It's the first time Moises Miranda has been on an airplane.
For that matter, it's the first time he's left Cuba.
He's 27, speaks no English and doesn't have a dime in his pocket.
Arriving in Miami, with nobody there to greet him, he begins talking to some other Cubans.
"Where you going?" they ask.
"North Carolina," says Miranda.
"Where's that?"
"I don't know. Up here somewhere," Miranda says. Thus begins the great adventure.
That was 18 years ago. The young man from Cuba has come a long way since then.
From a floor-sweeper in a Shelby textile plant, he went on to own a Gastonia real estate business. On Jan. 13, Miranda became the new president of the Gaston Association of Realtors.
Lou Baldwin, president of the N.C. Association of Realtors, did the honors in a ceremony at the Gaston Country Club.
Formed in 1954, the Gaston Association of Realtors has 300 members and 25 affiliates. During recent hard economic times, membership has dipped. In 2007, the group had 400 members.
Association CEO Ann Drum thinks Miranda brings a lot to the table.
"He seems very interested in bringing all the members together," she said. "And keeping them more interested - helping move the association forward and keeping it viable."
Looking for better way
Folks call him "Moses," as in the Ten Commandments. That's not how his first name is pronounced in Spanish, but Miranda says it's OK by him.
The first impression you get of Miranda is that he could whip up enthusiasm for almost anything. His easy-going self-confidence is appealing; I can see why he's been a success in real estate.
I also understand why he wasn't intimidated about leaving Cuba in his late 20s with no money and no English skills.
Miranda had a vision: Somehow, he was going to make good.
Leaving was no easy decision. He loved Cuba. He loved his hometown of Pinar del Rio on the tail end of the island. There, in 1937, his grandfather had started a grocery business, and the family had kept it going until the Communist takeover. Family members stayed with the grocery, but it was owned by the government. Miranda's father found work in a storage business.
"Cuba is a beautiful country," Miranda said. "It's got wonderful people. Good coffee, good cigars and beautiful women."
But some things weren't quite the same after Castro.
Meanwhile, Miranda's parents divorced. His mother moved to the United States and remarried. He stayed behind with his father and grandparents.
After his father died in the early 1980s, Miranda's mother visited Cuba and asked if he'd like to come to the United States.
He decided to stay put. But in 1995, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, "everything was going bad in Cuba," Miranda said. "I was looking for some better way to help the family."
So he looked to the United States.
Miranda was 26 at the time, and even though he had a visa to leave he had to wait another year. The Cuban government wouldn't release him until his eligibility for the military expired at age 27.
On Jan. 27, 1993, Miranda boarded an airplane in Havana. As it took off, he looked down at the island he knew from end to end. As a national champion fencer in the early 1980s, he'd traveled all over Cuba by bus.
Miranda said goodbye to the familiar and braced himself for the unknown.
In Miami, he felt a little lost when his mother wasn't there to meet him at first. But she finally showed up, and they headed to his new home - Shelby.
Miranda's first job was sweeping floors at J & C Dyeing. He worked hard and picked up a little English along the way.
He also met a young woman named Christy Ledford, who wanted to learn Spanish. They began dating and were married in 2000.
Miranda started classes at Cleveland Community College but couldn't decide on a career. Ledford suggested accounting or real estate.
'Don't give up'
Miranda always thought he had a talent for talking to people.
In 2000, he went to work as an agent with the Allen Tate Co. in Gastonia. A year later, he opened his own business, Miranda Realty.
From then until 2007 "life was good," he said. "Since 2007, life has been a rollercoaster. Crazy. Up and down. It's the worst I've seen. But I'm still alive. It's hard to kill a Cuban."
As president of the Gaston Association of Realtors, Miranda wants to "motivate people and bring them together."
And even if things aren't so hot, "I want to make them laugh," he said.
In Cuba, "there's no hope," Miranda said. "But here, there's some hope. This country is the land of opportunity."
The message he'll be serving to Realtors this year could be applied anywhere.
"Don't give up," Miranda said. "Things are going to get better."
