MUSCLES

When I was in the 7th grade Bobby Halloran picked the kids to be on the Rodman School baseball team. I thought that I might like to be on the team, but I wasn't picked.

Miss Thynge said, "Why didn't you pick Joe Vaughan?"

Scrawny five foot nothing Bobby said that muscular five foot six Joe didn't seem interested. Actually, I learned later, he wanted all his friends to be with him on the team. (What else is new?)

My feelings were hurt because I was a damn good baseball player.  But this event reenforced personal athletic activity in my new job at the New Bedford, Massachusetts YMCA, and later body building and weight-lifting.  (Who needed teams anyway? and also those sour grapes.)

In 1976 I moved our family into our new house in Gamber, Maryland, and filled the basement with heavy and light weights. I had ordered our builder to make this basement twice as high as normal so that weights raised in an overhead lift would not bang on the ceiling.

Every morning before work and school, my son Chris and I would lift weights and do body-building exercises, and build a lot of muscles.

Our idol in our endeavors was Arnold Schwartzenegger, Mr. Mighty Oak, Mr. Austria, Mr. Europe, Mr. World, Mr, Universe, Movie Star, and California Governor, all at a very young age.

Try as we could, we could never be like Big Arnie because we did not want to use muscle-building steroids.  But we did ok without them.

A neighborhood lady heard about our mini-gym and began working out with us every morning for a long time.  She built some big muscles over the years.

I continued to lift weights until we moved to a continuing care community.  Now my weight- lifting consists of fifty curls with a five pound weight in each arm every afternoon.  I also do several leg exercises every night before bed-time and my son keeps in shape playing with his beautiful and highly active children.

Life is good!