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Rolled in at six this morning, after nine hours in the José Marti airport in Havana, a four-hour flight, uneventful customs procedures in both Canada and the United States (strange, at the U.S. customs station, to see a poster of George W. Bush without fangs and blood running through his teeth, as we became accustomed to seeing on the streets of Havana), a four-hour drive from Montreal, and a fuel-pump breakdown two miles from my house. I'm tired. It's cold here. I didn't get everything I wanted for my birthday, but I'll put off complaining for a few days while I process and post about my trip. Right now I have laundry to do and a nap to take. Lots of photos to upload—I'll need to bum the high-speed over on campus—so it could take some time. I'm still sifting through my impressions and questions and notes, wondering how to make sense of a trip that can be interpreted through many lenses. Cuba is as strange and beautiful a place as I ever hope to see, and the Cubans we met welcomed us with a warmth and openess that defied the governments of both our countries. More to come.

And thanks to everyone who stopped by Plausible Story while I was away. We're gathering quite an international crowd, I see. Okay, maybe "crowd" is veering into hyperbole-land (as I wandered briefly into resort-land last week—but that's another story). Think of this as an intimate party. More wine? I could make coffee if you like. None for me, though; I'm off to bed.

Comments

[Katrina]

Welcome back! I'm looking forward to hearing about the trip more...definitely, please post some pics.

(I hung out with the cat while you were away. We had several meaningful discussions on the various advantages of afternoon naps over morning ones. I still tend to prefer the am however.)

[hilllady]

So that's what he was trying to tell me yesterday! :) I'll have an album up in the next couple of days, though I warn you, I'm not a great photographer.

Hope you're feeling better . . .

[Esteban]

Again, my many apologies for the death of Ace Jackson. A temporary death, we hope, although all of today's parts purchases and trying and fiddling and even a little praying have so far proved useless. But I have to share this.

By the time all of that happened, I was beginning to have a bad day. Call it "follow-up paperwork." And I actually suffered frostbite on two toes on my left foot while the tow-truck hitched up Ace for the final 6 miles to my house and bed (which was occupied by two strangers from New Jersey, so actually I slept on the sofa).

But there was a ray of light. A February flower in Vermont. The truck driver didn't charge me for the mileage, and for a tip, I handed him a Cuba-grown, Havana-rolled Romeo y Julieta cigar. And his smile, the kid-like excitement and real gratitude, made the whole thing worthwhile. So I'm sorry you didn't get to see that, and I'm sorry for the breakdown. You were a strong pirate, and I owe you a cigar.

[turboglacier]

Welcome home! Looks like the lack-of-winter only got worse in our absence. Want to head south again?

[hilllady]

TG—when do we leave?

[Katrina]

At this rate, you're going to have a lot of stowaways if you do! :)