I Just Heard Something Very Interesting on the Radio!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes, and then some training
talk --

NOTE NO. 1 --

Happy New Year to the Dinosaurs --
and I hope that you make tons and tons
of PR's in 2012!

NOTE NO. 2 --

The new Dinosaur Training Military Press
and Shoulder Power Course should be ready
to ship in about 7 to 10 days. I had planned
to ship it last Friday, but I added more
material and that made it run behind
schedule. But the little monster will be
well worth the wait.

I'll send an email when the course
ships -- and in the meantime, anyone who
didn't order can reserve a copy now
and get the pre-publication bonus when
the course is shipped.

And now -- it's time to talk training!

On the radio this morning, I listened to
a program talking about the importance of
your environment on your habits.

By "environment" I mean where you live,
where you work, or (in our case) where
you train. In other words, I'm talking
about your physical surroundings.

Apparently, your physical surroundings are
tied to habits.

For example, if you are a smoker and you
have an outside smoking area at work, and
you walk past it as you go to work, you're
probably going to stop and have a smoke (or
at the least, experience a strong desire to
smoke).

If you have a habit of sitting down and
eating a gallon of ice cream while you
watch TV, when you sit down in front of
the TV you're going to feel hungry.

And if you decide to stop smoking -- or
eating the ice cream -- those environmental
cues are going to be a big problem for you.

If this sounds crazy, consider the following.

The U.S. Military had a huge success rate in
curing heroin addiction among troops serving
in Viet Nam. Much higher than other drug
treatment programs.

The reason?

Two things happened.

One was a physical treatment program.

The other was a complete change in the
serviceman's environment -- from Viet Nam to
the USA.

The change in the environment wiped out the
environmental cues associated with drug use.
And that made it MUCH easier to stay clean.

The take-away is pretty obvious for anyone
starting the New Year with a fistful of
resolutions.

Don't just depend on will-power to get it done.

Change your environment.

Some simple examples foe dieters:

1. Change where you eat.

2. Change your dishes, cups, bowls, and place
settings.

3. Eat with your non-dominant hand. (This makes
you think about what you are doing rather than
going into auto-pilot when you eat.)

4. Eat by candlelight rather than by regular
light.

5. Listen to music instead of watching TV.

A simple example for shopping:

1. Go to a different grocery store -- or, if
you go to the same store, shop counter-clockwise
rather than clockwise.

A simple example for fast food cravings:

1. Change your route so you don't go past the
place.

And so on.

It sounds silly -- but it's effective.

As far as the iron goes -- I'll send out another
email shortly that covers that topic.

As always, thanks for reading and have a great
day. if you train today, make it a good one!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Kick 2012 into high gear for strength training
and muscle building with Dinosaur Training books,
courses and DVD's. You can find them right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 2. Reserve your copy of my new Military Press
and Shoulder Power course here:

http://brookskubik.com/militarypress_course.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "2012 is going to be
a great year for serious training!" -- Brooks Kubik

Happy New Year to the Dinos!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

It's the last day of the year,
and I want to wish every member
of the Dino Nation a very Happy
and Healthy New Year!

I also want to say THANK YOU for
your support and friendship over
the past year -- for your emails
and feedback -- for your success
stories -- and for all those hard
and heavy Dino style workouts that
you've been hitting.

Here at Dino Headquarters, the plan
is to make 2012 the very best year
ever -- and if that's YOUR plan as
well, then I wish you all the best,
and I want you to know that I'm
going to be there with you very
step of the way -- and so will
your fellow Dinos.

So get ready to make 2012 a year
to remember!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. If building strength, power and
muscle is part of the 2012 game-plan,
do it Dino style:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 2. Start 2012 by focusing on your
pressing power and shoulder strength:

http://brookskubik.com/militarypress_course.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Just finished
another year of great workouts -- time to do it
all over again!" -- Brooks Kubik

Trudi's Training Program

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Trudi is heading over to the gym pretty
soon, and several of you have asked about
her training program -- so let's cover
that this morning.

Trudi likes variety -- and she likes using
different types of equipment and training
at different places -- and she likes to do
high reps with heavy weights -- and she
likes to do lots of outdoor cardio
training.

Plus, she's a physical therapy assistant,
so she integrates lots of special rehab,
joint protection, and movement/mobility
exercises into her program.

So her workouts are eclectic, unusual
and varied -- and she really enjoys them.

