Everything is illegal..but we do it anyway
Everything is illegal, but we do it anyway...
So said the Boatman across the river Styx in Baracoa, gliding his vessel through the narrows from the caves toward the baseball stadium. It was as much commentary on his immediate situation and Vermille's and Agent Tare's as it was on the whole of Cuba.
The litoral 'little man in the boat' - Baracoa. Did I type that correctly? Better ask Mr Justice Kitto
With the more hard line Fidel 'resting after a long hard squarwk' and brother number 2, Raul and the whole army keen to avoid civil disturbance (and to encourage hard currency from tourism) the blind eye of officialdom is the same embracing business opportunity. Whilst Australians at home accept the over regulation, permit prosecution, and have accounting, audit, probity, regulatory, prudential review, competitive equality, judicial, consititional, standards, prosecutorial, and probation overlays to which the impotent citizen acquiesces. Consequently genuine economic activity and free social activity is stultified into submission.
The Cuban 'but we do it anyway'... paradoxially represents, at grass roots, a much greater liberty of activity in a socialist/communist environment. Without that liberty, they would starve.
Our Best Friend. The photo is Hugo, our best friend is the real person
Development and activity occurs, and is not 100% safe. In our home, it is permitted if demonstrated to be 100% safe, which it can not be, so it doesn't happen. We have 3 tiers of government, representative, even down to the roads and sewers (now of course let out to an 'enterprise agency' so they can steal a profit from us from the asset we built). The 5 tiered judicial system, and numerous tribunals to determine where your dog may, legally, shit, if at all, and the time limits for picking it up (and in some cases, re-delivery). Systems to arbitrate breach and compensate the soft shoe shuffler. The individal has so disentangled themselves from day to day action and decision making that he/she (or more correctly now, 'it') doesn't even realise when it is doing nothing in fact.
Congtatulations Richard Flanagan. The best Booker prize I achieved was to be let off a traffic offence by a kind copper. I quote (relevantly):
Dorrigo Evans had grown up in an age when a life could be conceived and lived in the image of poetry, or, as it was increasibgly with him, the shadow of a single poem. If the coming of television and with it the attendant idea of celebrity -- who were otherwise people, Dorrigo felt, you would not wish to know -- ended that age, it also occasionally fed on it, finding in the clarity of those who ordered their lives in accordance with the elegant mystery of poetry a suitable subject for imagery largely devoid of thought.
(The Narrow Road to the Deep North)
But, I digress... Not everything works in Cuba. Take the trains. Vermillio wished to avoid the main highways, in transition from La Habana to the scene of the massacre. Matanzas city is named after a massacre of the Spanish in 1642. "Many Deaths". And I thought "Launceston" had an evil ring about it!
The oft cited phrase "the trains are never on time to leave or arrive, if they run at all" had to be tested to establish the viability of the next important mission. So far Voremil has failed. The Hershey Electric Train leaves 4 times daily from Casablanca for Matanzas -so said the guide. You can only find out if it is to leave by taking the ferry to the station from the Old Town. Senorita Billetaria dusted the flies off the schedule, "the 1209hrs is now the 1600" - all this in Spanish. Returning after lunch, "the 1600 is now the 1900 and will take 5 hours not the usual 3 hours".
With the spectre of arrival at the Massacre at approx midnight, and no reliability as to that, the intrepid duo postponed the exercise until the forthcoming Friday. Mind you, one can't run a revolution on a timetable.
Instead, the 'normal' train was reviewed. It too was out of immediate service, the bus wasn't until later that night, but 'very reliable', so negotiation ensued for the 100km trip by 1957 Cheverolet, with a russian engine. $30 settled it, and the tour began. And what a fabulous drive! All along the Caribbean coast and Florida Strait to the east. Admittedly somewhat industrial, but fresh and lively. Miguel is proud of his car. And his stereo. All rust in the chassis is covered by carpet. Lime green is startling to the casual observer but from the inside is hardly noticeable.
Miguel, date scratching in his blue 1957 Chevy. Sorry, I'll type that again: "Miguel, searching for the day of the month in his calendar in his green 57 Chevrolet"
Matanzas is an interesting industrial town. Somewhat more honest than Havana, which is the 'dirty lady' of Cuba. There are few restaurants and bars. Most establishments are for the locals. Set on a large but shallow bay, it has a large refinery and then opens to the east for the tourism mecca - the massive hotels, all found, cervesa, lobster and music. Varadero. The spicks are kept out by local custom. They don't want to hurt the tourist trade. Matanzas: large open fronted hotel, rum cocktails. We turn into our lodgings 'Casa Rey' - home of the king. And so it goes....
