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STARKVILLE, MS Starkville Public Library head librarian Paul Meyer
was hospitalized Wednesday for injuries sustained when he tried a little too hard to
impress a woman at the gym. Meyer, a not-so-regular member of the Starkville Athletic
Club since September, spotted fellow member Julie Creston shortly after she had stopped
in for a quick workout after work.
Meyer first noticed Creston when
she climbed onto one of the stationary bikes across the room from where Meyer was on the
treadmill. After a half-hour workout on the bike, Creston decided to continue her
workout in the weight room. An exhausted Meyer, who had extended his workout on the
treadmill, hoping to catch Creston’s eye, chose to follow her.
Following
her circuit of several of the club’s weight training machines, Creston ventured to the
free weights. Meyer was already there. He had carefully chosen his bench so that the
only open benches in the area were on either side of his. Creston selected one of the
benches next to Meyer, gathered her ten- and fifteen-pound dumbbells, and began to work
on her biceps and triceps, ignoring the man next to her.
Meyer, who had
been just sitting there, waiting for Creston to show up, decided that he would be able to
get her attention if he were to start lifting impressively large weights. So he strolled
over to the dumbbell rack, glancing in Creston’s direction as he selected thirty- and
forty-pound dumbbells and brought them back to his bench.
Creston was
oblivious to Meyer’s presence until he began attempting to lift the weights. Although he
had stood with his back to her—so she wouldn’t see the pained expression on his
face—Creston could not ignore Meyer’s agonized gasps and groans. They were destroying
her concentration.
Creston got up to get a drink of water, hoping that
Meyer would give up and leave before she returned. Instead, he saw that as the perfect
opportunity to rest. Upon her return, Creston tried to finish her workout without
laughing, but it took much longer than Meyer had planned. He couldn’t stop lifting, for
fear of destroying his fragile ego, but he also couldn’t continue to lift, for fear of
destroying his even more fragile arms.
After giving up on the rest of her
workout, Creston left and headed for the locker room, where she and all of her friends—as
well as anyone else within listening range—laughed about Meyer and his feeble attempt to
impress Creston.
Meyer, however, found no humor in the situation. He
could no longer move his arms, and he was forced to ask a health club employee to phone
one of his friends and get him to drive Meyer to the hospital, where he is now beginning
a slow and painful recovery.
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