CHIN UPS
When I was in Army basic training they had a custom of having the men stop on their way into the mess hall and perform a number of chin ups (or pull ups) on a bar. I don’t remember the rationale for this; maybe it was a case of ‘we’ve always done it that way’. Probably the Army women don’t do this, as women are not known for having much arm or upper body strength. Maybe they are required to grimace fiercely a few times.
I mention women because my arm strength was merely womanly, and soft fat me couldn’t do chin ups. But aha! There were always a couple of fine lads standing there grasping one’s legs as he struggled to perform the repetitions. Maybe this was to keep one from swinging back and forth wildly from all the exertion. They would always perceive that I was not chin up material and would charitably lift from below to help me to draw my face up over the bar, if only to keep the chow line moving. To me it was Salvation.
One day a keen eyed, driven officer looking about for chinks in the armor somehow saw through this nonsense and had me drop down to do pushups, something else that was not in my repertoire. He alternatively employed insult, threat and contempt but soon recognized I was little more than a quivering, unmuscled blob.
A second Salvation appeared in the form of the genteel Executive Officer, who came to my defense pointing out that I was a college graduate with desirable traits distinct from physical powesss, and put an end to the ‘chewing out’.
