Opinion

Car show and Cuba

Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Great car show and “Crusin’ on the Bricks” in McCook this weekend. No, my old Model T didn’t win a prize but the most ancient at 96 years young it sat proudly as people gazed in awe. There was a time when just about anybody could drive a Model T but now not so many. Three pedals on the floor and a hand throttle seem baffling to those who learned on an automatic. And yes mine is Henry Ford’s favorite color. Supposedly he stated, “You can have any color as long as it’s black”. Garrett Wagoner and his crew, plus sponsors, did a bang-up job of putting it on and I’m sure that the many many spectators would agree. See you next year!

The view from above showed that wheat harvest is about two-thirds complete--my guess. This weekend I had the pleasure of flying my grandson back to his home in Cheyenne, Wyo.

Actually, it was a training ride for an aspiring young pilot and the old guy rode along to teach the techniques of map reading and how to navigate cross country.

Coming and going, he flew, and I simply enjoyed the tapestry of the land unrolling beneath us. Golden wheat harvested and unharvested and some in the process. The contrasting green of growing corn, milo and soybeans. The pastures are yet green in color with herds of cattle mostly standing in bunches with lucky ones belly deep in pasture ponds. Westbound some of the land tends to be dry with sparse grass covering and in many areas not a tree in sight. The smaller towns slide by and most farmsteads are kept with pride although a few tend to accumulate treasures (junk) left from worn-out farm machinery and automotive enterprises. The few larger lakes along the way, Trenton, Enders, and Sterling all showed quite a few boats with people just enjoying the day.

The winds were light though quite turbulent and bumpy at our altitude beneath the puffy clouds. Great for boating but not so much for those with sensitive stomachs riding in a light airplane. It didn’t bother our passenger though as he slept most of the way.

The unwelcome news of the day seems to be the riots in Cuba. Speculation is that the people there are tired of being treated poorly by their Communist Government and an overthrow may be coming. The ex-patriots that escaped to the U.S. are cheering the uprising on but our more progressive Democrats, in Congress, seem not so much in favor. For this old former military man, I remember it didn’t have to be this way. I lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis by pulling Tanker duty in Greenland in support of our SAC nuclear forces that were on high alert.

It all goes back to when Fidel Castro and his ragtag army overthrew the probably corrupt regime that was running the island in the late fifties and early 1960’s. Cuba was a party destination for many in the U.S. who traveled the ninety miles, in their speed boats and by airliner, to enjoy the gambling casinos and nightclubs. I’m sure that there were other pleasures to be had as well.

Our CIA was keeping a close watch and recruited and trained a small army in Florida. They also formed a small Air Force as well mostly flying B-26 light bombers and other WWII and Korean War veteran airframes. I later had an Air Force friend that had volunteered for that duty. Jake was sitting in his airplane during the DIA’s Bay of Pigs invasion but ordered to stand down by the newly elected President John F. Kennedy. The Bay of Pigs failed miserably and Castro roamed the island unfettered. He then admitted that his intent was a Communistic Government and thousands suffered from its implementation.

Some later, Kennedy attempted to blame the loss on former President Eisenhower who would have none of it. “The record shows that I never planned an invasion without overpowering airpower.” President Eisenhower of course knew of and quietly authorized the CIA’s preparations but Kennedy came into office before the invasion could take place.

Evidently, Castro was not happy with the attempt of the U.S. to stymie his takeover of Cuba so he invited the USSR to help him keep the U.S. at bay. The Soviets saw an opportunity to work against our nuclear forces by building a network of nuclear missiles on the Island. Finally, President Kennedy grew a spine and the Cuban Missile Crisis was the result. Negotiating with Nikita Khrushchev Chairman of the Soviet Council of Ministries in exchange for the USSR withdrawing their missiles from Cuba President Kennedy disbanded our own short-range nuclear missiles being established in Turkey and targeted in the USSR. Kennedy also agreed that the United States would then keep its hands off and let Castro rule as he desired in Cuba. That agreement to keep hands off has been a disaster for the common people of Cuba and caused thousands to risk everything to escape that cruel regime even unto today. The whole place is a typical Communistic Governmental disaster that spreads it poison to neighboring Venezuela, Guatemala, and other countries nearby.

Now the question remains. Will the U.S. help in the overthrow of that evil Communist Cuban Regime that so cruelly rules yet today protected by Kennedy’s wrong guided promise of nonintervention or will we stand by and let the Communists only 90 miles away continue to hold power?

That is the way I saw it.

Dick Trail

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    Triggered by a car show, Dittle Lick sums up his paranoid propaganda with this telltale "sentence":

    "Will the U.S. help in the overthrow of that evil Communist Cuban Regime that so cruelly rules yet today protected by Kennedy’s wrong guided promise of nonintervention or will we stand by and let the Communists only 90 miles away continue to hold power?"

    Wow. Where to begin?

    -- Posted by BlueWillow on Tue, Jul 13, 2021, at 1:24 PM
  • Blue Willow,

    To start with I find your use of names such as Dittle Lick in addressing a retired Air Force LtCol extremely insulting and disrespectful. Why don't you put your true identity behind your comments.

    As far as Cuba is concerned I thing the lack of "support" of the Hong Kong demonstrators over the past 18 months by the USA should imply the Cuban demonstrators are on their own,

    -- Posted by dameister on Tue, Jul 13, 2021, at 6:49 PM
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    dameister,

    To start with, Dittle Lick's military service is no excuse for his propaganda.

    I don't need to put my true identity to my comments. Clearly you too are triggered. The problem is you and Dittle Lick, but you are advised to turn the channel if you don't like my comments, or better yet, don't defend the indefensible.

    XO, snowflake,

    BW

    -- Posted by BlueWillow on Tue, Jul 13, 2021, at 10:37 PM
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