Life in Review : Fidel Castro News

The day is a bit gloomy. A little mysterious fog hanging low. Spring weather is even more unpredictable then summer weather, but anyway... I woke up in a steller mood, a little sleepy still and opened up my internet browser to find out that Fidel Castro, Cuba's 81 year old president, has just resigned.

Just a couple weeks ago I was telling my sister that I want to go to Cuba before Castro leaves because who knows how much the culture and country as a whole will change. It's crazy that he has been the only one to keep communism alive and going. There has been many hits on him and he's survived all, except old age. And after almost half a century, he resigns.

I am not necessarily surprised because he fell ill back in 2006, but I am amazed that he has resigned. His brother, Raul Castro, is next in line for president but considering his age [76], he might not get it. Cuba is in a very fragile state right now and I am wondering what will happen next.

Today is historic. Here is an excerpt that I took for the Yahoo! article that caught my attention:

"My wishes have always been to discharge my duties to my last breath," Castro wrote in a letter published Tuesday in the online edition of the Communist Party daily Granma. But "it would be a betrayal to my conscience to accept a responsibility requiring more mobility and dedication than I am physically able to offer," he wrote.

Whoa. I am still in astonishment.

**photograph is copyrighted by the NY Times.