F3 Knoxville

Author: Hammy

Route 66

THE SCENE:  70 degrees, 95% humidity, clear skies with just a sliver of reflection after the new moon
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Quick warmup of SSH x10, Cherry pickers x10, front and back arm circles x10 each, Michael Phelps shakeout, and parking lot mosey.
THA-THANG:
Pick up a CMU and head out on Route 66 through Illinois to the Missouri state line.

Route 66 was a 0.37 mile loop including a Mt. Crumpet climb.  A total of six state line stops in the loop at Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.  The workout consisted of six laps on Route 66.  New Mexico was at the top of Mt. Crumpet.  The listing of the workouts at each station is below:

  • Missouri State Line

    Lap 1: CMU Squats x11

    Lap 2: Dips with CMU x11  Carry CMU to Kansas

    Lap 3: Squat Jumps x11

    Lap 4: Dry Docks x11

    Lap 5: BBS x11

    Lap 6: SSH (4 count) x11

  • Kansas State Line

    Lap 1: Merkins x11

    Lap 2: CMU Upright Rows x11

    Lap 3: CMU Dips x11  Carry CMU to Oklahoma

    Lap 4: Squat Jumps x11

    Lap 5: Dry Docks x11

    Lap 6: BBS x11

  • Oklahoma State Line

    Lap 1: SSH (4 count) x11

    Lap 2: Merkins x11

    Lap 3: CMU Swings x11

    Lap 4: CMU Dips x11  Carry CMU to Texas

    Lap 5: Squat Jumps x11

    Lap 6: Dry Docks x11

  • Texas State Line

    Lap 1: BBS x11

    Lap 2: SSH (4 count) x11

    Lap 3: Merkins x11

    Lap 4: CMU O.H. Press x11

    Lap 5: CMU Dips x11  Carry CMU to New Mexico

    Lap 6: Squat Jumps x11

  • New Mexico State Line (Top of Mt. Crumpet)

    Lap 1: Dry Docks x11

    Lap 2: BBS x11

    Lap 3: SSH (4 count) x11

    Lap 4: Merkins x11

    Lap 5: Lunge Dead Lift x11/arm

    Lap 6: CMU Dips x11  Carry CMU to Arizona

  • Arizona State Line

    Lap 1: Squat Jumps x11

    Lap 2: Dry Docks x11

    Lap 3: BBS x11

    Lap 4: SSH (4 count) x11

    Lap 5: Merkins x11

    Lap 6: CMU Curls x11  Carry CMU to California (Back to the AO)

  • California State Line

    Squat Jumps x11

    Dry Docks x11

    BBS x11

    SSH (4 count) x11

    Merkins x11

Completed 5 laps as outlined but had to abbreviate Lap 6 and the California State Line workout.  We went over by almost 2 minutes.  This would have fit better with a Saturday, 1 hour, workout.  Note that there were 66 exercise reps on each lap, and, if completed, there are 66 of each type of exercise or CMU type reps.

MARY:
No time today.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Use the TAGS on right-side to record PAX (BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOURSELF) in attendance. Be sure to select the AO in CATEGORY above TAGS and then delete these notes!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I’m not a big TV watcher but the show, China Beach, from the late 80’s to early 90’s ranks in the top three.  One of the most memorable to me is about the boy in the pants – a soldier with his leg blown to pieces.  The “pants” was an inflatable cuff put on his right leg to try to stop the bleeding.  It wasn’t working and Nurse Colleen McMurphy knew it.  The boy in the pants was going to die, they prepare him for death, and then deflated the pants.  He died while McMurphy was kissing his lips, a gesture she initiated.  Fast forward 15 year to a scene where McMurphy is holding her young daughter at the Vietnam War Memorial.  She points to one of the more than 57,000 names on the wall, pours some sand from the medivac base of China Beach at the base of the wall, and slowly walks away.  Her voice is dubbed into the scene and she says, “Lawrence F. McClintock from Littleton, CO.  He loved football. His friends called him Lurch.  I thought I had forgotten his name but, like he said, I didn’t.”  She pauses and continues, “I couldn’t save them all … but I save some of them.”

