“He lived with enthusiasm.”

 

My dear friend Bob Coil died very suddenly last week on holiday in Orvieto, Italy, with his adored and adoring wife, Wanda.  Just as he would have wished, except about twenty years too soon.  Avid cyclist, hiker, kayaker, adventurer, lover of good food and good wine, he did pack every one of his too few years with happy times.  Here are he and Wanda after our Southern Oregon paddle a couple of years ago.  Happy memories.

Katherine Goes to Cuba

Recently, Katherine went on an education/business tour to Cuba to learn about their health care system.  She wrote:

From an American perspective it’s interesting learning how other countries work.  From a Cuban perspective, my impression was that they are very proud that they are able to supply every citizen with healthcare despite the poverty that is prevalent there.  It’s extremely systematic, and I think they are trying to sell the system to other countries who might be interested in socialized medicine.  The Cuban culture is suffocating due to lack of international support for Communism so they have opened up certain aspects of their society to visitors to a) show how “successful” communism can be and b) export Cuban culture, e.g. social systems (like healthcare), architecture, music etc. to keep it alive.