Carolina Comments: Cuba & Local Culture

 REFLECTIONS

Cuba in 2019

It was not unusual to see images of Fidel Castro around

Seven years ago this week, the Chief Penguin and I were part of a small group educational and cultural trip to Cuba.  We were in Havana the bulk of the time with a trip one day to the Vinales Valley.  In the city, we experienced lunch at a private restaurant, one of the few examples of free enterprise allowed, and heard a talk by an economics professor on how the Cuban economy worked.  We learned about Hispanic music from a musician professor and attended a special dance performance by a lively female troupe.  

Habana Campos Dance with colorful chairs

Havana is called “a city of columns.”  I took a walking tour of the city’s architecture led by a noted local architect and was impressed with the beauty of its historic buildings.  

Havana facade
Levels of columns
Distinctive facade

We also saw a variety of cotton candy convertibles on the streets, sometimes midst buildings in disrepair.  It was a study in contrasts.   

Cotton candy cars, Havana

During our visit, there was a hurricane and the power went off in the middle of our group dinner on the second floor of a partially open-air restaurant.  Undeterred and cooking with gas, the waitstaff brought us our remaining courses by candlelight.  Using our iPhone flashlights, we safely navigated down the stairs to our waiting van.  The hotel and our room were also in the dark until the lights blinked on around 3:00 am.  That was an unexpected adventure.

Her first cigar?
Transport to lunch
Hand rolling a cigar

In the countryside, we visited a tobacco farm, saw tobacco leaves being dried, and could purchase cigars singly or by the box.  At another farm property, we climbed into a wooden cart pulled by a pair of oxen and jogged up a muddy hill for lunch outside.  The family who run this farm were most welcoming and lunch was a tasty spread.

Roast pig for lunch at a family farm

All in all, visiting Cuba was a memorable experience and alas, a trip you couldn’t make today.

MUSIC AND FOOD

Before the latest snowstorm, the Chief Penguin and I enjoyed two outings, one to a concert, the other for lunch at a nearby Lebanese restaurant.

North Carolina Symphony Concert

After almost two years in this area, we finally attended a NC Symphony concert in Raleigh.  Meymandi Concert Hall is a contemporary building with 65 ft. high ceilings and several tiers of seating in addition to the main floor orchestra level.  It is named for Dr. Assad Meymandi, a native Iranian, psychiatrist and neurologist, who practiced medicine in Fayetteville and then in Raleigh.  A faithful subscriber to the concerts, he was also a generous donor.  The hall opened in 2001.  

Not being season subscribers, we had a limited choice of seats, but we ended up, happily we discovered, in the 4th row on the main floor.  Very close to the musicians, which might not always matter, but it put us with an excellent view of the pianist Jeneba Kanneh-Mason for her Mozart piano concerto (No.23 in A).  

The concert, led by energetic guest conductor Ketaro Harada, was devoted to Mozart with several pieces in D major, and the concerto in A.  We heard the overtures to “Don Giovanni” and “The Marriage of Figaro” along with Symphony No. 35.  It was a most enjoyable evening and a good incentive to go again.

Lunch at Sassool in Cary

Due to a civil war in Lebanon in 1976, the Saleh family left their country for the United States.  Unable to find pita bread, they initially started a bakery and then later expanded in 1989 to become a restaurant.  One brother went out on his own and named his new casual restaurant, Sassool, grandmother Cecilia’s nickname.  Today, there are two Sassool locations, one in Cary and one in Raleigh.

A group of us went for lunch and Simone, one of the family owners, offered up a buffet of their signature dishes.  We could sample everything from chicken shawarma, falafel, kibbeh patties, Greek salad, a lentil dish, hummus, baba ghanouj, and, of course, fresh pita bread.  You can eat in or take out from the wide variety of salads and other dishes in their cases or purchase dry goods from the grocery section.  We savored the variety of foods and even brought some of it home!

