F3 New Orleans

Tag: The Stage

  • 35s and 5/19s – Birthday Beatdown – from Enron

    YHC rolled up to the stage only to be greeted with 35th Birthday wishes from Percleator, Cardinal, and Paradox. I instructed them that we would need to unload not only bricks, but hoping that Goose would arrive soon, coupons as well. As Goose arrived, dangerously close to 5:30, the work began. YHC instructed the PAX that todays beatdown would be inspired by his newly acquired age, 35, or birthdate 05/19/87.

    PAX: Enron, Cardinal, Goose, Paradox, Perclator

    Warmup: the usual plus a couple with a mosey to the bumper then to the stop sign afterwards – SSH, WM, AC, Cherry Pickers, Grass Grabbers, IW

    Thang 1 and only 1: Grab bag 35s or 5/19/87s
    YHC picked up the “birthday” gift bag after quickly informing the PAX that he took some ridicule from his wife for using a Christmas decorated bag in the Birthday Beatdown. Appealing to Cardinals love of chance games, the following exercises were placed on strips of paper and placed in the bag. PAX took turns pulling the “gifts”, reading aloud, and then the group performing that gift. Most of the exercises were done on your own rep timing. This took the entire rest of the beatdown.
    35 Merkins
    5 Burpees 19 Squats 87 Night Clubs
    35 Yard Bear Crawl
    35 Yard Sprint
    35 Yard Crab Walk
    35 Yard Mosey
    35 Second Break
    35 Second Break
    35 Brick Shoulder Tap
    35 Dying Brick Roaches
    35 Coupon Curls
    35 Bonnie Blairs
    35 Squat Jumps
    5 Squat Jumps & 19 Coupon Curls 87 Self Love
    35 SSH
    35 Brick Butterflies
    35 Floyd Mayweathers with Bricks
    35 Big Boy Situps
    5 Blockies 19 Freak Nastys
    35 Coupon Presses
    35 Imperial Walkers
    35 Grass Grabbers
    5 Merkins 19 Freddie Mercuries 2=1
    35 Burpees
    35 Yard Coupon Carry
    35 Brick Moroccan Night Clubs
    5 Box Jumps 19 Incline Merkins
    5 Step Ups 2=1 19 Box Jumps
    35 Skull Crushers
    35 Curls
    35 Butt Kicks
    35 High Knees
    35 Wind Mills
    5 – 8 Ct Body Builders 19 Big Boy Situps
    35 Monkey Humpers
    35 Yard Mosey
    5 Squat Jumps – 19 Overhead Presses
    35 Wife Pleasers
    35 second Plank
    35 Second Al Gore
    35 Apolo Ohno’s 1=1
    35 Penguins 2=1
    35 LBCs
    35 Leg Raises
    35 Flutter Kicks =1
    Dealers Choice
    Dealers Choice
    Dealers Choice
    Dealers Choice

    COT and Goose prayed us out. It was a great experience getting to celebrate with these guys today. Thanks for the birthday wishes.

    Till next time in the Gloom,

    Enron

  • Surprise! It’s a Cinder Block! – from Goose

    YHC arrived later than a Q should, and Cardinal and Roughneck were just starting to compose a lament to top the one I wrote last Monday after being jilted at The Stage. So, YHC hurriedly threw open the tailgate and said, “Grab a coupon,” missing the blank look on Roughneck’s face that would have reminded me that he’s never attended a coupon beatdown before. I usually deliver a pitch acknowledging the awkwardness of running, squatting, gripping, adjusting, etc. with a cinder block, and raving about the benefits of all that it entails (both interior and exterior), but in my haste, the pitch wasn’t given, and Roughneck was left trying to figure out the “right way” to do it all. YHC gave some pointers as far as using your legs, saving your back, etc., but the vision for just raw “gettin’ it done” and the benefits of muscle confusion and getting strong in ways you wouldn’t in the gym was left unsaid until the very end. But, again, Roughneck stepped up and powered it out with the help of the ever relatable, always willing Cardinal.

    Warmup of the usual with a mosey to the bumper and back.

    Thang 1: 11’s
    One end was the stop sign closest to the bumper, and the other end was the next light post. Curls at one end and goblet squats at the other; rifle carry there, and random coupon carry back between the two.

