Who Woulda Thought

Who woulda thought that, given the prevalence of pot-bellied police officers around town, the Academy would be so physically demanding. Gary is exhausted from the physical torture sessions, err...workouts. Some of the comments he's made recently: "I left my hamstrings on the parade deck," "They're trying to kill us," and last night's comment of "I can't wait until I get my leg replacement."

Here are a few highlights of the torture:

Monday, he stubbed his toe scaling a 6-foot wall. Stubbed is actually an understatement. When he got home, he removed his socks and shoes to reveal the most hideous spectrum of colors ranging from black to purple to cranberry and everything in between. Literally, his entire big toe and half of the top of his foot was black and blue. I was convinced it was broken (still have my doubts), but he claims he'd be "in much more pain." Let's just say that with a toe that looked like that, I'd be applying for a handicapped parking space. Gary, on the other hand, had to stuff it into his shoe the next day and endure a grueling mountain run. Whatta guy!

Tuesday, they did a grueling round of squats-leaps. In this exercise, which was most likely invented by the Nazis, the goal is to sit in a squat position for a period of time, then to leap high into the sky, then fall back into the squat position. Okay, so it doesn't sound that bad if you think in small increments. However, they worked them to the point of exhaustion. People's jelly legs began giving out and they would drop to the ground. Mercy? No! Each time someone collapsed, the sergeant would announce that they would have to start over!

Wednesday, they had to do a trail run to the top of a mountain, and then at the top, they had to do their calesthenics. This includes multiple sets of pushups, sit-ups, squats, etc. Imagine doing 100 situps on top of the mountain. What's that you say? The rocks piercing your back? Exactly my point.

Of course, this is all taking place in the 100+ degree sun.

Fortunately, Gary is taking it all in stride. Four people have quit so far, including two who were wisked off in ambulances on "Fight Day." It's tough, but Gary has no desire to give up. He's a real trooper. Continue sending him your words of encouragement -- it really motivates him to know he has a support system.

By the way, he had his first "test block" on Monday and did quite well. He missed 3 of 79 questions!