I firmly believe that things are meant to happen; you must stop expecting them to happen and of course, accept it with grace when it does happen. Casualidad no es tan casual, Coincidence are not what they appear to be, we chide each other in Baracoa, a coastal town in Cuba, nearly carried away to the sea recently by a wave so huge it had begun somewhere else. Few days earlier, Whales were seen visiting the Bay, something that has not happened to those with recent memory.
It always brings bad luck, said the white haired Negro, who fifty years ago remembered the arrival of whales just a few days before the hurricane that was to level Baracoa to its foundations. But that is another story. Casualidad no es tan casual, my dear friend, the Little poet of Baracoa would say, echoing what American Indians have repeatedly told me, Nothing happens without a reason, it is just that we are not smart enough to understand them when they are happening.
I am writing this to you, ensconced in the First Class lounge of the Qantas Airways, the national airways of Australia. (Do you know what Qantas stands for?). This is their lounge in Los Angeles Airport where the security details were much less neurotic than the melodramatic Latinos in Miami.
Some Sushi, a cappuccino and now to recollect the story. Flight from Miami to Houston, this morning, on Continental Airlines. A nice seat on the Exit row, no one sitting next to me, I was making myself comfortable, when I heard my name paged on the PA system of the aircraft.
I had an inkling of what it might be. Checking in at Continental Airlines counters in Miami is a sheer pleasure for me. I have been friends with the same agents, for many years, through their marriages and children, and my own travel exploits in various parts of the Caribbean.
One of the Jamaicans is married to a Cuban, so the relationship is even more meaningful. After looking at my ticket, Anne another Jamaican with a touch of Chinese to her face, said, you are not upgraded because all the seats are taken but I would put you on Priority Waiting List in case someone does not show up. A small chance, but why not?
And now I hear my name paged, and a gracious flight attendant with many years of flying under her belt, kindly points me towards the front cabin. Seat 2 F A young man, Latin looking, with no Indian or Negro admixture, was occupying the seat next to me. Sweat rolled down his forehead, and he held a scotch in his right hand.
I sat down and busied myself with organizing my notebook and the reading materials to occupy me for the next two hours. The young man looked in my direction and said: I am a little nervous and don’t like to fly. But I have to fly a lot.
This fear is since the dreadful experience I had flying into Guatemala City after the eruption of the volcano in that Central American country, from where his catholic father had emigrated to marry a Mormon mother in Houston where he was raised, to enjoy the American dream. I noticed that the shades were pulled down and I opened them slightly. If you don’t mind, if you open the blinds, it would remind me that I am not in control of the situation and I would panic.
It has been worse since the episode. I may as well tell you, without waiting for an answer. Was flying into the dust storm created by the volcanic eruption.
Everything was going well, a little bumpy, and then the pilot comes on the PA system to say that the dust is so thick that he cannot see where he is going. And soon after, with a thud the plane dropped a few hundred feet down, as happens when they hit an air pocket or a change in consistency of air, such as the rare volcanic ash spawn across the sky. The oxygen masks came down, the hand luggage flew everywhere, and I started to pray Soon enough we landed safely, but since then I have this great fear of flying.
I visited several psychologists and they helped me a little and I took courses on the workings of an aircraft and I was told that 737-900 are safer and that their wingtips will help stabilize the plane. Alas, I was on a 737-400 aircraft. Also I learned that it is in the first fourteen minutes of the flight and the last fifteen minutes of the flight that most of the problems occur.
So I need a scotch to calm myself down when the plane takes off and another when the plane lands and also I have this BOSE noise cancelling earphones that calms me down .. Have you tried Yoga and meditation, I asked him. Now that you ask me, I have never tried it.
I thought you have to be supple to do that. I am only 27; I suppose I could try it. I told him about the calming effects of Yoga and Meditation and also as an added booster, I told him to eat 70 per cent cacao chocolate to calm his inflammation in the body.
In bits and pieces, he had said that he was an entrepreneur, had six offices, including Miami and Houston and Cancun. We talked about Mexico, and then Guatemala, the country of his origin. I really did not want to ask him what his business is all about.
but out of politeness I asked, what is the nature of your business? Web design and hosting… He outsources his work to Mexico and would like to outsource to Asia but he lacks contacts there.
Original Blogger URL: https://medicoanthropologist.blogspot.com/2008/04/miami-to-houston-on-continental.html