So here is the story about the gentleman that died at my gym.
Setting: The gym has two levels. You enter on the main floor and then directly behind the front desk lay a stairway that goes down to the gym. As you are looking down the stairs, to the right is the cardio equipment and the ab center. To the left and straight ahead is the weight equipment. It is busy as usual with all the 9 to 5ers that refuse to deal with the douchery that comes after work. There are even a few teenagers working out with their parents. So, it is business as usual.
I arrive at 5am and as I am pulling into the parking lot there are numerous cop cars all over the place. I am thinking to myself that either someone got in a fight or there was locker room theft or something along those lines. I walk to the front desk and hand them my card as usual. She is acting a little weird but nothing is said and I am permitted to proceed to my work out.
I go to the stair stepper and start to work out. I am there for a few minutes when I look to my right which is where the abdominal machines are and there is a body covered by a white sheet laying at the end of one of the decline ab benches. I asked the lady next to me what was going on and she says that he died earlier and is just waiting for the coroner to remove the body.
There are, in my mind, so many things wrong with this whole scenario. Forget the fact that a man with a family and friends is dead, AT THE GYM, and still laying on the ground for everyone to see. All I could think about was how horrified and sad I would be if that was my dad or husband or friend laying there and all of these people were just acting like nothing happened.
Next, why on earth didn’t they warn us when we went to sign in? Maybe give us a heads up so that we could decide if we could handle seeing a dead body or not. Maybe close the gym for an hour out of respect for this man.
Then, how about all of us that just went about our business like it were no big deal. Or the parents that had there kids in there acting like it was just another day. What is wrong with us as a society that we can be so unaffected by a man’s death.
The local paper did a story about it and ripped the gym and the members for exactly what I am saying here. I was proud of them and yet... I stayed and worked out! Seriously, what is wrong with me?
Wow . . . that IS a bit surreal.
ReplyDelete"Hi, welcome to the gym. Watch your step in cardio . . . we lost one recently, and haven't had a chance to clean up."
Very macabre situation, poor guy. Maybe it's like car wrecks, or some other violent tragedy . . . we tend to want to know, and to see, and to watch. It's not you, Danielle . . . just a human thing.
XO
I think generally that at times like these, we want other people to tell us what to do. Since no one at the gym cordoned off the area, or said, sorry, you can't work out today, then the message you were given was, "keep working out." The gym really deserves the fall-out here.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there's something to be said for the fact that you WERE working out, and not like eating a pizza or something! When death happens, people need to feel alive. What better way than doing something that's good for you?
Nothing's wrong with you. But there is something wrong with the gym's management.
We've become immune to the realities of death. It's a sad statement about society. I suspect the administration at the gym had no idea what to do, hence doing nothing. It's odd they don't have a procedure in place though, you can't tell me this is the first time someone's bit the bullet while working out (see there's that immunity).
ReplyDeleteI agree that the gym should have had the responsibilty to act and close the gym at least until the man was removed. For those who continued to work out, I think you were in a state of shock - that's not something you expect to see - and agree the gym kinda sent the message to continue like nothing happened.
ReplyDeleteIt is disturbing and I'm glad the gym got ripped for it.
I think the gym should have closed down for a bit until the situation was cleared up. It seems disturbing that they didn't out of respect for the man. I don't think I'd be able to concentrate on working out if there was a dead person hanging out next to me................
ReplyDeleteI dont think I could have stayed after that..
ReplyDeleteI mean there are just some things that seem inappropriate and that would be one. The least the gym could have done is to close the whole section. Its things like this that leaves metal scars on people and in today’s society they could have set themselves up for a libel type of civil suit or something like that. I agree with you and said about the same thing a few post ago… what have we come too? People wonder why I act like a hermit at times… this is a good example.
DUDE! Really?!? That's insane!
ReplyDeleteAnd honestly, the reason you probably went about your workout is because everyone else did too.
That is a crazy story D!
Shock I think and a kind of herd mentality maybe? Usually when you don't know what to do, most of us humans kinda do nothing until a better idea comes/came up. And seriously, why would you ever have had to plan ahead for the "hmmm what is my contingency plan if someone drops dead at the gym and the asshats let him lay there a while" scenario. Ya know?
ReplyDeleteStill I'm going with everyone else, everybody there was prolly in a little shock just like you.
I can't believe they didn't close off at least that part of the gym.
ReplyDeleteI got weirded out just reading the story... how crazy. Not to mention sad.
