The News: Nancy Reagan, a former actress who married an actor and became an influential First Lady, died of congestive heart failure at age. She was the woman behind the man who became governor of California and the 40^th president.

Mrs. Reagan was fiercely protective of her husband Ronald Reagan, who she called “Ronnie.” She was his devoted wife and political consigliere. She was know for her “Just Say No to Drugs” campaign while in the White House, and for her work on Alzheimer’s disease as the former president faded and eventually died. President Obama said Mrs. Reagan “had redefined the role” of first lady.

The woman who liked to wear a patriotic red was a controversial figure. She was key in the firing of White House chief of staff Donald T. Regan, and often pushed her husband to see her point of view on world affairs. She was his closest advisor.

Mrs. Reagan also was addicted to astrology, and passed on the advice of per personal astrologer to the president’s aides to pick the most astrologically favorable days to schedule events.

Gridiron: Just weeks after winning his second Super Bowl and just short of 40 years old, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning announced he’s retiring from the game. It was pretty much been assumed he would.

Manning is the son and brother of legendary NFL quarterbacks. He won a record 200 games as a starter.

Cuba Before McDonalds: The first hint of how Cuba works is at the airport. While foreigners wait in line at the money exchange, a man works the line offering people with American dollars another rate. He sends them over to a woman who actually works for the exchange, but takes customers into a side door where the transaction takes place in private. They take a little bit of skim from the difference between the two rates of exchange.

Cuba has two economies; the official economy, and the economy upon which Cubans survive. A typical worker paid by the government gets about the equivalent in Cuban pesos of $25-$30 US dollars a month, which is not enough, but no one pays rent, there are no income taxes, and healthcare is free. Families with babies are given an allotment for formula and diapers. Everyone gets a monthly ration of some basic food items they pay for in pesos; rice, beans, chicken, cooking oil. It’s enough for about 10 days.

To get by, everyone needs to find a way to make more money, preferably in the foreign exchange currency, the CUC, known as the “kook.” The poverty feeds corruption, like the little operation at the currency exchange. Construction materials disappear and money must change hands to grease dealings with government.

Cuba has a culture of tipping. If you take a picture of a man sitting in his old American car, it’s a good idea to give him one kook. A man playing a horn in the street — if you stop and listen you tip him. Many of the bars and restaurants have bands that pass a basket after each set.

A man gave us a tour of an old mansion under repair and we tipped him a few kooks. Then he asked if he could have the pen in my pocket.

Cuba is a poor country sitting on a wealth of beauty. Old Havana is a 100-year-old city preserved mostly as it was. It has miles of colonnaded buildings with balconies and carved ornaments. The beautiful colonial age buildings are crumbling and dirty. The entire town needs a steam cleaning.

The city has no billboards, no assault of advertising, no fast food joints. There are just a few neon signs, just enough to give character. Some buildings are being gutted and completely re-done. You can see the transformation that’s coming. And the buildings that have been completed are breathtaking. The national theater, lit up at night, looks like Paris.

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