Anthropology at The Gym

My observations, and made up names, of some of the people that work out at my gym.

Sad Old Bodybuilder: He's an older gent with massive muscles that are from years and years of hard work at the gym. He's extremely shy and rarely says a word to anyone. His eyes are almost permanently fixed to the ground and he sneaks peeks at men every now then as if shoplifting candy from a pharmacist. Steroids! Does a body good! Sad old bodybuilder is kept under a watchful eye by his exercise companion and life partner...

The Evil Duke La Cont: This character is always at the gym with Sad. He's much taller than his companion and his muscles are no where near as big. Suprisingly though he can lift about the same amount of weight as Sad. In my imagination the Evil Duke keeps Sad locked up in a cage with just enough room to move. He has a feeding tube that nourishes him with a mixture of mush with all the appropriate vitamins, protein, and carbohydrates Sad needs in order to maintain his current appearance. The appearance of this man is quite normal and eerily understated, so understated that it makes me wonder if he leads some kind of depraved double life.

Squished Barbie Doll Face: This guy is massive. He's 25, always has perfectly coiffed blond tipped hair, about 6'0'' ,weighs about 230 and has arms the size of most people's legs. How do I know his age an weight? Well one day he did cardio next to me and as he mounted his PrecorFX and I saw him enter his information. He's what I call a brown bag special. His face looks as if someone manipulated it with a liquifying lens in photoshop, pinching it to a vortex located somewhere between his eyebrows. The result is that he looks like a barbie doll whose head is being squished, thus yielding his moniker. Put a brown bag over his face and we're good to go! Once again: Steroids! Does a body good!

The Trinity: This group consists of Hairdresser, Count Dracula, and Groundhog. They are regular attendees of the gym and can bee seen next to various stacks of weights and machines talking about a range of topics. Legend has it that if you catch them at the right moment they stop talking and actually work out. Hairdresser is tall thin and toned, a face like one might see in a Toulouse Lautrec poster where certain features are embellished for comic effect. He's topped off with greying hair that has been tamed by artificial coloring and hair product to give it a distinguished silvery glow. Count Dracula has remarkably consistent skin tone all over his body and face. If he were to sit into a brown leather sofa he might disappear if it weren't for his hair. The Count most likely sees Hairdresser for his hair care needs. He too has greying hair that has been tamed so it has the affect of looking like strands of pewter hanging from atop his globe, ending just below his ear with a flourish of curl. I dont have much to say about Groundhog except that he looks like a groundhog.

There are more characters but this a good primer for now. What is really interesting to observe is how these characters interact with one another. They pretty much stay in their own microcosms but sometimes Hairdresser and Dracula will speak to the Evil Duke La Cont, and it is inevitable that The Trinity will undress Squished with their collective eyes as soon as he walks in the door. Squished is excellent at pretending to be ignorant of the attention he receives. The most fascinating thing to witness is when Sad Old Bodybuilder steals his looks at Squished. These looks are quick and although Sad has a body that is as impressive as Squished, his gaze is substantiated into a beam of pure envy. Body dysmorphia reigns supreme!

The Morning After

I'm a realist and I knew that Prop. 2 was going to pass. It's ok though we didn't need a special election to tell us that 76% of Texans are hate-mongering assholes. We already knew that.

In light of the results of this past election, and its overwhelming public support, I renew my pledge to not attend any marriage that is legally recognized until I myself am afforded the same rights and privileges. If in the event that I receive a wedding invitation, even from a family member, I will RSVP with the following:

Dearest Family Member or Friend,

I cannot attend your wedding for the simple fact that I am not allowed to get married myself although I have been in a loving and monogamous relationship for five years. Attending your wedding would be analogous to sticking me in a cage without food or water for a month for no reason and then callously dangling food in my face but not allowing me to eat it. Until the law of this land is inclusive to all the people of this nation I cannot, in good conscience, participate in an event that is a de facto manifestation of discrimination.

Vox Adamus

The Republican led Texas state legislature accomplished nothing in its previous session except making sure that Prop. 2 got on the ballot in November. They ignored the fact that the state is severely in debt and did nothing to balance the budget. They ignored the fact that the educational system in Texas is defunct. They ignored the fact that money is needed to repair roads, bridges, schools, and other public works. State legislators chose instead to focus their time and energy on an amendment that, if passed, would flat out deny rights to gay people. State legislators chose to ignore the real needs of all the people and chose instead to focus on marginalizing a specific group of people. If Prop 2. passes a message would be sent to the nation and the world that Texans are more concerned about marginalizing gay people's rights than they are about the good of the public.

