Thank you Terry for that. I posted without realizing that you had responded. Terry once assisted my wife and I after we'd written a Harriet Tubman biopic script that we were hoping to sell to Hollywood.

Bizarre stories? Let's see...here's one from '76 that may not be too strange but it remains forever etched in my mind. Back in '76 our senior high-school group of zany 19 year old Canucks went on an 'educational' March break trip to Cuba. Much of what we learned there was not in the curriculum--you have no idea.
Once while we were with other school groups poolside at a remote hotel @Lk. Hanabanilla, I went downstairs to the cavernous underground room beneath the pool. And what did I find there amidst the awesome echoes?

A drum set!

Understand, our own fledgling band (first anywhere to include Rush covers as part of their setlist) was a mere seven weeks away from graduation from that same um, 'high' school. Our first tour would be in Quebec 4 days after the prom. So I was one well-rehearsed drummer. I immediately pounded Led Zep's 'When the Levee Breaks' on that kit. Oh those acoustics...

What made the moment all the more precious was that the beat (supplemented by The Immigrant Song) attracted one of the cutest girls from another school to come down with her girlfriends to watch me play. The pinch marks are still there.

I am done. the drummist

No hay problema, zebec. What you mentioned about Terry is just another example of him being of real help to those in need whenever possible.Great guy!

I wanted to add that Terry also invited me to join him and his posse on that ill fated trip to Medellin, Colombia when Tomas sadly met his end. That was tragic. Of course, I was much too involved with Yudith in Camaguey, Cuba at the time to consider being a part of that get away with the boys. And it's just as well, because that trip with all of them staying in a penthouse apartment there in Medellin and partying large together every day and night turned into a nightmare unfortunately. RIP Tomas - another guy who helped me in an enormous way when I first started my journey with learning about all things CUBA. Terry

#37 - Valium and Viagra? At the airport departures? I wonder what customs officers in Canada would say if someone came back with a big batch of both? Where is your prescription sir?

Wow Terry. I know nothing about any of that. Sorry, but who was poor Tomas and what the hell happened?
Also, are Terry and Mona still an item? I kinda gather from your posts that they may no longer be together.
OK, so bizarre conglomerate story numero dos.

I had all along planned to buy some percussion instruments during that trip to Cuba. The first attempt failed after a younger bilingual schoolmate had graciously agreed to accompany me in a cab to translate at a Havana shop, only to find the store closed. Sigh...
So 'Plan B' was to ask the Cuban hotel band if they might agree to me jamming with them onstage that night. No probs, they invited me up with all the Latin friendliness in the West Indies.
They were happy to have this younger, loooooong-haired rocker play their cowbell for a song or three. But the chef was very definitely not as pleased. He made eye contact with me during the break, then used his machete-sized knife to make a slit-throat gesture after pointing at me. We weren't in Kansas anymore.

Undeterred, I carried on with my attempt to buy a used conga from that same hotel band, offering to trade the three pairs of special, red plastic glow-in-the-dark (I know I know) drumsticks that I'd brought from Toronto for that very purpose. I also offered to include a significant amount of cash as part of the deal. The band smilingly refused every effort that I made then, even after I pointed out that the conga of my dreams over in the corner was a well-used one--my payment could've bought them two brand-new drums.

It was a lesson for the rookie traveler. No doubt those players were scared of being caught doing any kind of deal with a tourist from a capitalist nation. I was being naive then. Or maybe they'd heard through the grapevine about some of my schoolmates? A few of them had foolishly ignored repeated warnings from our chaperone teachers not to try bringing any dope into Cuba. Those guys had snuck in pot, acid and possibly more inside toothpaste containers, belt linings and inside the guts of a portable radio. Jayzus the risk...

Arriving at Customs, I marveled at the atmosphere on this, my first of a smazillion travels. The palm trees, the cigar smoke, the temperature in the middle of March all hit my travelling G-spot. But my abovementioned classmates wanted me to stand apart from them cos my long-haired appearance would likely attract an inspection by Customs agents. Perhaps it was due to my beaming smile that those agents just waved me through with barely a glance, whereas my sweating, infinitely more straight-looking schoolmates were all put through a thorough search. Lucky them that nothing was found.

There exists a wonderful photo of me from the last night in Cuba. One of my roommates took it. The image shows me relaxing reclined on my bed, while straight-facedly 'reading' an open pre-Lonely Planet/Fodors/Frommers guidebook to Cuba. Thing is, we'd stuck a lit lightbulb into the open fly of my unzipped jeans as part of my appearance. A thousand dollars to anyone who might provide me with a copy of that um, unique shot!

I am done. the end

*PS the three high schools in question on that trip were Scarborough's David & Mary Thompson, our school Sir Oliver Mowat and Alliston C.I.

zebec, all of these memories that you wrote of are from 1976? Was Cuba even a popular travel destination back then? Was that your only Cuba trip or did you go back again?

Hi W,
Yes all those memories are from March '76, back when I barely knew how to remove a suitcase off the carousel. It was my sole trip to Cuba (outside of including Cuban music in my sizable World Music collection).
Was it a popular destination? Well, I recall one of my female schoolmates remarking that she'd already been to Cuba on beach breaks twice before and that the food she'd earlier experienced was waaay better than what we were given in '76.
I am done. the chinguaderos

Hey there, zebec. Tomas might be better known to you as Don Tomas from the old TA and LP Thorntree forum days. Tomas was regularly living in Havana for 6 months at a time each year and apparently spoke such fluent Cuban Spanish with all of the slang included so well that he could easily be confused for a Cuban local - although his red hair and very white skin was a dead give-away that he was in fact a foreigner, and from Holland. Unfortunately, Tomas always had a bit of a temper on him - and could be easily confused for being quite arrogant at times as well. Apparently he got into an argument with a young Colombian guy in the central plaza of Medellin near the hotel where everyone was staying. The Colombian punk pulled out a pistol and shot Tomas at close range right between his eyes and killing him instantly... in broad daylight with many others around... then jumped on his motorcycle and raced away. I've heard through the grapevine that the police ultimately much later found the shooter after a lengthy investigation.

Tomas made the mistake of forgetting that he wasn't in Cuba anymore where no doubt he could feel much safer... and much more easily get away with his sometimes arrogant attitude too without repercussions. He could speak Spanish so well that he could also argue and tick latinos off just as easily. That caginess for confrontation caught up to him in Medellin though. Very tragic indeed. I talked with Terry about it afterwards, because Terry had convinced Tomas to come on that trip with him - I was worried that Terry was feeling immense guilt. But Terry just said that Tomas was a big boy and he knew what he was getting himself into. In hindsight, I don't think that's really quite true, because otherwise, Tomas would likely still be alive and with us today. It was all very sad. Terry

DonTomas was my favourite writer on the LP-TT and TA Cuba forums back in the day. The man had a way with words and a sweet sense of humour when needed.

I sent CheersTerry an invitation to join this forum but I guess he was not into it. Too bad he has lost interest in Cuba. I am still not finished with Cuba especially Havana. It still got the sugar I need. Let's see how things go from here on in.

Yes wessislander, valium and viagra for sale side by side at the Cuba airport departure. I swears I did not purchase either though one might wonder if one would cancel out the other if taken together, hhmm.

zebec, thanks for them old stories.
Simon beware, you are almost my age!