A Fading Tradition

 



Figure 1: see note.

As the door opens with the jingle of bells, a customer at Boop’s Sporting Goods is greeted by Chip standing at the counter (Figure1).  Chip is a yellow labrador retriever who likes to be part of the action. He is like a mascot to the shop. With a friendly “Hello" and "Chip get behind the counter,” Joe Noll greets every customer as they walk in the door. Personal customer care provided by some privately owned shops is something slowly dwindling in today’s world.

Joe Noll, a middle aged man dressed in blue jeans, a faded red t-shirt, and a red International farm tractor hat, has been selling firearms and outdoor sporting gear for years.  He grew up in a farm setting hunting and fishing with his siblings and later started a farm of his own.

“I had to recently help clean out my mother’s attic and found one hundred and twenty empty cases of shotgun ammunition. We had shot all that ammunition while hunting as kids. I couldn’t believe it when I finished counting. We didn’t sit at computers or play video games, we were always outside. I wish more kids today could have the opportunity to experience the outdoors like we used to,” Joe reminisced.

 Joe chuckled while telling this story to the customer standing on the opposite side of the L-shaped cases that line part of the store. Joe is very easy to talk to and appears to develop relationships with each customer. With a tall slender stature and big glasses, Joe's humble appearance allows people to feel more comfortable when in the shop.

Figure 2: see note

In addition to Joe is Linda Noll (Boop) leaning against a stool eating crispy potato chips.  Between the rustle of the bag and the crunch of her biting down on a chip, she smiles and laughs during Joe’s story.  Occasionally, she brushes the crumbs off her flannel shirt and blue jeans and tells Chip to clean it up. Chip eagerly licks up the crumbs with a wagging tail.  Linda and Joe were married 10 or so years ago and started running the shop together. Linda’s late husband, Mr. Boop started the shop in late 1977 and passed away around 1986.  Linda was forced to operate the shop for the next several years on her own.  Occasionally, her daughter or son would stop by to help out. Animal mounts covering all the walls and even a full brown bear mount right inside the entrance door, are trophies from Mr. Boop’s adventure hunts all over the world. There are Yukon moose, white-tailed deer, ducks, caribou, antelope, rams, and squirrels, just to name a few (Figure 2). 

Four aisles containing merchandise fill the shop's floor space. Common fishing equipment, such as fishing rods and reels, lures, and nets line the shelves of the first aisle. The strong aroma of deer lures fills my nose as I walk down the next aisle. Adjacent to the lures and attractants, there is a wide selection of firearm cleaning and maintenance supplies. Walk to the end of aisle number two and you’ll be looking at crossbows, firearm cases, and handgun holsters.

While rounding the corner of the firearm section which consists of rifles, muzzleloaders, and shotguns, the jingle of bells radiates through the store.  As the door slams, a short round man with grease stained coveralls walks through the door. He looks as though he has stopped in on his way home from work.

“Don’t slam the door,” Linda quickly responds. 

Joe follows by saying, “Hi Mr. Chris, how are your kids?”

“Good, thanks,” replies the new customer.

“How can we help you today?” asks Linda.

The customer answers, “I need ammo for the shotgun I bought from you last week. I want to go dove hunting with my son this weekend. What size shot should I get?" asks Chris.

            As Joe is walking around the corner of the glass cases containing all of the handguns and beside the case where the riflescopes are displayed, he begins showing the customer several options and recommends size seven shot. The customer grabs two boxes of shotgun shells and heads towards the door where the cash register is situated amongst a clutter of miscellaneous items.  He comments on how nice it is to be able to talk to someone with knowledge of what they sell. The customer comments on a recent experience at a large store where no one knew any specifics on the items in the store. This sparks the opportunity for Joe to tell another story.

            “I had a customer walk in and want to sell us a rifle. I asked him where he had bought the gun and he said Wal-Mart. I asked him why he doesn’t just take it back to Wal-Mart. The guy said they don’t do that. Exactly, we aren’t interested in the gun either.” Chris snickers and leaves without slamming the door.

       
    Standing between the air rifles and center-fire rifles, the muzzle-loading equipment and shooting targets are on the left. The rifle selection continues towards the front of the shop on the opposite shelf.  Muzzle-loading rifles require specific bullets, powders, and primers that need to be separated from the modern ammunition and powders.  The included video demonstrates several of the accessories available and how they are used. Behind me, towards the back of the building, is the clothing section. There are fishing vests, gloves, hats, coats, and shirts laying in rows on the tops of several tables. The last aisle is where the used firearms, shotguns, youth firearms, and rim-fire rifles are displayed. There are bright, handwritten signs posted around the long guns. The signs say “Do NOT touch!” I was told the signs were posted because of items stolen and dropped. Under the used guns against the wall is a large selection of reloading powders.

            On the way back to the counter, Joe is standing in his work area. This is behind the counter where the riflescopes are stored and beside the ammunition section.  He is cleaning and disassembling a used firearm. He continues explaining that whenever a firearm is traded or purchased by the shop, he thoroughly cleans and inspects for any issues before being placed back for sale. Due to this practice, there are many firearms in storage that are not for sale until Joe has time to work on them. The slow paced atmosphere of the shop and its owners explains the reason for a slow turn around time on the resale of used firearms.


