Don Juan

When we met, it occurred to me to call him Don Juan, of course without any ill intention, but as a sign of respect. Immediately, he asked me to drop the formal treatment, that he was just Juan, and again it had nothing to do with being associated with the famous womanising and quarrelsome character. The reason was that this is how his pupils had addressed him for over 40 years as a school teacher, and he was a bit tired of that formal designation. So, although the age difference makes me want to use that Spanish formal form of address, in these brief lines I share with you I'm going to respect his choice and, therefore, I'll call him simply Juan.

We had seen each other at the gym a few times before, which is the only place in the neighborhood where we coincide, little more than a "good afternoon" under the thump-thump music they like in these places. But the other day, during a break from the bench press I was doing, he came over to greet me. And while talking I lost track of the repetitions with the weights I still had to do, but it was worth it to get to know him.

Juan told me he was born shortly after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, so he's close to turning 89. At 18 he was already a teacher at a school in the countryside, and among other subjects he taught physical education. Many of his students lived in houses without electricity, running water or bathrooms. He would arrive at places decimated with the scars of the conflict, where everyone was missing someone, because they had been killed, equally, on both sides. Behind the large Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses with dark lenses that he always wears - I imagine due to some eye condition - you could sense in the shadow of his barely visible eyes that those had been very hard years.

But what he was telling me was related to physical exercise, which he was already doing way back then and which has accompanied him throughout his long life. The truth is that, although by age it might be appropriate, I wouldn't dare call him elderly, since he shows a vitality that someone half his age would want for themselves. He assures me that both he and his wife stay in good shape, active and healthy, because they exercise practically every day. He didn't say it, but I'm sure he would have better results from a blood checkup than any of the young guys he shares machines with at the local gym.

Actually, the only thing that saddens him about having managed to age in such a long and healthy way is that he only has one friend still alive. But Juan doesn't lose his smile: he ends the brief chat and gets on the treadmill to walk a few kilometres...