Living varieties

The bus I take to the pool where I exercise is usually not crowded due to the midday ride hour since the aqua aerobics classes are always scheduled between noon and 1pm. The ride to the sport fitness center I belong to is rather short, but it gives me a respite from the busy morning usually spent at the computer with all sorts of activities, catching up on the previous night news and email, especially from overseas. The return trip is equally a nice break after some strenuous physical work, when muscles feel aching all over, but the warm that exudes from every limb due to better circulation feels marvelous!

This morning I had to rush to wave the bus because when I saw it coming and I was still far away, it looked like it had no intention of stopping due to no other passengers waiting. As I was sitting right across from the driver, I couldn’t help observing his style. Contrary to so many others that, outwardly not showing any concern for schedules, drive as of they were taking a stroll in the park on a Sunday afternoon, the guy I was watching this morning, although quite sure of what he was doing, was speeding and zigzagging in the maddening traffic as if he needed to win a race!

The sport center I frequent has more than a swimming pool, including one of Olympic size, and one of them is rather unique for two reasons: it’s fed with very hot water and it’s equipped with a movable floor. It’s used for special therapeutic exercises and clientele, such as arthritic, disabled people, or babies accompanied by parents. Its floor is raised to the top edge to facilitate the entry/exit of the users, and then it’s lowered to whichever water level is needed.

While waiting for the other pool to be readied for my water aerobics class, I had more than one occasion to watch the babies class, with unexpected pleasure. Each baby is accompanied by either a father or a mother, who follow the instructor’s suggested exercises, and the results provide a variety of reactions, distinctly showing the personalities of both the parents and their offsprings.

Some display a terrified look of getting their head under water, or being helped to kick their legs, and may even cry while desperately holding on to their parent; others (the majority) plug away with nonchalance, and a few are exactly the opposite, and display total independence from the holder and perseverance in retrying the learned exercises. All this going on is topped by babies’ giggles and cries, parents’ inciting prods, and the instructor’s singing along to lead the group. It’s quite a scene!

Humboldt, the philosopher, used to say that the world is beautiful because it’s diverse – it surely is, with such a variety of personalities, young and old!