Dear Friends of Peace Rider,
I didn't have time to finish a post from Cuba as it happened. This was a different trip, more directly personal following up on friendships from my earlier February and March ride in eastern Cuba. I didn't take a bicycle this time.Highlights
Flying with Molly N. on the same flight from Fairbanks to Portland. She said she'd seen me earlier then caught me by total surprise in a long security line. We had a lot to catch up on. I hadn't seen her for over a year after moving to Portland with her two boys following a divorce. It was a joyful beginning to a new adventure and opportunity. I couldn't have asked for better.
Long hair, dressed in white Jimmy be Free playing music for peace and peddling his CD's in the Portland airport. He was good, playing a modified seven string acoustic viola. It was a soothing as well as a welcome ambiance to what one normally gets. He said he had to try out for the airport gig and share the slot with others.
Meeting Amy a young lady waiting to board the same flight to Los Angeles from Portland. I noticed the words "recognize you inner light" tattooed on her left arm as I recall. That resonated with me and started a conversation about spiritual journeys. She wasn't finding acceptance of her path among her peers. Quite remarkable who comes into your life when you open yourself and just let life flow.
Meeting an older Mexican gentleman (I didn't get his name) in the bowels of the Mexico City airport. He asked if I needed help. I did. After two all nighters on airplanes I arrived in a state of near total befuddlement. He noticed. Thank You and you. We walked in the same direction for awhile. He told me he was a translator working with indigenous people in Chiapas. I said I'd also been there. He then told me he had been robbed. A cab he got into (not sure where) stopped after a few blocks and picked up another man, a setup. They stole his computer and ID he said. They would have killed him if he'd resisted showing by gesture being knifed. He was looking for a friend who worked at the airport who could help him.
Acceptance as part of my new Cuban family. The singing and dance antics along with the "issues" of being five and eight years old for the children. The singing and dancing seem to be in the blood of Cubans. New experiences for all of us. Living the reality of being among the poor in Havana and being hungry. As Kikito the older son of Maribel said wages are low while costs in Havana are high. This is true throughout the country but more so here. The joy simple conveniences we take for granted can bring for those who can't afford them.
It wasn't the trip I had envisioned but it turned out to be rich in new experiences and understandings. I'll have more to say about that in a future posting.
P' lante, onward,
Peace Rider
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