Sergeant Tony's Blog

Greetings all.

More sad news I’m afraid:

I doubt that many of you would know the name of Tom Farrar.

Tom died a few weeks ago.

Who was Tom and why do I mention him?

Tom was my accountant for the past 5 years.

I met with him at least twice a year and spent hours with him every time, discussing my abysmal record keeping and working on my tax returns.

Tom was about 5 foot 5 inches tall on a good day. But he tipped the scales at more than 230 pounds! And that’s being charitable.

Tom was also a type A personality.

Wait, let me correct that. Tom was an A++ personality. Always in perpetual nervous motion and never really relaxing. Unfortunately he was horribly out of shape, getting winded just walking from his car to his office building door.

For the first couple of years of my relationship with Tom, I’d fuss at him about his weight and his level of unfitness. He’d agree with me and say, “Oh, yeah … Tony I know how you Marines are, always working out … I might join you guys one of these days … I probably need to drop a few pounds.”

This went on for those first few years until I felt that I’d said enough and was just annoying him. So I quit inviting Tom to Boot Camp. I figured enough was enough.

Over the years, Tom’s lack of exercise and his love for food, coupled with his sedentary lifestyle and high stress personality, contributed to his declining fitness and the rise in his risk for catastrophic health problems.

Just a couple of weeks ago, in the middle of tax season 2007, Tom had a heart attack and died.

He was only 54 years old.

Why do I mention Tom?

You’d probably guess that I’m using Tom as a means to fuss at some of you; people who are reading this who are similar to Tom might take note. And you’d be right.

You might guess that I’m trying to get the “Tom’s” out there to join, or REjoin, USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP. And you’d be right.

But here are the main reasons.

I’m upset with myself for giving up on Tom. I had the answer to keep him healthy and ALIVE, and I just quit offering it to him. I feel pretty lousy about giving up. That’s really not my nature. But that’s what I did.

So here’s what’s on my mind and heart.

If you’re an active duty Boot Camper who has a “Tom” or “Tina” in your life, and you’re concerned about them, listen up!

I want to offer your Tom or Tina a FREE WEEK of Boot Camp! No strings attached. If they come and join after their FREE WEEK, great! (You’ll get a free month if they join!) If they choose not to join, well … at least we tried. And that’s all that either of us can do.

If you’re a former active duty Boot Camper (been absent for more than a year) YOU CAN HAVE APRIL FOR FREE … IF you bring a Tom or Tina with you for their FREE WEEK. That means all you have to do is bring your Tom or Tina for their FREE WEEK and YOU get APRIL FOR FREE!

Here’s the only catch, if you or your Tom or Tina are more than 50 pounds over your ideal weight, and you have NOT had a recent physical and been cleared by your doc for strenuous exercise, you and/or your friend will have to get clearance first. You’ve got two weeks to get that taken care of if you need to. So make your appointment with your doc NOW!

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REUNION CHALLENGE 2007
On Friday, March 16, we’ll begin the Reunion Challenge 2007. June is the beginning of “wedding season,” “high school reunion season,” “going to the beach season,”

“taking a cruise season,” and “I’ll be wearing shorts and tank top season.” So the challenge will end on Friday, June 1 with a final weigh in.

Here’s how the challenge works.

You’ll weigh in and pay your entry fee of $50 on the 17th. Then I’ll be weighing you every Friday. On the final weigh in, if you’ve lost 10 pounds or more, you’ll get August

for FREE when you pay for July. The person who loses the highest percentage of all participants will get an additional TWO FREE MONTHS (August, September, and October).

Obviously this challenge is for those who need to lose 10 pounds or more. Women who weigh 120 or less, and men who weigh 155 or less, aren’t eligible for the challenge. Sorry.

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BLOG! BLOG! BLOG! BLOG! BLOG! BLOG!

Look who’s blogging too?!!!

I’m blogging!!!

This newsletter, along with other words of wisdom, can be found on the BOOT CAMP website (www.usmcfitnessbootcamp.com) on the newly reconstructed BRIEFINGS & UPDATES page.

I’ve written about our friend Ken Kenworthy; I’ve written rants, movie reviews, stories, credit card scam warnings, health and fitness tips … all kinds of stuff are on the blog.

You can even “subscribe” to the BLOG at no charge. You’ll be notified whenever I post a new entry. And you DON’T want to miss out on THAT!

If you’d like to have the link to YOUR business on that page … currently a FREE service for active duty boot campers … let me know!

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HELP! I MADE A MISTAKE!
I gave out several discount flyers for the Macy’s special sale on March 17th. Unfortunately, what I failed to understand and explain was that those discount flyers are actually to be given to those who make a donation of $5 each. (The proceeds go to several non-profit charities and worthy organizations, including the Marine Corps ROTC unit at the U of M, of which my son Matthew is a part) If you picked up one of those flyers up, may I ask you to either a) make the $5 donation, or b) return the flyer, no questions asked. I apologize for this mix-up. Please feel no obligation to make a donation.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
If you haven’t done so already, please click on the link below and enter your birthday into my calendar. It’s quick, easy and you’ll be helping me out:-).

http://www.birthdayalarm.com/dob/76952967a424079603b362

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Boot Camp Wear!
Want some cool Boot Camp shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, hats, and such? The Supply Office (“Cash Sales,” for you real jarheads!) is open and full of cool merchandise! Go to http://www.cafepress.com/bootcampgear. Or just click on the Supply Office page.

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HALF MARATHON TRAINING
Meet Saturday morning at 8 AM in front of the parking garage on Zach Curlin at the University of Memphis. We’ll be running for 1 hour and 50 minutes using the 5 min. “ON” @ 11’30″ pace and 1 min OFF (walking) plan.

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“The plain fact remains that men and women the world over possess amounts of resources that only exceptional individuals push to their extreme use. Compared to what we ought to be, we are only half awake.” ~ William James

Take good care of yourself today … and WAKE UP!

To your continued good health and fitness!

Tony

Sergeant Major Tony Ludlow
USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP, Commanding
4888 Southern Cove
Memphis, TN 38117
901-644-0145
www.usmcfitnessbootcamp.com

http://shaklee.net/tonyludlow/main