Casa Carajo

I love that phrase. It's the Cuban equivalent to "Bumfuk, Egypt." It means a place that's extremely out of the way; a schlep to get to.

Last night I was helping D2 with her final (yay!) college application essay. As an academic dilletante, I know a little bit about the sort of drivel colleges want to hear from their prospective students. At the top of the list is DIVERSITY. In fact, D2 has Hispanic friends who get into top colleges precisely BECAUSE the Northern schools want diversity.

So, we worked on the essay, feeding them lines about how diverse the school is, even though it's a private college where the students tend to be upper class whites. Whatever works.

But then I started to think -- I really DO embrace diversity. One of the things I love about Miami is that you feel like you're visiting a foreign country without getting on a plane.

Sometimes it's a little annoying, like when sales clerks approach you in Spanish, assuming you're part of that majority, but that's a small price to pay, I figure.

Besides --would any of us prefer it on Long Island, where the sales girls all speak English, and sound precisely like Fran Drescher? Nah --subtle, lilted Spanish wins out in that department.

So tomorrow, I'm headed up to Sunrise, to watch the Panthers play. My friend Norman has season's tickets. I haven't been to a PAnthers game since 1996, when they made it to the Stanley Cup finals.

I grew up an Islanders fan. Our junior high's assistant principal, Jim Garvey, was that expansion team's radio announcer. I watched the Isles nearly win the Cup, always to lose to the hated Philly Flyers, until they finally won in 1980, and I watched the games alone in my dorm room at UM, surrounded by Saudi students who had never seen ice.

So tomorrow I'm headed to Casa Carajo, in Sunrise, to watch the Panthers. Norman is also taking Ken, who I met in junior high, and Jim, the biggest sports fan there is. I have a feeling we'll drink more than a few, and laugh, and enjoy the moment.

Then I'll drive back to the 305, and diversity...