James Shaw, Jr. is the man that wrestled an AR-15 away from the shooter at a Waffle House near Nashville less than 3 months ago.  He claims that he was not a hero but that he was only trying to save himself.  In later interviews he would repeat that claim but would add that he regrets that he did not do something quicker so that perhaps some or all of the 4 others would have survived.  He may not have save them all but he certainly saved many.   Like McMurphy in China Beach, there was reason to be joyful, yet there was regret in looking back.

Not many of us will have the opportunity to make a difference like McMurphy or Shaw, but that doesn’t exclude us from looking back and wishing we had done things differently.  It could be in a relationship, work performance, a knee jerk reaction with anger or impatience.  The message today is to quit dwelling on the past.  Yes, use it as a learning experience, use it to be better today, and better when all the future tomorrows becomes todays.  In our Christian faith walk remember that when we fail God, our sins have already been atoned.  Make no mistake, God hates our sinful nature, but with the saving grace of Jesus and the sanctifying power of the Spirit we will more closely walk with Him – no regrets.
MOLESKIN:
Flash brought up a family mourning the loss of their 7 year old son to cancer.  I failed to remember to mention that in my closeout prayer.  Flash, I have lifted them up several times since this morning.  Sorry for my oversight.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Insert information about upcoming events, 2nd or 3rd F opportunities, and any other announcements.

Connect-Respect-Befriend

THE SCENE:   Scattered clouds, 75 degrees, 81% humidity, beautiful sunrise.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH x25, Cherry pickers x15, Little baby arm circles forward/reverse x12, Spiderman crawl 20 yards, Samson lunges 20 yards, 1000 yard mosey to locate 6 stations in Tha-Thang.
THA-THANG:
Hill work at softball field: Sixes 1BBS at bottom, 5 ascents up hill; 2 BBS at bottom, 4 ascents up hill, 3 BBS at bottom, 3 ascents up hill.  (Abbreviated workout to get to the 6 Station Workout.)

  • Mosey back to Station 1:  Perform merkins x12, CMU hop x12, Dry docks x12, BBS x12.
  • Run 0.2 miles past each station, pick up CMU at Station 1, mosey to Station 2.
  • Station 2:  With CMU perform dead lifts x12/arm, bent rows x18, overhead presses x12.
  • Run 0.2 miles past each station, pick up CMU at Station 2, mosey to Station 3.
  • Station 3:  Perform burpees x6; curb toe touches x48, SSH (4 count) x12.
  • Run 0.2 miles past each station, pick up CMU at Station 3, mosey to Station 4.
  • Station 4:  With CMU perform squats x18, upright rows x12, swings x12, curls x12.
  • Run 0.2 miles past each station, pick up CMU at Station 4, mosey to Station 5.
  • Station 5:  Perform merkins x12, CMU hop x12, Dry docks x12, BBS x12, burpees x6; curb toe touches x48, SSH (4 count) x12.
  • Run 0.2 miles past each station, pick up CMU at Station 5, mosey to Station 6.
  • Station 6:  With CMU perform dead lifts x12/arm, bent rows x18, overhead presses x12, squats x18, upright rows x12, swings x12, curls x12.

Repeat the circuit as time allows

MARY:
Box cutters, flutter kicks, Hello Dolly’s, and back scratchers in cadence for the final 4 minutes.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Total of 14 including FNG – Emeril (Roland Decicco).  Welcome!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Don and I started at Alcoa, Inc in 1974.  Don as a mechanic.  Me as a mechanical engineer.  Our paths didn’t really cross until 18 years later when he was a union member and I was a management member of the contracting out committee.  We made an immediate connection when I found out his nephew, Jason, was a boy that I had couched at Maryville Little League for 2 to 3 years.  Jason was killed in a car accident when he was 18 in 1993 and the connection between Don and I became stronger.  We would often talk about Jason by offering small remembrances.  From our connection we grew to respect each other, to understand each others position as we tried to forge work agreements and paths forward.  In the early 2000’s Don and I again worked together on craft training and apprentice training issues.  The relationship remained strong until my retirement in 2009.