Boop's Sporting Goods Overview

            Once a customer decides to purchase a firearm, there is process that must occur. For a long gun, shotgun, or rifle, an application needs to be completed by the buyer. After the information is filled in, Linda or Joe picks up the phone and calls for a government background check. If the buyer clears the background check, a confirmation number is then added to the application. The buyer then pays and can leave with the firearm. A handgun purchase differs slightly in that there are two applications to fill out. Joe always gives the new gun owner a free target with each firearm purchase.

            At the end of the target aisle sits two chairs, one for Linda, and a large hunter green recliner for Chip. By this time, Chip has relocated from supervising the counter to sleeping on the hair-covered and partially chewed recliner. While walking by the recliner, the smell of the dog radiates from the chair.  The relaxed and personal atmosphere of privately owned gun shops will hopefully never disappear. Generations of families have been able to experience the tradition of hunting and fishing along with stopping at the gun shop on the way to the woods. However, with technology advancements reducing our youth’s outdoor related interests,  large corporate stores, and the affect of the declining white-tailed deer populations in PA,  these stores are slowing fading away.

       

Farrand, Matt and Mertz, Kevin. "Locals Fear the Hunt is Hurting." Standard Journal. Web. 28 November 2012.

"Let's Get 'Em Gang!"

Figure 1. See note

 "Cha ryuht." The student crisply moves into his ready stance with his feet together and his hands at his side. "Kyung nae." The student bows slowly and smoothly at the waste, keeping his hands locked on his upper thighs. As soon as he raises his head back up he peers forward, focusing only on the task ahead of him. "Seijak." The student quickly and cleanly moves into his first technique. The pop of his dobok can be heard as each move is definitively completed and each body part is in the perfect position. His feet act as the base his body needs to execute powerful techniques. Each stance, each kick, each punch is performed so precisely. The student is stringing together a form from the Korean martial art of Tae Kwon Do. Tae Kwon Do is the art of hand and foot technique. In the small town of Riverside, across the bridge from Danville, Pennsylvania, is a small single story building. It houses one of the best Tae Kwon Do studios in the state, Eaton Academy. At Eaton Academy, all the technique and skills needed to become a true martial artist are taught by none other than Tae Kwon Do hall-of-famer, Master Douglas Eaton.

     Master Eaton never had any intentions of opening up a Tae Kwon Do studio. He was just like any other young adult, pursuing a degree in graphic design and fulfilling his dreams of playing collegiate soccer. So then how did Doug Eaton become the so highly respected 6th degree black belt he is today? The answer was simply this; "I was looking for something in the off-season to keep me in shape. I was always curious about martial arts so i thought, 'What the heck! Why not?'" In 1980, Master Eaton and 22 others took their first class with 7th degree black belt, Master Burns, starting out as a white belt, the lowest rank possible in the sport. From there on out, he had found his new passion. He returned to Master Burns' studio class after class, eventually letting Tae Kwon Do leave a lasting impression on his life.

     After quickly progressing through the ranks, from yellow belt and on to green belt, Master Eaton had  started teaching classes of beginners. He progressed on to blue belt and red belt, which at that point he knew, Tae Kwon Do was his calling. Eaton soon started to expand his teachings from just Master Burn's beginner students to adults at Susuquehanna University as a physical education class. "Teaching was training," say's Master Eaton, who went on to explain how passing his knowledge on to other students made him take a different view on his own training.

     As he progressed to become a black belt Master Eaton began teaching a Tae Kwon Do class at the Danville Area Community Center as soon as it opened in January of 1987. Due to the booming interest of students, he was forced to change venues in order to accommodate the newly sprung Tae Kwon Do artists. Being the last of the original 22 white belts, Master Eaton went on to open up a dojo in a former meat market/video store on Center Street. After slaving away for months, making renovations to the building and trying to shape the space into a location respectable enough to house a Tae Kwon Do studio, he was able to open up his master piece, Eaton Academy.

Figure 2

     Eaton Academy is marked by the large, white and gold, Korean and English lettering painted on the freshly cleaned glass entryway (Figure 1). The door's metal frame is worn and creaks every time a student or parent enters or exits the dojo or the gym where Tae Kwon Do is practiced. The maroon painted hallway leading to the dojo gives off a very welcoming vibe. Articles about students, pictures of their accomplishments and performances, and artwork which highlights the Korean culture that runs strongly through the dojo hangs on the walls. Students can be seen running into the locker room in their street clothes and coming out in their freshly pressed white doboks, the traditional robe and pants worn by Tae Kwon Do students. Tied around their waste is their rank belt, which helps hold the dobok together. These doboks have the school's black Chinmukwan Tae Kwon Do Federation patch proudly sewn on the upper left chest of each student. As students get ready for class they mark that they were there by pulling a popsicle stick with their name on it from the box, and placing it into a silver bin. The students then put their toes on the black tape line that seperates the dojo from the seating area, and enter with a bow.

