Crawdad – Page 15 – F3 Knoxville

First Last and Last First

November 16, 2019 Lillydipper

THE SCENE: Beautiful chilly morning, temps in low 30’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Pinto Twists, 10 Windmills, Plank Stretches, Michael Phelps.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to parking lot by Southern Ball Fields. There will be eight cones set up in the parking lot. Cone 1 and 8 will be on one side of the parking lot. Cones 2 through 7 are on the other side of the parking lot. We will circle clockwise around the cones. The following will be the exercises at and from each cone:

Cone 1: 20 Squat Jumps. Bernie Sanders to Cone 2.
Cone 2: 20 American Hammers (four count). Crab Walk to Cone 3.
Cone 3: 20 Star Jumps. Bear Crawl to Cone 4.
Cone 4: 20 Hello Dollies. Broad Jump to Cone 5.
Cone 5: 10 Shoulder Taps (each shoulder). Gorilla Hop to Cone 6.
Cone 6: 10 Hand Release Merkins. Sprint to Cone 7.
Cone 7: 15 Iron Mikes (both legs = 1) Bernie Sanders to Cone 8.
Come 8: 15 Dive Bombers. Sprint all the way back to Cone 1.
Those finishing first rinse and repeat cycle until last man finishes first cycle.

Mosey to perimeter trail just past the pavilion at the southern ball fields. We will do the following (what I call the 10 light nerve-wrecker) heading east and then north on the perimeter trail until we go on the boardwalk by the water and finally reach the serpentine sidewalk. We will continue the 10 light nerve-wrecker on the serpentine sidewalk until we reach the roadway that is east of Pickett’s Charge. With the 10 light nerve-wrecker, we run the length of 10 lights. We then stop and do the following exercises in order:

10 Big Boy Sit-ups
20 Merkins
30 Squats
40 Baby Crunches.
Rinse and repeat until every man has gone through the cycle of exercises. Then run another 10 lights and do it again.

Once at the roadway, we will mosey to the playground. We will do elevens at the benches, starting with one bench dip and 10 bench jumps.

Mosey to CMU Pile. Each man grabs a CMU. We will do the following exercises:

20 Overhead Presses
50 Bench Presses
20 Curls
25 Rows

Put CMU’s back in pile. Mosey to AO.

MARY:
20 Box Cutters
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11 men, no FNGs
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Welcome Is Our Greeting

Matthew 20: 26- 28. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,^c 27and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,^d 28even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

At the Broylmpics last Saturday, I was one of the brothers who ran in the long distance run. I started with the group and very quickly saw the group dash on ahead of me. After about 1/4 of the race, Mandolin and I were consigned to last place. We had already competed in all of the prior events. Our bodies were aching and Mandolin was nursing a problematic leg. We suffered onward. About halfway through the race we see the brother who ended up being the overall Brolympics Champ, Woodshack, running towards us. He joins us, at a pace that was much slower than his typical mosey, and encourages us throughout the remainder of the race. He didn’t belittle us, didn’t ingratiate us, he just ran by us, commenting on the great effort he was seeing and inspiring us in a thoughtful and brotherly manner. We finally get to the final stretch of the race along the Serpentine Sidewalk. By this time, all others in the race had already finished it. As I am running ahead, what do I see? A whole line of bros coming towards us, giving us high fives and finishing the race with us. I can’t tell you how good that made me feel. These were my brothers. I might have been the slowest on the distance run but I was one of them. Something pushed me a little faster as I crossed that finish line. And on past the finish line were the other bros, smiling at me, Hey Lillying me, and getting me in the breakfast line for some of Junk’s famous cooking. A slice of heaven with my brothers.

This kind of fellowship is what we all need. In F3, all are welcome, no matter what the age or what the athletic condition. “No Man Left Behind” is our philosophy. As Q leaders, we need to design our workouts to make sure that happens. Those men who get to a particular destination first can keep on working on exercises, whether Burpees, Side Straddle Hops, Running in Place, or Big-Boy Sit-ups as they wait for the remaining men to catch up. Sometimes, we even Wagon Wheel back to join our brothers at the six.

Here’s another thing that we need to remember in F3. Those of us who are less athletic or less fit should not pridefully shun the efforts of the more athletic who come to meet us. We should not be embarrassed or angry because we are slower. We should greet those circling back with glee, accept their gift of encouragement. We should also remember that we too, even though we may be less athletic, have so much to offer the brotherhood – whether it be our mumble-chatter, our humor, our smiles, our social leadership, our aged wisdom, or plain old humility. We all are living examples to one another, to the community around us, and to the FNG’s we welcome to our PAX.
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Junk and his wife, for Messi and his wife, and for Cheatsheet’s friend who died at the age of 49. Be with the friend’s family at this difficult time.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
On December 7 at 7 am in the morning we will have a Convergence at the Truck Stop. We will then go to Two Rivers Church nearby for a 3rd F Gathering with Manilow as our speaker. Food from Einsteins Bagels will be provided.

