Amazing siting at the Russian Baths

It should be first stated that every man deserves privacy and sanctuary at the Russian baths. The whole point of the venture is to get away from it all, to relax, unwind and enjoy.

But a couple weeks ago at a much needed trip to one of the Russian baths in the area, I couldn't help but get excited when I heard a familiar voice a locker row over. Kind of nasal, pitched kind of high, slightly neurotic but definitely lovable.

"Ahhhh, I feel clean. I feel like a man."

"Yeah," Familiar Voice's friend said.

"You know what? I feel free for the first time in my life."

I walked over to get my towels and took a peek and sitting on a bench putting on his shoes was Oscar winning actor Paul Giamatti.

I went back to my locker and listen as he extolled the virtues of the Russian bath, and talked about smoking pot with some guy in DC.

I was sorry that I didn't get a chance to schvitz with Mr. Giamatti. Not because I would have liked to gawk or trouble him, but because it was all Russians when I got in there and that was infinitely more boring than Paul Giamatti could ever have been.

But none-the-less, I was glad to know that Paul and I share a love for the crisp, searing heat of the Russian baths. And he pretty much summed up how I feel every time I leave there, and I'm fairly sure that from now on, his weird voice will ring in my head as I change.

I feel clean. I feel like a man. I feel free for the first time in my life.