The New Community Gathering Place

    I love the travel channel! Being unable to come up with the funds to travel myself I instead live Vicariously through the likes of Andrew Zimmer and my favorite Anthony Bourdain. Recently Anthony was lamenting the loss of local dive bars. Really the loss of that location where you could sit with your neighbors, be depressed and complain about the state of your life or the state of society in general.  You will also see many a show or interview on the travel channel are located in a bar to get a "real feel" of location, neighborhood  or region. You hear over and over that the best way to learn about a place is to go to the local market and restaurants and learn about the food.  I agree that these places are good to gain  a more accurate view of a location than a tourist guidebook. Yet interviews, travel shows, magazines, writers, anthropologists, sociologists and the like are missing out on the best location to get a microcosm of the area: the local gym.
     A few decades ago this was not the case, back in the 50s and 60s maybe it was the local church, maybe later it was the PTA, gyms were the territory of men back then.  Neither the church or the school could approach the wider demographic and encourage the social interactions that occur at the modern gym.  The bar scene is not an accurate representation of the community as it leaves out a large segment of society, (youth, non-drinkers, mothers etc.) . Yes local food can tell you something about the area but in the end its just food. In the 21st century you can find pretty much every demographic in a GYM, including the people who frequent the bars and restaurants. The movers and shakers, politicians, church goers, teens, in shape, out of shape, skinny, heavy, musicians, lawyers, law enforcement, criminals all working toward a common cause and indistinguishable from each other in their workout gear. The result of this "even social playing field" is that the gym becomes a unique microcosm of the community as it brings people together in ways no other place does. I have seen former felons and criminals run to spot a police officer on the bench, then agreeing to work out together, in the name of chest day. I have seen ultra conservatives start working out in the same group with self proclaimed  communists and getting along along beautifully. I see fathers bonding with their sons and mothers bonding with daughters, pastors working out with atheists, bloods working out with crips and many more relationships develop that would not have happened in any other venue. Where else can you find this wide demographic of people (besides the DMV), much less find them getting along, interacting and enjoying it!
It is a place that does not get its proper respect for the service it provides for the community. If you currently are working out at home or not at all I strongly suggest spending a few dollars a month and joining the local gym, meet your neighbors and actually interact with them! The current political and social climate in America need more interactions like those that occur at the gym.. most importantly it gives me this hope for America- That we can set aside our differences and work together supporting and motivating each other for a common cause.