Skip to main content

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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Only In Seattle

    It was a slow afternoon at the tiny Seattle coffee shop.  As I opened the door, a group of three school-aged boys ran in front of me.  Each of the boys was lugging an overloaded backpack with them.  They obviously had just left the private school a couple of blocks down the street.  As I perused the menu, the three boys placed their orders, all the while joking with one another.  The first two each requested a pastry and a glass of water.  The third boy studied the menu a bit longer before deciding.        “Umm. . . I’d like a tall espresso, double shot, please.”          The cashier giggled a bit, thinking that her young customer was just repeating something he had heard adults order. After a few seconds, she jokingly said to him, “Alright. . . whatever.”        Noticing that the boy seemed serious, she looked puzzled.  Then, sh...
Post a Comment
Read more

Time Enough For Courtesy

       Life is short, but there is always time enough for courtesy.                                                   ~   Ralph Waldo Emerson Emerson wrote these words in the nineteenth century, more than 130 years ago.  It was well before the time of e-mail and texts and instant messages.  At that time, even the telephone was still something of a curiosity.  Yet, when I came across this quote recently, I was struck by how it is as relevant today as it was during Emerson’s lifetime. Thanks to technology, people all over the world can communicate with one another.  All it takes is a few seconds.  Technology has totally revolutionized the way business is done and the way our lives are lived....
Post a Comment
Read more

Catch A Cab

We had been walking for about forty-five minutes, making our way from Manhattan’s South Street Seaport to the Macy’s flagship store on 34th Street. When we were within fifteen blocks of our destination, some of my companions decided that we should complete our journey by cab. Despite my attempts to convince them to keep walking, they were insistent. The trip that ensued was a true New York experience. After a few minutes of trying, one of my companions was able to hail a cab. However, we wanted to go north. The cab that stopped was going south. It did not seem to matter, though, as my companions still got in the cab. One person sat in the front while I slipped into the backseat, between the other two. Hardly before the doors could close, the driver had fought his way into Manhattan traffic. Without warning, he took a sharp right turn onto a side street and began to head north, steadily increasing his speed. Within seconds, the cab was weaving a...
1 comment
Read more