    Thang 2: Keep it Movin’!
    Round 1–While Partner 1 did continuous sets of 5 tricep presses, 5 block situps, and 5 block swings (kettlebell style), Partner(s) 2 executed the ol’ block and bear (bear crawl while dragging the block forward from between the legs every couple of steps) to the benches and back.
    Round 2–Partner 1 did the same continuous aforementioned exercises, but Partner(s) 2 traversed the field and back using Murder Bunnies as the mode of transportation.

    Short Mary filled the remaining two minutes with leg raises, and hello dollies.

    COT w/discussion about the relationship between F3 and cinder blocks, and about the awesome growth in popularity of the Tuesday beatdowns in Houma. YHC prayed us out with gratitude for awesome weather and awesome brotherhood.

    Till next gloom,
    Goose

  • Intense Morning at The Stage – from Goose

    YHC lost power early this morning, and as I rolled up to The Stage, it became immediately clear why –an electrical pole was down across the highway, and it had caught the fence in front of the neighborhood on fire. Enron and Kilo had to fight hard to find a way around all the road blockages and emergency vehicles and arrived in time to see the firemen hosing it all down. This set the tone for what would be a bit of an intense coupon beatdown. It just didn’t feel like the time for songs or games or anything, so after a warmup of the usual (with eyes fixed on the highway project), we set about to initiate Kilo into a new level of coupon pain.

    It started with a coupon mosey to the start of Rich Man’s Loop and the usual question from the initiate, “Is there an un-awkward way to run with this thing?” Nope. There’s not. And, if there is, YHC has not yet reached that level of F3 prowess.

    The plan was to rifle carry the block for 1 light pole (about 50 yards), then drop the block and nur back 1 pole, then sprint back to the block and plank for the six; and we’d do this five times. But, we ended up rifle carrying for the first three light poles since traffic was having to turn around in the neighborhood, and many drivers, already confused by the strange occurrence on the highway, were having to also encounter three tall men carrying cinder blocks over their heads in the dark. So, once we were past the traffic, we commenced the nurring, sprinting, etc., and slowly made progress via rifle carry to the end of the back straightaway, after which we moseyed with coupons in various holds back to the flag.

    Next, we lined up with coupons at the edge of the field for 5 rounds of the following: 5 squat thrusters, 10 curls, 15 rows. After 5 rounds, bear crawled to the other side of the field and ran back. This was admittedly harder than it looked on paper, but it filled enough of the remaining time so that we needed to move onto some block inclusive Mary so YHC could expose the PAX to yet more Exicon depth (always a goal).
    This included (all 4-count, IC): 20 block high flutter kicks, 20 block LBC’s, 15 bench press/skull crusher combos, 15 American Hammers w/block, and 20 wife pleasers w/block. That last one brought about some gratitude that the flow of traffic had resumed, otherwise what was recently a line of cars might be wondering why three men were lying on the concrete humping cinder blocks. In honor of this good fortune, we finished out the last minute or so with 15 monkey humpers.

    COT and Enron prayed us out. Kilo and Enron compared shoulder scrapes on the way back to the vehicles, grateful for the souvenirs and the pumped upper bodies.
    Much to put into God’s hands this morning, and gratitude for these HIMs fighting to get out there and push hard. Thanks for letting me lead!

    SYITG,
    Goose

  • Dagobah – from Paradox

    Dense bayou gloom surrounded the stage this morning for what was planned to be a traditional beatdown. YHC and JBL were in the middle of some light stretching when a bus full of PAX arrived: Eminem, Led Zeppelin, the Peppers, AC/DC, and Axel Rose stepped off a tricked-out tour bus and a thunderous rock beatdown commenced.

    Warmorama: Traditional Goose warmup (SSH, WM, IW, AC, cherry pickers, self-love plus a bumper mosey.

    The Thang
    25 squats then bear crawl to the top of the stage for 15 freak nasties , high knee back repeato x4
    4×4 merkin/mountain climbers then track lap repeato until playlist was done

    Thunderstruck Finisher – high knees, squats on Thunder
    Mary with 5 reps bicycle, 5 reps LBC repeat during

    COT , Axel prayed us out, and the tour bus disappeared into the gloom.

    Moleskin:
    With the fog plus Kilos epic star wars beatdown fresh in my mind I couldn’t help but imagine this was jedi training on Dagobah with JBL as my Yoda.

