Health Club

Anyone that knows me, knows I love to workout. Not fanatically but for the last 25 years I've had a steady regimen of working out with weights and doing some kind of cardio workout. About 10 years ago, I built a gym in my basement. A Universal weight machine, free weights and a recumbent bike. It's perfect. 3 times a week, I go down to basement at 6:30 A.M. and do a 30 minute workout. Zip in zip out. Recently, I quit karate because it wasn't the cardio workout it used to be. I decided I would join a health club to do a cardio class of some form. I've belonged to a half a dozen health clubs in my life ranging from really nice clubs to not so nice clubs. I didn't want to spend a lot of money because with my gym in my house, I'd only be using the club for a cardio class once or twice a week. So I decided on joining this not so nice large national chain health club (The name of it rhymes with SALLYS) that had a special running. The monthly fee was about the same price if I bought 2 Grande coffees at Starbucks every week. It was close to my office and home. Now let me preface by saying( You know I'm about to abuse the crap out of this health club) anyone that works out, even minimally, gets the utmost respect from me. I really mean that sincerely. That being said, I was a minority in the club being that I was a white guy in his 40's born in the United States. This club had what I called an "IA" membership. Everyone was from Romania, Bulgaria or Russia.Median age 60. Let me tell you, Eastern Europeans have got to be the hairiest people on planet Earth. I mean you walk into the locker room and it's wild freakin kingdom. I have no doubts that at least one parent of these men is a warthog. I actually one time saw a guy shaving his chest. I'm not talking a little trimming. I'm talking about this guy taking off enough hair to make sweaters for the entire Von Trapp Family. (I now change at my office or home before going to the club.) Also, my wife has no worries about me being distracted by any females at the club unless I suddenly become attracted to women with goatees(though have to give them credit, they do keep them neatly trimmed). Finally, as long as I've lived in my town, the police blotter in our neighborhood newspaper has had at minimum of one story each week on either a locker or car in the health club parking lot that has been broken into to. So, I park about a block away from the club and hide my wallet and phone in my trunk. (I consider the block walk to the club my warm up). All joking aside, the spin class I take is one of the best workouts I've ever had and the members and staff there are really nice folks. Plus, if I need a last minute Goulash recipe, I know where to go