Post by Michael Smart on Jul 13, 2014 8:53:36 GMT -6
“39, 40, 41, 42...”
In the middle of a gym that has seen better days, Daniel Smart is holding a barbell behind his shoulders, doing squats. Sweat is pouring from his forehead, dripping down to his white t-shirt, but Daniel looks calm and determined, focused on nothing but his workout.
“48, 49...”
Daniel has trouble with the last squat. Gritting his teeth, Daniel exerts a tremendous amount of effort.
“Fifty!”
Daniel drops the barbell behind him, forgetting all about safety precautions for a moment. Exhausted, Daniel puts his hands on his knees and takes a few quick breaths, then calms down, taking slower, deeper breaths. Once he's caught his breath, Daniel walks over to a nearby bench, grabbing a water bottle. He takes a quick sip, then pours the rest of the bottle's contents over his head. Daniel puts the bottle down and grabs a towel, wiping his face with it.
”You shouldn't push yourself so hard, you could get hurt again.”
Daniel drops the towel and turns around. On the other side of the gym is a familiar face. An old, wrinkly man with light gray hair who has a faint smile on his face. The man is leaning on a wooden cane. He takes a few steps forward, using the cane to support himself. A wide smile spreads on Daniel's face.
“Dad!”
Daniel rushes over to his father, immediately giving him a hug. Daniel's dad uses his free arm to hug him back. The two embrace for a moment, before Daniel breaks the hug. Daniel's father is Matthew Smart, a retired wrestler. He wrestled all over the world in the eighties and nineties before retiring to raise Daniel, as well as his orphan nephew, Michael. Matt Smart trained both men to wrestle from an early age, the two wrestling their first match against each other as teenagers.
“Thanks for letting me use your gym, dad. I'd rather train in privacy while preparing for my return.”
”It's fine, kid. No one else is using it these days, anyway.”
Daniel helps his dad sit down on a bench, taking a seat next to him.
”Since you're being so reckless with the weights, I take it that your training is going well?”
“Better than well, dad. I know it's a cliché, but I'm feeling better than ever.”
”Are you, now?”
Matt Smart stares off into the distance.
”I'm sure that's what it feels like, kid, but that doesn't make it true. Once you recover from an injury, once you're no longer hurt, it feels like you could take on the whole world. Then you rush back into action, and you realize that you're not at a hundred percent just yet. Trust me, I've been there.”
“Are you telling me that I'm not ready yet?”
”I'm not telling you anything, Daniel. I'm giving you advice.”
Matthew Smart grabs his cane with both hands, staring at it.
”The wrestling business takes its toll on you. Every man and woman who steps into the ring pays the prize. Every match taxes your body, and you'll be paying for all of them for the rest of your life.”
Daniel stays silent as his father keeps talking.
”You may feel that you got off light this time. You were only out of action for a short time, and you managed to come out of it without any long-term damage. Well, that was how I felt at your age, too. I was never out of action for more than three months. I came out of every injury feeling better than ever before. What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right? Well, look at me now.”
Leaning on the cane to get back to his feet, Matthew Smart winces in pain. Daniel grabs his father, helping him get off the bench.
”When you're in your twenties, you think you're bulletproof. It's not until you're in your fifties, when you're still feeling every injury you had thirty years ago, that you realize just how wrong you were. And I got off relatively light, all things considered. I can still walk, even if I need some help. I don't have a long history of concussions, and I never hurt my neck. Not every retired wrestler can claim that.”
With a worried look in his eyes, Matthew stares his son right in the eyes.
”And I really hope that when you're my age, you can claim that, too. I hope you're not in a wheelchair, I hope you don't need a cane to walk, I hope you don't have major brain damage... but in this business, that's not guaranteed.”
Matthew's eyes turn towards the center of the gym, where a wrestling ring is set up. The ring is old and dirty, like everything else in the gym.
”Sometimes I wish that I hadn't let trained you, that I hadn't let you join the business. I wish I'd made you go to college and get a safer profession. Something that would have let you make a decent living, raise a family and retire healthy and happy. Wrestling can offer you money and fame, but it's not necessarily worth it...”
“It is.”
Finally breaking his silence, Daniel interrupts his father. Matthew looks surprised.
“Well, money and fame may not be worth it, not by itself. There are other ways to get famous, better ways to make money. But that's not why I'm a wrestler. I'm a wrestler because I want to become the best. I want to climb to the top of the mountain, become a world champion and be known as one of the all-time greats. You're right, when I retire, I'll probably be paying for every match I wrestled, I'm going to be hurting for every hit I take. But that doesn't scare me. What scares me is retiring without having accomplished anything. What I'm afraid of is looking back of a life that wasn't worth living in the first place.”
Daniel turns to look at the ring.
“You taught me everything you knew in that ring. One day, I want to teach my own children everything I know. I want to teach them everything I learned from you, so that one day they can do that to their own children. You taught me so much, dad. I'm going to make sure that your knowledge is passed on for generations to come.”
A smile spreads on Matthew's face. His eyes start getting moist.
”You're gonna make an old man cry, kid.”
Daniel throws his arm around his dad's shoulder, the both of them turning to look at the ring.
“I'm going to be back in action soon. I promise to make you proud, dad. I don't know who my opponent is, but they're not just going to be facing Daniel Smart. They're going to be facing the combined knowledge of the entire Smart family. I want to be the best, and I want to do it the right way. I want to do it... the Smart way. One man's life is short, but during that time they can build a legacy that will last for centuries to come. You were the foundation for the Smart legacy, dad. On top of it, I'm going to build something that will last forever.”