Hey, guess what? Today is Crawdad’s birthday. The man is now 40.

Ironies of Our Life Journey

October 26, 2019 Lillydipper

THE SCENE: Cloudy, temp in high 50’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Burpees, 10 Cherry Pickers, 5 Burpees, 10 Windmills, Seven Baby Arm Circles Forward and Backward, Seven Wide Arm Circles Forward and Backward
THA-THANG:

Mosey to the landscaped island parking lot located south of the Northern Baseball Fields. Bricks will be located at the entrance of the parking lot. Each man will pick up two bricks. We will do a Modified Route 66 around the parking lot. Each man runs five parking spaces, does one Mini-Man-Maker, then runs five more parking spaces, does two Mini-Man-Makers, etc until he finally does 11 mini-makers.

Mosey to roadside start of the Serpentine Sidewalk. We will do a Route 66 on this sidewalk as it heads to the Park Perimeter Trail running along the waterway. We will start with one Dive Bomber at the first light and end with eleven Dive Bombers at the eleventh light.

Mosey to the end of the Serpentine Sidewalk where it meets the Park Perimeter Trail. We will do 10 Imperial Walkers as a group.

Mosey to the beginning of Cardiac Hill. We will run up hill stopping to do the following exercises at each turn:

Turn 1: 20 Carolina Drydocks
Turn 2: 20 Diamond Merkins
Turn 3: 20 Decline Merkins
Turn 4: 20 Bench Dips

Mosey to Parking Lot that is by the entrance gate to the Northern Ball Fields. Each man grabs a CMU. We will do the following in cadence:

20 Overhead Presses
20 Curls
Drop CMU and sprint to end of parking lot and back
20 Rows
Drop CMU and sprint to end of parking lot and back
20 Chest Pushes
Drop CMU and sprint to end of parking lot and back
20 Squats with CMU at Chest

Drop off CMU’s and mosey to Pavilion. We will do 25 Picnic Table Pull-ups

Mosey toward parking lot with landscaped islands that we were at for the mini man makers. Stop at grassy area by ball field.

Football challenge: Lilydipper throws ball down field. First to catch it and bring it back wins. If you are tagged by anyone you must drop the ball immediately.

Mosey to landscaped parking lot to pick up bricks we had left off.

Mosey back to AO.

MARY:
15 Boxcutters.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Ten men with one FNG, a friend of Goober’s who was visiting from Indiana. His name is Daniel and we gave him the F3 name of Shrinkwrap.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I have been reading lately about Identity Formation because I have talked about that subject in a Sunday School Class at my church and to a group I met with in my work as a psychologist. Eric Erickson’s theory regarding the states of Identity Formation is quite influential among psychologists. You can Google either Identity Formation or Eric Erickson to read about the subject. A very good book that talks about our growth in identify formation and as human beings is by a Catholic Priest named Richard Rohr. It is called Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life. Rohr talks about some important ironies for those who grow successfully as human beings (growing in the HIM type of way, not in the way the world might identify as successful such as in power, wealth or fame).

The supposed achievements of the first half of life, we find, fall short.
In our life journey we find that what we originally thought we were searching for is not truly what we are searching for.
The way up, we find, is often the way down.
We must sacrifice something to achieve something greater. Illustration: the journey in literature. (The Odyssey, Lords of the Ring, Harry Potter)
Losing, failing, falling, suffering, and encounters with sin are a necessary part of the journey.
It is often when the ego is most deconstructed that we can hear things anew.
The demand for perfect is the greatest enemy of the good. (Rules and getting it right are more important in first half of life).
Higher stages of development are often misunderstood and attacked by those in lower stages (think of how Jesus was attacked by leaders of “organized religion”).

MOLESKIN:

Prayer for Pinto whose mother passed away earlier this week. Prayer for Hooker, her grandson, and Mr. Jinxy, her son-in-law. Prayer for Goober’s friend, Bruce, whose mother and daughter died earlier this week. Praise for the F3 brothers who were at Goliath last week and who did well there. They also had a great bit of fun there.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Coffeeteria!

Healing The Wounded

September 30, 2019 Lillydipper

THE SCENE: Humid, temp in low 70’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Plank Jacks, Plank arm and leg raises, 10 Cherry Pickers, Michael Phelps, Little of This and That.

THA-THANG:
Mosey to Southern Ball Fields Parking Lot. Do 20 Hello Dollies, four count.

