For the first five minutes, it’s only me and two men. We all have ample space. The younger man stands and stretches in an acceptably far away corner. At one point, he does ab work.The older man and I both lay down flat on our backs to claim huge sauna territories. The older man’s hands never leave his head.
Two heavy Asian women in their early 20s come in.
“I didn’t know they made Asians that fat,” I think, and then I feel cruel and, perhaps, racist. However, I don’t not like them for their race or their heft, I don’t like them because they’re talking. I continue to think nasty thoughts about them. The heavy makeup they’re wearing, their sparkly earrings, and my becoming aware of their existence in the world - all of these things make me very unhappy.
The Asians are clucking loudly and both the older man and I sit up, disturbed, concerned that they will continue to break the no talking rule. Gratefully, the one in a little pink skirt, one piece bathing suit, and sheer black long sleeved top decides makeup and fashion have no place in the sauna and she leaves her compatriot after less than a minute. Good. With visible relief, the older man and I return to laying on our backs. His hands return to his head.
I hold my arms up above my head and meditate as I watch the sweat running down my arms - like rain on a car windshield when I was a kid. I feel the toxins and the water leave my body - how long before I would die in this room if I simply kept laying here watching my life drain away?
Two dark skinned people, a man and a woman, come in and begin speaking in a language that I successfully identify as not being English, Portuguese, Spanish or French.
I make heavy eye contact with the new woman and attempt to shame her in to silence using only my eyes. It doesn’t work. They show no signs of quieting and I decide to leave a few minutes early.
Time: 17 (instead of 20) minutes
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