    See ya in the next gloom fellas
    Paradox

  • Run, Float, Sink, Climb – from Paradox

    YHC has a love/hate relationship with sprints. I’ll blame it on deep seated psychological trauma from high school football conditioning. YHC’s ancestors likely invented the spear to avoid sprinting from the sabertooth. Like “oh well , lets takes our chances with this stick cus running fast sucks”. Recently YHC has felt the need to address these ancestral deficiencies with tailormade beatdowns.
    When beginning my Q journey a few months back, Goose handed down some deep wisdom nuggets about beatdown architecture: Always return to the classics. Shakespeare and Thoureau you say?? No sir, “try Steve and Akbar, those guys write a solid backblast”. I dove into the Northshore archives and after surveying several gems I selected a recent sprint work piece (run, float run) created by Northshore legend Akbar. Some of his initial work like the “the Merkin Trap” changed the way I Q so I knew I was in good hands.
    Arrived to the Stage with a lonely black SUV and a single PAX in heavy stretch mode. Could it be?! ENRON! Returning from IR to get back into the mix. Great to have ya back brother. The newly minted Roughneck rolled in shortly after followed by Kilo and we got started

    WarmOrama: SSH, IW, WM, AC, Cherry Pickers, high knees, butt kicks. Bumper/Stop Sign Mosey

    JBL official warm-up
    *I must pause here and recognize that JBL remains the alpha Bluetooth speaker in this pack. There may be contenders and challengers (lifejacket and Anker) that come and go but when the chips are down, and you need soul jarring thunderous rock there is only one Bluetooth speaker king.

    Song: “Aint no mountain high enough”- High knees on whole song. Trigger words were the following: high enough=jump squat, low enough=2 deep squats, wide enough =3 merkins

    THANG 1
    Mosey to Rich Mans loop for sprint work.

    Mosey, Sprint, Float, Sink (thanks Akbar)
    Each light pole had a different gear. Started with standard mosey, then increased to sprint followed by down shift into float (which I’m learning is kinda a feel thing) followed by planking for the 6 and repeato. The key to the float is a “fast relax” with very little straining. Realizing as I type this sounds like my medical advice on not producing hemorrhoids. Our best effort was attempted. Completed 7 rounds.

    THANG 2
    Introduced the PAX to yet another cousin of Jack Webb. Today we meet his seldom seen uncle Mountain Jack Webb. Starting at the straight away with 2 Squat Chinooks then 4 mountain climbers (1 is 1) followed by lunge walks to the next cement line (roughly ten yards) and repeato. Increased increments by 2/4 reps respectively. Thanks to some quick Enron excel spreadsheet math we topped out at 28 squat chinooks and 40 MCs with a 60 MC burnout.
    Headed back to the virtual flag (we miss ya goose!) in Indian run style.
    Enough time for 20 Freak nasties and 10 Box Jumps and some mixed Mary
    15 LBCs, 15 Penguins, 15 Wife pleasers, 20 Dolphin Hops
    Count off, NameORama and Prayer intentions.
    Come out to the peltch Saturday for Kilos VQ! (Star Wars theme has been promised)

    Apologies to Enron for 45 minutes of sprints and mountain climbers on a bum knee. If it holds up after today, you can toss that Brett Favre copper sleeve in the can. Great to have you back, your premium grade mumble chatter has been missed.

    T Claps for Roughneck coming back for more after Monday. Keep pushing brother.

    Solid Effort fellas, thanks for letting me lead

    Until the next gloom

    Paradox

  • Nowhere to Hide – from Goose

    It’s tough when FNG’s come on weekdays. Smaller number of PAX means there’s nowhere to hide when you’re just trying to survive, but the soon to be named Roughneck never gave up despite the feeling of drowning that we all remember too well from our own first beatdowns. With YHC, Paradox, and Kilo mumblechattering about highlights from the Zoorich Classic on Saturday and crazy lingo being tossed about in the midst of grunting and sweating, it was with great interior fortitude that Roughneck remained smiling and in good humor to the end.

    Warmup (all in cadence, x20) side straddle hops, windmills, arm circles, imperial walkers, self-love

    Thang 1: Robot Dance (?)
    -Song 1: “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel–plank position for the entirety, but every time we heard “In Your Eyes”, we shifted to the next position in the following order: high plank, mid plank, mission impossible plank, back to mid, back to high, right arm up, left arm up, back to high plank, etc. This one’s over five minutes long, but it felt shorter due to mumblechatter about it likely being a catalyst/accompaniment for the conception of more than one of the PAX back in the 80’s, as well as a history lesson on the connection between Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins. This PAX has much to learn.
    -Song 2: “Banana Boat (Day-O)” by Harry Belafonte–similar, but with squats. Every time he said “Day” shift to the next position: standing, mid squat, low squat, mid, back to high, etc. The PAX had much to learn here, as well, about the origins of this song and the experience of banana harvesters. YHC is happy to provide some cultural exposure to these millenial zombies.

