The Past from the Future

I took this picture, I should say my new bride took this picture of me, on the Island of Vieques in Puerto Rico in August 2007. It had been close to 23 years since the last time I had experience the feeling of a true rebellion. 23 years since I last sat on a similar make shift headquarter of Angolan want to be rebels. We were young and looking out for our own survival and mingled among the true rebels of the three fighting groups eager to control Angola.

The wood posts, palm tree leaves, the cheap chairs and flimsy table covered by a "expensive" looking table cloth were a magical copy of those I remember for local headquarters for each the fighting groups. I wonder if in some rebel fighting manual writing years ago by a first master rebel, a chapter is dedicated to "Local Headquarters." It probably goes something like, create flag, find place to hang flag, cover area with simple roof, get chair and table and start a revolution. Total cost for materials and labor zero. Now that is the way to go.

Right next to the Vieques Island rebel headquarters is a beautiful boganvia plant giving a sense of tranquility and longevity to the rebel headquarters. I wonder if it was planted there for that purposes or just happen to be a bird dropping that sprouted? Who knows but it is one of my favorite plants as I had such plant covering the facade of my previous house in California. This was a beautiful house where my two girls were born and lived their early years. So the contrast of the past came to mind in a flurry of back and forth scenes of the present with my house's boganvia in full bloom.  Yes, that is my new bride as well in the picture further complicating my mental time warp.

This  was only to be distracted by the massive U.S. Navy headquarters 20 feet across from the rebel headquarters on the other side of the street. The Navy used Vieques island for nearly 100 years as a bombing training facility. Ha the reason for the rebel headquarters to bring attention to this activity in ana attempt to close it down.

Well the good news is that the rebel headquarters served the rebels and the people of Vieques very well as the Navy moved on, the bombing runs an echo of the past that can be heard while diving deep into the beautiful waters of this paradise island. As for me just memories in the making. I wonder if some day these memories will mesh together and create one continuously evolving revolution...