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

Carolina Comments: Cocooning in January

WINTER THOUGHTS

Good morning.  Like much of the country, North Carolina is experiencing a winter weather event.  For some, it will be a really massive storm with inches and possibly feet of snow; for others, after a bit of snow, the real concern is freezing rain and ice.  We’ve had just over an inch of snow and are bracing for a wintry mix later today.  If it gets above freezing, we may avoid serious ice and possible power outages.

Taste of winter in North Carolina

Meanwhile, we have nowhere to go and will stay inside cozy and warm.  Yesterday, before the storm arrived, we binge watched two episodes of The Pitt.  Last evening, as a palate (read mind) cleanser, we began Season 6 of All Creatures Great & Small.  Episode 1 is sweet and mostly joyful.  The war is ending, and Tristan returns home on leave.  As for Mrs. Hall, will she be persuaded to come back to Darrowby?  Watch to find out. We also recently viewed the intense crime series, His & Hers, on Netflix.

And there are books, two included here, for your consideration.  I have also started The Loneliness of Sonia and Sonny and made it past the first 100 pages.  It’s a tome and I’m enjoying it.  Look for comments in a future blog.

MYSTERY: DUPLICITY & DECEPTION

The Good Liar by Denise Mina

(Mina.theguardian.com)

The Good Liar is the first book I’ve read by Scottish crime novelist, Denise Mina. It’s a dense and graphic account of the murder of a prominent couple and the events afterward related to investigating the crime.  Claudia O’Sheil is a professor and a blood spatter expert who works for a forensic science company.  Sir Philip Ardmore is her boss and a supportive mentor.  Recently widowed, Claudia is overwhelmed with grief and struggling to deal with her two teenage boys, one unruly and disruptive.

Philip knew the murdered couple and the son, William, is a prime first suspect.  Who besides him had access to the couple’s apartment?  Claudia’s blood evidence results in William being charged and sentenced to prison.  But what if, William wasn’t the murderer?  And what really was the cause of Claudia’s husband James’ death?  If she was wrong about the blood evidence, what is the truth and to whom does she have an obligation to tell?

The novel moves back and forth in time as Claudia’s dilemma about what to say or not is played out against the backdrop of the murder.  There is Philip’s class and place in the power structure and questions about James and their professional colleagues and friends.  

Once I got fully into the book, I was enmeshed in the complexities of the situation.  The writing is precise and detailed and requires close reading.  Recommended for Mina fans. (~JWFarrington)

CAPTIVATING MEMOIR: FAMILY & MARRIAGE

The Irish Goodbye: Micro-Memoirs by Beth Ann Fennelly (2026)

(bethannfennelly.com)

I reviewed this book for First Impressions pre-publication in BookBrowse and am including my review here.  Publication date is late February 2026.

The Irish Goodbye is a collection of short to extremely brief writings by former poet laureate of Mississippi Beth Ann Fennelly.  It ranges from quick thoughts on married life (a cracked knee when presenting a 25th anniversary ring to folded oven mitts), to contemplating friendships old and fresh, to mourning the sudden death of a sister, to facing the deaths of other family and friends.  Much space is devoted to Fennelly’s recollections of her sister and the deep hole she has left in Fennelly’s life.  Mixed with the sadness and the wondering, there is also humor and wit. 

I found this book a delight.  As it progresses, Fennelly removes a few more layers and candidly exposes more of herself.  Her prose is succinct and precise and often sparkles. She makes you smile as you admire her adept turn of phrase.  Recommended for book clubs looking for a short powerful punch!  (~JWFarrington)

WATCHING: LIES & MURDERS

His & Hers (Netflix)

Jack & Anna (rotten tomatoes.com)

His & Hers is a six-part mystery series set in a suburb of Atlanta. Jack Harper is a county detective and his estranged wife Anna is a TV reporter who returns after having been away for a year. The death of her friend Rachel brings her back. She and Jack tangle over how the murder is covered and who is involved. At the heart of the series is set of girls who were high school classmates, some friends, some not.

