A bit more gym

Esther has fallen in love with the place. Any given morning she can be found grinding out 30 minutes on the treadmill at 3.5 mph, followed by stretches and machine work.

Her enthusiasm is disgustingly boundless. It does make you feel good, but she was raised Catholic. If it feels good she shouldn't be doing it. Since I am very supportive, I keep telling her "You look pretty good for an old lady." Somehow she is not as warmly appreciative as I thought she would be.

Here young nephew Sean, a 6 foot toothpick, grunts out a set. For a young guy he sure complains a lot. Fortunately there are some gym rats around to give him crap.

This is Sean in a more normal, happy-go-lucky state. He is feckless and irrepressible.

The gym is called Gym Al Fresco. When you are not involved with the equipment you can enjoy the breeze or the mountains surrounding Kingston.

There is a very enjoyable friend of Uncle Paul's that comes here every day. His name is Bentley, and he is a gym rat, among other things. He is retired from being a marine pilot. His job was to guide all the ships into Kingston's harbor, the seventh largest deep water harbor in the world. Bentley is also a world-class raconteur and bull-shitter. He has a million stories, ranging from clean to dirty. Today he was telling me Confucius's views on sex. I won't repeat, but it was entertaining.

One of the things I enjoy the most about Jamaica is meeting people. Many are friendly, many are strong and multi-talented, most are outgoing. The guy below is Peter, who is starting up the gym operation. Among other things, he is a qualified trainer, a musician and singer, and a social worker with the Kingston Chamber of Commerce. He feels strongly about the people and their plights, about government and how it operates, and about what Jamaican industry should be doing for the people. He also helps to chide nephew Sean and get him to work a little harder.