     As students wait for class to begin they stand against the beige, wooden paneling that lines the walls of the dojo. The scent of Orange Glow and Lysol fill their noses as they wait along the left side of the gym. When Master Eaton is ready to begin class, he calls the group to line up and the students quickly file along until they reach their designated spot marked by a bright yellow bit of tape. They are organized by rank and experience. Master Eaton then shouts out, "Alright gang! Let's get things started! It's going to be a sh-weet class!" He then proceeds to lead the group in warm ups, which includes a series of leg stretches, movements to loosen the joints, basic kicks, and occasionally some push-ups and sit-ups. Students partner up, grab the blue, red, and black pads that hang in the left corner of the dojo, and hold them up as targets for their partners to kick. The loud popping of feet powerfully striking these pads almost makes a rhythm throughout the dojo floor. After everyone has a good sweat going Master Eaton conducts everyone in forms (See video below).

     Forms are Master Eaton's favorite aspect of martial arts."Seeing progression and a student understanding what is being taught is my favorite part of teaching," he says, "Seeing the mental and physical aspects of it come together, now that... that makes you smile!" He believes this is most easily seen when doing forms. During this part of class students learn a series of techniques, based on their rank, in which when strung together, create a form. The list of forms hang from the left wall in the dojo, where students can see how far they have progressed in the sport. 

Figure 4. See note.

 As they begin their form workout, Master Eaton instructs them to face the right wall which is lined with mirrors so students can watch their techniques. Above the mirrors hang the belts from highest to lowest rank; black, red, blue, green, yellow, and finally white, a constant reminder that students should work harder for the next rank(Figure 4) As each student goes through their form, Master Eaton walks through and gives them constant tips and reminders to help them inch closer and closer to being able to test for their next rank. After their forms are complete, the students move on to the next part of their workout, sparring.

    Sparring is the most grueling, yet rewarding part of their traditional Korean workout. Before fighting, students must put on protective gear, including a helmet, hand pads and foot pads. These come in a variety of colors ranging from silver, to red, to blue and even to purple. The foam pads keep the fighters from hurting each other or themselves in case that hard contact is made during the sparring match. During a sparring match, students do not fight full contact, but are rather practicing their angles, working on their agility and  getting ready for tournament fighting scenarios. As students step into their ready positions, Master Eaton yells out, "Go!" and students begin kicking and punching at each other. The sound of pads hitting pads fill the room, along with the movement of feet along the hardwood floor. Generally, after 2 minutes, the match is over and students will move to a different partner. After Master Eaton believes they have had their fill of fighting, he will call the class to their starting positions on those yellow dots, and end the class with a recap of the day. He will select one student to read the school oath, which includes the 5 tenements of modesty, integrity, perseverance, indomitable spirit, and self control. After the class comes together with one more bow, the students are dismissed to walk along the edge of the dojo, and exit the dojo with one last bow.

     Forms and sparring is not all Eaton Academy has to offer though. Once a month on a Thursday evening, the school will have a board breaking night, where students can choose

their favorite techniques to put against the test of an inch thick board. Fellow students will hold the boards for students to break or board holding machines can be used, which are found in each corner of the dojo for more complex board breaking techniques. When a student is ready to break, everyone becomes silent. With a loud yell the student throws his kick or elbow and snap! The board breaks in half, splinters fly everywhere, and the rest of the students give a big round of applause! Students say there is no better feeling in the world than breaking a board cleanly.

     Students walk away from Master Eaton's Tae Kwon Do class with more than a good workout and a sense of accomplishment. Student Sophie Rudloph, 15, says, "Besides learning to defend myself against others, I also developed an instict to protect those seen as family as well." Sophie has been practicing Tae Kwon Do from a young age and has recently began teaching classes to younger students after achieving her black belt. She adds, "Teaching has also taught me patience, something I never had before Tae Kwon Do." Students grow both mentally and physically from taking a part in the small Tae Kwon Do community that is Eaton Academy. This community ranges from local kids just beginning to alternates to the U.S. Olympic team. They all go through the same training and each student takes something different away from what Master Eaton teaches. As the student's form come to a close, they strike one last position, and slowly return back to their starting stance. With one last, "Cha rhyut, kyung nae," the student claps his hands to his thighs, bows, and walks away, knowing they just performed their form flawlessly, all thanks to the 54 year old man, Master Douglas Eaton, who thought, "Ah, what the hell, I'll give Tae Kwon Do a shot."

   
     

Rebuilding a City

The minute peace the city experiences in the morning is cut short by the roar of a saw and the bangs of sledgehammers breaking brick and glass. 1544 N Willington St. Philadelphia, PA, a 1980s disco and night club stands 2 stories tall. A light blue and white rectangular stucco and cinderblock sided soon to be pile of rubble sits ahead a 6 man crew, myself included. This is the job site of David Schwartz Contacting LLC contract through the city of Philadelphia.

David Schwartz Contacting LLC is a demolition, building, remodeling, and concrete construction company based out of North East Philadelphia. They do all types of construction work around the city and this location is the building that I was told to arrive at for work. When I first walked into the decrepit aging structure, the signs that it hadn't been inhabited by anyone in at least a decade. The entire structure is sagging and wearing out due to the years of bad weather and low up keep. It smells like mildew, a rotten smell that makes me almost feel nauseous. I walk up the steps to the top floor which used to be the bar area. I, along with four of my fellow workers; Jimmy, Smalls, Dave, Derick, and Baldo, discuss what we are supposed to do to start the demolition.

