The Transcendent soul of a female bodybuilder



This is a 100% true story. Any feedback can be sent to
harlequin2943@hotmail.com

I love Baseball. I wouldn't deny that fact even if it meant losing an
inheritance. I'm hard to pull away from the television if any games are being
broadcast. It takes some discipline to not become a couch potato so my car
radio is preset to any station that will keep me up on the play by play.

Living in Portland, Oregon can be difficult for a fanatic like me since this
city is more characteristic of a Basketball town. Despite that we do have a
"triple A" team representing our city in the Pacific Coast League. The
Portland Beavers, which are part of the San Diego Padres farm system, is a
happy compromise and, at least, allows some of us to see some of the stars of
tomorrow.(and occasionally yesterday)

Last year I experienced an unexpected, almost spiritual, moment in time while
attending a Beavers game which gave me a sharper insight into the mindset of
female bodybuilders and power lifters. At least I'd like to I think I
understand them a bit more now.

It was an August evening and still very hot temperature wise. I was waiting
outside the stadium for some friends to arrive. I have a shirt tale cousin
that coaches first base for the Edmonton Trappers which are one of the Beavers
rivals. When they come to town I'm always good for some comps right behind
home plate. As I was waiting for my fashionably late buddies, I had my breath
taken away by a 20-something woman that came down the street. She had auburn
hair and coffee eyes but those features paled in comparison to an amazing
physique. She wore a simple pair of jeans and sandals but it was the white
spaghetti strap blouse that was so distinctive. Bursting from that blouse were
two very well developed arms that were enhanced by a golden tan. At the center
of her forearms were multiple veins popping up from both sides and one vein
that lazily snaked up over her biceps and quietly disappeared at the lower
deltoid.

She wasn't looking around but moved with deliberateness to the ticket counter.
As she waited I was hoping no jerk would try some hokey pick up line that is
so customary at the gyms. This woman exuded such class and didn't need someone
ruining her evening before it even started.

She quietly purchased her ticket, went quickly through the turnstile, and
disappeared in to the crowd.

My friends arrived and we made our way to our seats after getting the needed
bag of peanuts. As we watched the tail end of batting practice, I glanced
around the stadium and, to my surprise; there was that woman again about 4
rows down and one aisle over. She was easy to spot, obviously because of her
physique, but also because she sat singularly in a clearing of seats. No one
was sitting next to her, behind or in front. I tried to keep focused on the
heavy barrage of foul balls that came our way and the "guy talk" that so
typifies men at a sporting event. Still I found it hard to not peek over at
this woman from time to time but not for the reasons one generally thinks. She
exhibited a most unusual mannerism for a woman at a ball game. She had an
uncanny sense of total focus on every thing that was happening on the field.
She concentrated on pitchers, batters, and all their preparations for the
game. At times she was motionless in her absorption. She had no food or drinks
to deviate her attention and her only prop was a scorecard on her lap.

In all my years, I can't recall seeing anyone (man or woman) come with such
absorption in analyzing every nuance of the game. During the game I don't
think she ever cheered or booed but sat quietly and intensely watched the
players perform.

One could draw so many conclusions as to her motivations. Was she a Baseball
scout? Was she a player in a local adult league? Was she merely showing off
her physique in an environment of mainly men? Was she breathing in the
inspiration of pro players and their prowess? Was she simply a female
bodybuilder that enjoyed Baseball? That observation seemed obvious but there
was more to this for me. Her intensity was literally unnerving me. Someone
might say "Oh you just had "A Girl from Ipanema" experience. No, I was touched
by this woman transcendently.

The dictionary defines transcendence as an emotion that is passed along
without the use of the normal senses. And what was passed along to me that
evening? This mysterious lady had a lust for life. She obviously did her
weight training with passion and even if she was a spectator for an evening,
she would bring the same zeal to even that.

In short she was a woman very much alive. That sounds simplistic I guess but
how often can any one speak of a person they don't know creating a profound
effect on them. We think celebrities inspire us but that can be artificial at
best since, movie stars for example, are often marketed products. This lady
was totally without pretense. In fact my earlier impression of her being
unapproachable wasn't true either. About the seventh inning she was joking
around, off and on, with some bleacher bums that came down to some empty seats
behind her. At one point my mind wandered to an old song by the folk/rock
singer Joni Mitchell. The song, "FOR FREE" tells the story of how Joni watched
a street performer play a saxophone from the comfort of her limousine. The
experience caught her off guard because she had discovered that her fame was
now causing her artistry to become superficial for the good of marketing. In
essence she was lamenting that her honesty was gone. I further contemplated
that this woman at the ball park, had a depth to her that would never allow
for compromising her integrity as Ms. Mitchell confessed.

As the last out was recorded in the bottom of the ninth she left with the same
briskness that she arrived with. I have never seen her since and I have an
inkling I never will. But for one evening a female bodybuilder had made her
mark in my memory.

One day I saw an interesting, almost laughable, quote on the internet. "There
are two kinds of women, female bodybuilders and those who wish they were". I'd
like to think the anonymous person that coined that meant it tongue-in-cheek.
All of us who keep up with the sport of women's bodybuilding know this is not
literally the case. But if one thinks of female bodybuilders as
disciplined, committed, positive, self motivated and focused then, yes
thousands of women want those qualities within their nature. So, I'd have to
conclude that, after this experience I've told here, Women's bodybuilders
have, indeed, been set apart for a unique role in the twenty first century.
For one evening I experienced a chance to see a new form of beauty. I wasn't
sneaking peeks at this woman because she had perfect lips, stunning make up or
the always attractive spaghetti strap blouse. I was seeing what women often
say is attractive about men, namely their level of confidence. You, the reader
may ask ... why didn't I go over and say something to her.

I ask myself that very question every day since that night. I can say with
absolute assurance that, transcendently, she spoke to me quite a while that
night. Needing to sit down and write this out should make that point obvious.
Will I be looking for her at the next Beaver game I attend? What do you think?