"Grumpy old man............NOT!"

For the first half of your life, people tell you what you should do; for the second half, they tell you what you should have done.
Richard Needham

Yesterday at the gym when I was half-ass doing my cardio, I was on an exercise bike.  Now, I rarely do the bike because I'm obsessed with number of calories burned.  I typically go to the treadmill or the elliptical where I get the best burn for my time.   Yesterday my trainer said he was having a bad day and therefore, I was going to pay for that during my leg workout.  After he tore me up, I decided I was going to sit and ride and watch an episode of Damages while I pretended to burn off a few more calories.

I was half-way through my cardio when I saw him get out of his car. 

The helper and pleaser in my almost got of my bike to help him across the street.

He moved very slow and was shuffling with one of those three-wheeled walkers.  He was humped over,

face was drawn on one side from what I assume was some type of stroke.  He was dressed in his UK blue sweatshirt, gray sweatpants and those cute white Velcro shoes that only older folks wear.

One of the people who work the desk at the gym went out and walked with him as he continued his journey toward the gym door.

"oh my, I thought...now that it is dangerous for someone like him to be in the gym."

I continued watching him.....you know me, I'm always looking for a story.

It took him three minutes to take off his sweatshirt.

He took off his big black glasses,

laid them on the counter,

moved his hands behind his head and started pulling...

the impatience in me wanted to get up and tear it off for him...

he put his glasses back on and started to shuffle....

"oh no...he's coming toward me...was I staring too much."

He pushed his walker behind my bike,

moved ever so slowly and

got on the bike beside me.

I watched as he maneuvered to get on....

seems one side of his body is stronger then the other..

for sure a  recovering stroke victim.

I saw as he adjusted his seat, put his feet on the pedals, lifting his left foot with his hands...

and then the slow steady pedal began.

I got absorbed in my tv show and

continued with my own workout.

After I finished and got up to clean my sweat off the equipment,

I saw that he was looking at me.

He was a bit winded, so I asked him,

"Hey you doing okay today?"

He smiled said in a rather sad voice, "yeah, but I wish I could do what you just did."

I said, "what do you mean?"

He said, i wish I could get on and go like you just did....I'm just building up.  I did a mile in ten minutes today.

I said with a smile..."wow..a mile in the..that is great...you just keep coming in and it will get better."

He then told me that he'd been coming for about a week and that he felt more comfortable on the bike than the treadmill...

what...he'd been on the treadmill????   OMG...

He told me it took all his strength to hold on and that he always wore the emergency cord.

I said, "well you better.....I saw someone fall there once and it was not pretty."

He smiled.....

I simply said, "Have a nice weekend sir.  I'll see you next time."

As I left...I marveled at his tenacity.

I could tell he was a proud man and he was persistent.

Don't judge an old person by their cover....

there is a story underneath

a real live human under

the

label we give...

"Grumpy Old man....."  he was not.

I hope when I get a bit older, I'll be a strong minded and tenacious

as

my new found friend at the gym and hopefully

I won't be real grumpy either.