Page 137 - Perfect Phrases ESL Everyday Business

Part 7

Directions

Workout at the Jim?

My husband and I were getting into our car in a parking lot when
a man rushed up to us and asked, “How do you spell Jim?” My hus-
band replied, “J-I-M.” I, the English as a Second Language teacher,
asked, “Why, are you writing to someone named Jim?” The man had
a puzzled look on his face and he said, “No, I don’t know Jim; my job
is to paint a sign on that building,” he said as he pointed to the dete-
riorating sign on the door of Bally’s, a popular fitness center company
in the United States.
We realized then the “gym” he meant. I explained that gym is short
for gymnasium and the other Jim is the man’s name, Jim. “Didn’t they
write it down for you?” I asked. “No,” he said. My husband continued,
“When did you start this job?” “This morning,” he answered. If we
hadn’t coincidentally met in that parking lot, he probably would have
proudly painted “Jim” on the door to Bally’s gymnasium.

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