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Barbara Clough

On learning to see

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Edited by Barbara Clough, Tuesday, 21 Dec 2021, 01:23

I find myself looking closely at people's faces and it's hard to look intently without staring. Or appearing to be staring. Or just staring. How else can you look intently at someone who is sitting 3 feet away from you on the floor of the gym? I noticed that my coach has really soft eyes with a charcoal rim that on a woman would be eye liner, but on him, it's just his dark eyelashes close together. And I noticed today that he'd trimmed his beard so it's less of a grizzled inch or so and more like a four or five day growth. When he comes over to coach me, I find he's an intent looker. Eye contact, questioning, "you doing okay? tighten up your core a bit more on the push ups - it's better form." It doesn't make the push ups easier but he is clearly looking intently at form all the time, on all of us, which really is his job but I've had some oblivious coaches. Then again, he knows I am coachable.  

The oddest thing I noticed in my intently looking people is that his legs are shaved. Well, at least part of the leg is shaved. He had on black shorts, not quite knee length. Then he had about 3-4 inches of bare skin encompassing the knee which was tanned, but then there was a dead straight line where the tan line ended and his naked, shaved calf, shin and ankles were on full display to the tops of his sneakers. I know he plays hockey but that is not a hockey tan. It's an I-run-in-the-summer-with-knee-socks-tan. Or something equally weird. And that white expanse of leg - not a hair on it. Looked smoother than mine because he doesn't have sun marks and varicose veins. How DO you get a tan like that? 

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