Architecturally beautiful buildings, theatres, hotels, plaza...\
Part 2 coming up.
So said the Boatman across the river Styx in Baracoa, gliding his vessel through the narrows from the caves toward the baseball stadium. It was as much commentary on his immediate situation and Vermille's and Agent Tare's as it was on the whole of Cuba.
With the more hard line Fidel 'resting after a long hard squarwk' and brother number 2, Raul and the whole army keen to avoid civil disturbance (and to encourage hard currency from tourism) the blind eye of officialdom is the same embracing business opportunity. Whilst Australians at home accept the over regulation, permit prosecution, and have accounting, audit, probity, regulatory, prudential review, competitive equality, judicial, consititional, standards, prosecutorial, and probation overlays to which the impotent citizen acquiesces. Consequently genuine economic activity and free social activity is stultified into submission.
The Cuban 'but we do it anyway'... paradoxially represents, at grass roots, a much greater liberty of activity in a socialist/communist environment. Without that liberty, they would starve.
Our Best Friend. The photo is Hugo, our best friend is the real person
Development and activity occurs, and is not 100% safe. In our home, it is permitted if demonstrated to be 100% safe, which it can not be, so it doesn't happen. We have 3 tiers of government, representative, even down to the roads and sewers (now of course let out to an 'enterprise agency' so they can steal a profit from us from the asset we built). The 5 tiered judicial system, and numerous tribunals to determine where your dog may, legally, shit, if at all, and the time limits for picking it up (and in some cases, re-delivery). Systems to arbitrate breach and compensate the soft shoe shuffler. The individal has so disentangled themselves from day to day action and decision making that he/she (or more correctly now, 'it') doesn't even realise when it is doing nothing in fact.
Congtatulations Richard Flanagan. The best Booker prize I achieved was to be let off a traffic offence by a kind copper. I quote (relevantly):
Dorrigo Evans had grown up in an age when a life could be conceived and lived in the image of poetry, or, as it was increasibgly with him, the shadow of a single poem. If the coming of television and with it the attendant idea of celebrity -- who were otherwise people, Dorrigo felt, you would not wish to know -- ended that age, it also occasionally fed on it, finding in the clarity of those who ordered their lives in accordance with the elegant mystery of poetry a suitable subject for imagery largely devoid of thought.
(The Narrow Road to the Deep North)
But, I digress... Not everything works in Cuba. Take the trains. Vermillio wished to avoid the main highways, in transition from La Habana to the scene of the massacre. Matanzas city is named after a massacre of the Spanish in 1642. "Many Deaths". And I thought "Launceston" had an evil ring about it!
The oft cited phrase "the trains are never on time to leave or arrive, if they run at all" had to be tested to establish the viability of the next important mission. So far Voremil has failed. The Hershey Electric Train leaves 4 times daily from Casablanca for Matanzas -so said the guide. You can only find out if it is to leave by taking the ferry to the station from the Old Town. Senorita Billetaria dusted the flies off the schedule, "the 1209hrs is now the 1600" - all this in Spanish. Returning after lunch, "the 1600 is now the 1900 and will take 5 hours not the usual 3 hours".
With the spectre of arrival at the Massacre at approx midnight, and no reliability as to that, the intrepid duo postponed the exercise until the forthcoming Friday. Mind you, one can't run a revolution on a timetable.
Instead, the 'normal' train was reviewed. It too was out of immediate service, the bus wasn't until later that night, but 'very reliable', so negotiation ensued for the 100km trip by 1957 Cheverolet, with a russian engine. $30 settled it, and the tour began. And what a fabulous drive! All along the Caribbean coast and Florida Strait to the east. Admittedly somewhat industrial, but fresh and lively. Miguel is proud of his car. And his stereo. All rust in the chassis is covered by carpet. Lime green is startling to the casual observer but from the inside is hardly noticeable.
Matanzas is an interesting industrial town. Somewhat more honest than Havana, which is the 'dirty lady' of Cuba. There are few restaurants and bars. Most establishments are for the locals. Set on a large but shallow bay, it has a large refinery and then opens to the east for the tourism mecca - the massive hotels, all found, cervesa, lobster and music. Varadero. The spicks are kept out by local custom. They don't want to hurt the tourist trade. Matanzas: large open fronted hotel, rum cocktails. We turn into our lodgings 'Casa Rey' - home of the king. And so it goes....
Architecturally beautiful buildings, theatres, hotels, plaza...\
Part 2 coming up.
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