“So the way we do demolition for a structure like this is we have to first gut it top to bottom, once it is empty we then have to start to take the roof off. That’s the hardest part, but once that is finished we just have to take the walls down floor by floor” explains Dave in a thick south Philly accent and a deep gravelly voice. Dave, the owner and boss of the company, a 56 year old South Philly man born and raised. He started his company from the ground up with his own money and his own workers. He started out when he was 25 and built from the ground up, now he has made a name for himself to do very quality work, so good that he has earned the attention of the city of Philadelphia. Gaining contracts from the city for jobs for Temple University and municipal building repair. Not only has he gained the attention of the city, but he has earned the attention of many real estate agents. These agents contract him to remodel, and even build entire houses for resale across the city. “He truly does amazing work, the houses he has built for me and my partners are so well done and so up to standard they don’t even need to be staged to be sold” says Tom Love, a Remax eastern agent who has 4 properties currently under construction with Dave and already has had 3 additional properties already sold just in the last year. “The amount of people we have that are interested in his work and want to be a part of what not only what I am doing with him but what they want to do with him is truly a testament to his quality of work” he adds. For me personally when I am in the same room as him the command he takes of a situation and the room is felt throughout everyone around him.

“Were gonna take out the bar, the stage, the bathrooms and the whole office area first” Dave tells us. We start to unload the trucks of the sledgehammers, shovels, crowbars, and power tools, one of which is an industrial gas power saw. All of this, is brought to the top floor, once everything is in place no time is wasted getting started. Its only 7:30 in the morning at this point. Suddenly, and finally, the peace and tension is broken by the whack of a sledgehammer against the cinderblock of the wall. Slam, slam, slam, the cinderblocks start to crack up as Smalls swings with all his power. Smalls, aka Jeff, is a large man, 30 years old and a very experienced worker he knows what he is doing. As Smalls grunts a line forms by him to see who will be next to take their shot at the wall. “Alright kid, let’s see what ya got” Smalls says enthusiastically as he tosses me the sledgehammer. “OK let’s go!” I answer back enthusiastically, practically jumping at the opportunity. I line myself up with the wall, align my feet, and now I grip the whole weight of the sledge hammer. “20lb hammer, let’s see it big boy,” Smalls taunts me from behind in a playful voice. I ready up and start my swing, I unleash all my power into the swing and with a loud crack and a crumble of cinderblock; contact is made. "Damn, alright looks like you go the stuff, I stand corrected." a surprised Smalls remarks. After the vibrations of the hit resonate though my arms during and after the swing. But it felt good. So I continued to swing as hard as I could until I couldn’t swing anymore, chipping away at the cinderblocks to make a small hole to the other side. Everyone standing took turns swinging the hammer to make the hole bigger. This hole was an old window that had been sealed with a brick wall to keep the weather out. Once the once old windows were opened, you could look out and see three thirty-yard roll off dumpsters right below, edged up to building, in the lot next to the site.

 As the day went on the work got harder and harder. The sounds of a gas demo saw roars through the upstairs of the club. Sparks fly as the smell of gas fills the room. The smell is so nauseating that I have to stick my head outside to be able to catch my breath. It got me lightheaded at times but nothing a facemask couldn’t fix. I stood and watched as Derick swung his sledgehammer forcefully at the wall to break it apart. Derick is a 40 year old veteran construction worker. He is a big strong black man, who makes his presence felt in the room. In a friendly voice he says to me “for a kid you know what you’re doin’ boy.” His slight southern accent rolled smoothly as he spoke to me while I was swinging away at the walls breaking them up. We start to take the walls apart by breaking them up, all of the pieces of wall were thrown out the window into the dumpsters. Throwing these pieces out the window was no easy task. The walls were made up of stucco siding with metal mesh attached into it making even small pieces oddly heavy. After removing most of the walls I was exhausted and needed to take a break along with everyone else.

The roar of the saw dies out and we all gather around the radio and cooler. Jimmy walks over from the saw smoking a cigarette. He looks around the room at everyone and smiles, “so how’s everyone doing on this fine day?” he says happily in a high pitched overly cheerful voice. “Good" we answer in one big sigh. The tune of Lynard Skynard's Sweet Home Alabama plays through the radio as we all bob and move along with the music. Everyone checks their phones and smokes a cigarette as we stand around talking, telling stories about past work and funny times in our lives. “Hey, did I ever tell you all about the time I almost took out someone’s wall when I was using a backhoe?” Jimmy asks us with enthusiasm, “Oh, it was hilarious” he starts off, “I was working on demolishing the rest of this house in South Philly when I started to toy around with the bucket and claw. I was having a good time with myself smashing the bricks to pieces when I wasn’t paying attention to where the arm was and before I knew it I was swinging the arm right towards what I assumed to be the neighbors living room wall” he says almost out of breath from talking so fast. “I don’t think I ever moved so quickly to grab the controls to stop the arm, I didn’t end up hitting the wall but I came pretty damn close to hitting it though” he finished laughing to himself along with a few others in the room, myself included.

