Steven P. BarrettBOSTON FIREFIGHTER ALBERT ARROYO, YOU, SIR, ARE A PIECE OF WORK ... (LINK)
July 25th 2008 01:19
By Steven Barrett
Albert Arroyo, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Just when I was thinking mankind couldn't hit any newer lower lows when it comes to fleecing the taxpayers, you come along, beautifully and masterfully sculpted to the nines, or was it ten, on the body-building richter scale.
Hell, I don't know all that much about a sport that turns people into freaks of nature or walking anatomical teaching devices for first year med school students trying to find out which muscle connects to this bone which eventually connects to somebody's funny bone.
But this bureaucratic SNAFU in Massachusetts is tickling a lot of funny bones across the nation and world over a fireman who is also a body-builder in his off-duty time. When you look at the shape of a lot of people working in some of these jobs you'd think Boston would be delighted about Arroyo's dedication to keeping fit.
Well, there's a big difference between trying to stay in good fire-fighting trim and shaping your body into an overly delicate muscle machine where it only takes the slightest turn of the arm, wrist or ankle ... whatever to throw you into complete pain. But this is where it gets interesting because it all comes down to Arroyo's pain from such an "injury" which he said prevented him from returning to duty. What? Isn't this guy supposed to be in shape? That's what the City of Boston logically though, and even the Boston Globe weighed in on the city's behalf. Here's what the Globe said today in its editorial:
Let me repeat what the paper said about the clipboard. This is priceless for a good laugh.
Alberto Arroyo
Is this guy, or sculpture, for real?
Albert Arroyo, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Just when I was thinking mankind couldn't hit any newer lower lows when it comes to fleecing the taxpayers, you come along, beautifully and masterfully sculpted to the nines, or was it ten, on the body-building richter scale.
Hell, I don't know all that much about a sport that turns people into freaks of nature or walking anatomical teaching devices for first year med school students trying to find out which muscle connects to this bone which eventually connects to somebody's funny bone.
But this bureaucratic SNAFU in Massachusetts is tickling a lot of funny bones across the nation and world over a fireman who is also a body-builder in his off-duty time. When you look at the shape of a lot of people working in some of these jobs you'd think Boston would be delighted about Arroyo's dedication to keeping fit.
Well, there's a big difference between trying to stay in good fire-fighting trim and shaping your body into an overly delicate muscle machine where it only takes the slightest turn of the arm, wrist or ankle ... whatever to throw you into complete pain. But this is where it gets interesting because it all comes down to Arroyo's pain from such an "injury" which he said prevented him from returning to duty. What? Isn't this guy supposed to be in shape? That's what the City of Boston logically though, and even the Boston Globe weighed in on the city's behalf. Here's what the Globe said today in its editorial:
Firefighters: The farce continues
The refusal of firefighter Albert Arroyo to return to work this week as ordered by Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser is extending the accidental-disability pension farce now playing in Boston. If Arroyo doesn't return to work, the department should let him go. The firefighter took part in a recent bodybuilding contest just weeks after reporting a career-ending, on-the-job injury. It appears the muscular firefighter experiences less trouble pumping iron than carrying a clipboard in his role as a fire inspector. In the sport of weightlifting, "spotters" stand ready to assist contestants who are in danger of collapsing under too much weight. In Boston, however, it is the taxpayers who need spotters to protect them from being crushed by questionable disability claims by some firefighters.
The refusal of firefighter Albert Arroyo to return to work this week as ordered by Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser is extending the accidental-disability pension farce now playing in Boston. If Arroyo doesn't return to work, the department should let him go. The firefighter took part in a recent bodybuilding contest just weeks after reporting a career-ending, on-the-job injury. It appears the muscular firefighter experiences less trouble pumping iron than carrying a clipboard in his role as a fire inspector. In the sport of weightlifting, "spotters" stand ready to assist contestants who are in danger of collapsing under too much weight. In Boston, however, it is the taxpayers who need spotters to protect them from being crushed by questionable disability claims by some firefighters.
Let me repeat what the paper said about the clipboard. This is priceless for a good laugh.
It appears the muscular firefighter experiences less trouble pumping iron than carrying a clipboard in his role as a fire inspector.
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Comment by S.L.
The Political Brief
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Anonymous
Anonymous, I agree this is serious LOL stuff, but knowing the goofy things that happen in the People's Republic, well, I wouldn't go to Mohegan Sun in Conn. to place any wagers agai nst this Arroyo guy.
Lots of chutzpah, even by our standards.
Comment by Anonymous