Category: Out and About

Yesterday I flew to Newark, NJ as I was to give a seminar at Rutgers.  Through a conspiracy of airline ticket prices, I was compelled to take a one-stop flight.  So, at 6:35 am I boarded an American Airlines flight bound for Miami, FL.  Several hours later I found the plane I was on had landed in Tampa Bay, FL.  The Miami airport had closed due to thunderstorms while we were in flight.  We flew around the airport for 30 or 45 minutes in what as know as a ‘holding pattern’.  At that time, the pilot announced that we would need to fly to Tampa for some fuel as we were running out.  Once we got to Tampa, it took quite some time before we could get a fueling truck.  Apparently, we were not the only plane that was running low on fuel.  Once we had more fuel, we had to sit a bit longer as we were grounded, due to the Miami airport still being closed.  Eventually, the weather cleared and we landed in Miami at 1:30 pm, only 3 hours behind schedule.

Fortunately, my connecting flight also suffered from substantial delays.  In addition to the weather, we had some problem getting ‘security clearance’ for the plane.  Something needed before passengers could board.  Finally at 4 pm we were on our way.  I had been feeling a little better as I had been upgraded to 1st class.  So, I knew I would be fed a hot meal, beverages of my choice and have a large seat and I would be treated well.

Until I got on the plane, seat 5A and found that the gentleman in seat 5B was a crazy person with a skin condition.  I generally have no prejudice against crazy people or skin problems, but this was excessive.  See he believes that the world will end in 2012 because that is when the Mayan calendar ends.  He also believes that the Mayan’s were aliens who arrived on space ships.  His evidence is the pyramids and ‘those rock on that island’.  In addition, he contends that the bible tells us that spaceships will bring us to heaven on Dec. 31, 2012.  See, clouds is code word for spaceship.  That’s what happened to Jesus.  He was brought to heaven on a space ship.

After about 20 minutes or so, we had risen above 10,000 feet and were allowed to use ‘safe and approved electronic devices’.  So, I excused myself as politely as I could stating that I was listening to Dune and was at a really interesting point.  During the flight this man interrupted my book several times to show me things, including the advertisement he tore from American Way on some sort of Roswell festival and a picture of a blue fin tuna. 

The thing that really made this over the top was his skin condition.  He had some special lotion (very smelly) in a container that he applied to his arms and face several times during the flight.  I know that dry skin can be very painful, so I felt it was no big deal until he put some on his hand and then stuck his hand down the front of his shirt and started rubbing it on his chest.

Traveling first class never felt so good. 🙂

On Tuesday Steve and I attended the Turner Construction Student Forum Q&A session.  The forum brings leading voices and mines from around the world to the SMU campus to speak to students.  This past Tuesday’s guest were author and foreign affairs reporter Thomas Friedman (‘Hot, Flat and Crowded’ and ‘The World is Flat), Fareed Zakaria editor of Newsweek International and host of CNN’s ‘Fareed Zakaria GPS’, and David Gergen commentator, editor, teacher and presidential advisor to Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton. 

During the Q&A a high school student asked Fareed about his political stance as a moderate.  Fareed answered that for him it was not about what team he supported, but what is the best solution to the problem. He further commented about how politics now-a-days seemed more about supporting your team, rather than seeking the best solution.

This got me thinking about my own political affiliation and primary elections.  I think the way primary elections are held in our country feeds into the ‘support the team’ mentality.  In my life this is illustrated by my own party affiliation. Up until the point I moved to CA five years ago, I always registered as an independent.  I felt no party really lined up with my view and I did not want to be affiliated with any of them.  As an independent, I was not allowed to vote in the primary elections in the states I resided.  So, when I moved to CA, I decided that the best I could do is to pick a party and work to get the nomination for the candidate within the party that I liked best.

This to me seems like supporting a team, rather than picking the best solution.  What if some year I decide I like what a republican candidate in the primaries best.  The only way I can support that candidate is to register in a different party, which is a hassle.

I much more prefer the open primary system.  I don’t think I should have to be restricted in my support of a candidate early in the process by party lines.

Today I end my European tour with a seminar at CERN.  It turns out that Stephen Weinberg was scheduled to speak at the same time as I.  Although I was scheduled first, Stephen’s rock star status trumped me and my talk was moved 2 hours earlier.  The official count for my seminar was 42.  Not bad considering the competion.

The fortunate part of being “bumped” was that my host made sure I was well taken care of.  I had a reserved front row seat for Weinberg’s seminar and I got to attend the VIP lunch where I met Weinberg, the director of CERN and the spokespersons and heads of several of the groups working here. 

My talk seemed to be received quite well and I had several questions afterwards.  Notable attendees for my talk included Nobel prize winner Jack Steinberger and Rocky Kolb, author of “The Early Universe”. 

This week I am on shift at our detector site in Soudan, MN.  One tradition I have is to have my weekend breakfast at the Tower Cafe in Tower, MN.  Tower itself is not a remarkable town.  Its population is around 500 people.  The cafe serves locals very simple, traditional breakfast fare.  It’s the kind of place where the sheriff come in, grabs his coffee cup off the wall and sits down to join in on the conversation.

When I was there today there was a group of 3 men at the far table and myself who took a table by the window.  The gentlemen were discussing politics.  After I sat down and the waiter took my order, the gentlemen and waiter began talking about ‘Gitmo’ and President Obama’s plans to close it down.  Born and raised in a small town in rural Wisconsin myself, I always find these conversations facinating.  They bring me back to my roots and give me insight into how my views have changed over time.

The gentlemen at the back of the table stated that Mr. Obama’s plan to close down Guantanamo were largely symbolic.  They expressed concern that these prisoners would be transfered to the fedral prison system and that we would need to build more prisons to house them.  One stated that we seem to forget that these people took down two towers.  They also seemed to be in favor of classifying these prisoners as prisoners of war, which frankly surprised me.  It shows that they at least realize to some extent the difficulty these prisoner cause the US.

Those who know me well, realize that I desperately bit my tonge during this conversation.  I wanted to point out to them that these people were not the ones who attacked our nation on September 11th, that we know nothing of these people because they are not afforded due process.  Many of these people are our fellow citizens, who should have the rights afforded to them under our constitution.  Furthermore, I believe that these people, if not enemies on the way in will certianly be enemies on the way out. 

So, it seems the politics of fear still reverberates through our population.