BY EILEEN BRADY
THE NEWS JOURNAL OF WILMINGTON, OHIO ​

“Dear Eileen Brady,” the letter read. “Your opinions and your satisfaction mean everything to us.” That’s why the YMCA chose me to take a member satisfaction survey.
Well, gosh, thanks for asking.
Let’s fill in the little “Excellent” bubble for staff friendliness. I love the people who work there. They’re extremely pleasant.
Member satisfaction, however, takes a downhill slide after that.
I’ve belonged to other YMCAs and have used fitness centers on military bases. I’d never seen cardio equipment located in a hallway, and I can’t say I’m a big fan of it. 
Aside from the dueling TVs blaring “The Price Is Right” and “Dr. Phil” in the daytime, the cardio hallways are a gathering place in the evenings for parents waiting for cheerleading practice to end. They stand close enough to catch sweat drops from people on the elliptical machines. 

BY EILEEN BRADY
THE NEWS JOURNAL OF WILMINGTON, OHIO ​

Each March, I donate $5 to an NCAA office pool.
I don’t win, but I come dangerously close. My husband has won, and I got to share in his bounty, so that was almost as fun as winning.
I don’t even work in an office now. That didn’t stop me from being in an office pool, but it did lessen my guilt about draining worker productivity by this year’s estimated $1.2 billion.
For the past 13 years, my husband and I have participated in this year’s same office pool, with my former newsroom colleagues in Jacksonville, N.C., cheerfully organized each year by our friend Robert. 
My husband spews sports statistics like a “SportsCenter” anchor, so he brings that knowledge to his brackets.
Although I am a sports fan and often could make intelligent choices based on strength of schedule and tournament seeds, I never do.