the old man on a bench.

there are seriously a lot of aged folks at the athletic club i attend. because there’s a full-care old-age home right across the street. these are people way older than i am and i aint getting any younger. that being said, i must add i love the place, wouldn’t wanna go anywhere else.
   
so the other day i was sitting in the hallway checking my messages when an ancient fellow crept slowly up to the door leading into the exercise/fitness room. he honestly was barely able to walk. he was one step or misstep away from a scooter or at least a walker. at first he just stood in front of the door to catch his breath. it must’ve been tortorous for him just to cross over to the club. and i watched as he laboriously lifted his cane to push the large silver button to automatically open the door. and i smugly if not condescendingly thought: if you can’t even open the door what the heck are you expecting to do in there(?)

anyway, i went off to the gym to play some basketball with my guys. i’m at least fifteen years older than the next oldest guy but they’re a great bunch and i still have my moments. unfortunately, there weren’t any of those moments on that particular day. i only took a few shots and one didn’t even hit the rim. i guess i looked a bit pathetic, kinda pretended my knee had buckled as if that was the reason for such an inept performance. be that as it may i love those games at that place and happily limped off to the showers after. i dressed myself, kept in mind to put my pants on before the shoes.

then as i walked past the exercise/fitness room i caught a glimpse of an ancient fellow sitting on a weight-lifting bench. the old guy was still in there an hour-and-a-half later. he was sitting on a bench with a weight in each hand. they looked like not more than 5 kgs each. but he was still in there an-hour-and-a-half later sitting on a bench with a weight in each hand.