michael marries the kind of woman he can never respect and feels lonely forever because of it. he
is constantly disappointed in his children and constantly disappointed in his grandchildren. this
is because michael is constantly disappointed in himself. he had such potential! he was, when
just a youngster, smart enough to discuss relativity (which these days has been disproved) or
wax poetic about german philosophy. then he shrank back and did what was expected of him,
god dammit, and wasn't that good enough?

alas, the expectations held of cuban boys, once they age past high school football and into
adulthood, include dance music, harder drugs, drinking until the sun comes up, and marrying the
kind of women you can never respect. they include shunning your father while still secretly
peeking over your shoulder at his life for advice. they include sipping malta long into the
night, being bitter, teaching your male children to marry subservient women, and your female
children to be subservient. they include growing old with deep lines on your face and giving up
the english language entirely in favor of prejudices and muttered curse words.

03/05/2010

Author's Note: Michael luckily has a lot of expectations of his own. He is lackluster.

Posted on 03/05/2010
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