Hilarity at the Gym

The iPod I received for a Christmas gift has become a favored gym companion. I'm happily walking at a nice mid- pace for a Senior on the treadmill at the gym as long as my 'Tunes are creating new scripts in my head other than the ones that are reeling through my thoughts saying "20 more minutes to go.......I need to pick up the pace........what's that old codger doing over there - is he going to keel over?......"etc. On my iPod there is a variety of songs from The Beatles to YoYoMa to Robert Plant and Allison Krauss to Ben Kweller to somebody singing "Ballin' the Jack" in 1913. This story was inspired by that last song. Now the reason that song is on my iPod should be explained.
A couple of years ago in August the Bell Family had gathered in Paris, Texas for our Annual Bell Cousins' Reunion. It's called that because most of the older generation of parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents have been swept away to the land of Eternal and Everlasting Joy and Happiness. There are a couple of aunties left: Aunt Jean is the one who is conservative, expensively dressed, proper, every hair in place, bridge-playing, Fancy-Assisted-Living resident who goes to lunch and plays games in the dayroom with her friends. Auntie M, on the other hand, is the computer savvy, gourmet cook, artsy-craftsy, baseball loving, Ladies Monthly Joke Club attendee, photo-taking, Family History compiling, once- in- love- with- an- Italian one. She doesn't do much of any of that any more at age 86, but she's been the mover and shaker Auntie for many many years.
Right before this particular Family Reunion Auntie M was still on a roll. She proclaimed that we should have some entertainment this time around and she knew the perfect activity. We girl cousins and their kids and grandkids would perform a little dance to one of her favorite tunes - one she remembered dancing to with the soldiers at Camp Maxey in Paris, Texas during World War II. The song was called "Ballin' the Jack". So Auntie M and I Googled "Ballin' the Jack", found the song and wrote down the lyrics, which are the directions for doing the dance by that name (think Bunny Hop). We then worked out the choreography and the next day presented it to the performers. Right before the reunion was scheduled to begin, we held a couple of "rehearsals" with slight improvement in the performance and some approximation of the "steps" we had worked out. "What the heck if it's not perfect!" we thought; they all love us anyway. Of course the presentation was a huge success, in spite of our lack of professional ability and clumsy footwork. I think they all admired our courage!
Now, two years later and back at the gym. My little iPod is in the "Shuffle" mode so I don't know what song will pop up next and really don't care because I like them all. As I listened - you guessed it - here comes "Ballin' the Jack". It immediately brought a big smile to my face and a bounce in my step when I remembered the fun of the reunion experience, then slowly I began to realize my co-exercisers, totally unaware of the music that was for my ears only - were unknowingly performing the moves to the song! Picture this in your head: these gymnasts at St. David's Hospital Heart Rehab and Fitness Center are all retired, bordering on elderly, tentative in their efforts, shuffling from machine to machine with their program check sheets in their hands, determined to fight the wages of Time with by living by the adage: "You Rest You Rust". (I include myself in this roster, but I am one of the younger ones). Right in front of my treadmill, 85-year-old *Ed was sitting on his machine pushing resistance with his knees just as I heard "First you put your two knees close up tight, then you sway 'em to the left and you sway 'em to the right!" I was astounded and delighted! Then, sweet little *Ms. Emily ambled by: "Step around the floor kinda nice and light", and as she passed by the next machine on which *Good Old George was moving in time and accuracy to "Twist around and twist around all your might". By now I could hardly keep walking and watching, anticipating with absolute disbelief that these fabulous connections in the Universe were occurring - and only I knew it! Then *Mable caught my eye down the row as she stretched, and unknowingly did her part in the production that was solely for my own entertainment: "Stretch your loving' arms straight out into space". This couldn't go on much longer - the song is almost over! "Then you do the Eagle Rock (look it up) with with style and grace". All I had to do was to spot one more exerciser turning to go to the water fountain: "Swing your foot around and bring in on back", and That's What I Call Ballin' the Jack.
Perhaps many of my exercising friends had danced in their youth to the same catchy song and it ingrained itself into their memories, to manifest its influence as they move in this different activity much later in their lives. I just know that I'll never listen to that song the same way again. It will always hold not only one special time of fun and hilarity, but two.


*Some of the names have been changed to protect the innocent.