Mosey to perimeter trail near the Pavilion of the south ball fields. We will do Nickel, Dime, Quarters (run one light do five of exercise, run two lights do ten, run five lights and do 25 of exercise) all the way to the beginning of Cardiac Hill. These will be the exercises we will go through:

Star Jumps
Merkins
Big Boy Sit-ups
Squat Jumps
Dive Bombers
Imperial Walkers (four count)

At Cardiac Hill we will run up the hill, stopping at each of the turns and finally at the benches to do the following exercises:

Turn 1: 20 American Hammers
Turn 2: 20 Flutter Kicks
Turn 3: 20 Decline Merkins
Benches: Bench Dips
Rinse and Repeat

Mosey to parking lot where we keep CMUs.

We will go around the parking lot, stopping at each corner to do exercises. We go around the parking lot four times, doing the following exercises at each corner:

Corner 1: 20 Carolina Dry Docks, 20 Shoulder Taps (both shoulders = 1), 20 Squats, 20 Diamond Merkins (sprint to Corner 2)
Corner 2: 20 Mountain Climbers (four count), 20 Smurf Jacks, 20 Iron Mikes (four count) 10 Burpees (bear crawl to Corner 3)
Corner 3: (with CMUs) 20 Overhead Presses, 20 Curls, 20 Rows, 20 Coupon Swings (Bernie Sanders to Corner 4)
Corner 4: 20 Bicycle Kicks (four count), 20 Box Cutters, 30 Baby Crunches, 40 “Mississippi second count” Boat Canoe (Lunge to Corner 1)

Mosey back to AO.

MARY:
30 Baby Crunches
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Ten Men, No FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
As HIMs, we desire to help others. But how to we handle people that are difficult to help? Who resist or slap down our offers of assistance with “yes buts”, turning their backs to you, snide remarks, or an attitude that says either that “people aren’t no damn good” or “to hell with you and your advice.” In my last message I talked about the need to resist the urge to strike back with caustic words; the need to be patient with such people; and, the need to stay Strong with them hanging in there with them.

One thing that can help you is to try to understand where the person is coming from. These are often folks who have been hurt in their pasts. Because of that, they lack trust in others and also lack trust in themselves to overcome difficulties. There is a song by Nick Cave that, I believe, captures well how past painful experience can lead to a tragic attitude of “people ain’t no damn good.” Ironically, the name of the song is “People Ain’t No Good.” I don’t think this is Nick Cave’s stance on life although I am sure that, like all of us, he has certainly felt this way. Rather, it is the stance of the narrator of the song.

Throughout the song, the refrain is “people they ain’t no good.” Then we find out more about the narrator. We find out how he married his love under cherry trees and under blossoms they made their vows. We hear how the sun would stream on the sheets of their bed, how they were awoken by the morning bird, how they would buy Sunday newspapers but never read a single word due to their love for one another.

But, then we hear about how the winter stripped the blossoms of their love. How like a fist, the difficulties hit them. How his wife drew the curtains, made of wedding veils, on the narrator. And, so the narrator cries, “to our love send a coffin of wood. . . to our love a valentine of blood. . . to our love let all the jilted lovers cry “that people just ain’t no good.”

Then, we hear how others may have tried to help this narrator but how he (and, this is the gut-wrenching tragedy of the story) bitterly turned down their help. Here are the tragic lines about the people who tried to help him:

It ain’t that in their hearts they’re bad
They can comfort you, some even try
They nurse you when you’re ill of health
They bury you when you go and die

It ain’t that in their hearts they’re bad
They’d stick by you if they could
But that’s just bullshit baby
People just ain’t no good

Through the song, we come to understand the stance of the narrator. It is a tragic stance but we have empathy for him because we can understand the reason for his pain. Let us, as HIMs, be patient, be loving, be kind, be strong. Work to understand those who turn away our attempts at love. Help those who are bitter to learn that, although all of us screw up, some people are pretty damned good.

MOLESKIN:
Prayer of thanks that Mr. Jinxy received good news from the cardiologist.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The REWARD at Panera!

Better Than Money

September 14, 2019 Lillydipper

THE SCENE: Almost 80 and humid.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Lunges each leg, 10 Windmills, 8 Cherry Pickers, 7 Forward Baby Arm Circles, 5 Forward Wide Arm Circles, 7 Backward Baby Arm Circles, 5 Backward Wide Arm Circles
THA-THANG:
Mosey to driveway that goes to northeastern corner of Admin Bldg. We will divide into teams of two men each to do Doras. While one partner runs to end of driveway, does ten merkins, and runs back the other partner will be doing the exercises. Then partners switch places. The exercises will be done with a set of bricks that will be available. These are the exercises the partners will do as a team:

100 Overhead Presses
100 Curls
100 Tricepts
100 Rows with bricks at sides
100 Punches where both hands = 1
1000 Upward Wings
100 Downward Wings
100 Outward Wings

Mosey to grass area that is marked with lines at ball field closest to flag. 20 Hello Dollies. We will then do sprints from one sideline to other on marked field. We will do six sprints. Then 20 more Hello Dollies. Then six more sprints. Then football toss where each man must do an out and each man must throw a pass. Any missed balls or bad tosses equating to a missed ball equals two burpees for the entire squad. All men not throwing or passing will do Big Boy Sit-ups.