The series is intense, emotions run high, there is plenty of sex, and lots of F-bombs. We thought about abandoning it after the initial episode, but somehow got sucked in and were caught up short by the ending. Overall, it’s a clever story of lies and facades, and you are kept guessing as to whose truth is the truth.

Carolina Comments: January Diversions

Snow in upstate New York

It’s winter and the weather outside is cold and gray and sleety.  When not exercising in the gym or fulfilling our several committee assignments, the Chief Penguin and I find ourselves burrowing deep into reading or bingeing on a TV series.  Hence, this week, you have here a book and a medical drama.

FABULOUS NOVEL

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Author Evans (WSJ.com)

Viriginia Evans is 39 and has a stack of unpublished novels.  Disappointed and depressed, she started writing again, partly just to vent.  The result was The Correspondent, long in the making, and a word-of-mouth surprise bestseller.  It was published in 2025.  I just finished reading it, and I loved it!

It’s an epistolary novel, told totally in letters; in this case, letters to and from Sybil Van Antwerp, a divorced woman in her early 70’s.  Over the years, I’ve read a few epistolary novels.  Two have stayed with me.  One is Clarissa by Samuel Richardson, published in 1748 and considered a landmark in psychological realism. I read that one in college.  The other is An American Marriage (2018) by Tayari Jones. It uses letters between a woman and her husband, in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, to depict the shortcomings of the criminal justice system and the tensions in their relationship.

In The Correspondent, Sybil is a retired lawyer who was in private practice with Guy Donnelly.  When he became a judge, she served as his clerk.  Her career was central to who she is.  Sybil has always liked order and is not afraid to write, (but not speak) her mind. She has two adult children, a childhood friend, Rosalie, and a brother, Felix.  She writes to her family and friends and also to well-known authors (Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry being two examples) and even to a customer service staff member from Syria.  

The letters are written over the course of nine years and through them, the reader also gets to know Sybil’s children Bruce and Fiona; her best friend Rosalie; her neighbor Theodore Lubeck; Harry, a troubled teenager; her Texan suitor Mick; and what books she’s reading.  The presence of Harry and the gift of a DNA test kit open new horizons for Sybil and shake up her previously quiet existence.  

I found Sybil a fascinating character and a fully realized and convincing senior citizen. I was engaged with her and Rosalie and the ups and downs of their 60-year friendship. I also sympathized with Sybil as she tried to sort out why she and her daughter Fiona were somewhat at odds. There’s humor and poignancy and very real human emotion in these letters.  And anyone who’s a lover of books will smile over Sybil’s leisure reading.  Highly recommended! (~JWFarrington)

COMPELLING VIEWING

The Pitt Season 1 (HBO Max)

Dr. Robby (amazon.com)

The Chief Penguin and I joined the Dr. Robby fan club as soon as we began watching The Pitt.  Set in an emergency room in a Pittsburgh hospital, this fictional series is intense, realistic, and compelling.  Each episode, there are 15 episodes in Season 1, covers one hour of the day in this ER.  At the head of it all is Dr. Michael Robinavitch, aka Dr. Robby, head nurse Dana, and a bevy of doctors, medical students, and other staff dealing with the arriving patients.  

Some cases are gory accidents needing immediate attention, others are less serious, while sometimes the most difficult aspect of a case is not the medical treatment, but dealing with family members.  Parents or adult children who are upset and in denial about their son’s or their father’s chances for recovery.  Also evident is the impact on the medical staff of providing care in this stressful environment.  How do they develop the resilience needed to continue after losing their first or their fiftieth patient.  

Overall, the series producers have a doctor evaluating the episodes as they film them to make the series as close to a real ER situation as possible within its fictional context.  Dr. Robby is played by Noah Wyle who had a lead role in the earlier ER TV series.  

We are three episodes into the first season, and Season 2 has just been released.  The episodes are graphic and can be hard to watch, perhaps too much for some, but we are definitely hooked!  (~JWFarrington)

FORTHCOMING  

Notes on the Netflix crime drama, His & Hers, and a mystery novel by Denise Mina.

