James and Showbiz

Saturdays are usually slow in the gym.  I made a suggestion once to cut Saturdays out because of the lack of attendance.  My boss insisted that the youths in particular needed to have something to do on that day, so the gym is open.

Donovan had another engagement, so he did not come in.  The only person out of all three classes I have who did was James. I've noticed that he never hits any of the bags except for the speed bag.  I've tried to get him to practice on the heavy bags, but James told me he wanted to get more practice doing other things before he did that.  After awhile, one has to know when to not keep pushing things, so I allow James to do what he thinks is best for him.

He must have liked the answers I gave him some time ago about the entertainment industry (James wants to be an actor and a pop star), so he asked me some more today.  We ended up talking most of the hour, with James doing very little in the way of a workout.  But sometimes, part of my job is actually talking to the youths about things other than boxing.  I guess that is why some people have accused me of being good with children.  I believe in speaking to most kids like they do have a brain and breaking down things so they understand.  It makes more sense for me to do that than doing the baby-talk babbling that some adults do -- even after the kids are way too old for that.

I have a subscription to Variety, the magazine that covers mainly the business side of showbiz.  The latest copy was sitting on the desk in my office.  I had finished reading it, so I gave it James and explained to him what it was.  James is nine years old, and he may not understand all of the words and the concepts inside.  But if it helps him on his way to his future career goals, then I have done a good deed.