As I was breaking a sweat during a series of treadmill intervals at the neighborhood YMCA yesterday, I began to think about the concept behind the great "non profit" empire. Most likely this internal monologue took place during a walking spell, since my thoughts during a run go something like "come on. come on. come on. almost there" until it's over and I walk again. More specifically, I considered the idea of the gym. How is it that it's become such a stakeholder in the American household? What is its appeal? Why do we flock to the Y? I promise I'm not a hater. I take part in this cultural phenomenon on a somewhat consistent basis. And there are many, many things that I appreciate about our quirky little country, like the trillions of civil liberties that don't exist elsewhere, especially in our daily stream of consciousness. But the evolution of the "gym," I'm not so sure about this one. When you think about it, the idea is utterly ludicrous. The fact that we have absolutely squelched physical activity from our day and become such creatures of the great indoors that we have to "make time" to exercise in one confined space is INSANE! Literally. Crazy. Who else in the world lives like this? Anyone? Bueller? I mean, we work too much, eat too much, sit too much. Yet, we sleep and move too little. Can you imagine launching the YMCA concept to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia? "Listen sir, I know that your people walk all day long, eat 1 organically grown meal/day, and devote an entire day to resting, but have you thought about adding just a few cybex machines and free weights in the mix? And what about an in house coffee bar, yeah?" The idea of a gym is ridiculous in Ethiopia or India or Russia (well it's freaking cold there, so it might have a shot)....but you get the point. It seems against the divine blueprint. There's just seems to be something fundamentally wrong with the whole Y-deology. Then there's the point of what came first: the fast food joint or the gym, the chicken or the egg. Point taken.
Again, I do what I do and not what I say. I am utterly, totally, 100% guilty of YMCA membership-for some years now. I'm just perplexed by it-a true cultural phenomenon of our time. (enter historian) What do you think, could the YMCA ever become obsolete? I have my doubts. And let's not be blind, there are perks. Literally, there's coffee and tea and friendly people (depending on your location). And the reliability of a controlled climate. It's nice! Hey, I met my fiance there, so I guess it's not totally evil : )
But what do you think? Why to we Y? Maybe, in the words of the Village People, because "It's fun!"