Note: Header winter photo ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

Carolina Comments: Movies & Food

RECENT VIEWING

A Logger’s Life in the West:  Train Dreams (Netflix)

Robert and forestry worker Claire (altaonline.com)

Train Dreams is a quiet serious film set in the Pacific Northwest in the early 20th century and based on a novella by Denis Johnson.  Logging was at its peak, and trains were the fastest means of transportation across great distances.  

Robert Grainier is a logger, a dreamer, and something of a loner.  He joins crews doing that demanding and dangerous work, leaving home and going wherever there is work to be had.  When he meets and marries the lively Gladys, he builds them a small cabin.  Reluctantly, he goes on the road for months at a time.  Life unfolds slowly and then with a bang.

Robert is the focus and principal character.  The viewer follows and experiences his challenges and his life’s tragedies in a changing America. The forests are gorgeous, action is at a minimum, and overall, it’s the depiction of one man’s life.  His story is told partly in voiceover, and the narrator’s low tones resonate with understated emotion.  It’s a good film and worth the investment of time.     

Race Relations in Durham:  Best of Enemies (Rent on Amazon)

With the events in Minneapolis this week and the resulting demonstrations across the country, it seems appropriate to re-visit 1971 in this moving film. I lived through this time as an adult, like many of my friends, but in Massachusetts, not the South.

C. P. Ellis, charrette leader Bill Riddick, & Ann Atwater (nytimes.com)

Best of Enemies is a 2109 film about the 1971 movement toward desegregation of the public schools in Durham, North Carolina.  Black activist Ann Atwater and her Operation Breakthrough group face off against the white community, especially the Klansmen led by gas station owner C. P. Ellis.  After a Black school is mostly destroyed in a fire, a court order mandates that the community hold a 2-week charrette, work together, and come up with a set of resolutions that their elected body of citizens will vote on.  In the process, the two principals, Atwater and Ellis, slowly recognize that they have some things in common and form a tentative relationship.

It’s a superb film—compelling, forceful, and occasionally painful to watch.  The South, particularly Durham in 1971, was a different place for Blacks than it is today.  It is history worth acknowledging and alas, timely, given that there are those in Washington who want to marginalize “the other,” anyone different, from another country, or not white.  Thanks to a local friend for suggesting we watch it.  Highly recommended!

CASUAL DINING IN CARY

Downtown Cary is developing its own unique restaurant row along East Chatham and Cedar Streets.  Hank’s Downtown Dive, several pizza places, Taipei 101, Pro’s Epicurean Ristorante, and Scratch Kitchen offer European, American, and Chinese fare.  Add in Zest Sushi for Japanese rolls and more, and now Lawrence Barbecue.  

Also underway is the transformation of a 1950’s era service station into Lloyd’s Full Service on the corner of Academy and E. Chatham Streets.  When this restaurant is completed, late this year or early next, it will have a fire pit and a stage for live music.

Lawrence Barbecue Cary

Pulled pork sandwich and sides, Lawrence Barbecue (JWFarrington)

Chef owned Lawrence Barbecue  has two large smokers and an eclectic menu.  Think barbecued pork, smoked beef brisket, crispy chicken, and a range of side dishes from Brussels sprouts two ways, jackfruit, wonderful tater tots, and a rich mac and cheese.  Add in oysters on the half shell, and there’s something for everyone. 

The main space is open and simple with bare tables and a full bar at one end; just outside, there are plenty of picnic tables for the warm weather.  Diners early this weeknight evening included two families with little kids, some young couples, and a few seniors.

For our inaugural meal, the Chief Penguin and I each ordered the straightforward pulled pork sandwich, piled high on a soft bun with pickles and a bit of cole slaw.  It comes with a choice of side and, we got one standard one, the all-purpose tots which were super, and the mac cheese, a premium side.  Everything was tasty, and Tyler provided great service.  We will be back!