I was a bit miffed and surprised, but impressed, at the enforced security at the gym and the pool at the Prairie Lodge Gym and Pool facility. Residents in the Sun City homestead in Huntley can rest easily knowing that the club facilities and its agents are on guard to protect and maintain, and to act if confronted by interlopers.
A few days ago during an unpleasant rainy afternoon, I headed for the gym to toss about some weights and take on the treadmill. The so called âimpeachmentâ hearings were on television, and I looked forward to hearing the latest spin on what an evil person it is that is occupying the Oval Office in Washington.
As I entered, I went to the locker room and got into my gym clothes and sneakers and headed for the desk to check in. At the desk, I drew my card for the scanning, and then saw that I had inadvertently grabbed a visa card. I told the woman at the desk that I had the card in my wallet in my car and that I was a member and would retrieve it and register at completion of my workout.
The lady at the desk rejected my explanation and informed me that âno card; no workout.â I figured she couldnât be serious and simply went into the gym and began pulling weights.
Ten minutes later, the desk ladyâs superior, or perhaps the manager of the facility, buttonholed me at a machine in the gym and politely informed me that I would have to leave unless I produced my membership card. She asked me for my name and I gave it to her and said that I had been a Del Webb resident for a couple of years (actually 17 months) and been a gym member with a code number for about a year.
She paused as she considered the problem. But before she could say more, I told her that I would drop what I was doing and would get the key to my car in the locker room and then go to my car and retrieve my membership card so that it could be immediately scanned. I did so and then returned to the front desk, scanned my card and there was a short but careful check by desk workers who then verified my membership. I was told that âallâs wellâ and that I could resume my workout.
In chatting with the enforcement manager, I commented that I thought that the âget toughâ policy wasâ kind of silly.â âWho sneaks into the gym on a late Thursday afternoon,â I opined. With that I was promptly corrected.
âYou would be surprised how many persons come to workout or use the pool that are not members,â she said. âWho would do that?â I asked. Often, she explained, it is former residents who once had a pass and now live elsewhere, but continue to use the facilities which are reserved for honest to goodness members.
Personally, I never realized that the scanning of cards and confirmation of membership was so important. But it is. Employees take their job seriously, and I take my hat off to them.
William Juneau
Neighborhood 40
A college professor told my class that having reached our level of math that we knew more math than 95% of the world population. He added that his knowledge exceeded 99.99%. His intention was motivational, but at the time I was praying that if God got me through that class, I would never take another one. Being a five-percenter was good enough for me.
Five percent may seem impressive but consider that five percent of 7.8 billion puts me on the low end of 390 million. Imagine my potential job interview. âYes, you do have 390,000,000 people ahead of me from which to chooseâ vs. âYou know, there are only 5% left if you donât choose me.â
A lot of effort is made to frame comments designed to manipulate perception. I noticed a âNEW LOW PRICEâ sign in a store once. I also noticed that the price was higher than the week before. When I questioned it, the retailer told me that it was indeed the âNEWâ low price.
All of this runs through my head while listening to the impeachment debate and reading social media. People are made to look smart along some spectrum of smartness. The same framed information meant to stir a loyal followingâs passion and gain market share is presented. One side flounders with shaky proof while the other awkwardly dances. Polls are cited as if they have meaning, but tomorrow all will be âNEWâ and little or nothing will have changed.
Doug Jenks
Sun City resident