WTF? If I were the guys family I would be PISSED. Where in the hell is human decency? Grrrr.
ReplyDeleteIt gave me the creeps just hearing about it. That is all kinds of messed up. I think I'd have to leave.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if we were going to hear the story. Honestly it just show us that the world goes on around us whether we're alive or dead.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I don't go to the gym. I don't want people acting like it's no big deal when I fall out on the treadmill. And really close the freaking gym for an hour!
ReplyDeletewow! SO agree that at the VERY least give you a heads up! BUT to NOT close the gym? that shocks me!!!!
ReplyDeleteThat is one of the weirdest situations I have heard of. However, I am not surprised. I agree with those who have commented before me...people who don't know what do do often do nothing. That gym manager should have handled the whole situation differently.
ReplyDeleteThink of it this way: it's not everyday that you get to work-out in gym near a corpse.. just saying. Made for a good blog post... (wink)
ReplyDeleteWhoooaaaa! Totally shocked by the actions of the gym. Although I suppose once you start working out, you might as well stick around...?
ReplyDeleteI think you stayed because you were in shock and had no idea how to react. Don't be so hard on yourself.
ReplyDeleteBut the gym deserves a lashing. Very inappropriate how they handled it. They should've closed it down. So sad.
This is spooky. A few weeks ago, I took a little shortcut on the start of my bike ride that took me through a gas station. Only on this day, the place was crawling with cops and there was yellow "do not cross" tape up everywhere. There in a car was some guy just sitting there, eyes closed, mouth open. And there were two plain clothes cops trying to break into the car.
ReplyDeleteTurns out the guy was dead.
So here you went to workout and you saw a dead guy. And I went to workout and I saw a dead guy.
Spooky.
May their souls rest in peace.
Okay. I am counting myself fortunate that I have never had to see a dead guy outside of say...a coffin. At the same time, I am often convinced that working out may kill me. Therefor, because I never want to inconvenience a gym with clean up or gross out people by having to stare at my corpse, I'm going to pass on a gym membership now...ever.
ReplyDeleteI agree...they should have closed the gym for sure!!
ReplyDeleteShutting down operations until the coroner cleared the scene would have been reasonable. I'm surprised the gym didn't at least curtain off the area or warn people what had happened and offered them the choice of working out or not.
ReplyDeleteI'm also surprised that the ambulance crew didn't whisk him off as they were performing CPR or something. Although with today's litigious society, maybe they were afraid of a law suit?
That's crazy, and I would feel exactly as you did.
ReplyDeleteI would have been super pissed that the front desk failed to tell you what was going on.
I also find it very odd that 911 wasn't called and that they didn't take the man to the hospital where he could have been pronounced there????
WTF?
Um you have rendered me speechless... and eww gross.
ReplyDelete5 am wow first of all...and although is seems terrible that they didn't remove the body quickly...it is the law...so I wouldn't feel bad if I were you..after all do you think he would want you to miss your work out? Okay now what is wrong with me?
ReplyDeleteOkay wait - do you know how he died? Did I miss that? That totally freaks me out...I'm feeling glad I work out in my living room right now.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised the cops didn't tell the gym to shut down. It seems like they should have some responsibility here, too, considering they handle these situations all the time.
That is crazy! i can't believe they didn't shut down that portion of the gym. What the fuck?
ReplyDeleteCrowd mentality is so easy to get swept up in...and yes, you were probably in shock!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to the poor guy??
On a recent vacation trip, early in the morning, as we walked down to the beach, the employees of the resort were carrying a lounger down the beach. On the lounger was a deceased woman, apparently she had gone down to the beach, relaxed on the lounger looking at the ocean and well, you know the rest. If its your time what better way to go.
ReplyDeleteWhat a crazy story! They should have closed down for an hour or so. That's terrible!
ReplyDeletegood grief. i don't even know what to say...maybe working out isn't as good for me as i thought...good grief.
ReplyDeleteWell, I am happy to see that there is a follow up to your mention of a dead man at the gym, but wow! You'd think the gym would want to keep something like this as quiet as possible by shutting down until the body was removed. The possibility of death is just another reason against working out!
ReplyDeleteI would have been totally creeped out!! They should have definite warned you!
ReplyDeleteIs it wrong that the most horrifying thought for me in your post was the fact that you arrived at the gym at 5am??? Holy cow woman, talk about devotion. Pfffttt...I'm doubting there is any cellulite on your body whatsoever!
ReplyDeletePS: Still creepy about dead man under the sheet.