Places (in progress)
Life Vignettes
Jimmy McEachran
In an earlier story I mentioned that, while I was adisappointment to my father in baseball, I was better at track.Here’s a picture from my high school year book of me runningthe high hurdles (I lost).
In my senior year, I attended a track meet at Wellesley HighSchool — a well-to-do suburb of Boston. I wandered into thegym where there was a gymnastics meet going on. There was atumbler who did an amazingly high backflip at the end of three back handsprings. I was hooked. By the way, this high schoolgymnast was named Ben Mills — my number 1 son’s namesake.
So at age 17, despite being too old to get really good, I decided tolearn gymnastics. I tried teaching myself but this ended indisaster (recall the tongue biting incident from an earlier story).After this horrible incident, I thought I better find someone inthe Boston area who could teach me some of the basics. Afterpoking around various gyms, I was told to check out he BostonYoung Men’s Christian Union — not YMCA.
YMCU--Gymnastics
The YMCU (built in 1851) is located in the heart of what wascalled Boston’s “Combat Zone” — an infamous couple of squareblocks in down town Boston populated with strip joints, hookers,druggies, gays and street people. The YMCU was also down thestreet from the Boston State House and was a popular meetingplace for Boston Pols. Many deals affecting the city took place inthe steam room at the YMCU and many arguments were settledon the handball court.
(anonymous)
In addition to politicians, the YMCU was the base for a smallgroup of budding gymnasts (12 to 14 years) from mostlydownscale neighborhood of South Boston. The YMCU alsofeatured retired acrobats and old time vaudevillians. Heading upthis small group of gymnasts was Jimmy McEchechrean. Jimmywas what they used to call “Black Irish” — jet black hair andblue eyes. He was in his mid-twenties. He had a mischievousgrin and devilish eyebrows.
Jimmy oozed charisma and was himself a gifted gymnast andteacher. Within a couple of two hour sessions he taught me theright way to do a handstand (bone-on-bone — see picturebelow) as well as a back handspring (something I’d been tryingto learn from photos in a book and almost broke my neck). Thesecret to the back handspring Jimmy said was to pretend you aresitting down in a chair but keeping your back strait, then swingyour arms and head back. Magic.
Lorem Ipsum
(anonymous)
I could say a lot more about how important gymnastics becamein my life, not only in terms of training and the mix ofaesthetics, strength and flexibility (also I got to wear whitetights and slippers for special events), but also in terms of the friendships. In fact, I reconnected with one of these friends a fewyears ago having lost touch for 40 years. Pictured below is KennHenderson who was probably the best gymnast in New Englandwhen I got to know him back in the mid 60’s. I reconnected withKenn via Youtube when I stumbled on him playing folk guitar.Turns out he had been in San Francisco since the mid 70’s. We’vestayed in touch.
Kenn
(anonymous)
Being able to do a credible handstand was not the mostimportant lesson I learned from Jimmy McEchrean. It wasanother kind of lesson altogether. In fact, I doubt whether Jimmywas even aware that he was imparting this lesson to us gym rats.What was this lesson? It can be best conveyed by a littleanecdote.
I had been training at the YMCU for about six months. Jimmywas teaching us some technique or other when this guy enteredthe gym who I’d never seen before. He was skinny as a rail with astubble beard, dirty cap and a wild look in his eye. He looked likea typical bum (we never said “homeless” back then). He wore adirty overcoat, shuffled his feet and was the kind of guy youwould avoid if you saw him on the street — at least I would have.Jimmy stopped the lesson and gave this fellow a warm greetingsomething like: “Hey Freddie, really great to see you. How yougettin’ on? Can I get you a coffee?” Freddie smiled back at Jimmyand in that instant I saw Freddy, not as a bum, but as a realhuman being. Turned out that Freddie was an old vaudevilleacrobat who was down on his luck and had mental issues. Overthe next few months Freddie would appear from time-to-timeand was always treated with respect and dignity by Jimmy andthe rest of us.
Freddie was not the only one who was accorded this kind ofwelcome from Jimmy. Everyone who came through the gym doorwas given not only the benefit of the doubt but was treated as anindividual who deserved respect and dignity. It didn’t matter ifthey were a hotshot politician or down-on-his=luck acrobat.Jimmy treated them the same. Of course, there were some nastyfolks who took advantage of this. But Jimmy’s example had a bigimpact on me. Not that I was a mean person. But I certainly
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Michael Mills
never went out of my way to try and see the humanity ineveryone.
Looking back, I know that I have not always lived up to Jimmy’sexample of giving folks the benefit of the doubt and treatingeveryone with kindness and respect (although I do have apenchant for blue collar folks). I do know that Jimmy’s examplerubbed off on me. I’m less good at this now in my seventies. Iadmit to having grown more cynical over the years but I stillhave vestiges of Jimmy’s legacy — try not to judge people basedon first appearances. I’m sure if I met him today, Jimmy hewould kindly encourage me to work on my attitude.
