Do You Talk at the Gym?

[joelnwil]

Earlier, that would have been a stupid question, but now that everybody (except me) has a portable music player, most of the people at LA Fitness seem zonked out listening to music, and nobody talks any more.

Earlier, it was possible to go to the gym, talk to people, and even make friends. These days that does not seem to happen.

Yesterday, I was on an exercise bike, which is near the exit, and I saw this guy walking out after having also been on an exercise bike. I had seen him before, and he was always plugged in. I have never seen him talk to anybody. Still, when I saw he had an ace bandage around his knee, I asked him what happened. WOW! We actually had a conversation! His name is Tom, he is 25 years old (so only about 1/3 my age) and he hurt his knee sliding into first base while playing baseball on the DC Mall. He also likes other sports, and is a serious athlete (well, I could see that from his build).

Anyway, that was nice. I had a little bit of difficulty holding up my end of the conversation, since I had gotten to the part on the bike where I begin to pant.

I complained about the lack of conversation to my daughter, and she complained about guys at the gym "hitting on" her. But she should not complain too much. She met a guy at the gym, became involved, and he even took her to Cancun before she dumped him for the guy she is with now, who just took her to the Caymans. The girl does OK.