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Problem in Translation |  |
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This is the punch line to a rather lame joke, that is, what do you call four Mexicans in quicksand? It’s a play on the Spanish words for four and five, respectively. A group of Cubans demonstrated either a finely honed sense of humor or serious problems with their grasp on simple physics. There were more than four of them and they did sink. You know how we used to argue about how if The Professor was so smart, why didn’t he just invent a boat and they could sail off of Gilligan’s Island? In Cuba, the islanders learn to make do with what is available and have just about as much luck. The Coast Guard recently intercepted eleven Cubans trying to sail to Florida in a Buick automobile. We all know that Cuba is close to Florida but, truly, you cannot drive there. It’s not that close. There’s a rather large obstacle between Cuba and Florida called water. Cars don’t do very well in substantial quantities of water. This group of intrepid sailors had converted a Buick into a tail-finned boat. It didn’t go very fast, in fact, it sank, but it looked great doing it. Those fins had style. This same group had tried earlier to make the crossing in a 1951 Chevy flatbed pickup. Of course, the Chevy proved less than buoyant although it moved along at a crisp 8 mph, plus they were caught, so I guess they thought they would blend in more in a Buick. With tail fins. I don’t think the problem here is make of automobile. Although in last year’s America’s Cup challenge series, the Cuban yacht, “El Humidor,” did surprisingly well. I think “El Humidor” might mean “Not A Car” in English but it did have a hood from a ’57 Buick as part of its makeup. It also had a sail woven entirely, I’m not kidding, of tobacco leaves, which did well on clear days but “during rain tends to become soggy and limp.” I guess there are some things you just have to find out for yourself but tobacco leaves would not be my first choice as sailing material. Neither would an automobile, but then again, I don’t have that much experience as a sailor. I may be showing my estupidez but, even I know el automovil is not the same as la barca. With or without tail fins. |
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