The slum of legs
This morning it was time for another trip to the neighborhood YMCA, where my parents have been members for several years. This particular branch has the peculiarity of having a completely carpeted basement level, including the locker rooms and the space where all the cardio machines are located.
The net effect of this unfortunate design decision is that the most crowded portion of the gym is one giant aroma magnet. As we walked past the front desk and opened the door to descend down the stairwell to the lower level, a family with two young children was close on our heels.
“Every day the Y smells more and more,” the son said matter-of-factly. I burst out laughing and told the parents that they had a very smart and perceptive child on their hands, which made them laugh, too.
After withstanding weather issues, technology problems, and minor aches and pains, I have finally come face-to-face with the thing that makes running nearly impossible for me. It is called “the treadmill,” a.k.a. the Boremaster. I simply cannot keep moving on the treadmill for more than fifteen minutes at a time without completely losing my motivation. At twenty minutes, I am in danger of losing my mind entirely.
Later in the day I went to the Walker Art Center to view their exhibit on the work of Eero Saarinen, the architect behind the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the TWA terminal at Idlewild/Kennedy Airport, the “Yale Whale” (the David S. Ingalls Rink), and numerous other bold, iconic structures. When Saarinen designed the instantly recognizable Tulip Chair and pedestal furniture series for Knoll, he commented “I wanted to clear up the slum of legs.”
If only he had lived long enough to build a better treadmill.