The break ended and it was back to work for everyone. The saw starts back up with a loud roar then the sound of the blade slicing though metal and concrete. Sparks fly around us as sledgehammers sam into walls with a loud thud followed by the clacks of the pieces of wall falling to the floor. As I look around, I notice that there is a sort of peacefulness within all of this destruction and commotion. Even with all of what’s going on around me, I am within my own world. Swing the hammer, reset, do it all over again until the wall is destroyed and move on. And this is the case for everyone else working, all are in their own zone doing their work. It’s a symphony of destruction going on around me I think to myself as I wind up for another swing at the wall. The rest of the worker, who are mainly Mexican immigrants, dance around us while they clean the room of debris, singing along to the music playing in their ears from their iPod.

It’s after lunchtime and by now the top floor of this used to be club looks like an empty shell of a room with all the framing exposed and walls removed. The only things still intact and standing in the room are twelve support beams made from old studs holding the roof joists up and from buckling under the enormous weight of the roof above. These joists are sagging and falling apart under the roof and it almost seems unsafe to even be standing under them for a moment. “Don’t worry, the studs will hold the weight. You’re safe to walk under them, at least until we start to take the roof down section by section” Dave explains to me as we stand in the now empty room together. “We take pride in our work here, especially myself. I never leave a job without it being done to the best of my own and my employee’s abilities. I never leave unfinished business anywhere I go, that’s my motto” he continues with a sort of conviction in his voice as it gets more serious. “Demolitions are one of my favorite things to do in this line of work, aside from building a house from the foundation up, there’s just something about destroying a building or house that’s so much fun. You can let everything out while swinging a sledgehammer against a wall, I guess that’s why I spend so much time at my demo sites” he laughs. And Dave is right, there is nothing like taking all of your anger and frustrations and channeling it into smashing walls with sledgehammers. It’s just therapeutic for some.

As the day draws to a close there is an atmosphere of pride that is felt while moving throughout the work site. Everyone feels that we did a great job with what was done earlier in the day and we had accomplished the goal for the day. There is a lot of hard work that goes into construction, and demolition, but both require a determined and dedicated crew of men to carry out the tasks at hand without hesitation or question. These are the men that work for Dave Schwartz, and these are the men that are rebuilding a city, one block at a time. 

A Little Piece of Italy

    “A Little Piece of Italy”

As the scent of bread and sauce hit your nostrils as you walk through the glass door to enter Balzano's Italian Kitchen, your mouth begins to salivate. The waiters and waitresses dressed in an all black uniform taking orders and delivering food are scattered around the restaurant attending each table. As you look toward the front of the restaurant you can see a skilled bartender mixing and serving drinks and cocktails to those sitting at the bar. Balzano's also has a second restaurant for take-out food such as pizza and wings located a street over from the sit-in restaurant and a catering service for weddings, graduations, anniversary parties, and so on. Every detail of this restaurant and the way it runs is superb if not perfect.  

    The mastermind behind this excellent cuisine is Lucy Hergan. The story behind Balzano's begins some years ago with Lucy's brother proposing the idea to open an Italian restaurant . Lucy had already owned a building in Bloomsburg and her and her brother decided to use it as the foundation of the restaurant. Her and her father put much work into this establishment before it became a milestone in Bloomsburg. After her brother turned the business over to her she exclaimed “the staff she hired knew more about how to run a restaurant than she did.” As time went one she became more acquainted with the restaurant and how to run a successful business.

    The question was brought up “What sets your business apart from other competitors?” she replied “It's a family run business with all homemade foods and baked goods.” I believe a restaurant like this with homemade foods and what not can be far more superior to chain restaurants. Lucy’s motivation comes from making people happy with her product and service. She takes great pride in it because she said she “watched it grow from a one door business to a two door business, and it is just amazing.” The employees enjoy working for her because she portrays “fairness, always has a plan, and we respect her for creating such a wonderful establishment.”

    Excellent service is just one of the reasons that make a good restaurant. The service staff is impeccable, always catering to the needs of the customer. The waitress greeted us with a cheerful smile and great attitude when she asked what we wanted to drink. As she took our order of a Coca-Cola with a lemon, a raspberry iced tea, and a water with a lemon wedged on the rim, the soft and relaxing orchestrated music in the background really set the mood of Italian cuisine. As she came back with our beverages we were all set to order and she took out her black notebook and ballpoint pen and took our order. When we finished ordering we gave her the tall menu's and she thankfully took them and went to give the chef's our order. The aroma of bolognese, meat and cheese ravioli, pasta with meatballs, chicken parmesan, and many other Italian dishes filled my nose and I became hungrier than I already was. It was then when the waitress brought out a loaf of fresh out of the oven bread and butter. As I grabbed the bread, tore off a piece, and smothered it in butter I bit into the crunchy crust and eventually hit the warm soft part of the bread. I swallowed it and was extremely satisfied.

    The hardwood floor, and walls with designs of swirls and professional paint designs, and designed ceiling really added to the authenticity of the restaurant not to mention the paintings on the wall. In the center of the restaurant there was a wooden stage for bands to play on some nights. Who doesn't like a nice dinner and a live band in the background? As we were gazing at the decor of the restaurant our appetizer of barbecue wings came out. With our mouths watering we dove in and devoured them. Licking my fingers to get every bit of sauce off I looked around and saw pleased faces with every bite of their entree. As the waiter took our dish of wings away another waiter came out with my salad. A house salad with the greenest lettuce, a plump cherry tomato, sliced carrots, a cucumber with some of the skin left on the side, crunchy on the outside-chewy on the inside croutons, and a plastic container full of Italian dressing to pour on top of my salad. As I indulged in the salad, I finished it before I knew it.

