Sorry something happened during the radio show, guys. Blogtalk Radio only allotted us 15 minutes. It was live for only that amount of time although I was able to take callers for the whole hour. I’ve contacted them about this so that hopefully it doesn’t happen again.
Enjoy the first part of our series on Cuba:
Kim: Hello there.
Me: Good morning. How are you?
Kim: I’m doing good. How are you?
Me: Good. How’s my boy?
Kim: He’s loud and proud today.
Me: Loud and proud!
Kim: Uh huh. He’s been yapping a lot this morning.
Me: Does he pester you a lot?
Kim: He does. It’s funny because it’s just a part of my ritual to put perfume on in the morning. I’m a perfume person. I was putting on perfume and he goes, “Aren’t you glad you smell good for the video now?” I’m not going anywhere but…
We both laugh hard.
Me: That’s so funny.
Erik: Whatever.
Me: Hey, Erik. Guess what? I love you!
Erik kisses at the screen.
Me: Aw. Hey, so with all the events happening with Fidel Castro, before we get into our other subjects, I thought I’d ask, Erik, can you tell us a little bit about what the future holds in store for Cuba? Let’s just get right into it!
Erik: Sure, Mom, we’ll jump right into it. Weeeelllllll, it don’t look so good.
Kim: Whatever you’re talking about is a newsflash to me. I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Me: Yeah, Fidel Castro died.
Kim: He keeps using the word, “Changeover.” What he means by this is not so much the leadership but more so all the way down to the individual. I don’t know what this means or anything, but there’s a lot of chaos. It feels very unsafe in this location. I don’t know if this is true or not, but it seems like rules and regulations are—I don’t know what this death means, but he’s showing me these rules and regulations being tossed out the window. I don’t know if these are common, everyday laws, which it seems like, but it seems like they’re tossed out the window, and it feels like a very unsafe place to be right now.
Me: Erik, try to use words instead of energy and images if you can, but tell me—Raul, his brother, is obviously going to take over. Will he be different than Fidel?
Erik: Not a lot.
Kim: It’s so interesting, Elisa. When you talk to Erik in a certain mom tone, the way that you ground his energy is just so intriguing to me. When you said, “Use your words, not images,” his vibe shifted completely.
Me: Oh, wow! I’m always going to be your mom! Gotta listen to your mom!
Kim: The way you ground his energy is really interesting.
Me: Yeah, interesting! So after Raul retires, supposedly in 2018, his vice deputy or whatever—I can’t remember his name—would take over, a younger guy. Is he going to start reforms and freedom of religion and all that stuff or is it just going to be more of the same like Fidel and Raul, just a brutal dictatorship?
Kim (chuckling): This is his response. He’s been acting like such a little brother right now. He’s being such a turd.
She laughs hard.
Kim: That’s a nice way to put it. He’s all right here (pointing to her ear) and going, “Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now? Are you listening? You better be listening.
I laugh.
Erik: Mom, it’s rigged.
Kim: He makes me feel like, no, he’s showing me that the hierarchy is rigged like it’s just passed down and passed down. No, he’s being such a punk. He’s saying, “From here to eternity,” and I go, ‘No, you can’t go that far, can you?’
Me: So will they ever find freedom for the people? Will there ever be freedom for the Cuban people?
Erik: Not like we know it here.
Me: Will it be better than it is?
Erik: It will. It will be better. Whoever comes in and takes over will still be part of a very rigged system. It’s already predetermined.
Me: Yeah, it’s all embedded in the military and the government and all that? Is that what it is?
Erik: Yes, and the people have a lot of fear. They’re very fearful of having a voice, speaking out. In the big picture, they’re afraid of freedom. They’re afraid to do anything to feel that way or to seek their own freedom.
Kim: From my perspective, it’s sad what he’s showing. They’re very apprehensive and fearful no matter who comes in because they feel like their way of life has been instilled in their heads for a long time.
Me: Yeah. What will Trump try to do with that relationship?
Erik: This is one of those situations where you get more bees with honey.
He makes a sarcastic face.
Erik: He’s going to really try to nurture the relationship in order to kind of—
Kim: Okay, he just interrupted himself.
Erik: You know, Mom, you keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
He leans into the camera and winks.
Me: So that’s what Trump will do, anything?
Erik: Yeah, Trump’s a smart man when it comes to getting really close with his enemies.
Me: But he won’t be able to help the Cuban people with negotiations and such? For example, will they release the prisoners of war and all that kind of stuff? Will he negotiate for that?
Erik: He’ll be successful in developing a relationship that is trustworthy enough to make changes, but it’ll be like walking on eggshells. There will be a slight change based on Trump’s interactions, but even with his approach, believe it or not because most of the time he seems like a wrecking ball, he’ll walk on eggshell. He’ll be very careful and strategic about every move that he makes no matter what it’s in regards to.
Me: Maybe he’ll make incremental changes. Like maybe he’ll do a deal where they release some of their political prisoners and get something in exchange for that and eventually do something else that will help the people.
Kim: Yeah, when Erik talks about Trump being very strategic and very—
(Long pause)
Kim (shaking her head): Sorry, he’s just being very Erik today. He’s really ornery.
Me: Who else is he going to be?
Erik: Each move he makes is going to be what determines the bond or what nurtures the trustworthiness between us and them.
Me: Okay.
Erik: Just like you said, it’ll be in increments that’ll build the trust, and Trump knows that and will use that approach.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
