not what i expected

i was sharing the sauna at the gym yesterday with a large african american man. and by large i mean, this man ws maybe 6'2", and a million muscle-y pounds. not juiced out, but not fat. just LARGE. and wearing an airforce shirt. and large. like the kind of guy that has a softy heart but not the kind of guy you would mess with. i think my vision of him was also flavored by the fact that i could hear what was playing through his headphones... this is a common phenomena in the quiet sauna: people's headphones are much louder than they realize, so many times i've caught myself listening to fun, horn-filled mexican fiesta music, really intense gangster rap songs, and lots of soulful gospel choirs, all unexpectedly while sweating away. 

in this particular instance, this big, intimidating man was listening to a hard rock/rap-ish song that fit my mind's eye's image of him... he looked ready to go pump some iron, run a boot camp or start some serious warfare with someone. i nodded my head to the beat of the music a few times, unintentionally, and felt myself getting geared up for a workout i'd just finished. it was an intense five minutes. 

then, big air force man got up and left the sauna, taking a walk around the pool. i saw, after a lap or two around the pool, that he was coming back. i expected, without thinking, really, more hard core music to come, and considered leaving the sauna earlier than i had originally planned. his music was good, but i was trying to wind down from a workout, not gear up. 

he entered and sat down. i sat quietly and heard a new song start... 

phil collins' "sussidio" was not what i had expected. but it's what i got. i listened with a slight grin on my face. 

next up, after walk # 2: a man-woman duet, circa 1980something about someone's heart belonging to the city, and the city belonging to us. i don't remember the exact song, but i did flash back to  my childhood when i heard it. 

eventually not so intimidating big man pulled off one headphone. i took the chance and said, 'i like your music'. 

he laughed.