In 2012 I accepted a position with an alliance of Alcoa with Ma’aden in Saudi Arabia, called Ma’aden Aluminium.  My first 6 months found me primarily in an office building in Khobar, KSA in the Eastern Province.  Each day a small, bashful, unassuming man would come into my office around 3:00 pm to get the trash.  Toward the end of the first week I rose from my desk when he entered and offered to shake hands.  He really didn’t know what to do.  I told him my name is “Bob” and I spelled it for him.  I asked him his name.  He softly spoke his name but I had to ask him to say it a little louder.  He did.  Together we spelled “Bishnu.”  I proceeded to write his name on the lower right corner of my 4′ x 8′ dry erase board.  We shook hands again and he left.  Through the next 5-1/2 months Bishnu’s name remained on that board even though much was written and erased as plans and ideas were captured on it.  I also tried to make a point of standing up each time he came in to empty my trash.  We had connected and I wanted to give him recognition – perhaps a little respect.  About midway through my time in the central office Bishnu came in, walked over to the board, pointed and said, “My name!”  Yes, I said, and I will always remember you.  This young man from Bangladesh had obtained a little self worth from some simple gestures I had directed at him but perhaps the most meaningful was seeing his name on my board.  When I vacated that office to spend the balance of my KSA time at the $20 billion work site, I erased everything on that board except the letters B-I-s-h-n-u.  I don’t know what ever happened to him and I doubt I ever will.  I do continue to remember him.

In 2016 and 2017 I performed a little part time work at Alcoa/Arconic and once again found myself connecting with Don.  He was my go to mechanic for questions and information relative to several utilities issues.  Gone was the Union/Management tensions of the past and we talked about that.  We talked of our initial connection and how it grew into a relationship where we could understand each others position and objectives.  We knew that a good friendship had formed over the many years.

How much better would our small piece of this world be if we just put some emphasis on really connecting with one another?  Occasionally, it might be brought up after one of the far too many mass shootings.  (One is far too many).  Lets put our phones up, get off of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. and get serious about connecting so that we can complete the chain to respect and then friendship.  We need to start sometime and there is no better time than now.

There is more to the Don story.  I’m so glad we had the discussion in 2016 and expressed appreciation for the friendship we had formed.  If we hadn’t then, it would be too late today.  A week ago Wednesday, Don was about five houses from home when his car left the road and he ran into a house in his neighborhood.  Don suffered a heart attack and died.  Rest in peace, my friend.  I won’ forget you.

MOLESKIN:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Drifter move is Saturday.

I’d Call That a Bargain

THE SCENE: 62 degrees F, 95% humidity, clear skies.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH x21; Cherry Pickers x12; Little Baby Arm Circles x15 (forward and backward)

Samson’s x10 with 3 second hold followed by parking lot jog (repeat)
THA-THANG:
Stating at the grinder:

  • Merkins x12; BBS x12; Dry docks x12; Dips x24; Step ups x12 per leg
  • Bear Crawl 25 yards to CMU’s
  • With CMU’s: Dead lifts x12 per arm; Bent Rows x12; Upright Rows x12; Squats x12; Swings x12; Curls x12
  • Run 175 yards to road; Burpees x6; run 175 yards to CMU’s
  • Lunge 25 yards to Pavilion
  • (Repeat Above As Time Allows)

Everyone completed 3+ reps

MARY:
Assorted leg lifts with box cutters and flutter kicks added.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
10 PAX present
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
The music today was from Who’s Next, an August 1971 album by the Who.  The workout title comes from the Bargain track.  Many people believed Townshend was writing about pursuing a woman.  The lyrics are below:

Bargain

I’d gladly lose me to find you
I’d gladly give up all I had
To find you I’d suffer anything and be glad

I’d pay any price just to get you
I’d work all my life and I will
To win you I’d stand naked, stoned and stabbed

I’d call that a bargain
The best I ever had
The best I ever had

I’d gladly lose me to find you
I’d gladly give up all I got
To catch you I’m gonna run and never stop

I’d pay any price just to win you
Surrender my good life for bad
To find you I’m gonna drown an unsung man

I’d call that a bargain
The best I ever had
The best I ever had

I sit looking ’round
I look at my face in the mirror
I know I’m worth nothing without you
And like one and one don’t make two
One and one make one
And I’m looking for that free ride to me
I’m looking for you

I’d gladly lose me to find you
I’d gladly give up all I got
To catch you I’m gonna run and never stop

I’d pay any price just to win you
Surrender my good life for bad
To find you I’m gonna drown an unsung man

I’d call that a bargain
The best I ever had
The best I ever had

Songwriter: Peter Dennis Blandfor Townshend

When asked about the song and the inspiration for it, Pete Townshend stated, “The song is simply about losing one’s self ego as a devotee of Meher Baba. I constantly try to lose myself and find him. I’m not very successful, I’m afraid, but this song expresses how much of a bargain it would be to lose everything in order to be at one with God.”

