Ptl
I worked regularly with Deleone/Desmond (He went by both on the ramp. Some people called him A-Rod due to the resemblance. He responded to whatever name he was called with a smile) He was incredibly intelligent and had the quickest whit in any room I ever shared with him. His hat was usually crooked, and he'd wear his kneepads while on break and would walk around reading on his phone. I'd say he had about 17 times more layers than the average Joe but that's just a guess, it's probably more, I never knew him outside of work. It's been well over 2 years and I still can't remember a conversation that didn't come back to his deepest core layer which is his love for his son. It was very obvious that when he was planning a trip or even giving a report of some exotic place he'd just been to like Cuba, it obviously was not his first choice as to where he would like to go, or have been. That place was reserved for wherever he imagined his son was and flight benefits could not get him there. He was telling me one time about his watch collection and showing me these collectible mickey mouse watches and how important it was that his son gets his watches.
Knowing how much he and I were being paid at the time I discouraged the idea and said something like, "Dang Deleone, that's kind of a weird thing to collect. Never would have thought you'd have a need for overpriced watches a kid wouldn't want to wear. Would you even want him to wear that? He'd probably break it or lose it or trade it for a chocolate milk at school. And a grown man wearing a Mickey Mouse watch? That's a red flag unless you're Walt Disney."
Anyway, the metaphor of giving his son the most innocent and valuable childhood time(piece) possible --in lieu of his actual presence--wasn't completely lost on me. It's just that Quintana was the type of light that takes longer to process, I had to really reflect before I could offer his thoughts a reflection. I couldn't keep up with his mind, but I tried and am better for it. I'm not sure if this is true but I heard that Stephen Hawking was once asked when he would go to if time travel into the past was possible and he responded, "I'd go to when I was the father of young children." I sincerely believe that's where the brightest souls of men will always be.
RIP
PTL
