Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
Posted: 18 Jul 2008, 12:06
"Lenny,you're from New York. What do you think of them tearing down Yankee Stadium?"
I don't know when Lenny came out to San Diego,but he told me it was after his divorce. He opened up a gym. He was the only guy I knew who owned a gym and never worked out. I was standing at the counter and thought I'd get his take on razing The House Thst Ruth Built before starting my workout. Lenny shrugged his shoulders. He was looking at some sort of ledger.
"It was time for that place to go,"Lenny said.
"But that place is a great landmark of baseball history."
"I went there one time and there were no signs. I wound up in Harlem. You think they'd put up some signs."
Lenny said to the new kid he just hired to check the membership cards on the counter to see if any of the membership dates had expired.
"People all the time try to work out with expired memberships. I stay on top of it."
"In Europe they wouldn't think of destroying something like Yankee Stadium. Most of the buildings in those cities are hundreds of years old."
"I could have got killed in Harlem. Where were the street signs?"
"Even in my wife's little town down in Mexico they wouldn't disturb anything with that historical meaning."
Lenny didn't respond. I don't think he heard me. He threw down the ledger and turned to the kid who was the new hire.
"Whar did I tell you about accepting checks?"Lenny yelled at him."Only credit cards that are run through or cash."
"Lenny,did you ever go out to center field to see the monuments of Ruth,Gerhig,and Huggins before the game?"
"I only went once. I got lost. Wound up in Harlem. Imagine,no street signs? How did they figure you'd find the place?"
"Well I'm going to get a workout,"I said.
A guy came in ,signed the register, and put his membership card in the slot.
"Mister,where's your towel. You need a towel to go in. To wipe the sweat of the equipment after you use it."
The guy said he forgot to bring a towel.
"You can have one for 50 cents. That's a gym rule."
The guy paid the 50 cents.
"Be sure you return it when you're done."
Lenny started to walk back to the office. I heard him say to the new kid to make sure everyone who came in had a towel. He looked back at me.
"Yeah,it was time for that place to go."
I don't know when Lenny came out to San Diego,but he told me it was after his divorce. He opened up a gym. He was the only guy I knew who owned a gym and never worked out. I was standing at the counter and thought I'd get his take on razing The House Thst Ruth Built before starting my workout. Lenny shrugged his shoulders. He was looking at some sort of ledger.
"It was time for that place to go,"Lenny said.
"But that place is a great landmark of baseball history."
"I went there one time and there were no signs. I wound up in Harlem. You think they'd put up some signs."
Lenny said to the new kid he just hired to check the membership cards on the counter to see if any of the membership dates had expired.
"People all the time try to work out with expired memberships. I stay on top of it."
"In Europe they wouldn't think of destroying something like Yankee Stadium. Most of the buildings in those cities are hundreds of years old."
"I could have got killed in Harlem. Where were the street signs?"
"Even in my wife's little town down in Mexico they wouldn't disturb anything with that historical meaning."
Lenny didn't respond. I don't think he heard me. He threw down the ledger and turned to the kid who was the new hire.
"Whar did I tell you about accepting checks?"Lenny yelled at him."Only credit cards that are run through or cash."
"Lenny,did you ever go out to center field to see the monuments of Ruth,Gerhig,and Huggins before the game?"
"I only went once. I got lost. Wound up in Harlem. Imagine,no street signs? How did they figure you'd find the place?"
"Well I'm going to get a workout,"I said.
A guy came in ,signed the register, and put his membership card in the slot.
"Mister,where's your towel. You need a towel to go in. To wipe the sweat of the equipment after you use it."
The guy said he forgot to bring a towel.
"You can have one for 50 cents. That's a gym rule."
The guy paid the 50 cents.
"Be sure you return it when you're done."
Lenny started to walk back to the office. I heard him say to the new kid to make sure everyone who came in had a towel. He looked back at me.
"Yeah,it was time for that place to go."
