There's a scene in the 1981 comedy, "Stripes," where the main character, played by Bill Murray, is challenged to do five push-ups by a friend.

As Bill Murray prepares for this feat of strength by lying face down on the floor, his friend says, "That's none."

I bring up this riveting cinematic moment for two reasons: I haven't made a published reference to "Stripes" in almost four months and it's killing me; and Don Magee makes Bill Murray look like, well, Bill Murray.

Don Magee is a Lilburn, man who recently did 3,010 push-ups in a day, according to a story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That's not a misprint - over 3,000 push-ups in a single 24-hour period.

According to the story, Magee said he could have done a few hundred more and he wasn't sore the next day. In fact, he played golf.

One more thing: Don Magee is 74 years old. Again, not a misprint.

Magee, a retired school superintendent, routinely does between 300 and 700 push-ups a day, according to the story. Talking about his push-up exploits to others, he heard about former Georgia football great Herschel Walker doing 2,000 push-ups a day. On his 70th birthday, Magee matched Walker's 2,000 and did 10 more.

On his 74th birthday, Magee decided to go for 3,000. It took him 13 hours.

"I wanted to make a statement that just because you're old doesn't mean you can't do things," Magee said in the story, written by Ken Sugiura. "You can stay active."

Motivated by Magee's push-up achievements, I decided to try for my own push-up mark. Being that I'm somewhere between Mr. Magee (3,000 push-ups) and Bill Murray's character in "Stripes" (five push-ups) in terms of physical fitness, I decided to split the difference and aimed to complete 25.

My five-year-old son volunteered to be my witness.

After instructing my son on his duties as a witness to this physical feat - mainly teaching him how to dial 9-1-1 - I lowered myself to the rug.

"Hey, Daddy, why don't you do one of those push-ups where you clap in the middle. I like those," offered my enthusiastic spotter.

"Sure," I said, forgetting that I was an idiot.

So I raised my torso quickly, pushing my hands to the middle in an attempt to clap.

Before I could clap and safely get my hands back on the rug, though, the weight of the aforementioned torso, which I underestimated, forced my face into the rug before my hands could resume their proper position. The "splat" noise was accompanied by pain to my nose, face, neck, head, chest and upper body region.

Twenty minutes later, refreshed by Doritos, Mr. Pibb and some amateur rhinoplasty, I got back on the rug to finish the drill.

With my son as my cheerleader and the power of prayer, I completed the task - 25 push-ups in 20 minutes.

The next day, I didn't play golf. I watched golf.

Don Magee did 3,010 push-ups in 780 minutes - or 3.85 push-ups a minute. I did 25 in 20 minutes - 1.3 push-ups a minute (I took a two-minute break between 18 and 19; and a five-minute break between 24 and 25). At that rate, at roughly half his age, it would take me 2,315 minutes to do 3,010 push-ups, or 38 hours.

That said, I think I'll wait until I'm 74 to give 3,000 a try.

Len Robbins is editor and publisher of The Clinch County News.