Sometimes I would try to force myself to cry during sad movies, sniffing and squinting and sighing, to make sure I wasn’t a monster.

He placed the pages of his planned eulogy on the small lectern, squinting into the harsh stage lighting to study the faces before him.

Squinting in the bright sun, Cubans arrived in groups of co-workers and classmates at the Plaza of the Revolution, where Castro’s hours-long speeches once echoed.