Canton Rocks, Canton Rocks, Canton Rocks……OHIO

This week I am staying in the armpit of the universe. No, not Pittsburgh, that was two weeks ago. This week I am in the vibrant Canton, OH, home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I really wonder how long it will stay here. Seriously, who cares about the tradition that may go along with it? Get the damned thing in a place people actually go so that it has some respect and visitors. Just move it 50 some odd miles up the highway to Cleveland. A lot of people may argue that Cleveland is a shit hole, well they’ve obviously never been to Canton.
Get this, after my training today I headed over to the YMCA. It was the second time I’d gone since I was here so I knew what to expect from the surrounding neighborhood. A nearly abandoned downtown, in a once prosperous industrial downtown, with homeless individuals and all around sketchy folks noticing an out-of-towner in a heartbeat. Well today topped any story I could ever hope to fabricate. Directly across the street from the front entrance was a dude passed out in a doorway with a wet yellow piss stain all over his white undershirt. The thing is it wasn’t really all over his shirt, but focused around his head. I put my head down and picked up the pace into the Y. Once inside I changed into my suit and started my swim workout. My first length in the pooll is usually underwater for the length of the pool. The downside to this is that you get to see how clean or dirty the pool is right off the bat. Today I was able to see no less than three band-aids, two hair scruntchies, and multiple other unidentifiable floaters. I thought, no big deal chlorine kills everything just don’t go overboard with swallowing any water. After several 50’s I noticed that the swim aerobics class was getting started in the lanes next to me. Between sets I saw that the instructor had the skimmer out to remove some of the unidentifiables mentioned above. Then I faintly heard her murmur something to her apparent friends in the pool and I almost pissed puked in my soup when I heard it. Being in the pool I thought better of it. I heard her friends say to each other if she said what I think she said I would rather not have heard it. This had confirmed my fears, she said “That was a little turd ball.” FUHCK! I jumped out of the pool, headed to the showers and vowed never to go to an unknown Y in a shitty town with piss covered bums outside the front door for the rest of my life.