In the middle of a gym that has seen better days, Daniel Smart is holding a barbell behind his shoulders, doing squats. Sweat is pouring from his forehead, dripping down to his white t-shirt, but Daniel looks calm and determined, focused on nothing but his workout.
“48, 49...”
Daniel has trouble with the last squat. Gritting his teeth, Daniel exerts a tremendous amount of effort.
“Fifty!”
Daniel drops the barbell behind him, forgetting all about safety precautions for a moment. Exhausted, Daniel puts his hands on his knees and takes a few quick breaths, then calms down, taking slower, deeper breaths. Once he's caught his breath, Daniel walks over to a nearby bench, grabbing a water bottle. He takes a quick sip, then pours the rest of the bottle's contents over his head. Daniel puts the bottle down and grabs a towel, wiping his face with it.
”You shouldn't push yourself so hard, you could get hurt again.”
Daniel drops the towel and turns around. On the other side of the gym is a familiar face. An old, wrinkly man with light gray hair who has a faint smile on his face. The man is leaning on a wooden cane. He takes a few steps forward, using the cane to support himself. A wide smile spreads on Daniel's face.
“Dad!”
Daniel rushes over to his father, immediately giving him a hug. Daniel's dad uses his free arm to hug him back. The two embrace for a moment, before Daniel breaks the hug. Daniel's father is Matthew Smart, a retired wrestler. He wrestled all over the world in the eighties and nineties before retiring to raise Daniel, as well as his orphan nephew, Michael. Matt Smart trained both men to wrestle from an early age, the two wrestling their first match against each other as teenagers.
“Thanks for letting me use your gym, dad. I'd rather train in privacy while preparing for my return.”
”It's fine, kid. No one else is using it these days, anyway.”
Daniel helps his dad sit down on a bench, taking a seat next to him.
”Since you're being so reckless with the weights, I take it that your training is going well?”
“Better than well, dad. I know it's a cliché, but I'm feeling better than ever.”
”Are you, now?”
Matt Smart stares off into the distance.
”I'm sure that's what it feels like, kid, but that doesn't make it true. Once you recover from an injury, once you're no longer hurt, it feels like you could take on the whole world. Then you rush back into action, and you realize that you're not at a hundred percent just yet. Trust me, I've been there.”
“Are you telling me that I'm not ready yet?”
”I'm not telling you anything, Daniel. I'm giving you advice.”
Matthew Smart grabs his cane with both hands, staring at it.
”The wrestling business takes its toll on you. Every man and woman who steps into the ring pays the prize. Every match taxes your body, and you'll be paying for all of them for the rest of your life.”
Daniel stays silent as his father keeps talking.
”You may feel that you got off light this time. You were only out of action for a short time, and you managed to come out of it without any long-term damage. Well, that was how I felt at your age, too. I was never out of action for more than three months. I came out of every injury feeling better than ever before. What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right? Well, look at me now.”
Leaning on the cane to get back to his feet, Matthew Smart winces in pain. Daniel grabs his father, helping him get off the bench.
”When you're in your twenties, you think you're bulletproof. It's not until you're in your fifties, when you're still feeling every injury you had thirty years ago, that you realize just how wrong you were. And I got off relatively light, all things considered. I can still walk, even if I need some help. I don't have a long history of concussions, and I never hurt my neck. Not every retired wrestler can claim that.”
With a worried look in his eyes, Matthew stares his son right in the eyes.
”And I really hope that when you're my age, you can claim that, too. I hope you're not in a wheelchair, I hope you don't need a cane to walk, I hope you don't have major brain damage... but in this business, that's not guaranteed.”
Matthew's eyes turn towards the center of the gym, where a wrestling ring is set up. The ring is old and dirty, like everything else in the gym.
”Sometimes I wish that I hadn't let trained you, that I hadn't let you join the business. I wish I'd made you go to college and get a safer profession. Something that would have let you make a decent living, raise a family and retire healthy and happy. Wrestling can offer you money and fame, but it's not necessarily worth it...”
“It is.”
Finally breaking his silence, Daniel interrupts his father. Matthew looks surprised.
“Well, money and fame may not be worth it, not by itself. There are other ways to get famous, better ways to make money. But that's not why I'm a wrestler. I'm a wrestler because I want to become the best. I want to climb to the top of the mountain, become a world champion and be known as one of the all-time greats. You're right, when I retire, I'll probably be paying for every match I wrestled, I'm going to be hurting for every hit I take. But that doesn't scare me. What scares me is retiring without having accomplished anything. What I'm afraid of is looking back of a life that wasn't worth living in the first place.”
Daniel turns to look at the ring.
“You taught me everything you knew in that ring. One day, I want to teach my own children everything I know. I want to teach them everything I learned from you, so that one day they can do that to their own children. You taught me so much, dad. I'm going to make sure that your knowledge is passed on for generations to come.”
A smile spreads on Matthew's face. His eyes start getting moist.
”You're gonna make an old man cry, kid.”
Daniel throws his arm around his dad's shoulder, the both of them turning to look at the ring.
“I'm going to be back in action soon. I promise to make you proud, dad. I don't know who my opponent is, but they're not just going to be facing Daniel Smart. They're going to be facing the combined knowledge of the entire Smart family. I want to be the best, and I want to do it the right way. I want to do it... the Smart way. One man's life is short, but during that time they can build a legacy that will last for centuries to come. You were the foundation for the Smart legacy, dad. On top of it, I'm going to build something that will last forever.”
