I'm Not in SEC Country Anymore

I've decided I'd like to try to get back into shape. It's a hopeless uphill battle, but being an optimist I joined the gym at NYU where I work. The school has good athletic facilities, but like everything else in New York, they're crowded -- especially in the 5pm - 7pm time period. I never quite know what I will run into in the gym. Tonight I was jockeying for position around the dumbbells only to find myself squeezed out by a group of female senior citizens. They were quite a sight, but you had to admire them all. Marching into a room full of men in their 20's, they asked the young men to step aside -- they needed the benches afterall. The boys scattered like they were being scolded by their grandmother.

While that was interesting to watch, the most remarkable experience I had in the gym occurred a few weeks ago. I was standing in the weight room lifting a dumbbell, trying desperately not hurt myself, when I got that feeling you have when someone is standing behind you. I turned and saw several tall young guys behind me, dressed in NYU grey t-shirts and purple shorts. Politely, one said, "excuse me," as he headed to weight rack. It suddenly occurred to me that the young men I was looking at were all members of the basketball team. These NCAA athletes were just thrown in to the weightroom with the rest of us trying to get a little weight training in, all the while having to navigate around schlubs like me. Imagine hanging around college athletes without a sense of entitlement. Toto, we're not in Southeastern Conference country anymore.