Category: ThrowbackThursday

My mother Carmen was my mother, mentor, and best friend, but she was also distant. Much like Lara in The Family She Never Met, there were things my mother never shared with me about Cuba and her life there.

Carmen was always at the top of her class in school and was determined to become a lawyer. She was studying at the university in Havana when it was shut down because of the protests that were occurring because of the revolution.

It was my mother’s involvement in Cuban politics that resulted in my father and her having to flee Cuba. They had been advised by a friend with connections that Castro’s people were coming to jail them because they were trying to get Castro out of power.

Once they were in the U.S., it was my mother who was the force in making our American Dream come true. She worked long hours so that we would be able to purchase a home in Levittown and so that my sister and I would be able to go to college.

As I mentioned before, my mother rarely talked about Cuba. I found out a great deal about her life in Cuba after she had passed. The scenes in The Family She Never Met where Jessica sees her mother Lara watching TV and crying are my recollections of seeing my mother cry when she saw a television broadcast from Cuba. It was the first time in over a decade that she was seeing her beloved country.

The stories of how Carmen got together with fellow refugees to help others leave Cuba are also true. My mother and others from her old company in Cuba raised money to help other company employees escape and come to the U.S.

This is a picture of my grandfather, grandmother, and mother. In The Family She Never Met there is mention of how Lara’s grandparents were the ones who watched the children when Carmen and her husband had to flee Cuba. It was my maternal grandparents who took care of my sister and me when my parents had to leave Cuba. It took nearly a year for us to be able to escape, but we weren’t able to come directly to the United States because of the immigration policies at that time. Because of that, we bounced around from Mexico to Nicaragua, where we had very distant family.

Unfortunately, our Nicaraguan family wasn’t able to keep us for long and we made a trek back to Mexico to wait for an opportunity to legally enter the U.S. Once we were in the U.S., my grandparents continued to live with us and take care of us since both my parents were working.

They were an amazing influence in my life, and I loved hearing stories of their lives in both Cuba and Spain, where they were born. It’s thanks to them, especially my grandmother, that some of our family’s stories about leaving Cuba were saved since my mother rarely talked about our time in Cuba.

Hubby and I took some time off after Christmas and one of the places we visited was Charleston, South Carolina. A lovely city and I wanted to share some photos with you of the places we visited during a walking tour that we did. The waterfront was beautiful, but we also loved seeing the Dock Theater and the nearby churches and graveyards. Getting a sneak peek at the courtyards of some of the homes was also fun!

We also went out of town to go see the Magnolia Gardens and Plantation, but it was closed due to power outages after a storm the night before. Since Drayton Hall was right next door we went there to tour the grounds right next to the Ashley River. Beautiful countryside and I loved seeing the immense live oaks with their eerie Spanish moss.

In the spirit of discussing real or fake Christmas trees, what do you think about a cardboard Christmas Tree? This one in the Asbury Park Convention Center is drawing lots of comments from people. I was a little dubious at first, but I like it as a sculpture, not necessarily as a Christmas Tree. Even if they weren’t going to do the traditional pine tree, I thought some fake cardboard ornaments, lights, and garlands might have been fun in this re-imagining. What do you think?

P.S. – If you’re in the mood for a story with some Christmas elements, One Summer Night is specially priced at 99 cents. Yes, the title says summer, but a good portion of the story takes place at a NYC department store during the Christmas season.