No guns downtown

I started off reading something to the pax-something from Eagle’s Perch that I (and a few others) receive daily-it was about “now” and getting stuff done, not waiting, enjoying the moment kind of stuff. “Now Cannot Wait” is the title and it ends with “Be thankful for problems. If they were less difficult, someone with less ability might have your job.” Made me think about a lot of stuff when I read that-insert your own difficult work memory now…

It’s been a rough week or so at work, so was in the mood for some pain this am. The weinke was ready early and the evening before I put out a little Twitter chatter to stir the pot. The cherry on top was my M’s comments as I left the house this morning-“Don’t get arrested” and with my puzzled look she followed with “no guns allowed downtown” as I left with my SleevelessforCheech muscle T. Anyone who knows my M is not surprised at this. So I left with a smile on my face, an angry weinke, and a skip in my step this am. I’ve missed a bunch of workouts lately and was looking forward to getting back out there. Here is what I remember:

WU: SSH, Mtn Climbers 5-7 IC then move out

Thang: Mosey to the parking lot for a lap-in comes Roscoe hot so we did a few SSH to get him warmed up, then we jumped straight into a Burpee Plank Bridge (plank in a row, first Pax does burpee then jumps over each other pax until gets to the end and gets into plank position. As soon as end guy gets jumped, you jump up and do a burpee and follow other guy to end eventually ending up in plank position. We did this for about 3 rounds and then I got bored….mosey to the wall for hip slappers and donkey kicks for 2 sets each. Quickly mosey around the corner to empty parking lot for She Hate Me: start on one end and lunge X 10 each leg then 10 burps then 10 merkins, repeat until across the lot (3 rounds I think) then turn around and do same thing back to start. It was at this time that some of Gastonia’s finest drove by for some early morning conversating that got our attention. Apparently Mr. X was ‘splaining to  Mr. Y something he felt very passionately about. He was so excited he could hardly contain himself and was eager to share this news with his across lane neighbor so much, he almost jumped out of the car. It was a lovely site.

Next we moseyed after Gastone to McQuitter’s Wall, stopping along the way at a light to do some Merkins. Once we arrived at McQuitter’s Wall, we paid tribute to Richard and Hazel with some Dips and Derkins. We quickly moved along to the parking lot, finding it unlit. We were not deterred and attacked the stairs-20 merkins at the top and 20 LBCs at the bottom. Think we did 2 rounds of this and then moved to the side and I challenged the pax to name the person that said the following: ” In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count, it the life in your years.” Not even before I finished, Slaw correctly answered Abraham Lincoln-the reward was supposed to be 20 squats instead of 40-sorry guys, the brain was running low on oxygen so I deviated from the reward…we did hip slappers then quickly went to the 20 squat reward. At this point, I believe I tasted more than a little Merlot…

I was pretty gassed, so we went back to home base for some Mary-ish exercises. I called on a few pax to lead some exercises: Spiderman with the Deep Sea Diver, Roscoe with a Burp and Merk, Gastone with some sumo squats, Bandit with dying cockroaches, Time Frame with American Hammers, think I did some flutter kicks (slooooooooooowwwwwww motion for part of it-thanks Roscoe).  We then moseyed to the back wall for some Tunnel of Love. At this point, I think I blacked out and woke up during the pledge.

We did the namorama, announcements then a quick prayer.

It was a GREAT morning for me today-got my head back on straight after missing a little more than a week. I missed seeing everyone and getting back out in the gloom is truly a privilege. I think it is important to be reminded of this every now and then. We are all very lucky to have each other and to have our families-try to keep that in mind and pause every once in awhile. Everyone eventually has that life-changing event that will knock you on your butt-make sure you have a good foundation with your brothers so when the shieldlock is needed, you are prepared, both for your sake and for the guys around you.

Enjoyed it-Whoopee