Shes' going to start today by jogging in
the park while wearing her Kangaroo Jumps.
These are special "shoes" that act as
rebounders, so that every step is like
walking or running on a trampoline.

It's a great cardio workout, and a super
exercise for the legs and hips.

She also like using the Kangaroo Jumps
because they add 6 inches to her height!

Note: If it were warmer, Trudi would
probably add a bike ride to the schedule.
We live close to a great park with a 2.5
mile bike/walking/running circle, with two
really steep, long hills, so three or four
circuits is a heck of a workout.

Next, Trudi will head over to the gym,
where she'll do:

45 degree leg presses

Leg extensions

Leg curls

Dumbbell incline presses

Dumbbell decline presses

Pull-downs to the chest

Hyperextensions (while holding dumbbells
in her hands, and performing a shoulder raise
as she completes the hyperextension)

A variety of cable exercises for the legs
and hips - or combination upper and lower
body cable movements (E.g., combine a one arm
standing cable pull-down with the left hand
and a backward leg extension with the right leg)

Later in the day, Trudi will do some Olympic
lifting in the garage. We have a special women's
OL bar for her (which works better for someone
with small hands). She does high rep clean and
jerk and high rep snatches, using a split style
for both.

After that, Trudi will go downstairs to her
basement gym and do a variety of dumbbell
movements, calisthenics, pilates, yoga,
pull-ups, cable exercises, gut work and
anything else she feels like doing -- along
with more hyperextensions, which are one of
her favorite exercises. Maybe THE favorite
exercise.

Now, that's a heavy schedule, but today is
Trudi's day off, so she wants to make the
most of it. On days when she works, she may
do ONE workout -- either at home or in the
park or at the gym. Also, when she can, she
walks or rides her bike to work.

So that's how Trudi trains -- and yes, it's
effective. Fun, too -- and an easy program
to follow if you like variety in your
training.

As always, thanks for reading and have a great
day. If you train today, make it a good one!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. If you're looking for some variety in your
training, try these great resources:

1. Dinosaur Training DVD's

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dvds.html

2. Going Strong at 54!

http://brookskubik.com/goingstrong.html

3. Strength, Muscle and Power

http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html

4. Dinosaur Bodyweight Training

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_bodyweight.html

5. Dinosaur Arm Training

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_armtraining.html

6. The Dinosaur Training Military Press and Shoulder
Power Course

http://brookskubik.com/militarypress_course.html

7. Gray Hair and Black Iron

http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html

P.S. 2. Thought for the Day: "Why you train determines
how you train." -- Brooks Kubik

A Dinosaur Hero

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I often send you messages about Dinosaur
heroes -- and how somehow, against all
odds, they manage to be in exactly the
right place at exactly the right time
to help someone -- or even to save
someone's life.

And looking back on it, all you can do
is stop and ask, "How in the WORLD did
that happen?"

And that's exactly what happened to one
of your fellow dinosaurs -- my wife, Trudi.

It happened two days ago, on Christmas Eve.

I was upstairs in the study, pounding the
keyboard, when Trudi asked if I'd like to
go to a movie.

"What's playing?"

She threw out a couple of possibilities.
There were three or four good one. The best
one was "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."
It was playing at a theater close to us.
Walking distance, in fact. Showtimes were
4:00 and 7:15.

"Let's have an early dinner and go to the
7:15 show," Trudi suggested.

"Sounds good."

I turned back to my typing.

15 minutes later, I bumped into a severe case
of writer's block. I fought it for half an
hour, then threw in the towel.

I called downstairs.

"How about going to the 4:00 show?"

"Sure -- that would be great!"

So, unexpectedly, we marched off to see the
4:00 show.

After the movie, I hit the men's room and Trudi
hit the women's room -- and then we headed home.

We were almost home when Trudi discovered that
her cell phone was missing. She began fumbling
for it in her purse. No luck.

"Wait until we get home, then look again when
you have more light."

"Okay."

So we got to the house, opened the door,
stepped inside -- and Trudi flipped on the
light and checked her purse -- with no luck.

The cell phone was gone.

"I left it at the theater," she said. "I must
have left it on the seat next to us. Or maybe
it fell on the floor."

So we turned around and headed back to find
it before the next feature began.

We stepped inside, and Trudi told the manager
what had happened and asked if we could go back
and look for her cell-phone. He waved us
through.

