So the pre-blast said that the high temps should be in the high 40’s. It was supposed to be 49 to be exact. Instead it was 43 degrees with constant rain and yet 52 showed up for F3 Dads at Martha’s House! The PAX began showing up and the kids kept coming in with footballs, soccer balls, volleyballs, and lots of snacks and beverages. Whoopee brought a gallon of chocolate milk and lots of waters. Hush Puppy brought the S’more’s bar with a bag of charcoal and some organic lighter fluid. Who knew there would be such a thing as organic lighter fluid? It was definitely not as potent as the lighter fluid of old. It was very slow to burn. I poured some directly on an open flame and it didn’t do anything. Amazing.
Guts brought his double burner propane stove with two of my pots and three gallons of water for the hot chocolate bar. Little did we know how popular the hot chocolate bar would prove to be.
After some goofing off and socializing we circled up for a disclaimer and warm up. However the warm up couldn’t start until a certain unnamed PAX went back under the dry shelter to put on gloves or something while the rest of us stood still and got wet. However it was all worth it as Whoopee came across the center of the circle and accidentally tripped (actually a highly executed stunt fall for the kids) and really sold it including landing on his face with his arms behind him. Classic Whoopee move that I haven’t seen since a certain cold and rainy day at the Grier Track when he went face first into a deep puddle. If you saw the Ric Flair 30 for 30 this week the Nature Boy does a similar move in the ring. The warm up included Moroccan nightclubs, squats, Merkins, and then some Flutter Kicks which were popular because everyone had to get on their six in the cold, wet grass. I had asked for some help to Q the workout and several #HIMS stepped up to let me know they were ready to lead. Defib suggested we split the 2.0’s into age groups since we had such a large number. Defib and Gastone took the older kids and Freight and Hush Puppy led the younger ones. YHC and Rudolph also took a turn leading the youngsters but the point is that the Gashouse PAX are always ready to step up. I heard from my older 2.0 that their workout was fun and included wheelbarrows, Bear crawls, step ups, derkins, LBC’s, WW2 Situps, and some game involving holding a ball between your legs and running. The younger group of PAX did a variety of exercises like relay races, follow the leader, partner squats, Duck, Duck, Goose planking game, and irkins and dips. Hush Puppy showed some mad skills like someone out of Sesame Street leading a rhyming/movement game that involved a lot of burpee jumping type moves with an ever increasing speed. Sort of felt like a combination of a kid’s game and football drills.
After a solid kid friendly beat down, it was apparent that most kids couldn’t feel their fingers due to the relentless cold rain. It was time to head to picnic shelter #1. We gathered round the flag for a group photo and then had to do it again because Monk was MIA the first time. After the pics many 2.0’s gathered around the charcoal grill to try to get warmed up. Guts had fired up the double burner and we got the water heated quickly. Whoopee, Guts, Time Frame, and YHC started a hot chocolate system of production that would make any assembly line supervisor proud. We had a consistent line of customers for about ten minutes and had to keep adding water. In the meantime Hush Puppy had the S’more’s bar rocking and kids started appearing with the chocolate face. When it was apparent that we needed to wrap this thing up before the hypothermia set in, it was time for a count off and name the new kids.
We counted off about 48 but Rudolph and his 2.0 and M were just leaving along with Pockets so 52 is the number which totally exceeded expectations considering what felt like a Nor’easter 
blowing in. It was time for a quick lesson in F3 and explanation to the kids about why F3 is important. It was great meeting a few M’s that came out as well! The name-o-rama was age appropriate without a lot of the usual doozies that so many of our Q’s like to dish out. They were…Tiny Dancer, Oingo Boingo, Luigi, Cowgirl, Little Caesar, Cap’n Crunch, Flipper, Monet, Swish, Jungle Gym, Smash, Hershey, DMC, Spike, Quidditch, Handspring, and Cheeks.
We closed with a Ball of Kids, prayer, and then the pledge of allegiance. We are all praying for Brownstreak who lost his father this week.
Announcement:
Remember that a week from today (November 19th) we will hike the 13 miles from Kings Mountain to Crowder’s Mountain. I will have a pre-blast later this week but prepare to meet early for breakfast and coffee before parking at the Linwood Parking lot and dropping off a car before heading to the start point at the Boulders Access in Kings Mountain. If you have ever seen Mountain Men on TV you know that you can’t brave the wild without a huge breakfast. You will need a partner to stay with for the hike since some will be faster than others. I got a hard commit yesterday from a Kotter so hopefully this will be a memorable event. Get a partner and show up!
Moleskin: I apologize for missing some of the PAX that posted. Since there were frozen children we skipped recording the names of the younger PAX who already had names. It is possible I missed a regular adult PAX too so sorry in advance. If I left you out hit me up so I can include you. I want to thank all the PAX that attended and helped by bringing good things to share. Don’t ever be intimidated to step up and lead because the PAX are always there to help. All I had to do was set the date and reserve the picnic shelter and the rest happens. I took my phone out to take a few pictures during the workout and saw Short Sale with a professional camera already taking them. This group of men enriches my life and I am sure that is true for all of those that showed up today. When we are good physically and mentally we are better leaders in our homes and communities. Thanks for the opportunity!
