AO: The Maize
March 2nd, 2023
30 degrees, feels like 15, breezy, clear skies, crisp.
PAX: Griswold, Chiclets, Khakis, Yodel, Dr Thunder, Mr. Miyagi, Room Service, Hard Hat, Mufasa, Longneck, Pegleg, Tardy, Barndoor, High Hat, Bambi, 12 Gauge, Da Fridge, Vlasik, Slow Pitch, Fine Print, Bieber, Convoy, Almost Famous, Wait Time, Crab Cakes, Bogey, Tea Party, Chowda, Little House, Tater Tot, Pit Stop, Vandelay, Sweet Sweet, Smurf Turf, Copperfied, Escobar, Kick Stand
Q: Roadhouse
I pulled into the parking lot at 5:10 AM. As I got out of my car I noticed Yodel asleep in his car. What commitment. This guy was so excited about my Q that he spent the night in the parking lot… It creeps me out a little bit but is also very flattering.
It had been a while since I had been to the Maize and as I started walking the hallowed grounds I realized how much has changed at this OG AO. I had planned on using the football field for my grinder but I was now seeing a freshly laid path and a new playground that looked as cherry as it gets. Time to modify!
I walked around in admiration of what has become of this formerly muddy and simple site. Had they done all this work for us? Was Hard Hat the foreman on this project? I made my way over to the playground to take a closer look and you could see the excitement in my shorts…. As some of you know, my son Bodhi and I have been on a tour of the Omaha playgrounds and I have become a bit of an aficionado in that area. And this thing was choice… Soft bouncy ground, lots of room for activities, brand new equipment. Well done everyone, well done!
I decided to change the location of the beatdown based on this new information and got set up. Then I headed back to the parking lot. A group had started gathering and the pre-runners had started making their way back. I started handing out hugs as more and more guys showed up. Escobar grabbed me and whispered into my ear. “If there is no sexy pre-thang, it never happened.” Note taken!
At 5:30, we had 38 fucking guys… Unbelievable!
I stumbled through the intro. 3 Fs. Five core principles. Mission statement. There were no new guys and I was not a professional. And then I kept us right there for warm-a-rama!
WARM-A-RAMA:
SSH’s Silent 9+11
Big Ones 20 total
Imperial Walkers 15
Sun Gods 20 total
Goof Balls 15 IC
After warm-a-rama, we moseyed to the freshly laid path and a group of benches that were newly placed. We lined up in line and got sexy. I warned the PAX that the concrete was fresh so not to go too deep on the pickle pushers…
Sexy Pre Thang:
20 Pickles pushers
20 Pickle pointers
15 Monkey Humpers
20 Slow Pitches
In the cold morning air, this sexy pre-thang warmed our bodies and our loins. The mumble chatter was loud and boisterous and the brotherhood was thick. I then had the PAX partner up for our Thang. It was time to grind…
The THANG:
Today was a two man grinder using our new areas of the site. On the basketball court was a list of exercises to do AMRAP. One the playground was a list of Merkins to do sets of 10. In between, we ran!
Station 1: The basketball court:
Heels to Heaven
Cherry Pickers
Bonnie Blairs
LBCS
Carolina Dry Docks
Bobby Hurleys
Starfish Crunches
Air Presses
Hydraulic Squats
E2K
Overhead Claps
Station 2: The Playground
10 Werkins
10 Chuck Norris Merkins
10 Ranger Merkins
10 Tempo merkins
The Thang was constant motion and constant chatter. Guys were encouraging other guys and there was heavy breathing and laughter in the air. Felt like a Tuesday night at home alone…
At 6:05, Omaha was called. We headed back to the parking lot for some Mary.
Mary:
38 American Hammers – Rancid Style
Announcements:
First Friday lunch
3rd F opportunity this month at Maize and Labyrinth – bring cereal
Prayers:
Pit stop and family
Other intentions
COT:
Today I want to talk about something that I struggled with a lot as a young man and continue to bump into today; confidence and esteem. One thing many people don’t realize about confidence is that it is not an on/off switch. It is not a have it or you don’t sort of thing. You can have different levels of confidence in different areas of your life. You could feel great in your job at work… and then feel insecure at your home in your relationship. You could have high confidence working out and then low confidence in your finances. It can vary based on the different areas of your life. And because of that. I would argue that everyone, EVERYONE, bumps into confidence and esteem issues.
And these issues have a huge impact in the world around us. When people are insecure and lack confidence, they point fingers and place blame, they feel uncomfortable when people are different because they aren’t comfortable with themselves. Many of the challenges that we face in society today are come from confidence issues and that ability to believe in yourself.
And if low self-esteem is the poison, the antidote is learning. When we learn, we feel stronger, empowered, better, more confident. So if we can commit to learning every day, there is only one place our esteem can go… and that is up! Through reflection we can create this daily learning and climb up that esteem ladder. If we fall into survival mode, we don’t learn, we just get through the day. Reflection is key!
Helping yourself with confidence is one thing and we need to start there. But then we can focus on others as well. Imagine helping someone believe more in themselves, increasing the integrity of their confidence and esteem. Think of the impact that can have one someone. I have been lucky enough to have some people do that for me, some in this group, and I love them and would do anything for them. It builds loyalty and connection.
So, start with you. Commit to learning and growing and climbing that self esteem ladder. And then shift that focus to external and find those people who need a boost and help them see themselves differently. You can change their lives.
Thank you for the opportunity to lead. I love you guys!
Roadhouse. CLB