We went back to our seats, and looked -- but
there was no phone. Not on the seats, and not
on the floor.

"Let's go check at the front desk," she said.

"Okay."

As we walked out, I retraced out steps in my
mind.

"Check the women's room," I said.

"YES! That may be it!"

So Trudi stepped into the women's room, and I
waited outside.

Five minutes later, an elderly woman, very
frail, moving slowly and stiffly, stepped
through the door. Trudi held the door for
her, and helped her through.

"Are you okay?" asked Trudi.

"I'm alright -- I'm just old," said the woman.

The woman's son -- roughly my age -- stepped
forward and took his mother's arm.

Trudi walked over to me.

"It wasn't there -- but let's check the front
desk."

We walked over to the front desk (which we
had passed on the way in without bothering
to stop and ask about the phone).

Trudi barely had time to say, "Did someone
turn in a cell-phone?" before they handed
it over to her.

We headed back outside and turned toward
the house.

"You won't believe what happened in there,"
said Trudi.

"What?"

And she told me.

She had stepped into the women's room. There
was only one other person inside -- using the
same stall that Trudi had used.

So Trudi waited.

The stall door opened.

The elderly woman stepped out and shuffled
forward slowly -- and suddenly, without any
warning, fell forward, crashing toward the
concrete, tile-covered floor.

It was one of those crushing, devastating
falls where an older person goes down so fast
they can't even break their fall.

The kind of fall that can kill a person.

But Trudi caught her.

Trudi was in exactly the right place -- at
exactly the right time -- and it was all
because of a missing cell phone.

And there's something else to consider.

When the woman fell forward, Trudi had to
react IMMEDIATELY. And she did. And that's
the result of regular training.

Trudi was strong enough and fast enough and
alert enough to do EXACTLY what needed to be
done -- and that's because she's been hitting
the iron iron for her entire adult life.

In my book, all of that makes Trudi a hero.
And it gives you one more example of why hard,
heavy, regular training is so important. As I've
said before, this stuff can save your life --
or help you save someone else's life.

Just ask Trudi.

As always, thanks for reading and have a great
day. If you train today, make it a good one.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. My books and courses are available at the
usual place:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 2. My new Military Press course is right here:

http://brookskubik.com/militarypress_course.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "All Dinosaurs are
heroes. Some just don't know it yet." -- Brooks
Kubik

The Night Before Christmas (Dinosaur Version)

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Here’s another Dinosaur Christmas tradition – I think
you’ll like it:

T’was the Night Before Christmas

T’was the night before Christmas, when all through the gym,
the lifters were lifting with vigor and vim.
They squatted so heavy the bars were all bending,
as they ground out the reps in the sets never ending.

They snatched and they pressed and they cleaned and they jerked,
until all of their muscles were thoroughly worked.
Then they ran to their sandbags and heaved them up high,
then heaved them again – right up into the sky!

When out in the back there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the rack to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
gave a luster of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear
but a bag-flattened sleigh and unconscious reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
He was hopping and shouting and yelling and screaming.
He wasn’t just hot – he was totally steaming!

“You sandbagged my sled!” he cried in dismay.
“And that means you ruined the big Christmas day!
My toys are all broken, there’s no time to fix ‘em –
And look what you did to poor Prancer and Vixen!”

The lifters were flummoxed. “We’re sorry!” they cried.
And they picked up the reindeer and brought them inside.
“Quick!” someone shouted, “I know what to do!
We’ll whip up a batch of a high-powered brew!”

We started with milk and eggnog and eggs,
and added Hi Protein and poured it in kegs.
We tossed in some chocolate and ice cream for flavor,
Then added some honey, for reindeer to savor.

We mixed it together until it was ready,
Then lifted the reindeer and held them all steady.
We gave each performer three cups of the stuff,
Then added another to make it enough.

“It’s working!” cried Santa. “They’re coming around!
“That Hi Protein potion is the best to be found!”
He turned to his sled – we had fixed that as well –
if the toys could be fixed, then all would be well.

“There’s no time to do it,” said Nicholas, sadly.
“This is one trip that is turning out badly.”
The lifters were quiet and took all the blame,
And hung their heads lower in sorrow and shame.

Then Santa bent over and picked up a letter
That lay in the snow, getting wetter and wetter.
The letter said, “Santa, for Christmas I’d like
a whole lot of muscles. Your friend, Little Mike.”

