The Wit and Wisdom of Doug Eidd

Back when we officed on Commerce Street, Zac Crain and I were three-times-a-week regulars at Doug’s Gym, which looks today more or less like it did when it opened in ’62. I still drop by on occasion to see Doug Eidd, one of my favorite people in the world. At 80 he could still drop a man half his age with just a hard stare.

A colleague still works out there and says business is better than ever. No doubt the influx of downtown denizens has helped, because back when we were down there the east end of the CBD was still a bit … barren, let’s say. No 7-Eleven, for instance, just a convenience store that sold bootlegged DVDs.

While we await some return calls, here’s a short film about Doug just posted to Vimeo by filmmaker Jim Hanon, a lensman of some renown who’s also the same guy who directed those “Happy Trails” spots for Mike Rawlings’s pals at Jake:Ferguson. Man, I need to get back to the gym.