Do not take the rocks for granted…

Do not take the rocks for granted…

QIC: Rollback

Date: 3/6/25

PAX: Green Acres (WD), Ziggy Stardust, THE Singing Cowboy, Superfly, Doublewide, D-Day, Argyle, Starfish, Burlap, Tarzan, Dr. Toot, Bam, Rollback (WB)

First F

TRQRC

Out in full force this morning (it’s a good thing they had headlamps – YHC was able to go wide around them). Didn’t catch who all ran.

Warm-o-rama:

• SSH – 20 IC
• Imperial Storm Trooper – 15 IC
• Arm swirly things forwards/backwards – 7 ea
• Michael Phelps – 12 IC
• Whirlies (w/ clap) – 12 IC
• Abe Vigoda – 6

The Thang

Larger parking lot. Point A: flag side of the lot. Point B: a cone ~150ft down the lot.

• Point A, 20 burpees, 20 squats, 20 WWIIs, 20 merkins. MOT (of ea. PAX choice) to point B
• Point B, 19 burpees, 19 squats, 19 WWIIs, 19 merkins. MOT (of ea. PAX choice) to point A
• Etc. Etc. Etc….. we ended somewhere between 11 and 14.
• MOT options given: bear crawl, crawl bear, crab walk, gorilla walk, murder bunny (sans weight), lunge walk, karaoke, bear-aoke, squat broad jumps, inch worm, monkey humper walks, etc. The Q did not care which MOT was chosen – only rules were NO running and NO walking
• No rocks were used. Couldn’t afford the LONG walk over there – don’t take the rocks for granted.

Mary:

• standard menu options

Third F

Prayer Requests:

• FrankandBeans – recent medical diagnosis
• Aging parents
• Continued healing for Dr. Toot and Green Acres

Announcements:

• Q School March 29 before Purgatory (see Turnover for deets) – learn the basics about Q-ing (some of us clearly skipped this…)
• Decade name change proposed: 50s – Respect, 60s – Honor, 70s – LEGENDARY (prev, respect, respect-respect, etc.)
  • Warmly received – unclear whether Turnover is still on the fence from last time it was announce at Mayhem
• Bagpipe new Site Q at TIT on March 17
• Superfly Q at Mayhem 3/12, UA 3/14
• Thirsty Thursday TODAY
• GreeNest is 3/15 (see Spicoli or Starfish)

Second F

NMM:

• No rocks were harmed during the work-out today. Probably to some dismay. YHC was thankful for the company during the burpees.
• Not as much mumble chatter this morning – lots of heavy breathing; and a bit of a groan when the burpees were announced. Nonetheless, the PAX “rocked” the work out solidly.
• YHC heard many instances of brother checking in on brother – while YHC didn’t intrude, it’s a sweet thing to hear the men of F3 caring for one-another.
• All-in-all, it was a great morning, with great men, and a great work out.

Reflections:

Whether you have noticed or not, I don’t talk a lot during work out. I’m somewhat of a shy person, and I really enjoy a hard work out. So I appreciate it when HIMs like Doublewide and Green Acres draw me out of my own head and ask me questions, as it forces me to realize that there’s more to this world than just me and that it doesn’t actually revolve around me – though I often behave like that. Reflecting further, I realized how many of the men I saw at TRQ that I don’t see super often because our typical work out routines don’t often overlap. Nonetheless, I’m honored to be among them.

Amongst the chaos of the world filled with political malice, economic turmoil, civil unrest – in a culture overrun with spite, envy, fear, and despair – it’s such a blessing to be among men that strive to be different. From D-day who shared gloves with my daughter with red-frozen hands during the permafrosty run for HOPE 2024 to Green Acres who bought my family dinner on the evening of my wife’s surgery; from Doublewide who checks in on me even when I forget to text him back to Starfish who volunteers his Saturday mornings to help move furniture for people in the Dash that need it; from Ziggy who shares his knowledge with the next generation (even when they drive him crazy) to Singing Cowboy sharing his humble abode in the mountains with a ragtag group of stinky dudes to Dr. Toot that always encourages and smiles – this group is made of amazing men. And that’s just a few that I was reminded of this morning.

It’s those small things day-in and day-out that actually effect change. We have no power over American politics – but we can smile in the face of fear and give in the face of greed. These men take the grace and good will poured out on them by God and give that freely to others – whether they did it intentionally or not. How often do I miss that chance? How often do I think – I’ll do it next time?

But we’re not guaranteed a next time. I recently ran by a 40-something year old, fit and healthy marathon runner in Wilmington as the medics did compressions on his chest while racers ran by. So I’m challenging myself to go the extra step – smile in the face of frustration, encourage in the face of mockery, love in the face of fear. While tariffs and wars and lawsuits abound beyond our control, we can still change the life of our spouses, kids, family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and random strangers. So while the burpees are a fun challenge, and the morning 1st F is so good – it’s the 2nd and 3rd F that make the difference in the day to day. It’s the men that we lock shields with and the grace poured out infinitely over us, that strengthen you and me to do one little thing after another. Don’t take these “rocks” for granted.

-Rollback