“That’s perfect!” I cried. “Here’s a course for the kid!
We’ll send one to each of them!” And that’s what we did.
Each kid got a course and a full set of weights --
barbells, and dumbbells and squat stands and plates!

Now Santa was smiling – the good boys and girls
Would soon have their barbells for presses and curls!
The kids would be healthy and happy and strong –
For with barbells and dumbbells you never go wrong.

Santa sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The Masked Man's Christmas (Part 6)

(This is part 6 of the Dinosaur Christmas story
for 2011. If you missed parts 1 - 5, scroll on
down and read them first!)

The Masked Man's Christmas (Part 6)

The match became a war that raged back and forth
across the ring, with the fans roaring the entire
time.

And then -- it happened.

At the 40 minute mark, the two men separated,
bounced backward into the ropes and hurtled
themselves across the ring.

They hit each other with smashing force in the
center of the ring.

Dazed, both men swayed, waving their arms to keep
their balance.

The masked man seemed to have gotten the worse of
it. He shook his head, trying desperately to clear
the cobwebs.

Seizing his opportunity, the champ dropped back
against the ring ropes, using them like a
slingshot -- and launched himself like a missile,
right hand raised to deliver a crushing blow.

The fans screamed in anticipation.

The champ swung with all his might --

--but missed!

The masked man ducked, and the powerful punch went
whistling over his head.

In the same motion, he drove forward, sliding behind
the champ -- and slapped on a sleeper hold.

The champ struggled wildly -- but the masked man held
him in a vice-like grip in the center of the ring.

"How much is he paying you to break my leg?" whispered
the masked man.

"Ack --gargh -- ughkk . . ." sputtered the champ.

"Whatever it was, it wasn't enough," whispered the masked
man.

The champ waved his arms weakly.

"I should break your neck right now," said the masked
man. "But it's Christmas Eve, so I won't. Consider
yourself lucky.

The champ's eyes went wide with fear -- and then they
closed. His knees sagged, his body went limp, and the
masked man loosened his grip and let him fall to the
mat. He rolled him over, placed one huge hand on his
chest, and motioned to the referee.

The ref didn't know what to do. There was no way to
stopit. All he could do was sell it and hope the promoter
could work it out later on.

He dropped down and began the count.

"ONE!"

"TWO!"

"THREE!"

And just like that, there was a new champion.

The referee walked to the side of the ring and motioned
to the time-keeper, who handed him the championship
belt. He turned and handed it to the masked man.

Pete and his fellow officers stepped close to the ring,
forming a human shield, and escorted the new champion
back to his dressing room.

This time there was no riot. The crowd was too stunned by
what they had seen. They sat in their seats, eyes bulging,
as the ring doctor worked frantically to revive the fallen
man.

But the promoter knew what to do. He ran back to the
dressing room, grabbed Pete by the arm, and pointed
toward the door.

"Arrest that man!" he said. "He's trying to steal my
championship belt!"

"Steal it? He won it fair and square! That's not stealing!"

"No, you don't understand. We had a deal! I have a contract!
He was supposed to lose!"

"Let me see the contract!"

The promoter handed the paper to him.

"Who signed it?" asked Pete.

"HE did!"

"Are you sure that's his real name? I'm no lawyer, but I
know a contract's not binding if it's not signed with your
real name."

"Of course it's his name. Who else would it be?"

"That's the name of some kid that used to live here," said
Pete. "His parents died in a fire. He grew up in the county
home. Left years ago. No one's seen him since."

"Maybe it's him!"

"Or maybe not!"

"But what am I gonna do?" asked the promoter. "He has my belt!
Those are real diamonds, damn it!"

"Maybe if you ask nice, he'll give it back to you," said Pete.

The promoter threw the contract on the floor, cursed, and
stepped to the door.

"If you won't do anything, I'll handle this myself!" he said.

Pete waited until the promoter was just beginning to turn the
doorknob -- and then he spoke.

His voice was soft, his tone mild -- but his words cracked like
a whip.

"You might want to reconsider," he said. "He knows you paid the
champ to break his leg."

The promoter stopped dead in his tracks. The blood drained from
his face, and his hand slipped from the doorknob.

"What did you say?"

Pete repeated it.

"I don't -- I don't know what -- what you're talking about,"
sputtered the promoter.

