The

Undeniable

Ruth

®

…and the Ruth shall set you free!

  • Kissing a Stranger in Vegas | Birthday Memories

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    Ruth Carter

    Lindsey & Ruth in Vegas - 2002
    Lindsey & Ruth in Vegas – 2002

    Last year for my birthday, I asked my friends to send me stories related to our friendship. I spent my birthday taking a trip down memory lane, reading through all of them. This year, I asked some of my friends if I could share their memories with you.

    Today’s memory is from Lindsey Taeko, one of my gymnastics teammates. I’ve known her since she was six and I was ten. She and our teammate Kyle came to stay with me for the weekend during the thirty seconds I lived in Vegas (that was a dumb idea). They were there to watch our other friend, Aaron, compete in a big meet that weekend. On the night Lindsey and Kyle arrived, we headed out to The Strip. As Lindsey remembers it:

    We were wandering the Vegas Strip and you decided, “Hmm, I really want to kiss someone.”  So, naturally, you find a cute guy, stop him on the street and ask to kiss him – and he of course agrees.  I was ABSOLUTELY blown away, such confidence, amazing . . . but it gets better! AFTER you kiss the random guy, you start talking to him and he says he’s in town for a gymnastics competition – OMG. Yes, the same gymnastics competition that were are going to watch the next day . . . but it gets better!

    Gymnastics Family at Lindsey's Wedding - 2014
    Gymnastics Family at Lindsey’s Wedding – 2014

    We arrive at the competition the next day and are sitting in the audience. We spot the random guy from last night and he comes over to say hello.  There’s a quick chat, good luck, have fun, yadda, yadda. Conversation is wrapping up and out of the blue you just PLANT one on him!  I just remember witnessing this entire encounter and nothing phased you – cute guy, kiss him; he says he’ll be in the same place as you tomorrow, ok cool, no weird awkwardness of oh my goodness this was just supposed to be a random spontaneous moment; you see him the next day in public and naturally you kiss the guy again. I was so impressed and wished I had the balls and the fearlessness to do what you just did!

    While that was a very silly story – it’s also a perfect example of what makes you Ruthie and why so many people love you and look up to you. You’ve always been an incredibly strong and determined woman. You’re driven and don’t hesitate to go after what you want. And most importantly, you don’t care about what people may think – it’s a cliché, but it’s fitting . . . you dance to the beat of your own drum and you were fortunate to understand the value in this long before most of us did. I feel very blessed that after all these years you are still in my life and I’m so proud to call you a friend.

    Awh, shucks Lindsey. I’m so glad you’re in my gymnastics family. You were usually one of the quiet ones, but when you spoke, you had a reason and you were often a voice of sweet sanity for me.

  • Good Night Everybody! | Birthday Memories

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    Ruth Carter

    REG DoorLast year for my birthday, I asked my friends to send me stories related to our friendship. I spent my birthday taking a trip down memory lane, reading through all of them. This year, I asked some of my friends if I could share their memories with you.

    Today’s memory comes from Erika Brown, one of my teammates from Redwood Empire Gymnastics. I trained here for ten years, eight of which I was on the competitive team. When I asked my friends for their memories, a lot of people in my gymnastics family sent me a version of this story, but I think Erika captured it best:

    For sure my most vivid memory of you growing up was of you in the gym, walking out the door every night and stopping to yell, “Good night everybody!!!,” and then all of us stopping to respond, “Good night Ruth!!!” It totally brought us together as a gym . . . like it was tradition and for a brief second we all acknowledged the same thing (you!!) as a family! Like when a kid would get a new skill and the whole gym would stop to watch and acknowledge their hard work…it always felt like that! 

    Ruth & Erika in Santa Monica - March 2015
    Ruth & Erika in Santa Monica – March 2015

    I started this nightly tradition when I was fifteen or sixteen, and I don’t remember how or why it started. But it quickly became part of our nightly communal routine – not just for myself, but for the whole gym. It wasn’t a “me” thing but a “we” thing.

    Here’s a bonus memory from Erika:

    I also remember when I was younger, usually on vault, Rocky would get down on one knee and tell us what we were going to be doing that day and at the end he’d always ask, “Any questions?” and you would always ask, “What’s the meaning of life, Rocky.” And it always just blew my mind!! You’d think I’d have started to expect it, but no . . . every time you asked, inside I was always like “Whoooooaaaa, what IS the meaning of life right now!?!!?!?” (By the way – Rocky’s typical response was to smile, shake his head, and say “Just vault, Ruth.”)

    Oh, I love my gymnastics family – so many wonderful memories from that place.

  • Top 10 Bonus Skills from being a Gymnast

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    Ruth Carter

    Although I was a gymnast for seventeen years, I haven’t done anything harder than a handstand without the assistance of a trampoline for at least the last five. Nevertheless, there are certain skills you develop as a gymnast that stay with you for life. Here are the top ten:

    Beautiful Erika with a Sunset, used with permission
    Beautiful Erika with a Sunset, used with permission
    Beach Handstand 2008
    I Try to do a Handstand every Place I Visit
    1. How to wash your hair with one hand because it hurts like hell to get shampoo in a rip.
    2. How to change leotards in a parking lot without committing indecent exposure because the line for the bathroom at the meet was too long, also how to pee without taking off your leotard.
    3. How to turn your hair into cement with the right combination of hair products where you can take the rubber band out of your hair and still have a ponytail, also how to cut tiny rubber bands out of your hair without cutting your hair along with it.
    4. How to shave your legs, arm pits, and bikini line in thirty seconds in a shower of any size
    5. How to pick up clothing, pencils, etc. with your toes.
    6. How to flush toilets and open doors with your feet – yay for flexibility!
    7. How to do read and write in the car without getting carsick – because the car ride to/from practice was your only time to get homework done.
    8. How to sleep and do homework while in the splits or otherwise bent in half.
    9. How to ride public transportation without having to hold on anything without losing your balance.
    10. How to eat a full meal before working out and not have any issues.

    By far, the best skill that comes from being a gymnast is the ability to focus, compartmentalize, and stay determined. I’ve heard from several former gymnasts that being in this sport gave them the ability to work through physical and emotional pain and “go on with the show” when they’d rather curl up and cry. As my coach, Rocky, used to say, “It’s only hard.”

    Once a gymnast, always a gymnast. It’s been over a decade since my last competition and I love that some people can tell I was gymnast by the way I walk and carry myself. Gymnastics is more than a sport; it’s a way of life.