Things are crazy now, things were crazy then. That's one of the compelling draws to Suze Rotolo's A Freewheelin' Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties (2008). For all things Bob Dylan, Rotolo illuminates the man and icon through her own observations, backed with the inclusion of primary documents authored by Dylan. She also gives voice to women in the milieu of the 50s and 60s, and she provides a lot of helpful context in terms of her family and geography.
In its own way, what Rotolo writes about that "freewheelin' time" is becoming true again, with some updated variation:
Most of the people I knew, and had known ever since I could remember, were engaged with the discourse of the day, which meant listening to voices coming from everywhere talking about Cuba, civil rights, the threat of nuclear war, and the escalating war in Vietnam (pages 236-237).
After she and Dylan more or less part ways as a couple, Rotolo makes a wild and exciting journey to Cuba in 1964. Why? To challenge the (still) ludicrous travel ban laid down by the US government.
The consensus of those in public life and in the media who questioned the validity of travel bans was that they made the United States look like East Berlin, with a wall around itself, which was hypocritical in the eyes of the free world (page 303).
Rotolo, part of a small group, zigzags her way to Cuba via Europe, evading G-men who are trying to block them. And it pays off: she makes it to Cuba, and she meets the big guys when she gets there.
Rotolo's memoir is inspiring. Why, indeed, does the US still insist on a childish travel ban to little Cuba? Canada, Europe, Mexico -- practically all Western countries except the USA permit free travel to Cuba. Now that the Bush-Cheney people are out, it's time to allow Americans the freedom to travel there if they so choose. Beyond that, Rotolo shows by her own example that creative engagement is worthwhile; existential choices are perhaps best exercised in both philosophical and poetic ways. Hearhear!
Today's Rune: Defense. RIP, Lux Interior (Erick Lee Purkhiser, 10/21/1948-2/4/2009) of The Cramps.
8 comments:
C'mon Erik, admit it you just want a real Cuban cigar without having to pay and smoke in Windsor. Free Cuba from all bans and strictures and buy in America!
I especially don't understand why the ban continues when Castro's revolution is old enough now to be staid and respectable.
I'm eager to read Rotolo's book.
The Cuba embargo is, at this point, absurd. After fifty years, its stated intention, breaking the Castro regime, has clearly failed. All its done is impose unnecessary hardship on the Cuban people and caused American businesses to miss economic opportunities.
Interesting times.
I plan to visit Cuba, friends have told me it's a cool place to vay cay....
I agree. The ban on all things Cuban is asinine, outdated & should be repealed immediately.
In this horrid economy, Cuba could be the cheap place to travel. Might be the perfect time to lift the ban.
our treatment of cuba is nothing short of criminal
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