6 | AUGUST 19 • 2021 

guest column
Remembering the JCC Locker Room
F

or the past year or 
so, every Monday, 
Wednesday and Friday at 
10:30 a.m., I get in my car and 
take a ride to a nearby commu-
nity pool for the 
11 a.m. Senior 
Swim Hour. 
In the locker 
room, after 
my workout, I 
quickly shower 
and get dressed. 
If there are one 
or two other guys around, we 
say “hello” and maintain social 
distance.
It’s cordial, but I can’t help 
contrasting my current locker 
room experience with my long 
tenure at the JCC Executive 
Locker Room and Health Club, 
which I visited three to five 
times a week for about 35 years. 
As the one-year anniversary 

of the closing of “the Center” 
(as we referred to it) approach-
es, it seems like a natural time 
to reflect further on my experi-
ence there.
The JCC Health Club was 
obviously only a part of our 
larger JCC. But when I said, 
“Honey, I’m going to the 
Center!” my wife knew I was 
talking about the Health Club 
locker room, pool and gym. 
The Center was a place where 
mostly Jewish folks went to 
schmooze and work out (proba-
bly in that order).
What was unique about it, 
compared to other health clubs, 
was its Jewish character. It 
always tended to attract more of 
an older than younger clientele, 
but it was also a place where 
people from different genera-
tions co-mingled on a regular 
basis. It truly served to connect 

diverse segments of our Jewish 
community. L
’
dor v’
dor.

THE REGULARS
On arrival at the Center, I’
d 
often have brief conversations 
with the people in my row 
of lockers, many of whom I 

saw almost every time I came. 
When I went to the exercise 
floor, I chatted with folks I 
knew from many aspects of 
my life. I saw Larry and Sharon 
who I knew since college; I 
recall how they encouraged me 
after my hip replacement.

Dr. Jeff 
London

PURELY COMMENTARY

continued on page 12

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The men’s Executive Locker Room at the JCC

DAVID SACHS

