Normalization of Relations with Cuba

I'm very pleased that the US is finally going to normalize relations with Cuba. It's a generation overdue, in my opinion. We made peace, however uneasy, with China in the 1970s. And it seems like any worries one might have about opening trade with a country that doesn't allow democratic freedoms should be focused on the world's most populous country -- not a tiny Caribbean island.

I don't personally have any particular interest in Cuba. I was sad that, twice, the World Esperanto Congress came to the Western Hemisphere and I couldn't participate because my country wouldn't allow it. It might be one thing that some dictatorship wouldn't allow US citizens to attend but rather it was MY government that took MY freedom and wouldn't allow me to attend. Maybe the UK will happen in Cuba again, but probably not. Other things that Cuba produces, like rum and cigars, I don't have any use for.

Well, that's not quite true. I do have a use for rum, but I buy all my rum from St. Croix.

A friend gave me a Cuban cigar once. I quit smoking tobacco many years ago, but I held onto the cigar and took it with me when I went to visit my Uncle Keith. He loved cigars. It was the last time I saw him, I think. I handed him the cigar and he was transfixed. He opened the case and smelled it. He indicated several features that told him it was a genuine Cuban cigar. He carried it around with him all day in his pocket. He would get it out every so often to relish the thought that, after dinner, he would light it up and smoke it. And after dinner, he settled into his easy chair, lit the cigar and, over a 2 hour period, enjoyed it to its fullest, singing its praises to anyone who would listen.