    Thang 2: Four corners/Baseball
    1 PAX stationed at each corner of the field (bases) and did as many reps as possible (AMRAP) of the following exercise while PAX at “home plate” completed 15 burpees and ran to 1st, then each advanced to the next base once replaced:
    1st base: merkins
    2nd: squats
    3rd: Big Boy Situps
    Continued until all four PAX had a chance to do burpees at home plate.

    Thang 3: Benchwork
    2 PAX per bench, completed the following, in cadence x20: dips, L-leg step-ups, Irkins, R-leg step-ups, Derkins. Then, rinse and repeat x15. (1:1 for all).

    Back to the flag for Mary: LBC’s, Leg Raises, Freddy Mercury’s

    COT and named the FNG–Welcome Roughneck! Great to have you, man! Awesome work, and looking forward to growing with you!

    See You in the Gloom,
    Goose

  • Highway to the Danger Zone – from Paradox

    “I guess it comes down to a simple choice, get busy living or get busy dying”- Andy Dufrene

    “Owens, you have to stop opening essays with Shawshank Redemption quotes”- YHC’s Junior English teacher

    Birthdays make YHC emotional. This is a known fact. A day for self-deprecating humor about YHCs body breaking down but also a time of reflection and gratitude for everyone in my life.
    YHC arrived at the stage with perfect F3 weather and made a few laps around the track reflecting on lessons learned in a whirlwind of 34 years. The lone lights of a familiar Tundra cut through the gloom and YHCs sensei/F3 mentor joined the fray. The flag was planted and a two-man birthday beatdown commenced.

    Warm Up
    34 SSH, 20 IW, AC, Cherry Pickers, High Knees, Butt Kicks -Bumper to Stop Sign Mosey

    The Thang- 5 Rules of Aging

    Rule #1 Recognize your Danger Zone
    YHC is approaching the age where things start to break. Physical fitness is vital when entering the health danger zone and F3 has been a gamechanger for consistency and accountability in this department.
    JBL played “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins- Burpees on Danger Zone, Windmills on the rest then a lap around the track

    Rule #2 Cleanse the Palate
    As the years pass its very easy to pick up baggage. These stick to us like barnacles inhibiting progress and growth.
    We added an exercise each round to represent the yearly barnacles with a track lap in between as the cleanser.

    Round 1: 4 reps of 4X4: 4 Merkins, 4 mountain climbers, back to stand position with hands up- that’s 1
    Round 2 added 21s (all clear 2/3 rounds, let my mind wander once and we paid 5 burpees)
    Round 3 added 34 calf raises.
    Round 4 added 88 lbcs

    Rule #3 Stop and Smell the Roses
    YHC has been learning to step off the hamster wheel and look around. God has filled our life with Graces waiting to be accepted.
    We completed a round of Protractors. Start on your 6 in leg raise position, increased elevation slowly and incrementally by alternating the count until we reached 90 degrees. We both found it difficult to keep up with this cadence and many numbers were repeated. Went round 2 with low and slow squats.

    Rule #4 We are all in the same Boat
    F3 has given me a great sense of companionship with fellow 30- and 40-year-old washed up fart sackers. At the end of the day we are all rowing the boat together.
    Alternated Bar lunges with 10 merkins from the stage to the benches.

    Rule #5 If you get knocked down, get back up
    No lengthy discourse here. ChumbaWamba did the talking.
    JBL provided a thunderous rendition of “TubThumping” while we got down and got back up roughly 34 times with high knees for the rest. This one was dedicated to Enron.

    Just enough time for an additional #rule 6, spend some time with Mary.
    20 Wife Pleasers
    Goose led Lazy Boys
    20 Penguins

    Grateful for the camaraderie and leadership opportunities that F3 provides. Solid way to start the bday festivities and get a jump on the next 34 years.

