In the fall of 1996, I saw a blub in a Madison paper classified section advertising for a lifeguard at The University Therapeutic pool. We all know and love the facility as, "Sports Medicine." I did a little check and realized that poetically the place was within walking distance of my YMCA job. The joint was and still is beautiful; and straight away, in retrospect and 20-20 hindsight, perhaps that is the one place I should not have quit so matter-of-factly after three years.
They have a beautiful olympic pool in the lower section. And, the largest therapeutic hot-water pool I have ever seen. There was a state of the art locker room. Upstairs was a state of the art health club. Big windows let in the sun and light and it was to me, even therapeutic to just think about working out in the big facility. There were work-out machines, and free weights, and it was big enough to even have a track around the workout area. Of course, "The University" spares no penny to build its toys; but, that is a subject for a different essay.
Part of the deal to work there was a health club membership. And, "The University" fixed me up with a health club pass-card without batting an eyebrow. This was no cheap club membership either; they were way more expensive than "The Y," of which I also got a free membership for working there as well. Working at both places at the same time, I was Mr. Health Club in those days.
I fell into a routine of working "The Y" in the mornings, and Sports Medicine in the evenings. Looking back, there was some 18 hour days, with the mid-day occupied with college classes. And, I was in my 40s.
From a sociological perspective, the two joints were a great cultural comparison. "The Y" catered to the rabble with its subsidizing of low income families and kids. And they were of course, "kid" oriented all around, with their day-camps, sports teams, swim lessons, and daycare rubric.
Sports Medicine fit the elitist stereotype of being an arm of the front-running industry (The University) of the company-town, to an almost comic degree. Of course it was a new building. Stuffy professors came in to swim their laps. Neo-socialist feminist types walked the track in gaggles. Quiche eating man-ginas did their stretches before their girly-man workouts. One of the first things that hit me between the eyes when I went in for my interview was the stunning array of Soviet-esque artwork adorning the perfectly crafted walls and hallways. The athletic figures in the ubiquitous paintings and murals were so drab and lifeless, even Stalin would have been fatigued.
I always had an eye for sociology and culture. It just comes easy. And remember, I fit somewhere in the middle of the two Madison cultures of haves and have-nots - me being hopelessly in the middle as a technical school guy. And for my troubles, the interest in the subjects of sociology and culture has kept me in the lower-economic strata my whole adult life. None-the-less, my spirit in the subject is stronger than ever. It is my faith in "man" that waivers.
After getting my feet wet on the job - no pun intended - I began to enjoy subtly tormenting the elitist profs that took lap swims in the evening. Like so many health clubs, competition and the bottom money line was always a reality. So, Sports Medicine took on an extra class of YMCA kids to bolster their coffers...and image. "The Y' was so crowded some of their programs went wanting for space. "The Y" could not have been able to pay much for the use of their competitor's facility, but room was found for their kids. Sports Medicine could then point to their own benevolence and hold it up for their University benefactors to see and then proclaim, "See, we are trying to be frugal, and besides, we really do like the rabble."
The gaggle of 12-year-olds came in at sixish in the evening and swam for two straight hours without ever taking a break. Their coach bellowed orders I don't think they could ever hear or care to hear. He would call for them to break and he would be summarily ignored.
The kids were not suppose to intrude on the pool and its afternoon lap swimmers until after six p.m.; but kids being kids, by 5:30 many of them chomped on the bit to hit the water. Ol' Bob the lifeguard took great pleasure in keeping the pool door locked until enough of them herded up waiting. Then I would open the locker room door at 5:40. Forty little kids would hit the water like a herd of gazelles running through a watering hole of lazy hippopotami (smug professors and University administrators).
Angst, gnashing of teeth, and complaints flew at me ad nauseam from the defrocked; it was priceless and, I still think of my shenanigans to this day when ever I need an attitude up-lift.
Note: This blog "Jobs of Bob" Category does not list the jobs chronologically - I write about the experiences as they pop up in my memory and I often revisit an older job. Go to the Cooldadiomedia Web site and the Jobs of Bob Page for an ordered chronology.
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Lance Corporal Andrew Gary Matus, 19, Weyerhaeuser (CNN.com lists his as from Chetek), Wisconsin, USA, was killed while conducting combat operations on Sunday, January 21, 2007 in Ar Rutba in Anbar province, Iraq. Matus was assigned to Company E, Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), I Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp Pendleton, California. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel mentioned Andrew enlisted in the service on his 17 birthday. Matus played football in his sophomore year was said to also enjoy weightlifting, mechanics, hunting and fishing. Two of his favorite lakes were Potato and Two Bears. He collected antlers from deer he had bagged and liked both bow and rifle hunting. The paper went on to say he was named technology education student of the year in 2005 and was remembered as an innovative repair person. The Military Times noted a colleague Andrew's observed the mechanical oriented Matus was well suited for the harsh conditions of western Iraq. Family is quoted as saying his childhood name was "Pork Chop" but later developed muscles and became athletic in high school. Wisconsin Senate Joint Resolution 77 noted Andrew Matus was born on September 14, 1987, in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. Matus was a 2005 graduate of Weyerhaeuser High School in Weyerhaeuser, Wisconsin. The Resolution stated that at the time of his death Lance Corporal Andrew Matus was survived by his parents, Gary and Donna Matus of Chetek, Wisconsin; and, his sister, Amanda Matus of Denver, Colorado. Andrew Matus was the 69th Wisconsin military service person killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
98,380 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,744 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,431 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1347 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
824 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,967 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
8,825 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
102 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
24 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
144 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf; and, icasualties.org.
