Analogy: Think the South Side When the Steelers Won the Super Bowl

When I heard that Cuban TV made an official announcement that Fidel Castro had temporarily handed over power to his brother while undergoing surgery I thought parts of Miami must be on fire tonight. This article bears that out:

Beating on cooking pots and honking car horns, hundreds of Cuban exiles streamed into the streets of Miami's Little Havana to celebrate news that Cuban President Fidel Castro had handed over power.

A while back, I used to work for a company whose president was a Cuban exile. Periodically, rumors circulated along the Spanish-language media grapevine that Castro was dead. They usually ran along the lines that there were reports that Fidel's brother had been seen running into the street screaming , "My God, my God! He's dead, he's dead!" The boss even invited folks into his office for drinks at one such announcement, but the rumors turned out to be always just that.

This is the first time since Fidel has been in charge that the reigns of power have been handed over to another -- if even only on a temporary basis -- so it is significant. I guess we'll all just have to wait to see how this plays out, but I'm guessing that this time, the end is actually near.