"I could always ask the champ," said Pete. "The old champ, I
mean."

"Ask him whatever you like," said the promoter. "He won't talk."

"He might," said Pete. "Especially when I ask him why he has an
envelope with an even thousand bucks in $20 bills in his suit
pocket. That sort of sounds like getting paid for some kind of
special job -- unless you're gonna tell me you paid him his
share of the gate already -- before you had time to total it
and add in the concessions sales -- and it just happened that
his percentage worked out to an even thousand clams."

"That was -- that was a Christmas bonus!"

Pete nodded slowly.

"Maybe," he replied. "We'll see."

The promoter sagged against the concrete wall.

"Look, you gotta help me get my belt back," he said. "Go talk
to him. Work out some deal. Tell him he can keep one of the
diamonds. Hell, let him keep two of the diamonds. I don't care!
I can replace them with glass. It doesn't matter. But I need
that belt back -- and I need him out of the territory --
right now. And we can all forget about this -- this
misunderstanding."

"Stay here," said Pete. "I'll see what I can do."

CHRISTMAS MORNING

The kids in the county home always had oatmeal porridge
and dry toast for breakfast. Some of them couldn't remember
ever having anything else. Not even on Christmas. There
wasn't enough money for anything else.

But this morning was different.

They woke to the smell of bacon and eggs, ham slices, pancakes
with real maple syrup, and fresh buttermilk biscuits with real
butter and strawberry jam.

They threw on their clothes and raced downstairs -- and stopped
in amazement.

"What are those?" cried one of the youngest boys.

"They're presents!" said one of the girls.

Presents!

Some of them had never had a Christmas present before.

They tore into the packages wildly, some laughing, some
crying, and some afraid to believe it was real.

You can buy a lot of presents (and a lot of food) with a
couple of small diamonds -- and you can even open a
bank account and make a nice deposit in an interest
bearing account that helps put food on the table for
a long, long time.

Pete stepped into the room, carrying a small yellow
puppy with a red ribbon.

"Who wants a puppy?" he asked.

"WE DO!" they shouted in unison -- and just like that,
the little yellow puppy had a new home and the biggest
and best family a dog could want.

One of the boys held out his hands, and Pete handed
the puppy to him. The boy smiled as he held the
puppy -- and then began to cry softly as the puppy
licked his face.

The other kids crowded around, each wanting to hold
the little bundle of fur.

The boy handed the puppy to one of the girls, wiped his
eyes, andlooked up at Pete.

"Thank you, officer," he said. "Thanks for everything!"

Pete paused for a second, not trusting his voice. There
was a lump in his throat the size of a piano.

"Don't thank me," he said. "Thank Frankie."

"Who's Frankie?" asked the boy.

Pete considered his answer for several seconds.

"He's just a little kid who went through some hard times
and came out okay," he said.

The boy considered the answer carefully.

"Did you know him?" he asked. "I mean -- did you
know him when he was a boy?"

Pete nodded.

"He was my best friend," he said.

"Did he live here?"

Pete nodded again.

"He lived here," he said. "So did I."

The little boy nodded in understanding.

"I thought so," he said.

"Ten years for me," said Pete. "A little longer for him."

The other children raced by, laughing merrily as they
chased the little yellow puppy across the room.

The boy looked up at Pete.

"Are you staying for breakfast?" he asked.

"Of course I am, said Pete. "It's Christmas!"

The boy held out his hand. Pete took it in his, and they
walked to the heavily-laden breakfast table.

THE END

(Note: That ends the 2011 Dinosaur Christmas story. I hope
you enjoyed it -- and I wish you a very Merry Christmas and
a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!)

***********************************************************************************

The Masked Man's Christmas (Part 5)

(Note: This post is part 5 in the 2011 Dinosaur
Christmas story. If you missed parts 1 - 4, scroll
on down and read them first! Merry Christmas,
everyone!)

The Masked Man's Christmas (Part 5)

"So how about it?" asked the promoter. "One more
match before you leave town -- a special championship
match on Christmas Eve?"

The masked man paused and thought it over.

"Who wins?" he asked.

The promoter chuckled.

"Why -- the champ, of course! It's a Loser Leave Town
Match. You're leaving town. The champ's staying."

"How do we play it?"

"You guys do whatever you want for 30 or 40 minutes.
Get lots of heat going. I want the fans going crazy.
And then you give him one of those great big body
slams you do -- but don't knock him out, okay?"

