APRIL 7, 2023 SOLIDARITY Cuba or bust In 1979 my father, the Reverend James K. Parks went to Cuba with Christians for Socialism. He said that their mental health care was better than ours: “You will never get rich but you don’t need to worry about what happens when you get old.” Solidarity work has motivated both spiritual and KEN PARKS Groundcover vendor No. 490 If you read my Groundcover articles “The Problems We Cause for Ourselves” and especially “Welcome Refugees…” you will know Cuba and the United States have a long, intimate history. Actions and their results – known as karma – have brought me into this history. Jose Marti is the historical saint of solidarity in America. Journalist, poet and revolutionary, he is the Patron Saint of the Cuban revolution. He was a journalist in the United States and referred to the United States as America.” the “other political aspirations. I am notorious for being both spiritual and political. In 1992 I was asked to look at the Caravan to Cuba project that was proposed by Pastors for Peace. I became the lead organizer for southeast Michigan and we did one or more caravans every year beginning that year. They were all hosted by the Martin Luther King Center in Marianao, Cuba. The MLK Center has a significant relationship for me to this day. I was also assistant to the founder of the U.S.Cuba Labor Exchange, working with trade union centered delegations. I began traveling to Cuba regularly, met Odalys on a solidarity project in 1997 and by 2000 was married to her in Cuba. Odalys is Cuba; when I married her, I married Cuba. Solidarity and love are expressions of life and are found in the changes that surprise us, as compatibility and incompatibility do their dialectical dance. The friendship of solidarity is a strong foundation and runs deeper than romantic love, so we are blessed to have a deep friendship. The struggle continues, Hasta la victoria siempre is a common phrase meaning "towards victory forever!" I am part of a large and extended family and have been supporting several households for 26 years now. Priorities change and my ahijadas (godchildren) became the priority, especially mother and son ahijados. I am a mentor, protector and spiritual friend. The money I have sent left me with no savings, and now is the time to go back and see family that I have not seen since before COVID-19. I have two missions. One coincides with the Ann Arbor delegation to May Day this year. May Day is International Workers day and is celebrated widely in Cuba. Every trade union hall has a party that starts the night before. On May Day, millions march with many international contingents. It’s a collective 24 hour party. Cuba solidarity includes Yousef Rabhi, Felix Sharp Caballero, Democratic Socialists of America, among others. We will do a report back in July, maybe the 26th, which is considered the beginning of the Cuban revolution. My second mission is to spend time with my Cuban family, including those who want to emigrate and help me in my last years. We are sons and daughters of the earth with homes in Cuba and Ann Arbor. We want to promote relations between the peoples. I hope you will be our guest in Guanabacoa, our neighborhood on the other side of Havana Bay. We will ride the ferry back and forth. I want to take tennis shoes and eye drops among other donations when I go. I think I can get a ticket but need financial help for everything else to stay at least one month in Cuba. Credit and debit cards do not work in Cuba so my social security will not be available until I am back in the United States. I have to take enough cash for the duration. I have people who work for Radio Havana English broadcasts; maybe I will get an interview and report our work to the world. The possibilities for solidarity work are as big as your imagination. Imagine a sailboat flotilla around the island or a bicycle tour into the provinces. The Golden Rule sailboat was in Cuba recently. Visit vfpgoldenruleproject.org and learn about this Veterans for Peace project which will take place in Toledo and Detroit in September. My time in Cuba is always busy with family and solidarity work. If you want to support this trip you can find the Venmo code at the bottom right corner of any Groundcover issue, and pay to @groundcovernews. Enter Ken Parks 490 in the notes. Muchas gracias for your solidarity. Grant your blessings that we continue the struggle for the flourishing of human dignity and well being. Hasta la victoria siempre! To contact me please call 313.918.2453. GROUNDCOVER NEWS 11 BUNNY from last page because no one liked him. His mother consoled him saying maybe they forgot because of the new time. Benny knew deep down in his heart he had treated everyone terribly. His mother went to the grocery store to purchase some milk. She invited him but he refused to go. Benny knew he had to fix this or there would be no Easter. He jumped on his bicycle pedaling fast, reaching Jane’s house first. He knocked at the door and she talked from behind the door, still upset with him. Benny apologized and asked, “Can we all start over? I promise not to push, shove or try to take over every situation, please forgive me Jane.” She was amazed, never hearing him so humble. She opened the door and asked, “Do you mean it? You know, about being sorry for being a bully?” Benny crossed his heart and said, “If I act like that again you can punch my lights out! I was terrible, please forgive me. You think everyone else will accept my apology?” “I don’t know but you should try,” said Jane. Benny then asked Jane if she would go with him. Thank you Truth Or Lies readers you voted right, "King Charman the Leprechaun," published March 10, was FALSE. She knew he had changed. She got on her bicycle and rode all over with him as he apologized to everyone. They all met at the Ice Cream parlor; once again he apologized to everyone at the same time. He then asked, “Could we celebrate Easter tomorrow? And can Jacob be the Easter Bunny?” Everyone agreed and laughed while getting to know the new Benny.
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