Wednesday, May 26, 2010

This Sermon's For The Girl Boxer

I was the first one at the gym, and I was a little late.  There was a woman hanging around the front desk who was interested in signing up for the gym.  Jilberto opened the door, and she got a good look inside the place.  I answered the questions she had, and she was appreciative.  She went back down to the front desk to sign up, and said she would start on the first day of the summer session in June.

Alan came in a few minutes later.  "Just us two?" he asked, when he saw how empty the gym was.  Eventually, Ralphie, Diana, Jamil and Neville came in.  Yes, another quiet night, this time because it is near the end of the spring session. 

Jamil and Ralphie sparred.  I heard Ralphie ask Jamil if he hit him in the family jewels.  I turned to see Jamil looking tired and pained. 

Alan asked Diana about sparring again, but she said she didn't have her mouthpiece.  She and I did interval training on the heavy bag instead.  Diana lasted one round.  I did the second round with Jamil on the bag. 

Lately, Pastor Roger has been teasing me about beating people up.  In church this past Sunday, he told the kids during the children's sermon portion of the service that fighting with others is not good (the adults got the version that emphasized that conflicts among believers is not good).  "What happens when you hit someone?  What's the other person's usual response?  They hit back," he said.  "Not if you hit them hard enough the first time," I said from my position in one of the pews up front.  Several folks nearby laughed, and the pastor looked at me.  Today at lunch he smiled, "I was directing that sermon towards you!"  "See, I knew you were talking about me," I laughed.

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