Cuba Libre!
Castro is dead! The headlines hit my Twitter account last night with a colleague posting live video from the streets of Miami. Cuban-Americans; some who crossed the 90 miles in small boats to reach the United States and some that were likely descendants of the freedom-fighters of the Brigade 2506 that landed on the beaches of the Bay of Pigs in April 1961 were celebrating on the streets of Little Havana waving both U.S. and Cuban national flags. For me I remember Fidel Castro much differently; not so much as the dictator or the liberator but as the man responsible for the cost of my beloved Hostess Sno Balls ® snack cakes increasing from 10 cents to a whopping 12 cents!
I was seven years old when the Soviet Union began shipping ballistic missiles to bases in Cuba and the resulting response by President John F. Kennedy which included an embargo on Cuban products. In addition to rum and cigars, the ban also included sugar — a main ingredient in Sno Balls®. As a seven-year, old the ban on rum and cigars would not affect me for several years but the increase in the price of Sno Balls ® hit me immediately!
It was a cool fall day and I had probably earned some money raking leaves. I walked the few blocks from my home in Louisville’s West End to a small mom & pop grocery; Hatfield’s at the corner of 41st and Bank Streets. Picking up a package of Sno Balls ®; a half-sphere of devil’s food cake, with a crème filled center and covered in marshmallow and coconut flakes on the outside. Sno Balls were usually White or Pink and I am not sure which I picked that day but with my snack in hand I approached the checkout counter and laid my Sno Balls® on the counter along with a silver dime — which was real silver, not the sandwich coin introduced in 1965. The matronly lady behind the counter looked at me and made the first political statement that I can remember. “they are 12 cents now, I will let you have it for a dime this time but that Castro has made sugar prices go up.” Not understanding global economics or international security strategy I was happy to walk away with my snack cake.
Whenever Cuba or Castro was mentioned whether in discussions about the Missile Crisis or the numerous crisis’s that followed for over the next fifty-plus years I always recall the “Sno Balls® Massacre” and my introduction to the study of globalization and international security. You may ask, “How will I mark the passing of Fidel?” I think when I head out later today to run errands I will stop at one of the big warehouse grocery stores that have replaced the mom & pops and buy a package of Sno Balls ®, I can guarantee you it will cost more than the 12 cents!
Dave Mattingly is a writer and national security consultant. He retired from the U.S. Navy with over thirty years of service. He is a member of the Military Writers Guild and regularly reviews books dealing with foreign policy and military operations. He holds a Masters of Arts in National Security Studies from American Military University.