If you live in Texas and are eligible to vote and you value liberty and a nation where everyone is afforded the same rights and privileges then go and VOTE NO ON PROP. 2!! If you're sick and tired of legislators wasting time and money on issues that benefit nobody but partisan extremists then go and VOTE NO ON PROP 2, NOV. 8 2005!!! Send Rick Perry and the Republican led legislature back to Austin and tell them that superfluous, hateful, and discriminatory laws don't build bridges, fix roads, improve schools, balance budgets, or serve to benefit the overall good of the people!!!

I also wrote this letter to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson today:

Dear Senator Hutchinson,

Perjury is not, as you said, a "technicality" Senator Hutchinson. I don't seem to remember you thinking that perjury was so trivial when Bill Clinton was caught lying about having sex with one of his interns, a far less damaging lie than leading the entire country into war based on beguiling intelligence. Shame on you Senator for politicizing the law.

Although I identify as a liberal Democrat, and we do not agree on many issues, I always thought you to be a sensible level-headed voice within the Republican party and was pleased to have you represent Texas. However, your comments with regard to the investigation into the CIA leak depict you as a partisan, driven by politics and not by what is right and what is good for our nation. Treason and lying are unacceptable in any circumstance and should never be overlooked for the purposes of political loyalty. I was angry when Clinton lied because he shamed himself and the office of the president. I am angry at Bush and his administration because they lied about the threat from Iraq and they participated in a treasonous smearing of an opponent of their plans to invade Iraq. I know what is right and what is wrong and I never allow my peers to cloud or taint my judgement. I expect the same kind of integrity from a United States Senator.

I am not a person to hold a grudge and I do believe in giving people second chances but actions speak louder than words. As of right now you have lost my vote but most of all you have lost my respect.

Sincerely,
Adam P.
Dallas, TX

The FW in DFW

Saturday I went to Forth Worth with some friends. We had a really great time and although this wasn't my first visit to Forth Worth I was really enjoyed the downtown. It somewhat resembles Austin in the sense that its very much in tune with its Texanness. The stores aren't trying to be destinations and the people dress in jeans and t-shirts. In spite of the fact that Fort Worth is separated from Dallas by only 33 miles (roughly 44 mins) the cultures could not be any more different. It was a fantastic excursion. One negative hampered our visit. The Forth Worth Water Gardens, designed by Philip Johnson, are still not in operation since some kids, and adults, visiting on a church trip about a year ago died while attempting to take a swim in the wee hours of the morning. I must admit I was, and still am, more upset that this public space has been ruined than I am about the death of these people. If you go to the link you will see some pictures of the Water Gardens. Some of you might recognize it from Logan's Run, one of my all time favorite Sci-Fi movies. Yes, this is indeed the spot at the end of the movie where the throngs of young and beautiful came to gaze upon the old cracked face of Peter Ustinov.

Fort Worth has succeeded in keeping many old buildings with architechture that is unique to the American west while having added modern skyscrapers to its downtown.





This is main street near Sundance Square. You can see at the end of the street the Tarrant County Courthouse. Many of the county seats in Texas have grand courthouses, many of which were built from Texas granite. Tarrant County courthouse is one of the most impressive of the county courthoues.



We found a really nice shop on Main Street that had a lot of cool clothes. They were mostly for women but I still had to try on this lovely scarf for myself. Kim and Melissa found some cowgirl hats. There is something oddly arousing about women in cowboy hats to me...




Here we are on Main Street.



Afterwards we headed over to the Forth Worth Stockyards. This used to be one of the major beef manufacuring and cattle trading centers in the U.S. until the 1960s. Its a real kitschy but also a lot of fun. There is a rodeo every Friday and Saturday night and we got box seats right down in front! The choreographed cowgirl cavalry with flags were fabulous and many of the cowboys were really attractive. The only downside was before the rodeo started the emcee led the crowd in a christian prayer, they didn't even attempt to make it a non-denominational prayer. In spite of the prayer and the blatant fact that rodeo is horribly cruel to animals it was a lot of fun. I tried my best to get a picture of #125 from the front but in spite of my attempts to imitate a calf he refused to turn my way to attempt to rope me. Trust me he was hot.




After the rodeo we headed over to Billy Bob's, The World's Largest Honky Tonk. I was blown away at the enormity of this place. It's massive. The center of it is a large preformance area where you need to pay to get a seat. Around that is standing room with bars all along the walls. Outside of the preformance area there is a sit down restaurant, an arcade area with pool tables and video games, a room to ride the mechanical bull, and a hall of fame where all the preformers have stamped their hands in cement plaques. It's like Las Vegas for the Cowfolk. I found Loretta Lynn's plaque and had to be a cheeseball and take my picture with it. I love her music especially her last album, Van Lear Rose.

We also found an empty room that we assumed could be rented out for private affairs. It had the kind of warmth that one would feel from a room in the hotel from "The Shining." All over the room there were mounted animal heads. Behind the bar on glass shelves with a mirrored wall there was a multitude of taxidermied animals ranging from turkeys, to bobcats, to badgers.




