Castros Resignation May Changle Little or Nothing in Cuba (Long Narrative Version)

Charleston, SC to New Orleans to San Antonio to Tampico, Mexico to Havana, Cuba - July 2002 - I had just completed three out of my last four hours of classes needed to graduate from the College of Charleston in South Carolina. I was in the middle of an editorial internship at the city's alternative news weekly The Charleston City Paper when I took two weeks off to knowingly and intentionally violate U.S. federal law by traveling to Cuba on an international humanitarian aid mission with the non-profit Interreligious Faith Community Organization's 13th Pastors for Peace Friendshipment Caravan to the communist island nation only 90 miles from Florida.

In Cuba, we would be treated like an envoy of diplomats from a foreign government. We would meet with heads of state, hors d'ouvres, free cocktails, and flamboyant cultural exhibitions of song and colofrul dance in what might best be described as thoroughly guided political tourism.

But it would be many long hours on the road and by air before we would land at the Havana airport.

In a near post graduation flourish, I threw out all my belongings save for a guitar, an amp, a laptop, some clothes, a few books, and a couple of video cassettes, one of which was the Road Warrior. I then hastily helped a college friend, who is a communist and had just earned a degree in history and political science, throw a keg party to raise money for the international humanitarian aid mission we were about to embark on.

After the party and a few hours of drunken slumber, we threw my meager possessions into his room and jumped in his hand-me-down Chrysler or Cadillac or whatever kind of boxy early 80s model car it was and headed out on the interstate towards San Antonio, Texas to meet up with the Caravan.

We were passing New Orleans on our way so we decided to have a couple of drinks, which ended up delaying us for two days.

Back on the road for a few more hundred miles, and we were in San Antonio. Home of the Alamo and all its disguised history.