Only in America

...could a once privileged Cuban exile become the head librarian of a major U.S. newspaper.

Luis Bueno ran the Miami Herald's library for many years, ceding the management position only a year or two before I arrived there to someone who would take the library into the computer age.

Always gracious, he continued to keep up the daily archiving work, especially with the Spanish-language sections, and was a great friend to all who worked there. He died this week of emphysema at 82, but had continued, after his retirement, to staff the library on Saturdays until recently.

I always knew that Luis would remember things that no one else had a clue about, and could tell me where to look for them. I still occasionally try to make his wonderful tortilla -- Spanish potato omelet made with lots of cream -- although mine is never as good as his. And I think of him whenever I see a later Sean Connery movie -- in their 50s and 60s they looked very much alike -- which made it really amusing the day when Connery filmed a movie scene in the Herald's library.

A Diós, Luis. And thanks to Luisa Yanez for the nice obit.