Saturday morning, April 2, 2011, 10:32am. I am sitting in my living room, cup of coffee in my hand, trying to sort out a million things in my head. I am feeling overwhelmed and weak. I close my eyes and I revert back to a scene in 1963.

It has been close to a year since our departure from Cuba. We still live in Hollywood, Florida in the apartment that Bill and Evelyn Stepp have so graciously let us have rent free, and I am standing behind the corridor, listening and observing my grandmother, my mother and father sitting in our small kitchen table. My Dad is crying--he never cried. I here him say " I can't go on,I have lost everything that I worked so hard to build. Cupboards are empty- I don't know how to work anymore." I had always seen my Dad as a very strong man, he never broke down, our departure from Cuba had almost destroyed him.---Strong men don't cry- I know better now, a strong man who can cry is a very strong man.

My grandmother Ines- one of the strongest, wisest and determined women I have ever met  took over, and I remember her saying something like this.

This is what I call a lesson in perseverance.

 Miguel Angel, she said escuchame ( listen to me)--and this story followed: Have you ever taken the time to observe the behavior of birds when they face adversity?

Ines Maria, my Dad said, this is not a bird situation, this is real life.

 Oh, but it is, she said, now listen to me.

Birds, build their nests for days and days. Sometimes gathering materials from far away. Sometimes when they have completed their nest, and are ready to lay their eggs, something goes wrong. it could be the weather, the work of humans, or just other animals that destroy what they worked so hard for. All that they did with so much effort now lies on the ground destroyed. Do they stop, leave their work? No, no, no. They start over. they rebuild the nest again, and again they lay their eggs. Sometimes--very
often, before the chicks have hatched, mother nature, or again the work of humans destroys it, but this time with valuable cargo.

It hurts to go back and rebuild again. Even so, they do just that. They don't stop. They continue to sing, rebuilding and continue doing this until the nest is rebuilt once again.

Miguel, she said, you say that your life, your work or lack of, and your family situation is not what you dreamed of, and inside you , you are saying enough. The effort is too much for me, I am tired of the daily struggle. Life, she said can and will strike you down many times. My advise, she said is to go on, say a prayer, put your faith in hope , not darkness. Do not worry if you are hurt in the battle, that is to be expected. Gather yourself together and rebuild your life so that it goes well again. No matter what happens, DO NOT shrink back, move forward with more determination.

Life is a constant challenge, but it is worthwhile-accept it! Never stop--I promise myself that I won't.

Daddy went on to get a job as a book keeper for Sears, or Singers Inc. I don't recall right now. This was his first job in America, and shortly after he was re hired by the Frederick Snare Company. He had worked for them in Cuba. Frederick Snare was a nickel mining company based in New York at that time.

He never fully rebuilt all that he had lost, but he never stopped trying. His life was cut short at age 56 in an accident- he was run over by a bus in Puerto Rico. My mother continued his legacy, she gathered herself-a woman that had never worked, found a job, put her three daughters through college, and now is my constant companion at my restaurant.

 In the face of the adversity that I face now, I will say a prayer, hold onto faith and know that this too shall pass.

DO NOT give up---there is a wonderful life out there.I wish you a beautiful one. Remember the birds~ Marta