Locker Room Interactions

I just started going to the gym regularly about 2 1/2 years ago.  This was a way to prepare mentally and physically for my 50th birthday that was looming around the corner.

In the course of this, I have encountered many guys in the gym's locker room either preparing for or returning from a workout.  Some speak.  Others just grunt or nod.  Some simply ignore you.  Interesting behavior.

Nonetheless, yesterday as I was dressing from a good workout and shower, I was part of an interesting interaction.  Envision if you will, 3 men:  one Hispanic; one Caucasian (and Jewish); and me, a Japanese-American.   The two other men are lawyers, both litigators and extremely intelligent.  Yet, in the locker room we are all reduced to men trying to attain a level of good health via exercise.

I have known these men for several years, the Caucasian one for almost 30 years.  Yet, the ethnic differences, the office status differences, and all other distinctions are forgotten, at least temporarily, as we 3 engage in friendly conversation.  On this day, we all 3 agreed that going to the gym is a good thing yet we all bemoaned that our waist lines have not reflected this and acknowledged we need to "eat better".  Finally, we agreed that our bodies are better prepared to shovel snow and then we begin, like men do, comparing how long it takes to shovel our respective driveways.

My only regrets here are that I waited so long to commit to a regular exercise regimen and look at all the good comeraderie I have missed over the years.