My hands used to blister and rip open after a time on the parallel bars. These were called rips by gymnasts and were hugely painful. You had to chalk up before hitting your routine and the chalk made the rips burn. The only way to get around it was an evil liquid called Tough Skin which felt like pouring liquid fire on an open sore. After, the sore closed up and formed a callous so the show could go on.
I wasn't very good at the bars. My strength was always the floor. Yes, these two lines are examples of self-service humor. You can make up your own joke. But I did have a perverse enjoyment of the callous-forming process. I haven't seen Tough Skin in years, but I think about it when I'm in pain and need to get over it quickly. Your hands and what they are dealt are always changing.
Michelle's Spell of the Day
"When we cannot change a situation, we are forced to change ourselves." Victor Frankel
Cocktail Hour
Drinking movie suggestion: The Secret Lives of Pippa Lee
Benedictions and Maledictions
Happy Monday!
7 comments:
C'mon folks, let's hear it! A big hand for the little lady! C'mon!!!--Ed Sullivan
Victor Frankel was a newspaperman's newspaper person. His memoir is fascinating.--Howell Raines
MB, I have some of that Tough Skin in my medicine cabinet. I keep it around for emergencies.
Very insightful post.
Love you, beautiful!!
Jill
My hand blisters EVERY time I grab my parallel bar.
The Bride of Frankenstein Marches on!--Mel B.
Congrats on the eve of your 4th year of blogging! With you all the way!--Associated Press
Bells, are you sure we are not sisters by different mothers? So many of our experiences are mirrored! I too, hated working unevens because the blisters and rips were atrocious. Coach used to shave them off of our hands with a razor blade. Later, I used those leather hand grip things, but I still sucked on the bars. No guts to do the cast/wrap/eagle catch!
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