I took advantage of a rare quiet weekend to hit the gym Saturday afternoon. After running on the treadmill and lifting, I decided to use the final 25 minutes of my workout time on a bike. So I was cycling away, reading Men's Health (as a sidebar, why does a women's-only gym have Men's Health on the magazine rack?) and glancing at the Food Network (yes, AGAIN) and they made the announcement that the gym would be closing in 15 minutes. In the reflection of the mirror, I saw an older woman stumble a bit on a treadmill in the row behind me, go down to her knees, catch herself momentarily on the handrails, and then fall completely horizontal and sail off the back of the treadmill. It was actually rather impressive, albeit painful looking.

So she's on the ground, somewhat entangled in the machine behind her (that's how forcefully she flew off the treadmill). People raced over to check on her well-being, as she's holding her shoulder and trying to sit up with little success. So I was faced with a dilemma ... should I jump off my bike and join the hovering swarm, or remain on my bike and finish my workout?

Yep. I finished my workout. I figured she probably felt self conscious enough with eight people standing over her and I didn't want to add to her embarrassment. I'd have been mortified if I flew off a treadmill. I did ask the girl who works there if she needed any help, and she said the rescue squad was on its way so all should be fine. So I went into the locker room, got dressed and left. On my way out the door, a girl we affectionately refer to as Beeper Girl* gave me a dirty look, as though I was a bad person for leaving. I just didn't feel the need to stand there and do nothing. I can live with myself.

*Beeper Girl is so named because she used to keep her beeper between her breasts during workouts. Then we didn't see her at the gym for a few years. In that time, she seems to have gained about 119 pounds, so she no longer stores her beeper between her breasts. Instead, she's using that space to store more of herself.

A few other random notes from the weekend...

Did you all enjoy Martin Luther King Jr. Day? I honored MLKJ (and more importantly, the day off) by visiting a dear friend in the city yesterday. I can't say we honored MLKJ, but we did eat and drink well. It was Molto Mario Day - we had lunch at Otto Pizzeria, where I had penne with hazelnuts, butternut squash and smoked ricotta. Then, after some shopping and real-estate searching, it was on to dinner at Bistro du Vent, where we shared sea grouper and prawns. Both establishments feature the genius of something called the 'quartino' - a third of a bottle of wine.

The Jets apparently have a new coach: Patriots' defensive coordinator Eric Mangini who, as I mentioned, is a year and two months younger than me. But as long as he doesn't resign within 24 hours, I'm okay with the hire. NY Daily News Jets writer Rich Cimini checked in with a few final thoughts regarding the Jets' former coach. I'm pretty sure Rich can cross Herm off his Christmas-card list.