My Story Chapter 3

Thank God and all the pagan ones too that September is here in Florida! This is the cooling-down month when termperatures will start to work themselves down to a delightful 60 degrees at night and day temperatures will be in the more bearable low 90s and high 80s.
  I finished my second heroic workout of lifting weights and shooting my bow for a solid four hours last night at nine. I do almost all my workout outside where I keep my dumbbells and other weights. It's too hot inside, and l love the outdoors.  After I complete three weight exercises and about 25 reps of ab work, I walk over to my bow and shoot about ten arrows at a clay pigeon. The pigeon is laid against a pile made up of layers of dirt and old rugs. If I hit the claybird, I immediately step back a foot, and if I miss, I have to go forward  a foot toward the target. Success pays ; failure hurts. I mark the distance with an old post, and I work to get that post farther and farther from the claybird. The post goes back and forth as I shoot and this makes  it a fun game. I shoot without sights and with a bare hand. I want to be able to shoot fast, at night and in an emergency.
  When I finished my workout last night, the sweat had soaked through my leather weight belt, and the front of my belt was wet in spots. But I knew the heat would soon be ending possibly by the next full moon.
Then the mosquitoes and gnats would be gone. I spend most of my four hours working out actually sitting on the bench gasping for breath. One of the unfortunate side-effects of taking antidepressants, at least for me, is that they make you very tired. My mother had remarked that when she took Paxil, she could hardly walk to the other side of the room. Anyway, while I am sitting sucking in air, I inevitably inhale filth gnats. These little buggers do not go down your throat easily either. Instead, they cling. Today, my back hurts from the lifting and shooting, but it is not as pervasive or persistent as the first four-hour workout. I had been doing three hour workouts so there's not a tremendous difference. As a reputed hypochondriac, I am tuned into back pain as it easily can become chronic and debilitating. But for now, I'm proud that I, almost 67 years old, can bicep-curl a fifty pound dumbbell. My schedule for all weights is 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps. I try to use the fourth set for a heavier weight once I can lift a weight  3 sets of 8 reps.
  It gives me a sense of accomplishment when I noticed that (former-Navy) Seal could not curl the 50 lb. dumbbell when he noticed it out in the yard. Seal was buit with 2x4s while I came out with tinker-toys for bones. I'm only lifting more because he doesn't lift, and I do. Seal lives in a different world than me. His capacity for work, his mental hardness, and , believe it or not, kindness are way beyond me. It's been an honor knowing hiim. Still, when he starts growling, which happens once in a while, I make sure I have a knife in my pocket or excuse myself and go for one! I'd prefer my bow and arrows, but that would be a little obvious, wouldn't it?