Hurricannes , Earthquaques , Covid 19 Pandemic..

 

Struggles of a small business trying to survive in Puerto Rico….

Hello everyone, this is our story for the past 3 years as a small business going thru hell to stay afloat and surviving.

El Yunque Food Corp has been for the last decade the official food concessionaire for El Yunque Rain Forest here in Puerto Rico, with 4 operating locations providing service to the many visitors that came to our island up to the month of September 2017, almost three years ago, and that is when hell on earth began for us.

On Sept 7,2017 we had to close all our businesses due to Hurricane Irma battering Puerto Rico the damage wasn’t too bad and two weeks later we were getting ready to reopen then a category 5 Hurricane Maria hit us, destroying  not only all our businesses in the forest but the whole island was left in shambles, no electricity for six months, and so forth.

Due to the damages done to El Yunque, all our businesses were completely destroyed and it wasn’t until 2 years later at the end of November 2019,that we were able to reopen 1 of our locations, as soon as we reopened business was good, and we figured that with lots of work and the help of the Forest Service all our other locations would be back in business during 2020. January 7,2020,Puerto Rico is shaken up by a couple of Earthquakes, although the damage wasn’t very significant we were forced to close for a week at the start of the tourist season, once again after reopening business was great up to March 16,2020,when the Covid pandemic hit and we had to close and layoff our staff of 12 employees.

We remained closed until July 8,2020 when we were permitted to reopen under very stringent regulations, such as the Forest Service only allowing 30% of normal visitors into the forest and charging a fee to those visitors and only thru a reservations system, only cars, no tour busses. We were open for 2.5 weeks until July 28,when due to Tropical Storm Isaias we had to close until August 15, we were open for 1 week and then on August 21 we had close one more time due to Tropical Storm Laura, this time the closure was for one week and we reopened on August 27.

As of now we are still open, but all the rules and regulations on the traveling public, and the limitations to operate a restaurant at this time have contributed to a 75% drop in business, we have only been able to rehire 3-4 former employees.

This is our story, nothing has been exaggerated.

We shall continue trying to make it work under these very dire circumstances , and hoping for better days, thank you for reading and share if you so desire.

Rolando /  El Yunque Food Corp

Esteban Santiago, a killing machine build and created by the U.S Government.....

Let me preface this writing by saying that l do not condone in any way the actions of the young man that did the killings at the airport in Fla.
Having said that, l find is very important to take a deeper look at what happened and whether it could have been prevented if our government had done its job.
Esteban Santiago, joined the Puerto Rican National Guard as a 16 year old kid, here in Puerto Rico the Guard is basically a joke,its head is a political hack appointed by whoever is the governor of the island,many scandals within the Guard have become public news in the last few years,also from those in the know the training is very poor,with this kind of background Esteban Santiago is sent to fight in Irak for a year,now this 18 year old is in the real world where you must be on guard 24/7 and becomes a kill or be killed way of life while in Irak,this not a video game, here your best friend is blown to pieces right next to you,or as you drive by a car bomb explodes killing women,children,etc and all you see are body parts all over,does anyone think that being exposed to this type of carnage on a daily basis is not going to have an impact on the psychic of this kid?.After a year and after being awarded some medal for courage he is sent back home,is he given any kind of help to deal with what he just went thru?,or if he complained he was given some pills and sent on its way? He goes back to the National Guard, a few years later he is discharged for "Unsatisfactory Performance" whatever the hell that means,obviously he is not well mentally,now he doesn't get much benefits,and is forced to work as a security guard to keep his family,his family can see that he is not well and talk about it. Two months ago he takes the initiative and goes to the local FBI office in Alaska and tells them about hearing voices that are telling him to join ISIS,this should have been a huge RED FLAG,but what does the FBI do,they send him on its way without any help and turn him over to the local authorities who give him a quick check and forget all about him,two days ago he snapped and  we have the results that we all have seen.Like Esteban there thousands of veterans in the same boat and unless someone in power decides to do something about,more cases like this we will see........