I look at the words differently.

I’d gladly lose me to find you
I’d gladly give up all I had
To find you I’d suffer anything and be glad

I’d pay any price just to get you
I’d work all my life and I will
To win you I’d stand naked, stoned and stabbed

I’d gladly lose me to find you
I’d gladly give up all I got
To catch you I’m gonna run and never stop

I’d pay any price just to win you
Surrender my good life for bad
To find you I’m gonna drown an unsung man

Although using different words, this is what Jesus said … and did for me.  All He asks is “Follow me.”

MOLESKIN:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Insert information about upcoming events, 2nd or 3rd F opportunities, and any other announcements.

Block Party

THE SCENE: About 61 degrees with clear skies
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH x20; Arm Circles forward/reverse x15, windmills x15; Jog parking lot; 50% faster job parking lot; skip parking lot; bear crawl to CMU pile.
THA-THANG:
Mosey with CMU on the Block Party circuit while stopping at the following 20 stations:

  • Bent rows x24
  • On the shelf x6 each side
  • CMU toe tap x66
  • Squats x24

Interlude:  Road Block merkins, x18

  • Clean and press x12
  • Roll over merkins x6 each of 4 CMU ends

Interlude:  Run to Springbrook fountain and back to give the CMU’s a break.  They only get a workout 4 or 5 times a month.

  • Dead lift x6 per arm
  • Overhead elbow extensions x12
  • Dips x24
  • Straight arm overhead lift x12
  • Upright rows x24
  • Burpee press x12

Interlude: At the base of Mt Crumpet count off by 2’s.  #1’s run up while #2’s farmer hold two CMU’s then switch. Next #1’s Bernie up while #2’s farmer hold two CMU’s then switch. Finally #1’s bear crawl up while #2’s farmer hold then switch.

  • Curls x24
  • CMU swing x12
  • Overhead press x12
  • Single arm row from lunge position x12 per side
  • Overhead squat press x12
  • Lunge to grinder with CMU

MARY:
Box cutters x20; Floor wipers x20: flutter kicks x15; BBS to cash out.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11 total PAX, no FNG’s
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

I have two friend that each contracted melanoma in their late 30’s.  24 years later cancer had returned.  In the case of Judy, it was lung cancer on her left side.  She has been battling it and other issues for the past 6 years.  Last November, Judy and her husband hosted a large gathering at their house to play Shanghai Rummy.  It lasted longer than perhaps it should and the next day found Judy in the hospital for several day with pneumonitis in her healthy right lung and that issue continues to persist.  One of the things that impressed me the most about her hospital stay was that she prayed more about who God would place in her path so she could be His vessel for the Gospel.  Judy is a fighter – she has to be – and the following are excepts from a letter she wrote a few weeks ago.
Happy Spring, family and friends! My winter quarantine, cold and gray, is just making the beauty of Spring an even greater joy to me. Walking around seeing little green leaves push up through barren mulch and flowers appear out of lifeless looking limbs just thrills me – creation (and Spring in particular) truly does reflect our Creator who is at His core the Redeemer and Restorer!
I will never look at nor take springtime for granted again.  Judy paints a beautiful picture of how God can renew even me just as all of His creation
And good news!… He continues to choose to restore my little body – scans a couple weeks ago showed no evidence of cancer and my lungs are slowly healing! We are so grateful. I do not need any oxygen support when sitting or piddling around, but need a little for activity and definitely need when exercising. Hopefully that need will continue to diminish, however I am thankful that my “jet pack” oxygen frees me to live life normally. 
My quarantine will end Easter weekend – so excited! However, I will continue to somewhat minimize health risks, as there is still inflammation in my compromised lungs (unfortunately, the pneumonitis scarred my healthy lung that had not been impaired by the three thoracotomies). But all that has come through a sovereign and good God’s hands – so I will rest in that reality. As C.S. Lewis says, “Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even agony into glory.” My little trials are all being redeemed – as are yours.
Her “little trial”!!! And I get upset if I get stuck in traffic for a few minutes!  Really dwell a few minutes on that C.S. Lewis quote.
Our children and grandchildren are coming for Easter weekend, so it will be a most joyful coming out party!!! 
You are at the heart of my story with your prayers, love, and encouragement! I have been so richly blessed in every way!
I want to have the faith and peace that God has given Judy so I end with Phil 4:6-7.  In it Paul does not pray that we experience a life of ease, prosperity, wellness, or comfort.  His prayer is that we experience God’s peace on this temporary earthly journey.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

MOLESKIN:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Insert information about upcoming events, 2nd or 3rd F opportunities, and any other announcements.

