Theft

Erin and I ran drills in the ring last night, but after the third round, I was finished. It rained last night, windows in the gym were open and both fans were on, but it was still hot. I liked the last drill I did, which involved Erin and I throwing a left, catching with the right, and then throwing a left hook and blocking that. When I recovered a few rounds later, I continued to practice that on one of the heavy bags.

Suddenly, I turned around and there seemed to be a lot of guys in the gym. There were a few that I had not seen before, and I figured they were friends of some of the regulars. For several minutes they stood in the middle of floor reciting rap lyrics. Don't ask me what song it was because I don't listen to rap as heavily as I did 15 years ago. Steve stopped in the middle of working the mitts with someone to ask them to tone it down because it was so loud.

Several guys did spar yesterday, including Sadiq. Unfortunately, at the end of the night, it was discovered that someone had walked off with Sadiq's bookbag. There's an old saying I used to hear while I was growing up, "That made me mad, and it wasn't even me." He had his keys, wallet, and other important items in there. We looked everywhere--I had seen the bag earlier and moved it so I could sit down on a chair, and then put it back--but it was nowhere in the gym. Sadiq said he wasn't going to be able to get into his apartment, which seemed odd, seeing how he just got married last week. I guess he and Lauren haven't moved in together yet. One of Sadiq's friends were there, and he told Steve that Sadiq could stay with him that night.

Just triflin', as people say in the 'hood. Damn shame you can't have your stuff in the gym and have to worry about someone walking with it. After I got home, I prayed that Sadiq would find his stuff. I also prayed that whoever took it would feel enough guilt not to do that again.

"I didn't like that there were so many people in the gym," Steve said later. That bothers me, too. Too many of the guys bring their friends in. Observing and asking questions is cool. I've brought my ex-roommate Anna in the gym, as well as my niece Jalissa. However, they stayed in one spot the whole time they were on the premises. They weren't messing around with the equipment, neither did I show them technique. When Maria, my friend who skates in the roller derby asked me to show her some boxing moves, I asked Steve in advance if she could come in for one night. When Laura, a Northwestern student, did a story about me and women's boxing for her journalism class, I also asked Steve if it was okay for her to come in. She wanted to ask him questions as well as talk to the other boxers. I think it is common courtesy; after all, there is a fee to workout on a regular basis. Plus, the gym is very small. Doesn't take too many people before it is crowded, and the less people in there just hanging out, the better.

Now I'm wondering who was foul enough and bold enough to walk off with Sadiq's stuff. It was hoped that maybe someone picked his bag up by accident, but I don't think that was the case. The problem with public buildings is that anyone can roll in and not be challenged as to what business they have there. The gym is tucked in the back of the building on the first floor. I can see how it would be easy for someone with bad intentions to come back there and stick everyone up; the front desk personnel probably wouldn't know what happened until it was over. Just outside of the gym is a back door that is only supposed to be used in cases of emergency. I've been guilty of letting people in through that door, as well as others. Some people regularly leave the building through that door, which is not supposed to happen, either. I guess we all will just have to heighten our observation skills after this incident.