Week of Changes In Cuba,and now The Rolling Stones...

What a fantastic week it has been for my people in Cuba,first our president visits and in the face of Cuban dictator Raul Castro he proceeds to tell the Cuban people about political reforms,Human Rights,freedom of speech,political prisoners,etc topics that have been unheard of in public for many years.and today my favorite band The Rolling Stones will play for free for the Cuban people,not for the dictators,not for the elite that runs Cuba,but for the average Cuban with a monthly salary of $20.00 who never in a lifetime could afford a Rolling Stones ticket,a band whose music was banned in Cuba for many years,so changes are happening in my homeland,and l could not be happier,to Mick and the boys thank you for this amazing gesture,my people will appreciated it,
l won't be there in person(state dept refuse me a visa)but will be watching by periscope or any other way,hope you play Street Fighting Men,for the ones that against all odds have been fighting the Dictatorship and continue to do so...Rock On..

OBAMA , CUBA , Y , EL EXILIO....

Hoy es un dia historico para nuestro pueblo,hoy el presidente de los Estados Unidos hablando en Cuba les dijo a nuestra gente de la necesidad de establecer un gobierno con democracia en Cuba,les hablo de las violaciones de derechos humanos,de la libertad de expresion,etc y lo hiso en la television de Cuba con los Castros de espectadores,llevo un mensaje fuerte y sin anbiguedades todos deveriamos de estar orgullosos de esto,ya no son cuatro gatos hablando por la radio de Miami,dando mensajes que en Cuba nadie escucha,o algun que otro politico buscando votos hablando mierda en el Versalles,pero no esto no es suficiente para la extrema derecha reaccionaria de Miami,se la pasan hablando de la violencia del regimen contra las "Damas De Blanco" en su protesta del domingo,pero lo que no dicen es que gracias a las aperturas echas posible por Obama, es que el mundo entero pudo ver la cara vilolenta del gobierno cubano y la represion,al momento de esto suceder ya los visuales corrian por todo el espacio cibernetico,y vamos hacer realistas la tirania va usar estos metodos cada ves mas al ver como el control que han tenido dobre el pueblo por mas de 50 años se les va de las manos,y todo el que en Cuba proteste que no piensen que les van a tirar flores,me recuerdo cuando eramos jovenes y protestabamos frente a la mision cubana de la ONU como la el tactical patrol force de la policia de New York nos ataco sin misericordia y varios de nosotros quedamos tendidos en el pavimiento en la quinta avenida ensangrentados y luego nos metieron presos sin tan siquiera darnos atencion medica, o la ves en Miami que me arrestaron y luego de tenerme esposado dentro de un carro, un policia cubano me rompio la cabeza con la macana, aqui en Puerto Rico a cada rato la policia ataca brutalmente a los estudiantes por protestar,el punto es que los cambios asustan a las personas en poder y utilizan la violencia en contra de aquellos que que demendan cambios..Para finalizar de nuevo gracias a nuestro presidente por tener los cojones de decirle la verda ala tirania de frente......

MEMORIAL DAY RANT.........

Its nice that people today remember those that have been killed in different wars,the politicians love days like this so they come out with their "sad faces" some of them share a tear or two,and they tell the people that those fallen soldiers did not die in vain,yara, yara, yara, yet those  are the same folks that be in the senate or house of representatives,or in the presidency, keep sending our youth to useless and endless wars to be slaughtered,Bush father and then Junior got us in to two quagmires in Afghanistan and Irak, wars that were started just for the greed of a few that became super millionaires from those two conflicts,and today we see, it was a waste of time,money and more important the cost in lives,young people that die leaving their families forever in pain,while those in Washington give them a flag and a "God Bless You". 

Watching the news the other day, saw an anguish mother crying her heart out,because her 22 year old had been killed in Ramadi, Irak a few years back, and now she turns the TV on and sees,that the same city her son died defending has fallen into the hands of barbarians, now let any politician go and tell her that her son did not die in vain... Can someone tell me when was the last time that the son or daughter of a Senator, Representative,or the President, died in war??? l don't it has ever happened,and probably never will,if they felt the pain that so many are feeling today,they would think twice before starting wars,which are not to defend our country but rather to satisfy their Macho Egos......

http://www.npr.org/2015/05/25/408505821

The Police are to be blamed for Bikers Gang Violence in Waco.....

