AO: Mission Forge
August 29th, 2022
73 degrees, sky full of lightning, scattered showers.
PAX- Yogi, Plague Tater Tot, Farva, The Big One, Chippendale, Paramount, Splinter-Cell, Cold Cuts, Fine Print, Barbershop, Kielbasa, Lilypad, Boss Hog, Escobar
Q: Roadhouse
The prep for this Q started on Sunday morning. Having never posted at Mission Forge, I needed to get my eyes on the track. There was only one person who could help me with this scouting mission; my four old son, Bodhi. No one knows the parks in this city like Bodhi does. We were in the car by 8:30 AM and at the park by 9. The first stop was the playground.
We tested out the equipment. The slide was fast. The sand was soft and warm under our feet. We even tested out the monkey bars, not knowing that I would be Smurphing on these very bars in less than 24 hours. After we tried out the playground, it was time to walk the hallowed grounds.
We got on the path and did the full lap. We stopped and checked out some of the possibilities. The path provided a great starting point for the Thang and the soccer fields and basketball court provided lots of options. Bodhi gave me some ideas for warm-a-rama and we agreed that a sexy pre-thang was an absolute must. After a long scouting mission, it was time for a strawberry milk and a nap. And Bodhi needed some things as well…
As I got into bed Sunday night, my phone buzzed and it was a text from Tater Tot. Right on time for his nightly nude. But alas, it was not a picture this time. It was a short question; Smurph tomorrow? Wow, I hadn’t even thought of that option but when the NanTan asks, you answer. I texted back, No thanks! And with that I went to bed.
I pulled into the parking lot Monday morning at 4:35 AM. The drive there had been filled with a sky full of lightning and scattered rain drops. There were a few guys already there and by 4:45 there were 11 of us total for the pre-beatdown Smurph. I don’t need to go into details about the Smurph, you know what it consists of. I will mention a highlight. At one point while running through the neighborhood, the rain starting to come down hard. Some may even say it was hailing. I reached out my hand and found Tater’s. We ran for a half a block, skin on skin, hand in hand. It was a top five F3 moment. Thank you, Tater.
Another highlight came during the reps. There was a lot of whispering and if you were there, you know what I mean.
After the Smurph we gathered around the shovel flags and waited for the rest of the PAX to arrive. At 5:30 we had 15 men in total. I welcomed the group and gave the traditional F3 welcome. 3Fs. 5 core principles. I made it through the mission statement and then gave a disclaimer. This was going to get weird. Maybe a little uncomfortable. If at any point, you feel like you need to leave, 168th street is open both ways and no one will think any less of you. We then took off for a short mosey to do WAR.
As we circled up, our number got to 16. Love you Big One. Now we could do some warm-a-rama!
WARM-A-RAMA:
Big Ones 10 each leg
Tappy Taps 15 IC
Imperial Walkers 15 IC
Cherry Pickers 15 IC
SSH’s (Jumping Jacks) 15 IC
After Warm-a-rama, we moseyed to the path and headed towards the basketball court. We circled up once we got there and I had a confession for the group. This summer I have been slacking a little bit with my fitness. Fart sacking more than usual. Eating like a toddler. And drinking more than usual. The result of this was that when I catch a glimpse of my glistening naked body after I get out of the shower, I don’t like what I see. I’ve lost my swagger.
And then I let the group know there was only one way to get it back. That’s right… a sexy pre- thang!
THE PRE-THANG: Sexy Pre Thang
20 Pickle Pushers
20 Pickle Pointers
20 Dive Bombers with a Whisper
20 Oh Yeahs
20 Slow Pitches
I don’t know about the rest of the group but I felt much sexier after than Pre-Thang! Now it was time to grind.
THE THANG:
I split the group into small trios for a 3 Man Grinder.
One guy stayed on the basketball court and did core work. Dealer’s choice.
One guy was at the soccer goal doing leg work. Any squat of your choice.
The third guy ran…
The group got going and never stopped. Constant motion and lots of mumblechatter. There was a lot of laughter which has become a staple of a Roadhouse beatdown.
Finally, Omaha was called and we all moseyed back to the flags together. It was time for some Mary.
MARY:
7 Flutter kicks,
7 Star fish crunches
7 Freddy Mercurys
7 LBCs
American Hammers- Rancid Style- 16
The beatdown was over. We had done well. Mission accomplished!
Name-a-rama went smoothly until the end when I may have used a curse a little bit. Tater just shook his head and then let me know how to trim the video in twitter. Thanks Boss!
Announcements:
New Sites popping off- Coronado, Block Party, the Cathouse (which is Dongtown adjacent)
VQs this week
Iron Pax starts this month. Its you versus you.
Prayer Requests:
Paramount is having a baby this week.
Barbershop’s daughter is having some difficult tests this week.
COT:
I grew up in a household with two older brothers and a dad who watched sports, played sports and the only movies we watched starred Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger. These guys were “real men” and they were tough and did it alone.
But as I have gotten older I have realized that those images of what a man is does not apply to everyone. Lately I have seen and heard a lot people asking, “what happened to men?” and waxing poetically about the good old days when men wore leather and smoked camels and smelt like Brut. They tear down the men of today who dress with some pizzazz or live different lifestyles. And to be honest with you, it drives me f’ing crazy!
There is no webster definition of what a man is or what a man should be like and really, it’s up to you. Only you can define what being a man is and what that means to you. That definition could be the rough and tough version people had long ago. Building things, lifting weights, doing 50 Murphs in 8 weeks. (Congrats Farva). Or it could be skipping the workout and staying in bed with the kids. It could be talking about how nervous you are about your kid’s doctor appointment or it could be wearing a pair of rainbow undies to the office. Being a man could be doing a beatdown in a Thunderstorm or it could be pulling up to the beatdown in a Thunderstorm and saying No Thanks! It is whatever you want it to be for you.
But only you can define it for yourself. Don’t let someone tell you what a man is or say you aren’t one because of something you do or wear or say. At the end of the day, a man is someone who treats people the right way and nothing else matters.
So, reflect, on what being a man looks like for you. For you! And do your best to be that man!
I love you guys!
Roadhouse
The Plague took us out in prayer