Warhol P.

Every Sunday, two Jehovah’s Witnesses come to my house. At first the visits weren’t welcomed because that’s the day I try to take care of a lot of my outstanding “stuff,” so I hardly have time to talk. But one of the young women is nice, and it’s a pleasure to listen to her.

I was cutting through the main square in the Havana suburb of Marianao, a place known because they sell food there, and I stopped at one of the state-run businesses. They were selling soda crackers in large plastic bags for 50 pesos (about $2 USD).

In July I underwent emergency appendicitis surgery at the military hospital located in the Marianao neighborhood, in western Havana. I got there in the middle of the night with severe pain and a doctor on duty immediately treated me.

We Cubans urgently need a vaccine against blindness, because many of us are either blind or going blind – which aren’t the same things. And take note: I’m including myself, because sometimes this kind of blindness can be picked up. That’s right; it’s contagious.

A few days ago I got the information* through my e-mail about a new tax being imposed on travelers who bring in food products into the country in their luggage. Such nourishment is NOT in commercial quantities, but is to help feed their families.

In recent times, it has been common to hear the same kinds of phrases at bus stops or while waiting in whatever type of line; people will say things like: “Hell, seems like I’m going to have to move to Venezuela.” Many people talk half-jokingly about the health care in our country.

This past Monday (April 23), Frank left Cuba and finally made it to Miami. He met his father there and will later go to New Jersey to spend some time with his mother, who’s anxiously waiting for him.