No Name Key - Part 6, Cuban Freedom Fighters
In this part, Our two main characters, Manuel and Hector are going to catch the bus out of Key West and go up the Keys to Miami to join the Freedom Fighters and go to Cuba.
It was 8 am sharp, and Hector was walking down the sidewalk. He only lived a few blocks away. When they worked at the fish cannery they used to walk to work and back every day.
“Are you ready, Manuel?”
“Yes, I am. Got your money?”
“Yes, I didn’t forget this time. I know I used to bum change from you for the Coke machine at work. Used to say I forgot my money,” Hector laughed.
“Didn’t you forget it?” Manuel asked.
“Not all the time!” Hector laughed again.
“There’s the bus station.”
“Just trying to change the subject,” Manuel teased.
“No, there it is! Let’s get our tickets before they leave without us!”
At 9:05 the Greyhound pulled out of the station drive and pulled up onto the city street with a roar.
“Manuel, the good thing about this trip on this bus, is the station is right downtown in Miami. Right in in the middle of little Cuba. All we have to do is ask around for the recruiting station.”
“It all sounds too easy. But we’ll see, we can make it up as we go.”
They both settled back and closed their eyes. They were lulled to sleep by the bump ba-bump...bump ba-bump of the bus’s three sets of huge tires. As they slept, they were missing the views of the beautiful turquoise water and each of the highway bridges built on top of the old Flagler railroad bridges. This was an enormous construction feat on top of one of the nation’s vast amazing wonders.
The next thing they knew the bus was stopping and starting as it wandered through the inner-city streets of old Miami. It made a sharp turn, went up into a depot parking lot and came to a stop in front of the Miami main bus terminal.
People were moving down the aisle. They got up, grabbed their gym bags from the overhead, and down the steps and out of the bus they went. They could see the driver was already busy unloading the outside bins and checking people’s baggage ticket stubs. It was all a bustle of activity.
Over all this noise and the sudden honks and screeches of the city traffic, Manuel hollered, “Where do we go next, Hector?”
“I’m just going to ask somebody.” He walked right up to a young adult standing there, “Hey Amigo. Do you know where the Freedom Fighters recruiting station is?”
“Hey man, you must be from out of town! Just two blocks down that way. You can’t miss it, on this same side of the street.”
“That takes care of that,” Manuel said. “Thanks.”
There were all kinds of things in the way on the sidewalk, fruit vendor carts, sweet ice carts, and little stalls of merchandise jutting out into the sidewalk from each store, people coming and going.
Halfway down the block, one of the store display windows had a brown paper sign pasted to it:
Fuent De Liberation of Cuba
They went up to the door. It was locked.
“Look there, Hector. The sign says closed,” Manuel said.
Hector cupped his hands and put his face next to the glass. “There is someone inside. I’m going to knock.” His knock was more like a battering ram!
“If you knock the door down, we can just walk right in,” Manuel laughed.
A young fella in his teens came to the door. “We’re closed. What do you want?”
Hector said, “We just got off the bus from Key West, and we’re ready to sign up!”
The latch clicked, and the door opened.
“Come in, take a seat. I have to call my brother. He is in charge. He had to go home for something. I’m just watching the place. I can’t sign you up.” He locked the door.
“We’ll wait,” Hector said.
He went to the back room. They could hear him dialing the phone. The room was bare except for some old wooden chairs against the wall and a wood desk in the center with two chairs next to it. There were posters on the walls, “Liberate Cuba” and “Democracy for Cuba.” There was also a large map of Cuba.
Hello, it’s Sammy. There’s a couple of guys just came in from Key West on the bus. They want to join up. Yeah, Ok. See you.”
The guy came back in. “He should be back in about ten minutes. Sammy said you could start filling out the information forms.”
He sat down at the desk and pulled out a drawer and put a form down on the table top with a pen. Manuel went forward from his seat on a chair against the wall and sat at the table. Hector was engrossed in the Cuban map.
Manuel said, “You’re next Hector, as soon as I get this filled out.” He came over to the table still looking at the Cuban map over his shoulder.
Manuel looked over the form and started filling it out, “Looks alright to Me.” He stated.
Fronte de Liberation of Cuba
Name:_________________________
Date of Birth:___________________
Place of Birth:___________________
Citizen of Country:_______________
I believe in democracy for Cuba.
I do not support Castro’s government.
Everything on this form is true.
Signed:_________________________
The ten minutes went by fast. The next thing they heard was the loud sound of a car with dual pipes backing down. Blat..Blat..Blat. A convertible pulled up in front. That was about all they could see from their vantage point and around the brown paper sign plastered to the front window. Sammy went to the front door and unlocked it.
“ Hi Ed, Hi Sylvia.”
Ed and a young woman walked in.
Sammy did the introductions, “Ed, these are the guys I told you about, Manuel and Hector.”
They all shook hands.
“They have already filled out the forms.”
He handed the two forms to Ed.
“Looks good to me. Ok guys, we’ll run you out to the embarkation point. I took three guys over day before yesterday.”
“Sammy, keep a watch on the shop. You can call at Opa-Locka if you need me. Otherwise, flip the closed sign and shut it down in a couple of hours. Sylvia and I are going to run these guys out to the airport.”
“Ok Ed, I’ll cover,” Sammy said, trying to sound important.
They went outside, as the latch clicked shut behind them.
“Guys climb in the back,” Ed ordered.
From the Author: My second full-length book , Florida Keys’ Watercolor Kapers is composed of 336 pages. There are 12 stories running from 6 pages to as many as 72 pages. It is fully illustrated with 88 watercolors and sketches. The watercolors I made roaming around Key West after I finished my 750 mile hike from Georgia to Key West. (See book or Don Browne’s SouthWest Florida Online News records, A Walk Across Florida.) As you read these stories you will experience Key West, the Keys, and the Caribbean. These stories span the time of the early 1800’s to 1969. bkranich.wixsite.com/
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