Still don't do 'mad' well

I generally love people -- all kinds of people. I consider myself a "people person" and, for the most part, an extrovert.

There is one type of person, however, that really gets under my skin and that I cannot identify with in any way. That person is abrasive, caustic and makes a huge deal out of something of minor importance.

Yesterday (Saturday), as I often do, I went to a 7:30 a.m. cycling (spin) class at the Y. These classes are made up of folks of various fitness levels. We are all on stationery bikes and there is an instructor at the front, also on a bike, who plays music and gives instructions regarding levels of resistance, speed, cadence, etc.

There are four fans on the walls, positioned high above the bikes (the room has about a 20-foot ceiling) and the normal practice is for the instructor to turn the fans on about half-way through the 45-minute or one-hour class. They "oscillate" so the air moves around the room.

I am aware that there are conflicting feelings about the fans among the participants. Some like the fans; some don't. It has always been my understanding that the ones who don't are able to position themselves on bikes that don't get direct air from the fans.

But apparently I was wrong. Yesterday there was a guy on a bike next to one of the walls, right underneath one of the fans. After the fans had been running for about ten minutes, he motioned for the instructor to come over to his bike.

She dismounted her bike, went over to him, and a several-minute intense discussion ensued. While this was going on, the music continued to play but we received no instructions. We just pedaled.

When the instructor got back on her bike, she resumed making her calls to us, but we could tell she was upset.

At the end of the class, during the cool-down, she told us that we needed to come to some agreement about the fans, that she sincerely wanted to keep everyone happy, including the man who had called her over an had the intense discussion with her.

At this he began to address the entire class. He said that he knew that he was in the minority (being of the no-fan school of thought) but he had as much right to not have a fan blowing on him as those who would want air from the fan have the right to have it. I mean this guy was worked up over it.

Someone asked him if he could really feel the air from the fan on the bike he was using that day and he said yes, he could feel it on his back.

I asked him, "Is this really that important to you?" (Because I myself don't have a strong feeling about it and didn't know it was such a controversial matter).

His voice level escalated as he told me emphatically that yes, it was of great importance to him and that he was tired of "management" dictating that all the fans go on at the same time.

With the escalation and irritation in his voice, I became a little annoyed myself and I, quite uncharacteristically, decided to "take him on," explaining to him that I thought it was very selfish of him to take up class time and upset the teacher the way he did.

He said, "Tough sh__" and walked out!  Then the poor instructor began to cry!

I told her I was sorry, but that I was really coming to her defense. The whole thing with the fans is NOT her fault and if it's really so important to him, he needs to take it to the top of the house, not take it out on her. He also might want to check into one of those "hot yoga" classes.

I wrote a  post a couple of years ago about how I don't "do mad" well.

I still don't.

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Our family trip to Kansas City was last weekend. We had a ball. Stayed at a hotel adjacent to the Hallmark Center (Hallmark Cards is headquartered in KC).  In addition to going to two Royals games, we did a tour over at Hallmark, ate some great barbecue and, on blog friend Michael's recommendation, visited the Country Club Plaza, a beautiful and hip shopping and entertainment district.

It was great to have some family time, with all of us there. It was too short, of course, but we made the most of it.

To see some photos, visit Daughter's blog:   http://mckinme.blogspot.com/ ("Delightfully Living" over to the right on my blog list).