Mosey to Pavilion that is close to flag. We will do 30’s starting with 5 bench dips and 25 picnic table pull-ups, then going up and down in increments of five until we end up with 25 bench dips and 5 picnic table pull-ups.

Mosey to bottom of mini cardiac hill. Sprint up cardiac to AO.

MARY:
25 Box Cutters. 10 Shoulder Taps, each shoulder.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11 men with two FNGs: Pigsticker (Mark McKeen) and Party Pooper (Shaun Wynne)
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Loving Us Back

Let’s face it, commercials work because we love the products that commercials sell. We love nice things and we love entertainment. One thing those of us in modern society love is technology. We spend a significant amount of time on our cell phones. We love our computers and our Flat Screen Televisions. We often ignore other things around us because we are so consumed. I remember a television commercial where a family was in a majestic nature spot – I think it may have been the Grand Canyon. The family notices a large TV screen on a cliff overlooking the majestic canyon. The TV screen the family sees is showing the same scene that they can observe via the view of the canyon. They are fascinated with the TV shot and look at the TV rather than the natural view. The idea of the commercial was to show how amazing the particular company’s television was, that it could create a picture so much like the real thing. But, I couldn’t help but laugh at the social commentary that the commercial makers probably didn’t mean to imply. Here was a family in the middle of the Grand Canyon and they would rather look at the TV screen than the real thing!

We are also consumed with entertainment. People spend thousands of dollars to take their families to Disney each year. Ocean liners offer the best of vacation cruises. Hotels offer us all the luxuries money can buy.

And, speaking of money, we are consumed with that. Money Magazine annually ranks the best places to live for your dollar in the United States. We push on in our careers hoping for greater salaries so that we can buy bigger houses and get more “things.” A favorite past-time of many is to go to malls to buy “things” or go online to buy “things.”

I am certainly guilty. I find myself looking at homes in neighborhoods more costly than I can afford, wishing I could live in THAT house. I was making fun of the TV Commercial of the nature scene above. I may not be consumed with televisions but I am consumed with Nature Gear. I love looking at camping gear, dreaming of getting a newer tent, the greatest pair of hiking boots, the most comfortable sleeping bag.

We love technology, products, entertainment and money. The problem is that these things don’t love us back. They are what they are and they can be nice and great to have. But do these things build us up? Can we talk to them to obtain better understanding? Do they form relationships with us? Do they have our back in times of trouble? Do they lead us to be better men? Do our products and money love us?

We need to invest in relationships, men. People love us back. And when we give our time to others, we get rewards back that fill us up in ways that products cannot. Our relationship with God is the most important. Thanks you, Lord, that you love us back.

I am thankful that I have friends like those of you in F3. I have brothers that love me back. I have brothers that share something that is more than words can describe. I have relationships with men that have my six. That raise me to a higher standard. That push me to be the best that I can be. That lead me to more than money can buy. That bring me closer to the Glory of God.

And another thing – what we have in F3 doesn’t cost money. It is Free 99!!

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Junk’s wife, for Pinto and Mr. Jinxy’s health, for Mayberry, and for Mr. Rogers and his family.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Coffeeteria at Panera with Pluto who joined us for the BOM.

How do you spell BEATDOW*N?

August 31, 2019 Hawk

THE SCENE: Cool, low humidity, most beautiful sunrise in Knoxville
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
25-4ct. SSH, Cherry pickers, Moroccan nightclubs, Baby arm circles forward and back.

THA-THANG:
Mosey to trail

B: Burpees – Route 66 style

E: Everest on Everest up to stump (see Exicon for description of exercises), run up rest of Everest to road.

Mosey to Pier behind KUB substation

A: ATM – 1 round

T: Tammy Wynette

D: Dying cockroach (2 sets, 10-4 ct.)

O: Obama (8 rounds for 8 years)

Mosey to main lawn.

W: Wilt Chamberlain

Mosey to parking by restrooms

N: Newtons Cradle (10 – 4 ct., 3 rounds)

Run up small hill to AO

MARY:
Crawdad led box cutters, Gus led shoulder blasters until time.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Remember that God is greater than our fears, insecurities, and what we understand. Too often we put Him in a box that we comprehend, but He is so much more. The relationship is similar to what we have with children where they have a very limited and sometimes skewed perspective of the world. That is how we are to God.

MOLESKIN:
Isaiah 55:8-9

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
None