Sergeant Tony's Blog

She was pretty.

Prettier than the other girls she was with.

But I knew she was trouble from the instant I laid eyes on her.

I wanted to meet her, but there were barriers both real and social.

I went through a mutual friend. He arranged the meeting. I was too chicken to approach her without someone to make the introductions.

I know this is all so superficial. But I’m a man. I didn’t know anything about her dreams or her aspirations. I didn’t know anything about her background. All I knew was that she was pretty.

And I was going through a tough time and I needed some company. I think she was going through a tough time too. (Our “matchmaker” said as much.)

She looked at me in a way that kind of melted my heart. Friendly, but a little reserved. Cautious, I thought. She’d been hurt. She’d had some complicated relationships and I guess she was just feeling me out before she could decide what she thought about me. She needed time and I was prepared to give it to her.

Our relationship was difficult from the beginning.

She was, I’m afraid to say this, not very smart. I don’t mean to be cruel. But it’s true. You don’t always know these things right away. But it didn’t take long. It was frustrating. I tried to deny it to myself for a long time. You know how it is, you always want to think the best. But she was just stupid at times.

She was irrational. And sometimes she’d be mean. She apparently didn’t have any interest in most of the things I wanted to do. I would suggest something to do and she would just look at me as if “I’ was the one who had said something stupid.

She would get angry or scared or something and just disappear … for days. Sometimes we’d be in the middle of something and she’d just walk off. And then later she’d act like nothing was wrong. As if she hadn’t done anything. So confusing. So frustrating.

It still is.

I’m looking at her right now … in my backyard … chewing on lord knows what.

When I rescued her from the pound, she was on death row. The next day she was to be “put down” as they say. I’d gone there looking for a companion because I was terribly lonely … and a little fragile. It was March 2003 and we had just invaded Iraq. My son Matthew was at the “tip of the spear” in that mad dash from Kuwait to Baghdad.

You may recall those days when the war was on television all day and all night. Embedded reporters were giving us real time reporting of the war. And I had a TV on in every single room of my house, looking at the flickering images into the wee hours of the night, hoping for even the briefest glimpse of my son.

Just 2 months earlier I’d taken Matthew to the airport to say good bye. I stood in the security line with him and gave him all of the advice I could think of. One Marine to another. A father to a son.

What do you say at a time like that?

Nothing had prepared me for it. He wasn’t going off to college. He wasn’t going off to summer camp. He wasn’t taking a trip with friends to Florida. He was going off to war. People were waiting there to kill my son.

What do you say?

He cleared airport security and I stood there behind the velvet rope, trying to stand up straight and be strong and stoic. He reached down and picked up his gear on the other side of the security screening. Threw one bag over his shoulder and picked up the other one. He steadied himself under the weight … took a couple of steps toward the gate and then turned back and looked at me, managed a faint smile and waved.

I tried to stand up straighter and waved back.

And then he was gone.

My son was gone from my sight, from my ability to protect him. And that might be the last time I would ever see my boy alive. And that realization overwhelmed me.

I stepped back and slumped into one of those plastic chairs in the airport and lost it.

Yesterday 2nd Lieutenant Matthew Ludlow, Platoon Commander, United States Marine Corps, left for Afghanistan … and more war. And I feel slumped in that chair again.

And in the backyard is that stupid dog I rescued from the pound. Her name is Aki, it’s Japanese for autumn. She doesn’t fetch. She doesn’t care if you throw the frisbee across the yard. She’s not interested in the tennis ball I throw. And she doesn’t seem too eager to learn anything either. She’s a terrible watch dog. But she’s sweet and she loves me.

And she’s joined by Matthew’s dog, Drake, who I adopted until whenever. (I hope Matthew forgets that I’ve got him. Drake is a GREAT dog!)

There’s just something about a dog, you know?

No matter how many times Aki makes me crazy, no matter how many times she runs off because she heard thunder, no matter how many times she acts like a knucklehead, I will always love her because she sat next to me in the middle of the night in 2003 while I looked for signs on television that my boy was okay, that my son was alive.

And now Matthew is gone again … and Aki is on duty once more.

I always said that I rescued her … but really, she rescued me.
And for that, she will always have a place in my heart. Stupid girl.

Semper Fi, son.

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SGT. TONY’S HALF MARATHON TRAINING!

It’s getting close.

Training for the St. Jude Half Marathon begins on Saturday, September 4. This is perfect for the first time beginner half marathoner or even a half marathon veteran.

Can you do this?

If by August 31st you can run 3 miles without stopping in under 35 min, you’ll be ready to begin training. This assumes that you’re doing an hour of continuous cardio on the weekends. There’s 6 weeks to get ready! Not sure? Let’s talk.

Training is open to all. Cost for the three month training is $75 for members of USMC Fitness Boot Camp and $120 for non-boot campers.

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SELF DEFENSE

I’ve been asked to teach a self defense class on Saturday morning July 31 and Saturday morning August 7.

This is one class offered twice.

The class is open to anyone, but class size will be limited, so contact me to reserve a place in the class. Let me know date is best for you. Cost is $35 per person or 2 for 50.

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WANT TO LOSE 5 to 10 POUNDS BY THE END OF JULY?

Take Shape For Life is the BEST weight loss program I know of. If you’d like to lose weight talk to me. This is the program I used to lose the almost 30 pounds I gained after knee surgery. Let me help you!

You can also go to www.combatchallenge.tsfl.com/

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BOGA tomorrow at CUMC @ 0530. BOGA is one half hard core boot camp fitness and one half power yoga … BO-GA!

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TUESDAY & THURSDAY EVENING CLASS

The Tuesday and Thursday evening classes meet at St. Agnes’ track. These are cardio (walking/jogging/running) workouts and they begin at 5:45 PM.

St. Agnes is at the corner of Walnut Grove and Mendenhall.

Should the St. Agnes track be occupied or the field being used, making the track unavailable to us, we’ll go to St. Mary’s track, at Walnut Grove and Perkins.

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CALENDAR

A calendar has been added to the official USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP website.

http://www.usmcfitnessbootcamp.com/calendar.html

For you visual learners, you’ll find this an easy way to glance at the week or month and see where the workouts will be, if there’s a venue change.

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What would you do if money were not an issue, fear were not a factor, and failure were not an option?

To your optimum health and fitness!

SEE YOU ON THE QUARTERDECK!

Tony

Sergeant Major Tony Ludlow

USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP, Commanding
Mailing address: 4888 Southern Ave., Memphis, TN 38117
Cell Phone: 901-644-0145
www.usmcfitnessbootcamp.com

http://www.combatchallenge.tsfl.com/esuite/home/combatchallenge/