WAKE UP TIME 

(This was published in Creative Expressions for 2009.)

Sometimes it takes the clear eyes of a child to see through the curtain of self delusion that we hang about us. Such an unveiling occurred for me many years ago on a trip to the York Barbell Company.

My son was eight years old and accompanied me on that trip. For years I had been lifting weights and needed 150 more pounds to approach my 400 pound bench press goal. The only place to get such weight was at the York Barbell Company in nearby Pennsylvania.

It was a crisp fall day as my son and  I drove onto the loading dock. The top of the dock was four feet high with wooden stairs. We climbed the stairs and went in to purchase the weights.

When contests were not taking place, weightlifting stars worked at the barbell company.  We were waited on by two of my favorites, Steve Stanko and John Grimek. Pulling my stomach in as much as possible, and flexing any muscles showing under my shirt sleeves, I made my needs known and paid for 150 pounds of iron.

They disappeared for a while and came back with two round plates on a cart.  Mr. Stanko reached over , easily picked up one of the 75 pound plates and placed it on the floor of the loading dock. Mr. Grimek picked up the other 75 pound weight and placed it on top of the first one.  There was no way that I would ask them to carry them to my car, because, as a fellow weightlifter I could, of course, do it myself.

Not wanting my new weightlifting buddies to think I was a weakling, I nonchalantly bent down, squeezed my fingers between the plates, lifted the top one very slowly and I hoped, casually, began to carry it.  As I neared the steps, I was feeling very proud of myself and thought that everybody would notice how easily I was doing it, when all of a sudden, my eight year old son yelled out, in front of my weightlifting heroes, at the top of his lungs:

"Dad! Why is your face so red?"

.......................................................................