Cuba "See"

Caravanistas Journey - 2006 Pastors for Peace

2007-01-19T22:45:00.000-08:00

An introduction to the caravanistas who brought humanitarian aid to Cuba with the Pastors for Peace 2006 Caravan. With a brief word from a few of the people and why they went.

KFAI radio interview

2006-07-05T10:11:00.000-07:00

A live interview from McAllen Texas on KFAI's (Minneapolis) "Conversations with Al McFarlane": http://helix.kfai.org/ramgen/replay/converse-1.rm

McAllen, Texas – The invitation to march in the local parade.

2006-07-05T05:43:00.000-07:00

Pastors for Peace was invited this year to march in the local July 4th parade. We decided to bring two of our brightly painted buses and one ambulance. The youth and Reverends were a major part of our contingent along with a good sampling of our country-wide Caravanistas (see photo journal below).

When we arrived we were directed to the staging area where we lined up according to our designated position in the parade. Like most small town parades, many local youth organizations, churches, businesses and a smattering of antique and low-rider cars were representing their organizations with festooned decorations on the floats and autos.

While waiting for the parade to start we walked around talking to the locals and learning about their organizations while explaining the mission of Pastors for Peace.

In most cases we were greeted warmly. I don’t think McAllen ever had a group like ours participate in their parade. We weren’t what you would call “the typical McAllen” organization.

As the parade started out our marching crew position themselves between our lead ambulance and the first bus. At first we just marched and waved. We were getting a luke warm response. The crowd didn’t know what to make of us. We starting chanting some chants and began getting the attention of the crowd and much more applause.

Sandino, our Brown Beret representative from Santa Cruz California, began going to the side of the parade and addressing the crowds lining the streets. In Spanish he explained our mission of bringing aid to the Cuban people. The crowds broke out in thunderous applause showing their support for our work. Sandino stopped every 50 feet or so to repeat his message. He could barely talk by the end.

As we passed the Grandstand we heard our name being broadcast and a brief description of what we do, and we could also see ourselves on their local TV.

The parade was a great local success for Pastors for Peace. Next, the border crossing.

McAllen 4th of July - Photo Journal

2006-07-04T11:04:00.000-07:00

Caravanista Faces - July 3rd - San Juan

2006-07-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

2006-07-03T19:47:00.000-07:00

July 3, 2006
San Juan, Texas

Each year as the brightly painted Cuba Caravan buses and trucks arrive in San Juan the initial jubilation of meeting old friends and past Caravanistas is like an old home coming party or college reunion. Hugs and back slapping with some we’ll intentioned jokes aimed at the crustier old hacks like Bill H. rule the day when Caravanistas arrive throughout the day.

The jubilation quickly turn into days of hard and serious work. The more experienced Caravanistas know that the days ahead will be long and at times testing. All the buses and trucks bearing aid need to be unloaded, and all the donated items need to be manifested and recorded for the border crossing.

As Bush steps up pressure to "democratize" Cuba (some would say - "install their people"), the Caravans face more intimidation at the border on the way to Cuba and the possibilities of harassment, stiff fines and possible jail time on returning home.

Approching El Paso - spotting a roadrunner

2006-07-03T17:42:00.001-07:00

The ride from El Paso to San Antonio was the longest leg of the trip so far, but for the second day in a row we were lucky to have good cloud cover with occasional rain. Instead of hitting tempetures in the 100s we were hovering in the high 80s and low 90s. We left El Paso at 6 a.m. in the morning and arrived in San Antonio at 9:00 p.m. We made ample stops along the way and even stop for a real sit-down meal, which is a rare occurrence as we scramble from stop to stop in a un-air-conditioned 1977 Crown school bus.

El Paso, a border town, was spectacular to see from the “scenic” route we took to transition from Rte 10 to the Unitarian Church on the other side of the hill. The line blurred between the US side of the border and Mexican side as the lights flickered in homes and businesses. It seemed funny that an imaginary line in the sands or along the Rio Grande in this case would separate people and cultures, Our world is still a nationalistic “our’s and their’s” kind of place. The Cuba Caravan hopes to change that.

Our hosts in El Paso were delights. The young couple, John and Rachel, and their 2 year old son welcomed our rag tag group into their lives for a night, and would have been content to stay up all night and chat about politics and issues of the world. Their three dogs also greeted us warmly and made their rounds often for some good old fashion petting from the new strangers in their home.

