This Morning at the Gymnasium

It was cold enough outside this morning that he opted to go to the gym for his walk.
There is a 200-meter indoor track that circles the main workout area.
It’s different than walking outside
because the scenery doesn’t change much as he walks around and around.
But still, there was plenty to see.

There was a man
of eastern heritage
who talked constantly with himself,
in low tones, sometimes animated,
sometimes he would chuckle softly to himself.

He passed another man on the track
who was watching a video on his iPhone as he walked.
As he neared him,
He could hear him giggling to himself.
And in the 100 or so meters that it took him to fully pass him,
he went from giggles to full out laughter.
He started laughing himself.
Laughter is contagious.

There was a young man with a cognitive disability
who was holding hands with a guardian.
He was in a joyful mood
and bounced as he walked.
Smiling, smiling.

Another man walked backwards for about an hour,
carrying a folded notebook
that appeared to have prayers written in it.
Occasionally, he would look down at a page and mumble to himself.

There were two lively, talkative young moms
jogging around the track while pushing their baby carriages.
They talked about their husbands, their careers, maternity leave,
and the troubles they were having finding adequate child care.

And there was the woman who, by her mere presence,
was like fresh flowers on a gloomy day.

There were people of all shapes and sizes,
all age groups, and various skin colours.
Some wore wedding bands and some did not.
There were those in designer workout clothes
and those in sneakers and tattered t-shirts.

Some were walking,
some were running,
some were pumping weights,
some were on the bicycle and rowing machines,
and some were on the mats.

Some eyes roamed to the more attractive people
and some eyes stared straight at the floor.
Some were speaking with others
and some worked out in silence.
Many were listening to music on their iPods or other electronic contraptions.
Some seemed happy, and some seemed miserable.
Some made occasional entries in their workout logs.

Other than the fact that they all shared
the same general three-dimensional space at the same time,
there was nothing you could say that was common about them.
Except that they were all doing something,
anything,
to improve or maintain their physical condition.
They were a tribe of sorts.

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