    Announcements and plans for attending the Zoorich Classic.
    Prayers for upcoming events
    COT and Goose prayed us out

    Till then next Gloom
    -Paradox

  • Holy Monday- Picking Figs and Cleansing Temples – from Paradox

    YHC wanted to crank the intensity diving into Holy Week so when 3 Pax gathered at the stage a disclaimer was given that we would be following Holy Mondays scriptures and YHC would read these Gospel excerpts during a deep squat hold. (Deep Squat Disclaimers TM)

    Once a traditional Goose warmup – (SSH, IW, AC, WM, buttkicks, high knees) with bumper mosey was complete, we got started.

    THANG 1
    Authority of Jesus Questioned (Mathew 21: 23-27)
    Numerous times in the Gospel the Pharisees approach Jesus and attempt to paint him into a corner and he ties their brain into a pretzel.

    Played the Switchfoot classic “Dare you to Move” and completed step ups at the pavilion during whole song with burpees on – “dare you to move”

    THANG 2
    We grabbed Ole Hickory (heavy bar) and gave Yankee Joe the full history of Ole Hickory dating back to the Civil War. Took OH for a deep mosey and stopped at first light of Rich Mans loop for our second reading.
    Jesus Curses the Fig Tree ( Mathew 21: 18-22 )

    One man took ole hickory for a one lightpole journey with hickory in shoulder position and lunges for the entirety. Remaining pax went ahead to next light and started Fig Pickers (cherry pickers with squats). Reflections were made on how far the goal of the next light looked when starting with this burden but in contrast how close the approaching man looked on the other side.
    Two rounds of this and we returned to the flag.

    THANG 3
    Jesus Cleanses the temple(Mathew 21:12-17)

    Table Flippers- 1 man takes ole hickory and completes 5 Hickory Squats then on the 5th tosses it as far as he can. Remaining pax complete a mix of big boy situps, LBCs, wife pleasers and penguins.

    Prayers for the beginning of Holy Week and that God will help us put or own temples in His order.

    COT and Yankee Joe prayed us out.

    **Due to his effort and several recent posts, Yankee Joe graduated from YHC calling him “Cactus Jack” today. A momentous occasion.

    Awesome effort on those Hickory Lunges fellas. Thanks for the opportunity to lead.

    SYITG
    -Paradox

  • Holy Thursday–Plenty of Material to Work With – from Goose

    4 PAX gathered in the gloom of an ominous Holy Thursday morning. Lightning flashed and rain threatened throughout, but off in the distance, there were breaks in the clouds that promised a hopeful future. But, until then, there was much to endure:
    Warmup: SSH, AC, Cherry Pickers, Chinooks (gonna be using those shoulders today), IW, SL

    Thang 1: Passover Prep and Darkness Prowling
    Partner 1 prepped for Passover while Partner 2 prowled in the darkness for three rounds.

    -Round 1: Partner 1–Colt 45’s with coupon (15 curls from waist to chest, 15 curls from thighs to waist, and 15 curls from thighs to chest); Partner 2–Block and bear across the field and back (bear crawl while dragging block forward from between legs/arms).

    -Round 2: Partner 1–Bolt 45’s (15 squats with coupon from upright to halfway down, 15 from halfway down to all the way down, and 15 from all the way down to all the way up); Parter 2–Murder Bunnies w/coupon across the field and back.

    -Round 3: Partner 1–Kettle bell swings until partner 2 returns; Partner 2–rifle carry (overhead) across the field, 10 squat thrusters, and rifle carry back.

    Thang 2: 4 Corners = 4 stages of Holy Thursday night–2 rounds of each

    Washing of the Feet–“If I do not wash you, you have no part in me.” (Jn 13:8)
    15 Absolutions (8-count ab killer; look it up). Round 1 was called in cadence; round 2 was not, because YHC needed to breathe.

    Last Supper–“And he took a chalice, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it.” (Mk 14: 23).
    15 Goblet squats (squats with coupon held vertically under the chin).

    Judas’s Betrayal–” ‘It is he to whom I shall give this morsel when I have dipped it.’….So, after receiving the morsel, he immediately went out; and it was night.” (Jn 13: 26, 30)
    15 Dips, 15 right leg step-ups, 15 dips, 15 left leg step-ups

    Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane–“Father, if you are willing, remove this chalice from me; nevertheless not my will, but yours, be done.”
    Mission Impossible plank (hold one inch off the ground)–PAX counted around in a circle up to 50.