    It was then that the waitress brought out our dinners and everyone had a smile from ear to ear at our table. She put the meat ravioli in front of my friend Troy and pasta with vodka sauce and two big meatballs in front of my other friend JP. Finally my entree hit the table in front of me, and there was a nice big bowl of bolognese topped with red tomato sauce and a fresh green basil leaf on top of this masterpiece with a spoon hanging out the side for the spaghetti. I put the Parmesan cheese on top of my meal and enjoyed every single bite.

    As we finished up, a waiter grabbed our finished dishes and forks to take to the back to be washed and prepared for the next table. The waitress asked us how our meal was, as any good waitress would. We replied that it was fantastic. She asked us “Any room for dessert?” We all got a piece of cheesecake topped with strawberries and caramel and a cup of coffee. The waitress happily took our order and she went on her way. As I looked around at everybody socializing and enjoying themselves I was happy we chose Balzano's Italian Kitchen to eat at. As we saw our desserts in the distance we became hungry again. She placed the three cheesecakes with strawberries and caramel in front of us and the cup of steaming coffee in front of me. The cheesecake was very delicious and the coffee was the perfect beverage to have with it to wash it down. Mrs. Hergan stressed “A good chef should have consistency, be on time, have an ability to work with others, be very creative, organized, and understand safety.” This plays a huge role in the restaurant business and the quality of a restaurant.

    As the waitress took the rest of our dirty dishes we had that look of fullness and satisfaction on our faces. She asked us again if “that's all we would be having today?” I think by the look on our faces we were very satisfied with our dining adventure. She came back with the bill and told us to have a great day and thanks for our business. We paid the bill and left a nice tip for our lovely waitress, but we sat and relaxed for a bit more because we weren't quite ready to leave yet. As the day turned to night I took a big breath and exhaled slowly and though that that was easily one of the best service and food I've ever had. I think my friends would agree with my thought. I looked around one last time at the beautiful decorated walls, the design pattern on the ceiling, and the dimmer atmosphere to give more of an authenticity feel for Italian food and was ready to leave.

    The popularity of Balzano’s can be linked to Mrs. Hergan for her personable ways and how she walks around and talks to every table and asks how everything tasted. She believes people that like the service as well as the food will be happy with their choice of Balzano's. Not many restaurant managers do that especially chain restaurants. I believe that shows a good quality in a restaurant. As we walked out, the staff again thanked us for our business and so did Lucy. We told her everything was delicious and we won't be a stranger to this fine establishment. It left a smile on her face and all of ours as we walked out of the glass door.

On the Mat

          The song Thunderstruck by AC/DC is continuously being blasted through the speakers in the room. In the background you can hear the huffing and puffing of athletes as they repeatedly run in place then sprawl to the ground, doing a set of push-ups, sit-ups or mountain climbers before they pop back up to their feet and get set for another round. As practice progresses all of the athletes show signs of fatigue. By the end the look upon each of the athletes’ faces shows their exhaustion; yet they continue to push themselves beyond their limits until the final whistle is blown and the practice comes to and end. These athletes are part of the Bloomsburg Wrestling Team. Usually, when people hear about Bloomsburg Wrestling they immediately think about Bloomsburg's D1 wrestling team. This year though that is not the only wrestling team on campus. Jake Dabashinsky is the current president and one of the founders of the Bloomsburg Club Wrestling Team. In the past when wrestlers came to Bloomsburg Univsity they either had to be good enough to wrestle D1 or quit the sport entirely. Jake did not want this to be the case so him and his buddies came together and formed the Bloomsburg Club Wrestling Team .

When you first step into the wrestling room you are immediately hit by a wave of heat. The room is normally set at a temperature of about 60-70 degrees but when practice gets going that temperature rises pretty quickly. The smell of sweat fills the air. By the end of practice the wrestlers' clothes are drenched in so much sweat that if you saw them you would think they had just dumped a bucket of water over their head. There is music being played in the room non-stop to keep up the high intensity of the practice. The genres of music played consist of hard rock and rap. Slow paced and calming music is intentionally avoided. The music is always turned all the way up to the point where you need to yell to be heard. There is a wrestling mat on the floor which takes up almost the entire room. The mat is a thick, soft cushion, to reduce the risk of injury and to make it comfortable enough to wrestle on. The mat has circles evenly spread out on it so when the wrestlers pair up they each have their own area to practice in which alleviates them from constantly bumping into each other. The room also holds numerous work out equipment. As you look around the room you will notice a number of pull-up bars bolted onto the walls. you will also see a section of the room that does not have a mat. This is where a wrestler's most hated workout equipment is kept....the fan bike. There are six fan bikes set up in a straight line. The bikes are frequently used by wrestlers at an intense pace to cut weight. At first glance, the bikes look like they are from the 1980's and out of date compared to exercise equipment you see today; but they are actually one of the hardest and most beneficial workout machines you can find. Especially when you have someone yelling in your ear driving you to push yourself  further then you ever thought you could on your own. Behind the bikes you will find a box filled with jump ropes, another very common piece of workout equipment used by wrestlers. In an area next to the bikes you will find the wrestlers' gear tossed and piled up around a small desk that is barely big enough to hold 5 gallon water jug placed on top of it. 

