I smiled and said hi to Julio. He had a small tattoo of an "x" high on his cheek, near his eye, and knuckles emblazoned with letters. I don't recall what they said - it didn't matter. I only thought that the tattoos all over his visible body, arms, hands, face, made him look tough, really tough. He seemed like such a quiet shy, kid though. He looked down when I shook his hand. He didn't look me in the eye. Some of the kids will look you in the eye. It shows how tough they are. "I'm not afraid of you." They seem to say, and maybe as an aside to their fellows, "And I just want you all to know that I'm the big dog here. Don't you forget it." I notice, but it doesn't matter. I'm neither bigger than it, oblivious to it, or ignorant of it. I just think it's irrelevant, that's all.
Let's get down to business shall we?
Julio Cesar's favorite sport is billiards. "Huh, that's interesting," I told him. "Most kids here like basketball. A lot like baseball, but I've never heard anyone say billiards. Cool."
Julio Cesar's innate talent is organizing things. He likes to drive a fork lift or "finger" as they call them in Puerto Rico, not because it's a job, or he likes the fork lift per say. He seems to like organizing the boxes in the warehouse. He enjoys the challenge of placing the boxes in the best possible configuration for optimal packing. I told him that between the billiards (geometry) and the box stacking (spatial perception) he might just have an unusual and special brain. "Did you do well in mathematics?" I asked.
"Yeah,
I didn't do too bad in math." He kind of perked up a bit, like he
had just discovered a great and pleasant truth about himself.
I
asked him if he had finished school. Juan Cesar, 19, said that
no, he'd not finished school. He didn't know why, just didn't go
any more. He shrugged, as is the custom of many of the kids.
"You know who Albert Einstein is?"
"No," he shrugged again.
"He was a scientist from the early part of the 20th century. He didn't do too well in school. In fact, he never did well in school. But his brain was wired differently. He was able to visualize things in his mind most people could not. He ended up winning the Nobel Prize, the grandest honor that a scientist can receive. It's a worldwide honor."
Julio Cesar looked interested, even if he had no idea who Einstein was.
"Julio, has anyone ever told you these things before?" I was curious, to see if anyone had ever connected these dots in his life.
"No, no one has ever talked to me like you." He smiled.
I smiled, and my mind raced through an entire dissertation in a millisecond. If anyone can make an impression on this kid, I can. I'm this big weird American. I look different than what he's used to. I'm from the colonial power, which as ridiculous as it sounds in the 21st century, counts for something. I've got credibility. To top it all off, I talk to him about things of which he's never heard, and make observations about him that no one ever has. He's taken notice. Maybe what we talk about isn't particularly insightful or clinically correct, but it's weird, it's different, and he might just remember it.
He brightened more and asked me if I was coming back next week. I said yes, that I would be there again on Tuesday.
"I will still be here on Tuesday." He was excited now.
"Cool, then I'll see you Tuesday. Do you know how to play chess?" I asked pointing to the chessboard painted on the top of the table.
"No."
"Wanna learn?"
"Yes."