Hemingway’s House

I have a confession to make…I have never successfully read a Hemingway piece in my life. It is so mechanically perfect that all the punctuation gives me a headache within three pages, and I quit. A friend who was an English major gave me her Hemingway papers to rewrite, and in exchange I drug her kicking and screaming through her required math and science courses. She got really steamed when a paper she got a “B” on was worth an “A” in my words. (So pissed she almost ruined our little scheme.)

But whether I have read his work or not, I am interested in the two decades he spent in Cuba; and in preserving Finca Vigia, or "Lookout Farm."

Hemingway’s house has somehow become a political football right now. America can contribute “technical support” to the restoration effort, but we are not allowed to support the effort with material or with money.

Apparently, if we send buckets of spackling and paint from Home Depot to Havana, we are supporting the Cuban government; and the United States is adamant that we not support Fidel.

Fidel is dying, America, and Fidel is the revolution.

Cuba is about to change dramatically. It has been one way my entire life, and within five years it will be unrecognizable from the way it looks today - politically and physically.

I can not, for the life of me, understand why the United States is not all over this opportunity to build a bridge across the Straights of Florida. We should be taking the Arts out of the embargo (that has never worked anyway) and sewing that goodwill with materials and financial assistance. Hemingway is a common thread between the two cultures.

How could Americans possibly be hurt by preserving a piece of our heritage that happens to be in Cuba? How can helping with the restoration of Finca Vigia be assistance to the Cuban government? I can’t make the connections, myself, and I’m not a stupid little girl.

How do we want to be seen by the next Cuban leader? I am not talking about Raoul here, either. Raoul will be interim at best - he won’t lead long - besides not having his brother’s charisma, he is nearly as old.

I want the next Cuban leader to view the U.S. in a kinder light than we currently enjoy. I also think the harmless gesture of allowing United States support of the restoration of Finca Vigia would be an excellent cornerstone to lay for a future foundation of friendship and neighborliness.