Get up time was set for 5:00 a.m. The coffee maker was programmed so the fresh brew would greet us upon waking, but like most VCR’s and fancy fangled programmable appliances you needed a doctorate from MIT to program the coffee maker to do what you wanted it to do. We needed to manually start the coffee maker, and the coffee was ready by the time we were about to roll, and that was just fine.

Our hosts woke up to see us off.

My niece hits two Pastor for Peace events in one weekend

2006-07-03T16:37:00.000-07:00

My niece, Shannon, and I had been emailing back and forth for about two weeks with intentions to meet in San Antonio, just a short jaunt down the road from her hometown, Austin. I had originally told her that we would be meeting at the Peace House in San Antonio not knowing that the Peace House was in Crawford and there was another Pastors for Peace route stopping there as well.

Shannon headed up to Crawford on the Saturday before we arrived in San Antonio. When she didn’t find me there she wound up staying and chatting with that Pastors for Peace group and also confused another Jim on an entirely different route with me. The trip to Crawford wasn’t wasted though.

Shannon had an added bonus in Crawford, Cindy Sheehan was there and she got to meet her and chat with her. That might have been even better than meeting with me the next day.

On Sunday at the UU compound I was keeping my eye out for Shannon as the congregation began arriving. It was almost like pickling up someone at the airport. I was scanning faces as they walked in the courtyard expecting the next one to be hers. Finally ours eyes met and we gave a big smile and wave as we began to walk towards each other. After a big hug and grand hello we slowly walked over to my fellow Caravanistas and made introductions.

Two Blowouts in 106 degree heat

2006-06-30T23:59:00.000-07:00

Shannon puts a little muscle on the "cheater bar" as Woody guides the business end of the lug nut wrench onto the lugs. One blowout wasn't bad enough. We must have had the Phoenix Desert Gods mad at us. We were lucky enough to have two blowouts within three hours. The hot sun made it difficult to hold the tools and had all of us moving in slow motion.
Both Shannon and Woody were the heroes of this escapade.

El Paso - Our 17 Year Old -

2006-06-30T23:37:00.000-07:00

Our expectation and discussion of another passenger boarding in El Paso centered on a 17 year old. We all wondered what type of teenager we would be meeting and how she would fit in with our rag-tag group of Caravanistas on route B.

I think we were all surprised to find out that our 17 year old was actually a 71 year old and that someone had transcribed her age incorrectly. As it turns out, Anne is a well traveled veteran in the struggle for justice with experience in Central America, Iraq and other hot-spots around the globe. We welcome her experience, and hope she was a truck mechanic in another life. The bus is acting up a bit.

More on El Paso Anne to come…

William's teepee - Silver City

2006-06-30T22:58:00.000-07:00

A view from out back of William's house in Silver City shows the teepee as well as the rough high desert landscape. The building to the right of the teepee is his new community greenhouse that was converted from a large work shed. William is off the "grid" and he banks his excess electricity from his solar panels for cold winter nights. His goal is to live a full sustainable lifestyle. He was a wonderful host.

Silver City - Send Off

2006-06-30T22:12:00.000-07:00

Silver City is a beautiful little city in the hills of New Mexico. The event, hosted by the local Peace and Justice Coalition, was well attended and the pot-luck was great. No chance of losing weight on this trip.

Shannon gave the talk about the Caravanista's mission while Sandino, from Santa Cruz, filled in with his experience as a representative of the Brown Berets from Watsonville, Ca. After the talked we watched the movie, The Cuban Five.

We stayed at William's home that is situated on a half acre of land. Some Caravanistas slept in his tepee, others in his house and some in his out buildings. I slept outside with a great view of the stars.

The sky seemed exceptionally big and the shooting stars were plentiful between the flashes of heat lightning. William's cats paid a few visits during the night, and a fox went trotting down the street around three a.m. The morning doves created an areobatics show at sunrise, pearching on the tips of the teepee poles.

The morning after the event we were greeting with with plates full of fruit, bread and hard boiled eggs. The Caravanistas scrambled for their showers and Shannon and Woody planned for an early morning oil change for the bus.

