Stranger at the Gym

One day in February I stopped at the gym to do some stretching on my way home from work. I figured if I got home the evening would get away from me, so I'd better stop.

There was a man there who approached me and told me I wasn't really working out. He said I needed to try harder if I wanted to get in shape. I just laughed and said sometimes you just need to stretch. He persisted in saying "you should get one of the girls out here to help you. They're always glad to teach you."

What girls? These helper girls are invisible! As in, there are not 'girls out here' unless you hire a trainer, which BTW, I have done in the past so I pretty much know what I am doing! I turned my back on the guy and went on with my routine.

What a nerve! Thing is, not too many years ago, I would have been intimidated by him, and by the invisible girls, and the whole thing would have made me wonder if I even belong in a gym, possibly slinking away never to return.

Now, I told my family about it and they laughed and couldn't believe anyone would actually do what he did!

And I figure, Hey, I'm 48 years old, and I am in this gym, and that's pretty terrific. I have a plan for my body, which doesn't include following the unsolicited advice of strangers. Atti-tude! Atta-girl!

I wasn't surprised when he left to see him drive away in a bossy-looking truck. You know the kind--you see them in your rear-view mirror, hogging the whole road, usually wa-a-a-y too close!