Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Y.M.C.A.

Hi Bill

Have I ever told you about my YMCA experiences. 

       
Young man, there's no need to feel down.
I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground.
I said, young man, 'cause you're in a new town
There's no need to be unhappy.

Young man, there's a place you can go.
I said, young man, when you're short on your dough.
You can stay there, and I'm sure you will find
Many ways to have a good time.

It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.
It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.
They have everything for you men to enjoy,
You can hang out with all the boys ...

Whoa! Wait, not the YMCA song by the Village People, the actual Y.M.C.A. in Hollidaysburg when I was young. It was an amazing place where I spent a lot of time during junior high and high school. The building was old and showing its age and it certainly was not elegant. However my friends and I spent many happy hours in it.

I doubt that you were ever inside that YMCA, but you are probably familiar with YMCAs in general. Therefore, you will not be surprised that there was a gym in that building and a few lounge areas and vending machines. It also had a pool, a bowling alley, and a weight room somewhere in the bowels of the building. I think I was only in the pool a few times when I was in junior high school. I’m fairly sure that we also used the bowling alley then, but I don’t remember ever using the weights. No surprise there. Clark was (and is) not a weight lifter. I think the pool and bowling alley were closed as I entered my high school years. 

The gym/basketball court was a big attraction for me and my friends. My good friend Frank got me to join his basketball team, which played in the YMCA program/league. That was a wonderful experience for us. Although I was tall I never played basketball for my school teams. I probably thought they required too much time and discipline and created too much pressure. However, playing at The Y was prefect for us casual players. Not that we weren’t serious about winning, even though we were a little lax about practicing and about some of the rules! Those YMCA games were always very competitive, often very rough and we didn’t obsess about some of the rules. We didn’t need no stinking rules! Well maybe we needed and tried to adhere to most rules, because I think there was someone who acted as a referee in those games. Anyway, I really enjoyed playing in that YMCA basketball program throughout my high school days. Unfortunately, I can’t remember our teammates on that team, probably because there was a fairly regular turnover.

I also helped Frank coach some younger boys (maybe 6th graders) in basketball at The Y. We tried to help them learn to dribble, pass the ball, and sink some baskets. I can’t remember too much about those younger boys’ basketball experiences, but I think they actually played some games against other teams. I also remember that I enjoyed coaching them with Frank. Those boys were mostly motivated, but they would sometimes do some very strange things and sort of ignore the rules - just like us older guys.

By the time I had reached about 10th grade I had discovered that, in addition to sports, the YMCA also provided social gatherings for us teenagers. Now we’re talking about something every teenaged boy is interested in, i.e., a place to meet and hang out with girls. That quickly became one of my favorite activities. I seem to remember dances at the YMCA after HS football and basketball games, with local bands providing the music. I can’t remember the names of any of the bands but there was one Hollidaysburg band fronted by one of the Meadows boys that we all liked very much. Those dances were lots of fun, but most of us guys certainly did not display many elegant dance moves. I mean we just jumped around like a spaz during fast songs and tried to squeeze against whichever girl was willing to squeeze back during slow songs. Now that I think about it those dances were wonderful. I still like the squeezing.

I only have one bad memory connected with that YMCA. Sadly, teenaged boys are prone to getting involved in stupid and unwise behaviors. I stupidly got into a fight with one of my classmates in the locker room of the YMCA. Unfortunately, my opponent had to have some stitches on his face and I will regret that fight forever. Also, I did not emerge unbruised from that fight, and I was later confronted by two older guys who were very angry that we were fighting in the YMCA locker room. Fighting in the YMCA, unless you are boxing, is a big No! No! One of those guys punched me right in the mouth. I understood why he was so angry and I took the punch and just walked away from him. However, that punch damaged one of my front teeth and it has been discolored and sometimes painful ever since. I figure I deserved that punch and the resulting bad tooth has served as a reminder to keep myself under control.  

Oh, one more thing that I remember about that YMCA. It had small sleeping rooms on the upper floors and one of my friends actually lived in one of those rooms for a while during HS because he and his father were not getting along with each other. I saw that room once and I said, “Dude are you crazy! You need to go home.” I don’t remember how long he stayed at The Y, but he eventually reconciled with his father.

Bill – Overall, that YMCA provided many wonderful experiences during a truly magical part of my young life. I have many fond memories about that building and the experiences I had within it.


…It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.
It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.
They have everything for you men to enjoy,
You can hang out with all the boys ...

Y.M.C.A.... you'll find it at the Y.M.C.A.

Young man, young man, there's no need to feel down.
Young man, young man, get yourself off the ground.

Y.M.C.A.... you'll find it at the Y.M.C.A.

Young man, young man, there's no need to feel down.
Young man, young man, get yourself off the ground.

Y.M.C.A.... just go to the Y.M.C.A.

Young man, young man, are you listening to me?
Young man, young man, what do you wanna be?

The song isn’t bad either!

I hope all is well with you and your family. Please keep in touch.


Sincerely Clark



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