             The team consists of all guys and one girl and everyone in the room is there to have fun but at the same time get better. The President, Jake runs almost all of the practices. He likes to start by playing a game to warm up and get everyone loose and in a good mood. After the warm up the drilling begins. Drills are a technique used to repetitively practice a wrestling move with the focus on perfecting the move until it is second nature to the wrestler. A lot of wrestlers will have a signature move which it typically a basic move that they make their own. Some of the basic moves include a double leg, single leg or ankle pick. Though the list of moves can go on and on, these are the three most common and effective moves you will see used by wrestlers. Jake focuses on and performs drills for these three moves at practice. A double leg take down is the first move every wrestler is taught when they start the sport, it is executed by the offensive wrestler taking a penetration step and dropping one knee in between the opposing wrestlers legs; at the same time reaching out and grabbing the back of their legs, then while driving through the opponent you want to pull their legs in so they have no defense which will cause them to fall to the mat giving you a take down. A single leg is just slightly different, on your first penetration step instead of putting your knee to the inside of your opponents legs you place it to the outside next to their foot, then in a sweeping motion you swing your outside arm around the leg and while driving through you lift the leg up under your armpit and from that position the offensive wrestler just needs to do a simple trip to get their opponent to the mat and complete the take down. The third move and probably the fastest take down out of the three is the ankle pick. To complete the ankle pick the offensive wrestler, all in one motion, will drop to the mat putting their forearm flat on the mat with their hand behind the opponents ankle then they will take their head and place it on the inside of the knee and push their head to the outside of whatever leg they are attacking and by doing this the opponent will be put to the ground and the offensive wrestler will only have to cover over the opponent to secure the take down. These moves are practiced continuously every practice and some wrestlers will perfect them to the point that the move is near impossible to stop even when your opponent knows it is coming. When drilling comes to an end wrestlers will pair up for live wrestling.  Live wrestling is when wrestlers try their skills against another member of the team in short one-minute sessions. After live wrestling there is conditioning which consists of running suicides, which are short –fast sprints run continuously for a period of time or a mile run through campus.  Practice is typically ended the same way it is started with some type of game to enable the team to cool down and have fun. In case you are confused about what a penetration step looks like or would like to see it being performed, view this video:

                                   

             "Jake knows what he’s doing in the room and really connects with the team as a leader." says Chris who is a returning member of the club team. Jake has wrestled most his life and loves the sport but when he came to bloom he wasn't quite good enough for the D1 level so he was forced to quit the sport he loved. After 2 years here he and some of his friends got together and decided that they wanted to start a club wrestling team. “I didn't want other wrestlers who loved the sport as much as I did to be forced to quit just because they came to a D1 school” says Jake. Last year was the first year club wrestling was up and running. The club started small with only 20-25 guys showing up. Since last year was the first year the club was established the team was only able to hold practices and not yet allowed to compete. Jake was surprised to get that many wrestlers to join last year but even more surprised that they all continuously showed up to practice even after they found out they wouldn't be able to compete until the following year. "I was expecting everyone to blow off practice and wait until this year to start coming after I made the announcement that we would not be competing until the following year but I was proven wrong very quickly." says Jake. He had his doubts and worries about the club and wasn't sure he would be able to keep it going but after posting flyers around campus and putting up a table at the campus clubs event, Jake and the returning wrestlers from last year were able to get the word out about the club. Because of all their hard work the club has nearly tripled in size and they will be attending and hosting numerous matches throughout the year against neighboring schools.

Jake is proud to see how much the club has already grown and it is only the first year. “It’s a good feeling coming to practice and seeing how eager everyone on the team is to learn and have fun. I’m glad with the help of some friends we were able to start up this club so wrestlers could keep on playing the sport that they love and I feel like I've really done something good.” Jake is scheduled to graduate this year but says he is sure he will be back to visit the team next year to see how the club is doing. He knows the club will be in good hands when he leaves and only hopes that each year some of seniors will step up and take over the program so it keeps going for years to come.

No Pain, No Gain

Figure 1

            If getting in shape or becoming jacked was easy then everyone would be. Since it is not,  places like the Danville Area Community Center and personal trainers like Billie Ingraham exist. The gym in the DACC possesses plenty of lifting and fitness equipment for anyone willing to pay for a membership. Also, the community center has many other activities from basketball, to swimming and racquetball (Figure 1) for patrons. Although the community center's most popular attraction would probably be the fitness and lifting area.

            Immediately after walking through the two glass windowed doors a slight scent of sweat hits you, along with the sound of inaudible music from some random radio station that plays in the background. Overhead hangs a wavy steel roof with metal bars hanging down from it. Across the room, a large mirror that nearly covers the entire wall can be seen. The mirror makes the front room seem more spacious and less cramped. A water fountain and a rarely used magazine rack are mounted on the wall. Grass, rocks, and dirt cover the floor in the cardio and weight rooms, tracked in by unaware gym rats and the occasional lifter alike.