On the drive home we were next to a truck carrying flammable materials and we very at ease knowing that in the event that the truck might catch on fire, or possibly explode, that it was equipped with a fire extinguisher.

...and such

The weather in Dallas has been lovely the past couple of days. Clear skies, cool temps, breezy and the sun is just warm enough so when you sit outside you don't roast. I've been taking my lunch outside at work pretty regularly and I think the exposure to the sun is helping me sleep better at night. I think there is some link to sleep and exposure to sun light.

I feel drained after writing about my experience with my brother but I'm glad I wrote it all down and told it as one stream of consciousness. Thanks for all the kind words in the comments and emails.

Finally this quote is from this article in the Washington Post: Rove's Future Role is Debated. I made some modifications to help y'all read between the lines.

"Karl does not have any real enemies [All enemies have been sacrificed and cooked for the almighty Turdblossom's nourishment. The moderates have all been eaten. We need more carcasses, bring in the fiscal conservatives!!] in the White House, but there are a lot of people in the White House [who have escaped the mighty maw of Karl] wondering how they can put this behind them [People who never really like Karl but we're too afraid of wrath they would face if they had enough balls to expose him for crooked man he is] if the cloud remains over Karl," said a GOP strategist [opportunist] who has discussed the issue with top White House officials. "You can not have that [fresh] start as long as Karl is there [Finally the moment has arrived where we can be free! But you didnt hear me say that]."

The Children of Bush's Base

Remember how I said that the gayborhood here in Dallas is bordered by a city called Highland Park, home to some of the richest and most influential people in the metroplex not to mention the area of the country that is responsible for some of the largest donations to Bush and the Republican party. Well here you can read about their fine values and how they teach their children to be compassionate conservatives.



HP Students: 'Thug Day' dress not offensive

Epilogue

Growing Pains Part 1
Growing Pains Part 2
Growing Pains Part 3

Doug's casket was rolled out of the church to a song that he wanted to be played at his funeral, "On A Clear Day (You Can See Forever)." It was performed by the music director of our church who had an amazing voice and I think he knew my brother from his volunteer work at church. He preformed the song with the same vibrancy and bravado that Streisand does in her recording from the movie soundtrack. I had felt a smug sense of amusement that my brother had picked such a dramatic exit for his funeral. It was completely appropriate and should not have been any other way.

The year after his death flew by, assisted by the marriage of my sister in the summer and the excitement of starting high school in the fall. I could not wait to get out of middle school and leave all of the horrible memories in the past.

My classmates knew that my brother had died and it was only after we were in high school that some managed to ask me the specifics of his death. "How did he die?" they would ask. I would reply without flinching, "He had HIV and developed AIDS." Their eyes would enlarge after a few seconds and realize what I had just told them. The next question out of their mouths was always, "How did he get it?" From the first time I had heard this query it enraged me. However, I gave my inquisitors the benefit of the doubt. After all I had sat through the same sanitized lectures on STDs that always seemed to focus more on the less politically charged maladies and only devoted about five minutes to HIV. But really I wanted to say to them, "I could tell you he got it from a blood transfusion and scare the crap out of you. Or would it make you feel better if I told you it was because he was gay and had unprotected anal sex? Which one would you like? Which version of the story suits your middle class suburban microcosm reality?" I knew what they wanted to hear and I wouldn't dare give them the satisfaction of even mentioning my brother's sexuality. Calm and cool I would look directly into the eyes of the person posing the absurd question and answer them with an unmistakable tone of admonition, "Does it matter?"

Two years after Doug's death, and after many design revisions, the headstone for his gave, and the future grave of my parents, was put into place. My brother had initially wanted to be cremated but changed his mind before he left for Europe and wanted to be interred alongside my parents. Underneath our last name on the gravestone where my brother is buried it reads, "Memories Keep The Spirit Alive." Some might think that the telling of my brother's death a bit macabre and perhaps an affront to his life. On the contrary it was in his dying I witnessed the commitment of my family to each other and the unfathomable love that my parents have for their children. His dying showed me the importance of family and loyalty to the ones you love. In Doug's death he showed me selflessness even in the face of his own adversity. I wanted to tell this story because it was in his dying that he demonstrated to me the true spirit of his life, the spirit of a life worth living, a life that has shaped who I am today, and a life that I hope to emulate so brightly that even in death he could see me and know that I am his brother.

On a clear day
Rise and look around you
And you'll see who you are

On a clear day
How it will astound you
That the glow of your being
Outshines every star

You'll feel part of
Every mountain, sea and shore
You can hear from far and near
A world you've never, never heard before

And on a clear day
On that clear day
You can see forever, and ever, and ever, and ever more