Tarmac

This is one of a thousand stories dealing with the transition from innocence to

a maturity stage where unforeseen events forced this change to occur sooner and

faster than expected. The death of a father forcing an older brother to become

the strong figure in a family, the absence of both parents often causes the same

circumstances. In my case it was a sudden change in government brought by a

revolution and followed by family separation in exile at an early age. I have often

heard so many similar stories from older Jewish friends about the fragmentation

of families during the Nazi era. The name changes to save a life, the denials

of ethnicity and religion in order to survive. The quest for Gods given freedom

does not know ethnic background or frontiers. My story is no different from

those who have risked everything to live in a free society. We often associate

these stories with Nazi Germany, Communist China or the old Soviet Union.

Its hard to conceive, yet a reality that the same circumstances could happen just

ninety miles from our shores in a country that was always ( and I believe still

is) traditionally and culturally strongly linked to the United States. I write this

book with dual purpose. One is to pour my heart out and leave a written legacy

on my experience to my children. As much as a father tries to explain verbally,

time tends to erase the memories. The second purpose is to serve as an inspiration

to all those who today seek freedom. Every human being should have freedom

to worship, freedom to speak their minds and express their opinions, freedom

to travel, freedom to prosper in abundance and decide who their elected leaders

will be through free elections. These freedoms still do no exist in Cuba today. In

spite of some recent cosmetic changes and Castros mummified state, his younger

brother is still preaching the same lies designed to create an illusion of change.

After more than fifty years of totalitarian government, the Castro brothers along

with their puppets in Venezuela and Panama still rule like old dinosaurs from

a bygone era.