the next chapter

There's been a lot of drama in the neighborhood this week. Message boards immediately went up about the gym, with people commiserating about how much they'd miss it and the impact its closing would have on the neighborhood; then rumors started flying and the flame wars began. Some said the owner was going to be on Oprah. NPR interviewed a group of people threatening a class action suit. Then came word the owner had tried to kill himself and was hospitalized. The anger didn't die down. People said really, really ugly things.

Then, today, big signs appeared in our location and the Bucktown location (housed in what had been the Real World Chicago building, btw) saying the gym would reopen on Sunday under new management.

I'm happy and relieved and a little embarrassed at feeling so happy and relieved about a gym. It's been a weird to see both how neighborly and how Lord of the Flies-ish it got around here this week.