500 nonstop sit-ups

It seems that lately I’ve been taking these trips down my long-ago memory lane so why quit while I’m on a roll?  Today, I’ll share another memory that’s a tad north of 50 years old.

Long ago there two television programs I used to faithfully watch each week; one was called To Tell the Truth and the other one was called What’s My Line?

To Tell the Truth was a television program that required a panel of celebrities to correctly identify a contestant who had an unusual occupation or had undergone an unusual experience.  What’s My Line? involved celebrity panelists questioning contestants to determine their occupation. 

I can’t recall which of the two programs I had watched that inspired me to try what a contestant had accomplished, setting a world record at the time.  This person had set a world record of completing the most non-stop sit-ups.  I don’t recall the exact number but very clearly remember it was 14,000 repetitions and “some change”.  Unfortunately, a quick Google search didn’t provide me any information on who this person was or the exact repetitions he completed.

This feat inspired me, as a young boy about 11-years young, to see what I could accomplish; how many repetitions of nonstop standard sit-up I could do.  So, after the television program, I placed my feet under our living room sofa and started doing sit-ups.  I vaguely recall that first night completing 100 repetitions before throwing in the towel.

But I was inspired by what I had learned so the following night I tried again.  I can’t recall how many consecutively evenings I did this but do know it wasn’t many before I lost interest and moved on to other battles to conquer in my adolescent journeys.  So, I didn’t call it quits until I had accomplished something that was good enough for me and something that, to this day, I’ve yet to repeat.

I’ll always remember that evening long, long ago when, in the comfort of our family living room, I banged out 500 nonstop sit-ups.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum