You Just Can't Kill the Guy!
The following is a post I started a couple of years ago but realized I could not publish without incurring the wrath of the Cuban government...again. The first post from Cuba sparked some intense 'scrutinization' from the Cubans and it wasn't worth repeating. Now, of course, you know the country under discussion is Cuba and the leader is Fidel Castro. So, several years later..........
If you know me then you know where I live at the moment. If you don’t, then the rest of this may not make sense and you probably want to stop reading now.
Shopping, especially in local markets where bargaining is part of the game, is one of my favorite sports. This means, of course, that I have developed a relationship with the vendors at the local arts and crafts tourist market. One of the vendors sells cheap clay figurines of the 'beloved' leader of this country. It isn’t something that really is allowed (making fun of the leader in any way is most seriously frowned upon) and the vendor does not often have any for sale but when they are available I buy them - all of them - and the vendor counts on that. They are fun little gifts and cause a great deal of amusement for the recipients.
One recipient burst out in laughter when I placed one of these little figurines on his desk and he said “Oh good, when the rumours begin again and the calls start asking if he is really dead or not I can look over at this guy. If he is standing up on the desk, I’ll say he’s still alive but if he’s laying down and shattered I’ll say the rumours appear to be true!” We all got a good chuckle out of that and agreed it was as good a method to confirm rumours as any other. Because the rumours do fly fast and thick as the world asks: Is it cancer? Is he in power? Is he dead? Is he alive? Is he still in control? Is it really him in that picture? Was he assassinated? Is there an internal/external plot against his life? And so on and so on and so on because nothing seems to put an end to his reign.
As I buy all the vendor has at any given time, there are several of these figurines in my home. They tend to reside in the office on the little table between the reading chairs. It makes for a cute tableau (I can't help myself, I have added figurines of 'chiquititas' to the tableau) and reminds me to pack a few in my suitcase when I am traveling. My guy and I decided to do a bit of rearranging the other day and, without pointing fingers, one of us wasn’t paying attention to what was around him as he moved a chair. BLAM! Over went the table and down went the figurines. Fragile clay figurines onto the hard, marble tiled floor. Millions of pieces were scattered everywhere. But wait, the figurines of the leader were not broken. The other clay figures were smashed beyond recognition. Not the leader. He goes on and on and on, the whole world is braced for this death and yet - Standing up, laying down, flung violently to the floor – you just can’t kill the guy!
If you know me then you know where I live at the moment. If you don’t, then the rest of this may not make sense and you probably want to stop reading now.
Shopping, especially in local markets where bargaining is part of the game, is one of my favorite sports. This means, of course, that I have developed a relationship with the vendors at the local arts and crafts tourist market. One of the vendors sells cheap clay figurines of the 'beloved' leader of this country. It isn’t something that really is allowed (making fun of the leader in any way is most seriously frowned upon) and the vendor does not often have any for sale but when they are available I buy them - all of them - and the vendor counts on that. They are fun little gifts and cause a great deal of amusement for the recipients.
One recipient burst out in laughter when I placed one of these little figurines on his desk and he said “Oh good, when the rumours begin again and the calls start asking if he is really dead or not I can look over at this guy. If he is standing up on the desk, I’ll say he’s still alive but if he’s laying down and shattered I’ll say the rumours appear to be true!” We all got a good chuckle out of that and agreed it was as good a method to confirm rumours as any other. Because the rumours do fly fast and thick as the world asks: Is it cancer? Is he in power? Is he dead? Is he alive? Is he still in control? Is it really him in that picture? Was he assassinated? Is there an internal/external plot against his life? And so on and so on and so on because nothing seems to put an end to his reign.
As I buy all the vendor has at any given time, there are several of these figurines in my home. They tend to reside in the office on the little table between the reading chairs. It makes for a cute tableau (I can't help myself, I have added figurines of 'chiquititas' to the tableau) and reminds me to pack a few in my suitcase when I am traveling. My guy and I decided to do a bit of rearranging the other day and, without pointing fingers, one of us wasn’t paying attention to what was around him as he moved a chair. BLAM! Over went the table and down went the figurines. Fragile clay figurines onto the hard, marble tiled floor. Millions of pieces were scattered everywhere. But wait, the figurines of the leader were not broken. The other clay figures were smashed beyond recognition. Not the leader. He goes on and on and on, the whole world is braced for this death and yet - Standing up, laying down, flung violently to the floor – you just can’t kill the guy!
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