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Souvenir from San Juan

As a volunteer for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, I was able to visit some sites not open to other event attendees.  One of these sites was the reception rooms for the cities vying for the 2004 Games.  One afternoon, I went with a friend who was also working during the Games, to check out the rooms.  At each stop, we were given souvenirs from each city.  Usually these tchotchkes were tee shirts or bumper stickers emblazoned with the city’s logo.  One city just handed out press releases.  But, a few locales got a bit more creative with their giveaways.

San Juan, Puerto Rico was undoubtedly the most interesting.  After listening to a lengthy presentation on the city’s highlights, my friend and I each received a small canvas bag.  San Juan was our last stop that day so we had accrued a number of items already.  But, we were unprepared for what we would find in this nondescript tote.  There was another t-shirt, postcards, and a small sample of Puerto Rican coffee.  But, buried in the bottom of the bag were two more Puerto Rican exports: two small bottles of rum.

We could not believe it.  We were still teenagers.  We were not allowed to have rum.  We truly thought we had contraband of sorts.  We looked at one another, wide-eyed, and clutched the bags close, and walked away, eager to show off our newest souvenirs.

That canvas bag and all of its contents, including the rum, still sits... unopened... with my Olympic memorabilia.

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