So Fidel passed the proverbial cigar of dictatorship to his hermano, and I'm just sad I'll never be able to say I got to Havana while Fidel was still in power. Cuba has always fascinated me; I guess it has a mystique for most Americans.

Thing is, everyone who visits seems to return with such disparate opinions of the place. From Michael Moore to missionary friends, there will be those who praise the universal health care and those that deny its all that and a free band-aid. The beaches are beautiful, the cities are throwbacks from the '50s. The roads are desolate--no traffic jams! People can't afford gas. Cubans have a remarkable educational system. Illiteracy is basically non-existent. Americans can attend medical school in Cuba for free. And yet. What can a Cuban do in Cuba with an advanced degree? I ask because it's unclear to me - do most stay in Cuba or do they go elsewhere to make mas dinero?

I can't get a clear picture of Cuba. I've known so few people who have really lived there, who have referred to Fidel by making the sign of a beard with their hand in front of their face for fear that they were being recorded somehow, some way. I believe that the embargo will soon be lifted and free travel will once again resume between the US and Cuba, and I look forward to the option, if not the opportunity, to visit La Isla.

And let's not forget about Elian. He's a teenager now. How you doin' Elian?

***

Baby Girl. She don't know much about communism. She's new here.