Once the oil was changed we picked up an unused incubator from the local hospital and a few more computers. Once loaded we were on the road to El Paso.

To be continued...the journey to El Paso and crossing the continental divide, dust storms and other fun adventures…

Trinity Church, Santa Barbara - Los Sol y Mar - June 26

2006-06-27T06:46:00.000-07:00

The group Los Sol y Mar played at the Pastors for Peace send off in Santa Barbara on June 26. More on this send off in another entry.

Day Two - Grace Baptist Church, San Jose - June 25

2006-06-25T23:37:00.000-07:00

coming in the morn

Day Two - Quaker Friends Meeting in Palo Alto - June 25

2006-06-25T16:26:00.000-07:00

The day started out with a breakfast feast at Carol Cross's home in Redwood City, just south of San Francisco and a tad north of San Jose. Coffee always tastes better on the road, and today was no exception. The spread included breads and jams, fruits, juices, eggs and a platter of bacon.

I thought I'd have a good chance of losing a few pounds on this trip but apparently that is not the case. Perhaps the desert crossing will be the days to fast and maybe just maybe drop a few pounds.

As we moseyed through the morning, I checked emails and discovered I left one of my cameras home. Just as well, the video camera I did remember to bring does stills at a higher quality and I just got a one gig flash drive to store them on. You can see them, I already posted some on the blog and I’ll be creating a “flickr” account for the trip tomorrow so you'll be able to see all of them as I post more.

Our first engagement today was at the Palo Alto Quakers Friends Meeting. We arrived for their 10:30 gathering and participated in the service. Their sharing was elightning and eye opening.

After their service we broke bread with them at their Fourth Sunday Lunch. Again another feast of diverse and delectable tastes, and again I ate to much.

After lunch our caravanista team delivered our message about the Pastors for Peace Friendshipment Caravan and the USA's negative impact on the small struggling island.

The solidarity grows...

Day One - The Send Off, June 24

2006-06-25T06:22:00.000-07:00

Carol Costa picked me up in the Canal at 4:30 sharp and we headed off for the Berkeley send off at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall on Cedar and Bonita. Going across the Richmond Bridge is where it really sunk in that I was on a journey of a lifetime, a trip into history.

The typical bay fog had swept in through the Golden Gate and lapped up to the East Bay Hills and the wind whipped the Bay into a canvas of whitecaps producing a steady pattern. If it wasn't for the wind, the day would have been blistering hot.

We entered the usual traffic jam on 80 heading south, so just past Bay Meadows we exited onto Gillman St. and forged our way west. After a number of miss turns and a little backtracking we stumbled to our destination. The brightly painted caravan bus told us we arrived.

Carol spotted a ten minute parking spot right next the the Hall and Bus, so we pulled in and unloaded my three bags of gear. Carol headed in to see who was there and I headed over to the bus to greet my fellow caravanistas and load my gear.

Approaching the bus, I meet Woody first, a young shaggy haired recent Humbolt State grad from Arcata. He quickly told me " I parallel parked 3 times today." I thought to myself 'how quaint a country boy learning to parallel park in the urban jungle.' My smart ass internal sarcasim quikly turned humble when I found out he was our bus driver and that he had parallel parked our caravanista 40 foot school bus three times on the skinny East Bay side streets. Much repect for this young bus drivin' lad.

After I meet the other three caravanistas and inspected the vehicle that would carry us thousands of miles I headed into the Hall. While setting up the room and putting out the food I met many of the other core members of the Cuban solidarity network.

To pass time until the event stated, I strolled outside. I was startled to see Wendy T with a grin from ear to ear flying by the Hall on a Dahon folding bike, the bike Bill H had just purchased from Trips for Kids to send with me to Cuba.

I jokingly shouted out for the police to arrest this woman who was stealing my Cuban get-around wheels. Turning around I quickly caught a glance of Bill H and Louise Y coming down the street behind Wendy. We greeted with hugs and Bill complained about spraining his back when he lifted the bike onto the roof rack. What a memory of my Cuba trip to have.

Wendy demanded I ride the bike, so after a quick seat post adjustment I headed down the street with everyones approval. Moments later John R arrived with his ever present camera and proceeded to take some shots of me posing with "'Bill's" bike next to the brightly painted caravanista bus. Of course I obliged him. A chance at stardom I never pass up...