These Hands Vs. Trespassing

Snow and rain hit Chicago this past Friday.  I was not surprised when the gym remained empty.  Changes in the weather always have an effect on participation.  Unfortunately, the weather doesn't keep out everybody.

A guy with a backpack walked in and asked if he could get a workout in.  Seeing the guy was an adult, I told him the cost of the boxing class for his age group.  "But there's no one in here," the guy said.  My spidey-senses went up.  "It doesn't matter.  The youths go here for free.  The adults have to pay for the class, and I have to account for the people who are in here," I answered.  The guy walked over to one of the speed bags after roaming around the room and started hitting it.  I informed the guy that until he registered, there could be no using the equipment.

The guy walked out of the gym, but went and sat on the steps leading up to the back exit door.  Another hour passed by.  The guy walked back in asking if I had punch mitts. "There is equipment here," I answered.  The guy wasn't aware that I had seen him looking inside the equipment room earlier.  When the guy started in with wanting a free workout again, I point-blank asked him, "Didn't we have this conversation an hour ago?" I repeated the cost of the class as well as the general rules and regulations surrounding it. 

The guy kept pushing.  "I'm not about to do anything that's going to get me in trouble with the supervisor.  I like to be able to keep paying my rent," I dryly said.  Then I proceeded to get an earful of how the field house is a "community building" and "people should be allowed to come in and do things," plus a sob story about being homeless.  I kept repeating the rules of the park district.  We went back and forth with temperatures rising by the minute.  The argument stopped when Rick walked in and cut it off. 

Sometimes, the youths will try to use the gym without going through the right procedures.  However, adults try to pull that more often than the youths.  I was glad no youths were in the room because I have no idea how far that guy would have gone to get what he wanted. Incidents like that point to what is lacking in terms of security measures at LaFollette Park. 

I know there were staff people sitting at the front desk counter who saw the guy walk in.  Rick had spoken to them when he arrived shortly after the guy in the gym and I got into it.  Whenever I'm up at the front desk, I'm noticing who is walking in the front entrance.  I will address people who appear to be strolling through without a real agenda.  Unfortunately, it seems that I'm one of the very few employees who are cognizant about keeping a watch out.  I guess others don't notice the news stories about shootings and other assaults that have been going on with alarming regularity in workplaces.

Security staff is not consistent nor effective at LaFollette.  I might see a security guard one day, and not see another one there for a couple of weeks.  The majority of the guards, with one or two exceptions, sit behind the front desk yakking and laughing with staff or watching the Internet on their cell phones.  I don't know of any guards who have actually stayed until the field house closes for the day.  The last time there was a shooting in the park, there was no security guard on duty.

Regardless of the fact that I'm on a cane, these hands of mine still work. I've never felt safe at my job. It concerns me that there was a real possibility that I might have had to use my hands this past Friday.  It concerns me even more that if things had become very serious that day, nothing much would have been done other than people saying, "Oh, that's too bad that happened to Hillari."