BY VIVIAN SEQUERA
 Associated Press

 CARDENAS, Cuba -- President Fidel Castro of Cuba appears to be keeping his
 word that Elián González, the 6-year-old castaway who became the center of an
 enormously magnified international custody battle, would return to a private life.

 Today, Elián lives the quiet life of a second-grader -- though uniformed police still
 protect him from reporters. In Elian's hometown of Cárdenas, a police officer
 outside the Gonzálezes' modest home told journalists the family would not grant
 any interviews. Another officer stood outside Elián's elementary school.

 By all accounts, Elián, who will turn 7 on Dec. 6, is doing well. His grandparents
 take him to school every day on their bicycles.

 Elián's father, Juan Miguel González, works as a waiter at an Italian restaurant
 near Cárdenas.

 Inside the restaurant, there is a picture of the man who traveled to the United
 States to claim his son posing with co-workers.