"What then?"

"You slap on the old figure four leg-lock while he's
lying there stunned -- but he reverses it -- and that's
how he wins!"

"That sounds easy enough."

"The fans will love it! Just sell it really good. Make
them think he's broke your leg."

"They'll like that, won't they?"

"Absolutely! You're the most hated man in the territory!"

The masked man nodded. He was used to being hated
wherever he went.

"Give me the contract," he said.

The promoter slid the standard sheet of paper across the desk.

The masked man read it carefully -- and then signed it.

He handed the paper back to the promoter.

"There you go," he said.

The promoter took the contract, glanced at the signature, and
smiled in satisfaction.

"Is that your real name?" he asked.

The masked man shrugged.

"Maybe," he said.

"I knew a guy with that name once. He lived down the street.
Something happened when he was a kid -- what was it?"

"Must have been something pretty bad if you remember it after
all these years."

"Yeah, it was -- it was. Heck, I remember, It was a fire. That's
right, a fire. Killed his parents. He and his brother ended up
in the county home. He stayed there until he finished school, I
think."

"Most kids in the county home don't finish school."

"Yeah, but this guy was different. Big guy. Real strong. Used
to work out all the time. Played football. Wrestled, too. He
was pretty good, too. All Conference."

"What happened to him?"

"He joined the army, I think. Or maybe the Marines."

"Ever see him again?"

"Nope. Guy's never come back."

"Some guys never do."

"Yeah, I guess that's right."

The promoter sat back in his chair and looked at his watch. He
had another meeting scheduled in five minutes.

"So -- we're all set, right?"

The masked man nodded.

"Yeah, sure," he said.

He stood up and walked to the door -- then stopped, and turned
back to the promoter.

"They say that championship belt is made of real gold -- with
real diamonds. Is that true?"

"It's true. It's the best damn belt anywhere. I had it made
special."

"You think maybe I could look at it -- or even just hold it?
After the match, I mean."

The promoter looked back with a twisted smile.

"Sure, pal -- you can do whatever you want to do -- after the
match is over."

"Thanks."

"If you feel up to it, I mean."

The masked man nodded, opened the door, and left the promoter
sitting behind him.


LATER -- ON CHRISTMAS EVE --


As Pete walked to his squad car, he passed a Salvation Army
volunteer, standing in back of his kettle, ringing his bell
and calling "Merry Christmas" to everyone who passed by --
and a "Thank you!" to everyone who tossed a coin into the
kettle.

"Hey, Pete -- you got a second?"

"Sure, Bill -- what's up?"

"I gotta tell you about something -- something I heard."

"What is it?"

"You know that masked wrestler -- the guy that's been knocking
everyone out? The one that started the riot last week?"

"What about him?"

"Well, two things. First off, I know who he is. And I know
him. So do you. We were all in the Home together."

Pete's jaw dropped in amazement.

"Of course!" he said. "It's Frankie! That's how he knew my name!"

"Well, there's something else."

"What?"

"You know the big match tonight at the auditorium? Where Frankie's
wrestling the Champ?"

"Sure, I'm heading over there right now. They're expecting the
biggest crowd ever."

"Yeah, while I heard some guys talking about it -- the promoter
is paying the Champ to break his leg!"

"Break which leg?"

"No, he's paying him to break Frankie's leg!"

Pete swore under his breath.

"The hell he is!" he said.

"No, really -- that's the plan. They have it all figured out. Some
special ending where Frankie is working him over -- and then he
fights back and gets Frankie in some kind of leg hold -- and they
told Frankie to make like the Champ breaks his leg -- but they're
gonna do it for real. Break his leg, I mean!"

Peter shook his head.

"No, they're not!" he promised.

He slammed his hands together. It sounded like an explosion.

"Come on!" he said, grabbing the kettle and turning toward the
squad car. "We gotta go find Frankie!"

TO BE CONTINUED.

(Note: I had planned on finishing the story in 5 installments, but
we're running over -- so be looking for part 6 later today or
tomorrow!)

P.S. Yes, we're open -- and taking orders. You can find us at the
usual place:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 2. If you're looking for some reading with immediate
delivery, take a look at our PDF and Kindle books and
courses.

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "If I were running things,
every kid over the age of 11 or 12 would get a barbell for
Christmas." -- Brooks Kubik

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