2 years ago, in 1983 Henry and Lucia met in Havana, where he was publishing an expat rag, The Gringo Times, and she was working as a high-class hooker. In no time the couple fell in love and with the help of some Cuban friends they fled the island on a sailboat via Mexico, crossing the US Border at Arizona.
Henry tells the story in his book, The Gringo Times, available on Amazon for only a dollar.
In the 1980s Cuba became the favorite stomping-ground of the godfather of magic realism, Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Gaby was a big-time pal of Fidel’s and both men loved Latin American literature.
The 80s were good times on the island, food-wise at least, until the Soviets left some years later, ending the weekly shipments of rations.
During the same period, Cuba became an island of ambiguities— Fidel filled the country with hospitals, schools, and markets, but the hospitals had no medicine, the schools hand no books and the selves in the markets were bare.
Cuba is poor, but you can’t lay all the blame on Fidel because 30 years of US Embargoes play an unblushing role in the countries stifled economic growth, nickel and diming the Cuban people while Fidel continues to make millions of dollars.
Most dictators, socialist or fascist are flush because money and power go together like Tarzan and Jane.
Henry and Lucia are sitting on the front porch of the tribe's bungalow, drinking mojitos and laughing at the Chihuahuas and Pedro the woodpecker, who are jumping in and out the water spritzed from the sprinkler on the front lawn, trying to dodge the water. Regardless, the sprinkler is winning the game of tag because the 3 of them are dripping wet.
Summer Wynd is away till evening, teaching ballet at the Martha Graham Dance Academy in Key West.
Henry was up most the night working on a story on modern-day Cuba. Lucia brings a fresh pitcher of mojitos to the front porch and he asks her,
darling, you partied with Fidel during your time in Havana, do you think he is motivated by money? She answers,
no, la revolución and Cuba are foremost in his mind. His padre was a wealthy plantación owner and some years after the politica revolución in the 60s Fidel became filthy rich. He collected millions and used most of the money to build fortresses near Havana to hunker down in because the CIA had tried to kill him 400 times over the years.
The phone rings, Henry walks through the front porch door to his office in the house, it’s Dave Spleen, editor of HEADBANGER Magazine who says,
Henry baby, I’ve missed you, last week's story, Mother Nature’s Spa was a big, big hit, New Yorkers loved it. Keep em coming dog, what ya got cookin? He replies,
Dave, I’m working on a story about Castro and the usual, the day to day stuff of the tribe, Lucia, Summer Wynd, the Chis, Che and Mia, and Pedro the woodpecker. You just don't know what’s going to come out until you see it on paper. Then Dave who’s hyped on speed says,
gotta go, gotta deadline to meet!
Henry didn’t make enough money writing for HEADBANGER Magazine to support the tribe, luckily his Uncle Seymour Lucowski, who had owned a coat hanger factory in Pennsylvania, left him in his will. Being free to write all the time was a windfall.
By evening Summer Wynd has returned from her first day of teaching at the Martha Graham Dance Academy in Key West. Henry and Lucia are sitting at the kitchen table enjoying coffee with Anisette and biscottis. Lucia asks Summer Wynd as she sits down,
how’d it go today lover? She frowns saying,
Unfortunately, I’m gonna have to rewrite the playbook at the dance academy, the ballet moves, and positions. What my associate, Gay Johnson, has been teaching isn’t up to contemporary standards. This means starting at ground zero with classes at all levels.
Summer Wynd had danced for 10 yrs with the New York City Ballet, Gay Johnson was a dancer with The Tampa Ballet, a 2nd rate outfit. Henry commenting,
their lucky to have you, anyway, whaha-ya say we bring some sandwiches and plenty of booze and go to the drive-in theater on Stock Island tonight? We can bring the Chis and Pedro the woodpecker.
They make hero sandwiches in the kitchen, cutting baguettes in half and filling the sliced bread with roast beef, ham, pastrami, cheese, lettuce, tomato, mustard, and mayonnaise. Then, icing down their Coleman cooler and filling it with Miller beer, a quart of Jack Daniels, cans of coke, and soda.
Before leaving they clean up, grooming one another, Summer Wynd layers coconut oil in and braids Henry’s long black and white hair Native Indian style, then she primps Lucia’s waist-length curly hair with jell. The girls wear straw cowboy hats, short shorts, and knitted bikini tops. Henry wears a white t-shirt and khaki shorts.
They leave the bungalow, Henry and Lucia carry the cooler in tandem, and the Chis, Summer Wynd, and Pedro the woodpecker follow. They place the cooler in the boot of Henry’s 1972 Malibu Station Wagon Deluxe where the pets will sit. Summer Wynd sits between Henry and Lucia in the front seat.
The Islander Drive-In is the only drive-in in the Keys, it’s on Stock Island which is north of Key West. When the Islander opened in 1953 it had the largest screen in the state of Florida and parking for 600 cars. The opening film was a western called the Cimarron Kid starring Audie Murphy and Yvette Dugay.
Stock Island is unincorporated and is known as a no-man’s land. During prohibition locals would rent out houses to mafioso from the north who needed to lay low, characters with names like—Joe Bananas, Jackie Nose, Louis Ha Ha and Junior Lollipops.
On Stock Island Henry wheels the station wagon off Highway 1 onto College Road and drives until he reaches The Islander Drive-In which is on a level sand plateau facing the Gulf of Mexico.
At the ticket booth, he buys tickets from a hefty older woman with a cigarette in her mouth who says in a high-pitched whining voice,
enjoy the film, no refunds!
Inside the drive-in Henry wheels the station wagon about following the lead of a couple of greasers wearing grey denim jumpsuits waving flashlights, finally making a steep turn into a parking spot.
The station wagon is facing a large cement screen that is on the back edge of the drive-in with the ocean behind it, Henry tells Summer Wynd,
open all the windows in the wagon so we can enjoy the fresh sea air!
Which she does, crawling around the inside of the wagon and rolling the windows down as Henry places a cheap mono drive-in speaker on the half-open driver side window. Then, Lucia pulls hero sandwiches out of the Coleman cooler and passes them around, giving the Chis and Pedro the woodpecker one to share.
Then a cartoon of a dancing cup of cola and a box of popcorn with insect-like arms comes on the screen, they’re singing,
popcorn, hot dogs, ice cream, soda, get your delicious treats and much more at the snake bar!
Henry curious what much more is?
After the ads for coming attractions the feature film comes on, it’s The Brother from Another Planet, a story about a black brother who is a runaway slave from another planet, but it isn’t clear which planet.
The Chis Che and Mia, and Pedro the woodpecker are working on their hero sandwich as Summer Wynd passes cans of cold Miller beer to Henry and Lucia, then lights a joint.
The opening scene of The Brother from Another Planet comes on the screen, a rickety red rocket ship that looks like it is made out of cardboard is falling to earth, then Lucia screams as she's looking up at the sky saying,
Jesucristo look, there's a falling star coming our way!
On-screen the red rocket ship crashes into Ellis Island and off-screen a flaming asteroid the size of a basketball plows into the large white cement movie screen. The velocity of the asteroid causes the cement to crumble and collapse in place.
Henry gets out of the station wagon, surveying the scene, thinking the moviegoers might be panicking and driving erratically to escape the inexplicable happening.
Surprisingly, there is a dreamy stillness in the air, people are sitting on their cars looking fixedly at the assemblage of the steaming cement resembling Stone Henge with churchgoing reference.
Lucia gets out the station wagon and tugs on Henry’s arm saying,
darling, there’s a queer vibe here, let’s go before the Martians land!