Cuba Dolls Up for Pope’s Visit
![Obreros trabajan en la construcción del Estrado Papal, donde oficiará misa el Papa Francisco, en la Plaza de la Revolución, en La Habana, Cuba, el 24 de agosto de 2015. Foto: Roberto Morejón/AIN](https://havanatimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/preparativos-visita-papa-ain-roberto-morejon-7-755x490.jpg)
By Nwito (OnCuba)
HAVANA TIMES — The increase in asphalt production for the repair of Havana’s city streets appears to be directly related to the Pope’s visit to the country from September 19-22. We’ll never find out whether the Pope Mobile is capable to withstanding one of Cuba’s notorious pot-holes, because it won’t be finding any on its path.
What some atheists are now praying for is that his Holiness will design visit their neighborhoods, so that, at least for a few months, their cars will be able to travel down the roads without meeting any sudden bumps or splashing dirty, stagnant water around. Then, it’s a question of praying for the Pope to come visit again.
This is entirely normal. When a “higher-up” visits a company, some managers get frightened, start to worry and begin losing sleep. The workers, however, are generally happy. That day, they will have chicken for lunch. If it’s a top higher-up, they may even get roast pork, beer and even something better. The workplace gets painted and bosses talk to them and even show concern over their problems.
Some families keep a nice tablecloth or new bedspreads or towels for their home guests. The rest of the time, they use a dirty tablecloth or none at all, and their regular towels and bedspreads show the clear signs of wear and tear.
If they have to go to the doctor, many pull their best underwear from the drawer where they’ve hibernated for months. There are gynecologists and urologists who have never seen a hole in an undergarment, or have only seen them during an ER shift, where patients didn’t plan on their visit, or while walking past a clothesline on a Saturday, when people usually wash their clothes.
Dentists see cavity-ridden teeth that have not been looked after the entire year, save that day, when people brush profusely, sometimes with foreign toothpaste kept for such occasions (or lent to them by a neighbor).
It seems that having guests over makes us cleaner and more elegant, and that this happens at all levels: with individuals, families, companies and countries. And it seems to happen even when those who receive conjugal visits in prison ultimately don’t care if the undergarments of their visitors are in good shape.
One can imagine folks lining up to request that the route for the Pope mobile should pass along their street – to ensure that the pot holes get filled up and the road re-surfaced and that their is free paint to restore the appearance of their homes.
I pray for a safe trip for this wonderful Pope Francis and wish for the best security detail as well since that would be in order and prudent not to test God but work with God to that end. Do everything you can and let God do what we can not.In that note I think an effort to remove the mess at Fukashima would be prudent and perhaps Pope Francis could help mankind to make that most important
result by whatever means possible to stop the nuclear waste dumping into the oceans of the world.
I myself weap at the poor desperate living things effected by that ongoing disaster.Suicide is not
acceptable and niether is the denial of nuclear waste dumping into any sea as God will show through mysterious ways what his wrath will bring to those fools.
Thank You
Will Raul Castro Ruz rejoin the Catholic Church in some form of public ceremony?
Will Raul’s Jesuit Big Brother join in a public ceremony with a Jesuit Pope?
The writer is correct about the universality of pre-visit makeovers. What Nwito failed to mention is the uniquely Castro behaviors which will precede the Pope’s visit. Dissidents are preparing for the arrests and detentions that will take place a day or two before the Pope’s arrival. Castro’s internal security goons will turn off cell phone service and knock on certain doors to ensure there are no organized protests. The more internationally well known dissidents will be put on house arrests enforced by Castro thugs posted outside their homes. But other than these overbearing repressive government acts, everything else is just like anywhere else.
Let us hope that the pope will come more often to visit Cuba, so that the many work projects that need tending will be done more rapidly. I liken the work being done to a smoldering cigar butt on top of a doily. How inept! How real! How sad!