A brass quintet played a glorious rendition of “Amazing Grace” as I closed my eyes and thought of a wonderful buddy who was no longer with us - Frank King. Mourners had gathered beneath the soaring and majestic ceiling of Denver’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception to say our goodbyes.
We were on the same schedule at the gym, Kinetics Fitness Studio. Soul mates for sweat. Usually in the early morning hours, around 6:30 or so. The esteemed Denver lawyer didn’t let anything stop him from exercising. The Idaho native lived 82 years, built an incredible law practice, climbed many mountains, married twice, raised lots of kids, step kids and tons of grandchildren.
The final years were a battle with prostate cancer. In the waning moments of a glorious run, the cancer had metastasized. There was also pneumonia to deal with and other stuff. Frank kept coming to the gym. Always pleasant and quick to laugh. Many didn’t know the guy who climbed 51 of Colorado’s 14,000-foot mountain peaks was even sick. He sure didn’t act like it.
As the music soared to a crescendo and eyes remained closed, the mind opened to many dear gym friends who have passed in recent times. Nelson, Val and now Frank. All from cancer. Incredible human beings robbed of life and breath far too young. All had the same spirit: they kept working out, despite chemotherapy, radiation and other challenges associated with fighting cancer.
These beloved friends, and many others, embody the culture permeating from a no frills establishment your humble scribe has coined, “The best gym in America. Not for its spa, but its spirit.”
No showers. The woman change in a large closet. The dudes change in a small closet. Members would have it no other way. I love the place, teach full-body workouts classes twice a week. A new trainer chuckled recently when, after another workout, I proclaimed, “A sweat a day keeps the doctor away.” But, it seems, not always cancer.
Walking into the quaint spot that sits off an alley in Denver’s Cherry Creek North area, always inspires me to become superior to my former self.
A few years back, owner and founder Gene Cisneros began putting inspirational thoughts at the bottom of members’ monthly statements. One just jumped off the paper and right into my heart. It was attributed to Whitney Young.
Born in Kentucky back in the 1920‘s, Young’s life was rather uneventful until he marched off to World War II. Assigned to an all-black regiment of soldiers responsible for repairing bomb-damaged roads in Europe at war’s end, Young stood out.
Supervised by an all-white, Southern officer crew, the charismatic private displayed incredible leadership skills. After just three weeks he was promoted to sergeant. The promotion caused much consternation. Remember, it was the 1940’s and America was far too concerned - might still be - about the color of one’s skin.
But something magical happened within the soul of Whitney Young. The moment inspired him to dedicate his life to improving race relations in our country. Upon leaving the military, Young worked for the National Urban League, taught university classes on race relations, spent some time with the NAACP before returning to the NUL as president at the age of 40. The ten years he ran the organization was historic. At the age of 47, then President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded the father of three the country’s Medal of Freedom. Tragically, Young drowned while on a family vacation at the age of 50.
His life motto was “There’s nothing noble in being superior to somebody else, true nobility lies in becoming superior to your former self.” Amen to that. The owner of Kinetics put that at the bottom of a monthly statement a while back and it has burrowed into my marrow ever since.
Frank King lived that kind of life. The Columbia University law graduate served four years in the Navy and sailed more than 160,000 miles delivering fighter jets to U.S. military installations around the globe. Eventually moved to the Centennial State, began a five-decade stretch in law and served family, friends and community with a wonderful spirit.
A spirit of humility and the constant pursuit of improvement. My goodness, just a few days before passing, King was getting a massage and looking forward to the next workout.
Busy and active till the end. So long good buddy. Job well done.
Whitney Young. Frank King. No doubt, there’s tons of other examples too. Female and male. Where will our true nobility lie this week? Let’s pour heart and soul into becoming superior to our former selves.
The question becomes, can we emulate? Will we emulate? This week, let’s answer that question with a collective crescendo more powerful than the music at Frank’s funeral.
“Yes we can!”
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