            The weight lifting area, located inside of an old racquetball court appears very much like the functioning racquetball court right next to it.  Both have wooden floors resembling that of a basketball court, along with lines painted on the wood to use for racquetball. Both have overwhelmingly high ceilings and walls, all covered in white paint. The only difference between the courts themselves is that the one housing all of the weight lifting equipment has many cracks and missing pieces in the wood on the floor. The current set up of the weight lifting equipment is for, "aesthetics, putting the bigger machines in the back to make the room look more open," according to Mrs. Ingraham.

            Several treadmills, bikes, and a stair stepper, all parallel to one another and perpendicular to the mirror, compose the majority of the cardio equipment. "The treadmills are set up for more space," Mr. Ingraham said as the rhythmic sound of feet pounding against the treadmills can be heard. All of the treadmills are made by the same company because buying in bulk can cause the average cost to be less. The bikes sit near an old, unplugged, tiny, and probably broken grey fan. Even if it did work the fan would provide no relief to the heat produced by the person.  Along with these, the DACC has a rowing machine, three medicine balls, all with the same design but of different weights and colors, several mats randomly scattered around, and four yoga balls of varying sizes and colors. The yoga balls and mats are used mainly on Wednesday evenings for the yoga class. The rowing machine is almost never touched except when it needs cleaned or maintenance, and the medicine balls can be used for several different exercises, from sit-ups to ball flies.

Figure 2

                        Dark blue firm cushioning covers all of the machines lifts. The cushioning should be whipped down every time someone "sits, touches, or drips on it."Also, according to Mr. Ingraham the machines, "alternate upper and lower body for ease of use." For example, if the first machine works quads then the second machine would work a muscle or set of muscles in the upper body, like chest and back. The machines also should be wiped down every night by the staff and every month the cables should be checked for tension. The bars, which the weights slide up and down, get oiled every month for smoothness . Although if you go to lift, you should probably do it right as Mr. Ingraham reminisced about the people who, "use the lat pull down machine backward. Ask if you don't know something." A smith machine and a multipurpose weight lifting machine (Figure 2) are the two largest non-free weight pieces of exercise equipment in the gym. A sign on the wall that reads, "Please put ALL weights back on proper racks in their correct place! Thank you - DACC Staff" is clearly not followed as weights lay all over the floor and put in incorrect spots on the racks. The community center also owns several sets of free weights in addition to the machine weights.

Figure 3

            The free weights are also all covered in the same blue padding as the machines. The free weights consist of a bench press with two different bars, one a standard, weighing ten pounds less than the other, an Olympic bar. The standard barbell, all brown in color, with rust on the weight holding portion of the bar, currently lays racked on the bench press. The Olympic bar, slightly larger in diameter and all a silver color lays in the corner of the room behind the Smith machine. Heavy breathing and encouraging words from a spotter can be heard near the bench press as the athlete, who is wearing a cutoff that seems a little too small for him, struggles to push out his last rep. As soon as he finishes he racks the bar making the sharp sound of metal clashing with hard plastic pierce the air , The weights on the bar seem to rattle softly shortly after being rack. At the same time the lifter lets out a deep breath that exhibits his satisfaction. The preacher curl (Figure 3) station used for seated bicep curls that holds the E-Z curl bar (also in Figure 3) and two sets of clips for holding the weight on. Out of the two sets only one clip works well. The gym also has two sets of dumbbells, one set covered in black rubber with the weight in pounds making an out dent inside of an indented box and another set completely made of metal with the weight in pounds making an out dent. The gym also has almost a dozen resistance band of different strengths hanging on the multipurpose lifting machine and, "TRXes for suspension training."

            Besides working out the DACC carries many other recreation activities available for members. First, if you feel overheated, go to the pool to cool down. The pool contains generic black lines painted on the bottom of it used to help swimmers swim in a straight line. The natatorium has a very high, partially on a slant and mostly all glass ceiling and a panel near the diving board with all the swimming records achieved at the DACC mounted on the wall. Although be careful because the floor made of cement becomes dangerously slippery when wet. So seriously, when the lifeguards say, "Hey, stop running!" listen to them. The pool can also be used for swimming laps since the DACC staff always sections off two lanes from the rest of the pool. Aside from the pool the DACC recently refurbished the basketball court. The court, now floored with a grey, rubbery substance with dark blue lines comparable to the color of the cushion is equipped with a new scoreboard that displays the time in large numbers when not being used for a game. Although, one should bring his/her own ball to shoot with since the balls at the rec center are extremely used and mostly under inflated. The DACC also provides lesson in many things. These lessons range from belly dancing to CrossFit.

            If you choose to visit the DACC make sure to use the proper facilities to get changed in. Mr. Ingraham recounted which a chuckle, "I remember the one time the guy who got sweaty and stripped down in front of everyone." The DACC has locker rooms for both, males and females. Their purposes range from showering to the bathroom usage.

            Recreational centers across the country exist for one purpose, to help people stay or get in shape. The DACC is no different. It has swimming, basketball, racquetball, and cardio and lifting equipment. If any of these activities or their benefits interest you, head down to the DACC to become a full time member.