaineer, certified scuba diver, and competitor in professional bull riding, NASCAR late model racing, Toughman boxing, Crossfit Open, Ironman, pole vaulting, marathon and ultra-marathon running, as well as parenting.
www.HappyGuidetoaShortLife.com has been leveraged to help charities and non-profits across the globe, USA, NC, and Lake Norman area. If you, your family, school, church, or charity has been supported, please take the time to share, like, subscribe, comment, and provide a 5 star review!