ALDRIN

I was returning to Honolulu from Sacramento on the 9:40 morning flight on American. The airport was teeming with spooling currents of people pushed by an understated urgency. The dull ache in my head intensified as I sat next to a large woman who was vigorously cracking peanuts. For a whole minute I thought about moving.

“We are boarding rows 21 and lower,” the public address announced. I was on my feet instantly, unaware that another man had noticed my response.

“No need to hurry, we’ll all arrive at the same time. You can go ahead of me–its okay,” he said.  I smiled and nodded, “No after you sir,” I insisted, my headache vanished.

In the process of boarding I forgot about the man, so I was a little surprised to discover that we were seated in the same row with a vacant seat between us on an otherwise full flight!

“My name is Aldrin,” he said.  “You know like Buzz Aldrin, the lunar module pilot on Apollo 11. He would have been the first man to set foot on the moon, but Neil Armstrong pushed him out of the way.”   He smiled. I then realized he was joking. “Where are you from,” he asked?  I looked closely at his face before answering.  A halo of self-assurance framed it, along with a well trimmed mustache and clean cut glasses …

”I’m from Hawaii”, I said.

“And I’m from Trinidad-Tobago. I am of Portuguese and African descent.  Most people can’t tell where I’m from until I speak,” he said smiling. “I’ve been invited to Hawaii as a speaker for the first annual world congress on understanding the molecular basis of heart disease and cancer.”

“You must have a head on your shoulders?” 

“Yes, it is on my shoulders, and thank you,” the young PHD said. “I teach at UC Davis.”  

“Is this your first visit to Hawaii,” I asked?

“No…This is my second visit,” he said.

 “And were you impressed with the tropical beauty of Hawaii?”

”Not really because my country is equally beautiful, and it is the richest country in the Caribbean.”

I could see I was speaking to a man who was intellectually gifted and not an empty seat. He had immediately sparked my interest. “How and why is Trinidad-Tobago the richest country in the Caribbean,” I asked?”

“We share the same oil basin that Venezuela does. There are many smart people in Trinidad, and nearly 40% of them are from India.  My wife is Indian.”

“Well sir, how did you get so-o smart?”

“I am not particularly smart. You see anyone of average intelligence is capable of flying this airplane. Intelligence is primarily a matter of focus, patience and preparation…for the lack of a better word–discipline.”

What I hated most about flying really didn’t matter now. I was intrigued.  “Tell me more about being smart,” I demanded.  I explained that I had been a martial artist and understood conditioning the body in order to make it stronger and more flexible, and the necessity in feeding one’s spirit to make life less stressful and more enjoyable, but how does one increase brain-power?

Aldrin was on his feet almost instantly, and retrieved his laptop from the overhead compartment. In a matter of seconds the screen displayed a network of brightly colored balls randomly placed on a grid.   Aldrin had the hands of a piano player or perhaps a surgeon I thought as he nimbly stroked the keys. “This is a game that rewards focus, patience and judgment, which are components of intellect. It is a brain exercise. For example: a bit of critical thinking can resolve a lot of issues. The object of this exercise is to align all six balls of the same color in a diagonal line,or in a straight line, and in the quickest possible way. It is not easy because simple mistakes are made unless you focus on the task at hand, prepare before making each move, are patient, and disciplined, which is one way to test the hypotheses of learning how to exercise the brain.”

Seemingly at light speed he arranged the eleven or twelve different colored balls into homogenous runs of color. He looked up just long enough to see if I was paying attention, and then completed the task and turned the machine off. I was impressed.

“Did you know that it has been proven that cancer is produced in laboratory animals fed milk and dairy products?  And it has also been proven that the artificial colorings utilized in our foods likewise produce cancer in laboratory animals. It is really important that consumers read the labels of sport drinks in particular, because they often use artificial coloring.  A good alternative is beet juice for instance, which is a much better and healthy substitute. Oh…and only eat apples organically grown—because they also produce cancer, and are more susceptible in the retention of toxins, herbicides, insecticides, and pesticides, which cause cancers. If the bugs won’t eat it we shouldn’t eat it. To another point: Did you know that every time you fly it takes approximately two-days off your life? This is because of the cabin pressurization. He then showed me the coned-shaped ear plugs he was wearing which neutralized the effects of airplane pressurization.

Then I asked somewhat competitively, “We are an overworked, overstressed, over drugged, over-caffeinated, money-chasing, self-absorbed culture looking for answers by watching excessive amounts of television, while lying in the warm shade of summer and the safety of denial—what is that doing to our minds and bodies?” Aldrin seemed to fish for the reason why I’d asked that question. I raised my eyes and waited for his answer when a breeze 30,000 feet high closed the door.

After all he was scheduled to speak on using cardio proteomics to advance the discovery of signaling mechanisms involved in cardiovascular diseases.

 

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