2002 - September Issue

Now, in your "mind's eye" I want you to visualize two Cubans who make it today to one of our Florida beaches. One of the men was a dishwasher in Cuba. However, he got "lucky" and managed somehow to steal $500,000 from a group of businessmen who were visiting his country. He got away with it, put the money in a waterproof container and managed to get himself and all that cash right here to the land of freedom.

Yahoo!

The other guy? He doesn't have a single penny. He doesn't have any carpenter tools or anything like that. He doesn't have anything whatsoever except the tattered clothes he is wearing. But, get this: This other guy was a brain surgeon in Cuba. One of the best that country ever produced.

Once again, using your mind's eye, I want to "fast-forward" to five years in the future and take another look at these two men. Where's the dishwasher? The one with the stolen $500,000? I bet he's broke. Or in jail. Or dead.

Let's face it, dishwashers are not at the top of the human food chain. Plus, when he got here, I bet he was so hungry for "the good life" he started buying luxury cars, seeing high-priced hookers and, in general, tearing through his money like a bunch of starving wolves who come across a freshly killed deer.

What happens when his money runs out? What does he do then? Go back to washing dishes? I bet not. I bet he wants to keep on living "the high life." But how? He's got no money and no really valuable skills.