Originally, this blog was meant to touch on memories… times long past and moments of joy … or sadness. Or, whatever came to mind… As usual, last one won out... As it often happens, when I come face to face with the computer all plans go out the window. Usually taking with them all the words and thoughts I had … oh, so ready… they all seem to fly out the virtual window in the back corner of my mind… as I watch, totally powerless, and see them disappear into the vastness of nothingness… Oh My! … What should we write about? … Notice as the royal “We” gently rolls out of my fingertips while these deftly play the letter keys of this non-musical piano-like board on the computer…   So, which way to go? Should I fall gently into the past and dig a bit deeper around those repressed memories that still abound? Or go boldly into the future and create memories to be? … Perhaps these last can be a bit sweeter and warmer than some of the ones life has actually created… but then...

What Happened in Cuba?        This is a question we have asked ourselves for the better part of a half a century. We still don’t have an answer. A friend (not Cuban) sent me a list of what he called “historical Cuban achievements” he had found on a website, of which the following is a partial listing, and asked the same question… I still did not have an answer…        First Iberian American country to use vapor powered machinery and ships was Cuba in 1829     The third country in the world (after US and England) to have railroads was Cuba, in 1837     First ether based anesthesia applied in the Spanish speaking world was by a Cuban MD in 1847.   The first public electric light system in the Spanish speaking world was completed in Havana in 1889   Cuba eliminated bullfights before the end of the 18 th century, because they were “unpopular,        sanguinary and abusive with the animals” ...

Ukraine has the front seat in the news yet, closer to home in Venezuela, a massacre in the making is largely ignored by the national media. Venezuela is not my country of origin; I come from the other one, the one which is basically causing all the trouble over there. Including flying shock troops by the planeload to “show” the Venezuelan army and thug police how they must deal with the dissidents. No matter these are unarmed students and mothers whose only political sin is to ask for their basic freedoms and question the terrible state in which their country and society are, as well as give voice to their utter hopelessness for a better future. The current government cannot give coherent answers to these questions for the simple reason they don’t have any to give; the same government which created the chaos cannot possibly give hope of a better future when they can’t even manage the present. Faced with this, students and protesters refuse to back down, despite the fact these ...

We know all about the “Cost of Living” but … what about the “Cost of Life”? The past is a nice place to visit but not one in which to dwell for long periods of time. That is, unless you suffer from that terrible malady called Alzheimer’s. Then it becomes a state of life. However, as the years do keep on piling on, sometimes it does give us a little comfort in the form of wishful thinking. The Cost of Life cannot be readily measured in actual cash. We know there are many folk who will swear that “money is important” ( yes, it is… to a point ) and some even will go as far as saying it is “everything” ( no, it definitely is not! ) and then, there is another group of folk (including me, I guess… ) who will say that the “pursuit of happiness” and the “pursuit of money” are not one and the same. A simpler life was had by those of us who grew up several ( not to say a whole lot of ) years ago. In fact, all the goodies which now plague our existence, were created by many who share...

A very special day, when a long awaited dream finally comes through… As the morning arrived we were up, a little earlier than usual. There was a feeling of anticipation in the air, almost an electric feeling created by events that would take place this particular morning. After many years of decision making process… of debating pros and cons… of delaying what should have been done long before, my wife was finally becoming a US citizen. Once we arrived at the court building where the ceremony was to take place, we were greeted by a rainbow of colors and sounds; a mix of people and languages that represented at least 18 countries from around the world. On a day like this, some 45 years ago, I was in a similar courthouse at the lower end of Manhattan, receiving my oath to become a citizen of this grand country. I relived the feeling of that day, as we waited for the proceedings to begin. I looked around and saw the same eager faces with some of those present trying to hid...

There is a little bit of time on my hands, just before tasks are due…   It’s a good moment to sit at the friendly computer and try to tap out a few words. Never mind if they make sense or not… this isn’t always necessary or, for that matter, the case. What does matter is to once again regain the writing habit; like any other activity in life, it is very easy to lose when not practiced.   So you become my willing or unwilling partner in this process. This blog now spans some four years of existence; yet a lifetime of happenings. It is very easy to know when I was laid up from treatments or surgery… the postings increased in size and numbers (quality and content…???)… well over one thousand pages of … stuff … The reaction has been interesting; readers from South America to China and many stops in between. This has surprised me quite a bit… almost 10,000 reads from over 15 countries. Some apparently one time only ( I guess they didn’t like what they saw) yet many r...

Well… it’s that time of the Year… Again… …when, as we look sideways into the mirror, that “oh-so-familiar” wistful cry comes to our lips once again… OMG!!!! … When did I get into this stranger’s body...? … And THAT hair…!!!! GADS!!!! ( well, for those who have hair to sport…) Or, as we look at time slipping away through our clenched fists, we begin to question every action we may have taken during the year… New Year resolutions were probably invented by someone who definitely did not like the results of whatever he or she did during the year; had these been positive, there would be no more resolutions other than… Keep it Going!! Just remember this basic truth, as voiced by Quino's Mafalda: "Saying to oneself that the New Year will be better is ignoring the fact that what has to become better is the person, not the year." We may promise to do many things differently but unless they actually get attempted, these are naught but empty promises. There have bee...