After reading the many accounts of the violence that happened in Waco when rival bike gangs fought each other with the already known results of nine people dead,is amazing that the police who knew that trouble was brewing and the animosity between the different groups, all they can do is blame the restaurant "Twin Peaks" for not stopping the gang members from entering the restaurant wearing their colors,who in their right mind is gonna stand at the door and tell over 200 hundred bikers to take off their colors or they would not be allowed into the restaurant???.

Once upon a time l used to manage a Denny's Restaurant in an area of Miami that back in the 80's was a cesspool of drug dealers,prostitutes,Pimps,and other lowlifes,Biscayne Blvd and 36 st,well every weekend after midnight and into the early morning hours those were our customers,raising hell,trowing food at each other and creating havoc,one night two groups decided to start a fight inside the restaurant,l was new at my job and naive, and l decided to be a hero and jumped in the middle of the ruckus,well got my nose broken,and beat up,last time l did it,from then on, a fight happened, l would bring all my employees to the back and call the police,my point there is no way that anyone can expect that restaurant personnel,even with security guards will stop a massive group of bikers from entering a public restaurant,it would be suicidal,the police should have done their job,and stopped the bikers before since they knew of the trouble coming,another thing that does not make any sense is that the cops are trying to portrait themselves as heroes and supposedly the bikers fired at them,well how lucky that none of them got hit,and if they fired back then maybe the cops are responsible for some of the deaths...jus sayin.....  http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/19/us/gallery/texas-biker-mugshots/index.html

A visit to a hospital in Puerto Rico....

A Visit to a Hospital( This is a true story,it happened to me a few years back)...

Last night l had what can only be described as a surreal evening,l had to go to the emergency room of a local hospital,(kidney Stones) arrived at about 8 in the evening to the emergency room,now, here in Puerto Rico "emergencies" are anything from a cough to someone having being shot, anyway had to wait about one hour to have someone take my blood pressure and  ask me if l was in pain (no dear, l just love hanging out at emergency rooms),l get sent back out to sit and wait for another hour, finally my name is called out "the doctor will see you now". 

l go to this dingy office and the doctor barely raises her head and ask "Que le pasa Don?' (What's up?)
Doctor, l try to explain, my guts are being tore out by this little rock inside my kidneys l tell her, now she tells me "relax give me all your information" this goes on for about 30 minutes,finally she says we gonna run some tests and l will give you Demerol for your pain "Thank You Lord".
I get sent back out once again, to wait for the nurse to take my blood and give me the Demerol.
Now comes more weirdness the nurse is this 300  lbs Samoan wrestler look alike, and she says to me "Come esta Don Rolando"(How are you Rolando) l look up and totally freaked out ,here she is ready to take my blood and shoot me full of pain killers,when l realized that she had being a former employee of mine  whom l had fired a while back,and to make matters worse,her husband used to work for me also and l had  fired his ass too., oh oh, now l am in trouble l am thinking,she is ready to pay me back.....
l try to smile and ask her about her family,but realizing that my life is now in her hands,by now my pain is so bad that l say what the hell just give me those pain killers.
Well, she takes my blood and tells me "pull down your pants" and gives me a shot,in about ten minutes no more pain, and l am flying l get sent to this little room where there are about 15 other patients just standing around waiting for who knows what,but l am feeling great the Demerol has by now really kicked in,the room is packed ,on the TV they are playing in Spanish the movie "Meet the Spartans" now this is straight out of Hunter Thompson,all l can l hear are a bunch of gay Spartans going to war singing "l will Survive" and then Paris Hilton,and so on on so forth,after a couple of hours the Doctor calls me back.'Don ya se puede ir".(Mr Feria you can go home now)Its 3:30 am,and my wife drives me home.....