Buns of Jell-O

Yesterday I went into an assisted living place in San Francisco to investigate the claim that somebody's bed rails would fit on our bed frame. The answer was no, they wouldn't. Not that this is important at all, I just didn't want to leave anyone in suspense and therefore unable to concentrate on the rest of the post.

They guy who was going to show me the rails is a physical therapist, and had his office in the old-people gym. I like the old-people gym. There is no better place to make you feel strong and fit. Some of the various exercises include:

-The two bar station: Carefully let go of your walker and take hold of the two parallel handrails, one in each hand. Now lift each foot, one at a time, set it down and lift the other. Repeat. Do not walk, just lift.

-The pulley rope arm lifters: Two handles, one on each end of a length of rope. The rope goes up to the ceiling, through two pullies, and back down to air above the chair. Grab a handle with each hand and move your arms up and down.

-Grip strengthener: Looks just like a young people's grip strengthener, except instead of thick rubber straps for resistance, the grip is strengthened by two veeeery small rubber bands.

My favorite exercise was being done by a guy in the corner of the room. He was lying on his back on a padded physical therapy table with his knees bent over a cylindrical pillow. In his hands he had a foam covered pipe, with no weight on either end, in a bench press position. I assume he was supposed to be lifting the bar up and down, but I don't know for sure because he was asleep, presumably exercising his unconscious.