My Dinners With Fidel
One of the things that amused me about Fidel was that he gauged his political strength not by the number of votes he won but by his opposition--the number of ballots destroyed, left blank, or marked with a "No." From the limited view I had as I strolled around Havana, I had little sense that Fidel's opposition has increased; if anything, Cuba's improved economy, thanks to its surge in tourism, has led to a relative degree of contentment in the country.
It has been my experience in all walks of life, and in all the activities I have been involved in, that you meet people in the most unusual of circumstances, and either you do or don't strike a bond with them. Fidel Castro was somebody with whom, despite our deep political differences, I was able to establish an extraordinary bond, with a remarkable ease of conversation. I look forward to talking with him again soon.
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