I loved Fidel

[DFW]

45. When I was there, the locals' opinions were divided

The government people thought he was wonderful. They could do what they wanted, could travel abroad (my invitation was arranged by a Cuban government official I met in London), ate in the island's best restaurants. In between official activities, they recommended, much to my surprise, that I take a stroll "on my own" through the old town of Havana, and take in the sights.

On my own, right. I was followed, of course. They didn't even try to be subtle. One of my DGI "escorts" even complimented me on my Spanish. I was approached by one kid, maybe 16 or 17, and he poured out his hate for the government, He said a family member was a diabetic and got care packages including insulin sent by relatives in Miami, except that the packages were opened by the government, and anything of use was removed. He asked me if I would buy him a pocket calculator in the hard currency shop. I checked to make sure I wouldn't be doing anything illegal, and when it turned out to be OK, I went to the hard currency shop and got him an $8 pocket calculator. You'd think I had just bought him a first class ticket to Miami and a 5,000 square foot villa to live in when he got there. I guess he was the first one on his block, or wherever it was he lived.

One thing that has been commented on heavily here, and I did NOT notice, was the racial divide. Maybe the reports are true, maybe not, I just was too well insulated find out. The kid mentioned above was black, and my DGI escorts were white or mixed. My government contacts and their chauffeurs were all of European origin except their division boss, who was black. So I have no comment one way or the other on the local race issue.