Monday, December 10, 2012

Nina


I met an interesting young lady last night. Glittering dots and stars on her face did not detract from her striking good looks.
 
"I'm half Persian," Nina told me as I admiringly touched the long curly dark locks escaping from the beret she wore.
 
Dressed more for Hollywood Blvd where both the famous and infamous strut their stuff, Nina was alone when I met her at Uncle Robert's -- where flip flops are more de rigueur than haute couture.
 
 I turned my back on my companions who were singing to a ukulele player and drinking beer and honey whiskey as I focused intently on the tantalizing creature before me.
 
I asked her to speak "how are you" in  Farsi, which she did at the same fast speed  and flawless way she spoke English, although of course, she could have been "speaking in tongues" for all I knew.
 
 Her uncontrolled head movements first attracted me to 20-year old Nina She jerked her head a lot from side to side, even while talking non-stop.
 
At first I thought that she was on some kind of drug. Who after all can think and talk at that incredible speed. But my suspicions waned each time Nina lucidly answered my questions. And as I probed further, intrigued by this creature, Nina was consistent in what she told me about herself.
 
I gathered that she came from a respectable family and was biding her time until she can resume her schooling as a college sophomore.
 
Nina's attention wandered even while she continued talking about almost any topic under the sun. But my efforts to get her to focus on my questions and comments ultimately paid off. I found her to be very extraordinarily bright and profound. I wondered about her IQ level.
 
Later I learned from a psychologist-friend, who was with me, that there was no doubt, Nina suffers from ADHD (attention-deficit hyper activity disorder).
 
I wondered who, if any, was looking out for  young lovely Nina and others like her --  alone, psychologically challenged, and seemingly lost in the backwaters of Hawaii. 
 
 
 Photo of Nina published with permission
 
-- Ariel Murphy

 

 

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