Three Weeks

26Jan08

So, you guys have stuck with me…. except barry, who thinks he can kick my rear…and I guess he has stuck with me to… he just thinks he can kick my rear…

Anyway… Its 3 weeks down… and Police Academy has become my life.

 I show up at about 7:15, sit in the classroom  for a few minutes to wake up, then its formation time in the gym… we all form up. Im four people from the front on the far right side… that means Im the fourth tallest person in the class. We stand at attention for uniform inspection, standing tall and stoic as the short, loud Physical Training Instructor eyeballs our hair, (or my lack of it) our upper lips and adams apples, our creased shirts, our perfectly straight name tag pinned over our always buttoned shirt pockets, our tightly tucked shirts that always seem to poof out in the back, our very straight “gig” line (the line formed by your shirt buttons and pants fly), our very shiny boots and our perfect “at attention” posture… then the stress starts…

“Brewer… 10-15″

“Civil Disturbance SIR”

“Carroll… 10-91″

“Pick up Prisoner SIR”

“Bates… 10-85″

“Um…Mental Subject sir?”

“WRONG… thats 20″

This goes on for 15 or so minutes… “20″ means 20 exercises (Pushups, situps, up downs, mountain climbers, flutter kicks etc) and by the end of formation we could have anywere from 60 or so, to over 200 exercises for that day…

Those are the easy days…

But Im there!! I made it and Im not quitting… 3 people decided it was all to much for them and quit… those that are left deal with the pain, the stress, the knowledge that missed questions on a test translate to more than a grade average…they mean physical pain too. But the bottom line that everyone remembers is that this isnt just memorizing to pass a test, this isnt just to get it over with, this is all to make us stronger, quicker, braver and ultimately give us the ability to make that split second decision under stress that saves the lives of innocent people…

We are gonna be Police… We will wear that badge and feel the burden of responsibility it brings, we will know that it wasnt GIVEN to us… we will have scars to prove it… and lifelong friendships to remind us of it… we will stand tall when the media makes us out to be bad guys… because we know what the real bad guys look like and they dont read the papers… we won’t be Police cause we need a job… we won’t be Police cause it seems like fun, we will be Police because somthing deep down makes us mad when little guys get picked on, when women get hit by men, when little kids hide under tables and watch thier parents fight… when the young are destroyed by addictions…and we don’t want to call someone else to make it right, WE want to make it right…

Thats all fine and good… but the reality is all those noble thoughts arent flowing through my head when Im pumping my legs up a 300 foot hill at top speed for the fifth time sucking air and trying to put out the flames that are burning through my leg muscles… all I think of is getting through, making it, not dying or passing out, maybe throwing up… but thats not so bad if you think about it… it actually makes you feel better, and you get a short break while you hurl.

SO, there. a day in my life. I gotta whine a little, but the reality is, Im loving it. I can feel myself changing. Im stronger, faster, better looking… ok thats pushing it I guess… but my ego is working fine it seems Im ready for monday… Im ready to show em what Ive got…

I pray more too… and I know you guys are always praying for me… I can feel it, and I know at that moment when the pain is almost too much… that I can make it, cause its not my strenghth that matters, it is HIM… ALL things through HIM who gives ME STRENGTH!!!

Thanks guys I love yall… even you Barry… but I dare you to pick a fight wit me.

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