Gimme Shelter

THE SCENE: 55 degrees with a light rain to wash the sweat away
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Checked off.

WARM-O-RAMA:
To the music of Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones, circa 1969:

SSH – x20; Little Baby Arm Circles (forward and reverse) – x15; Cherry Pickers – x10; Imperial Squat Walkers – x15

Jog; Skip; Bear Crawl/Jog; Bear Crawl/Jog length of the grinder.

THA-THANG:

“A” Leg Exercises

Under the Pavilion:

Bench Step Ups x12; Dry Docks x12; Squat Jumps x12; Merkins x12; SSH (single count) x12; BBS x12

Intermission

Run from the Pavilion to the Road:

Merkins x6; BBS x6; Drydocks x6

Run back to the Pavilion.

“B” Leg Exercises

Under the Pavilion (Using CMU’s)

Kettlebell Swings x12; On the Shelf x6/side; Bent Rows x12; Curls x12; Squats x12; Deadlift x6/arm

Intermission

Run from the Pavilion to the Road:

Merkins x6; BBS x6; Drydocks x6

Run back to the pavilion

Repeat Above as Time Allows

MARY:
Leg Lifts, Box Cutters, Hello Dolly’s, and then cashed out with 1 minute of Little Baby Crunches.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11 faithful, 0 FNG’s

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
We started the workout to the song Gimme Shelter, the opening track from the Rolling Stones 1969 album, Let It Bleed.  When asked who sang the song most will generically say the Rolling Stones or specifically, Mick Jagger.  When I listen to the song, I hear Merry Clayton.  She is the background vocalist and the one who puts her heart and soul in the song.  Merry was born on Christmas Day, 1948, and was the daughter of a Baptist minister in the New Orleans area.  She began singing gospel music in church before she was tagged as a background singer for Ray Charles and others at the ripe age of 14.

In 1969 she was pregnant and living with her husband in Los Angeles.  The phone rang around midnight and an agent said this British rock group needed a background vocalist for a track to complete a soon to be released album.  They needed her to come to the recording studio right away.  At first she said no, she was tired and she wasn’t feeling too well.  Her husband said she needed to go; that it might be good for her singing career.  Merry shows up at the studio and talks to Keith Richards about the song, the significance of the words written by Jagger, and the way they wanted it sung.

She sang one take, got some feedback from Richards and Jagger, and then said she would give it one more try.  After the second take she offered a third and then said goodnight.  The rest is history for the Stones.

Merry is always the singer I hear in the song.  She was the one that gave it everything she had and she blows it away – as a backup singer.  The Rolling Stones almost always gets the credit for this hit from almost 50 years ago.

There are many times that our roll in life is like Merry’s was that night.  We are not the one to make the decisions, we are not THE face in the crowd, we are not the leader, we may not get the recognition we deserve.  We are the backup, the support member of the team, the one given a specific task in the big picture, the one that will be an integral part of future success.  Regardless, our job is to push ourselves, attain the objective, and move on to the next.  Always remember that there is no limit to what can be attained if no one cares who gets the credit.

So where is Merry?  She went home after the Stones session and had a miscarriage late that morning.  She believes the stress she put herself in earlier was a factor and she could barely bring herself to sing the song for a few years afterwards.  She continued mostly in a backup singer roll and was highlighted in a 2012 documentary about others in similar rolls that made many of the legendary songs of the past.  Finally some well deserved recognition has come to her.  In 2014 a car accident left her without legs.  Her faith in God and the inner strength and determination derived from that faith is keeping her on her feet and her music alive.

MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Don’t forget Hardship Hill at Fort Southwest Point Park in Kingston, TN.  Can’t or won’t participate?  Volunteers are needed and welcomed for setup and event day.