    After Round 1 of this, it was about 6:15, which is our 45 minute stop time, but for some reason, YHC had 6:30 locked in, so after Round 2 began, Enron and Paradox began to mumble on their bench: “Is he going over time? Is there some deeper meaning to this? Did we do something wrong? Did he secretly tell our wives we’d be later than usual?” Then, as we moved into round 2 of the Agony planks, YHC made a joke about “keeping watch for one hour”, which sealed the deal in the PAX’s mind that it we were purposefully going the whole hour, though YHC meant it only as a joke that we’d be planking for an hour if we really loved Jesus. And, just like Peter at the last supper, they were afraid to ask the Q directly, and hoped Kilo, who shared a bench with YHC, would ask. But, Kilo was blissfully without a watch and had no idea he would be late for work today.
    So, we ended with a long sprint, a long carioca, and a long nur, to connect us to the apostles who all fled. And, we completed 6 minutes of Mary.
    Just FYI, going over time, especially 15 minutes over, when the agreed time is 45 minutes is disrespectful to the PAX, and YHC would never purposefully surprise the men with such a move. My deepest apologies! And, thanks for your patience this morning, gents!
    SYITG,
    Goose

  • Am I My Brother’s Keeper? – from Goose

    YHC had an interesting idea that could either be a memorable challenge, chock full of valuable life lessons, or it would be a total cluster, and nothing in between. So, with a record 6 PAX gathered at The Stage in the gloom of a gorgeous morning, we commenced.

    Warmup: SSH, Windmills, Grass Grabbers (deviations from the norm, duly recognized, are always for a reason), Arm Circles, Cherry Pickers, Imperial Walkers, Self-Love

    When YHC requested the assistance of JBL, Paradox informed us that JBL was fartsacking (or “charging”); and this after multiple prompts over the past few weeks to take advantage of JBL: “He’s here for you. He’s always ready to provide deep, booming base, and consistent bluetooth connection. Take advantage of his presence and his audio prowess.” But, alas, the first test of “Am I my brother’s keeper?’ resulted in grave failure. So, the morning’s soundtrack was barely audible on the phone speaker and out of YHC’s control, so there’s no telling what the guys closest to it were subjected to.

    Thang: Total Dependency

    PAX lined up and were instructed to observe the exercise of the man to their right and repeat it. Each man was then responsible for completing and displaying that exercise and communicating the number of reps to the man to their left. YHC was first in line and basically took the PAX through an ascending ladder of exercises (listed below), so there was constant movement and constant need to communicate down the line what exercises came next. Each man could only speak to the man next to him, so one-on-one communication was key.

    At first, there was some confusion as to what each PAX was responsible for communicating. Enron almost let Paradox do 25 burpees instead of 25 mountain climbers because he assumed it was a sort of “telephone” type game where misunderstandings were not corrected, but passed on. (That may have been YHC’s fault for explaining the exercise as “sort of like ‘telephone’”.) But, as the beatdown continued, and reminders to “Take care of your brother!” were repeated, the PAX caught on.

    Exercises were done as an ascending ladder (starting with the first, then the first and second, then the first and second and third, etc.):
    5 Burpees
    10 Merkins
    15 Lunges (2:1)
    20 LBC’s
    25 Mountain Climbers
    30 Second plank (4-count to 30)
    35 American Hammers
    40 Side Straddle Hops
    45 Big Boy Situps
    50 Squats (ran out of time for these)

    After count-off and name-off, YHC explained the lessons learned:

    1. Pain and/or pride typically cause us to focus heavily on ourselves and forget about the men around us. But, here, if we were overly focused on our own rep count or just trying to finish, the man next to us would be completely lost. It required much focus on where he was in the series and when he needed what information to continue. This is immediately applicable to life as a married man and as a father. When we’re overly focused on ourselves, either out of self-pity or pride, the people who depend upon us are left in the dark.

    2. Faith is never truly internalized from an expert to a group. It can be understood intellectually, but for a man to take ownership, he must be accompanied intimately by another who’s in the same boat, who’s been down the same road, and who can give both direction and confidence that it’s doable, it’s real, and it’s worth the struggle. Without this one-on-one accompaniment, faith struggles to escape the world of ideas, and we struggle to escape our own doubts and questions.

    COT, excellent prayer, announcements about the clown car trip to the Northshore beatdown on April 23 (Zoorich Classic) and Percleator having to go back to being a weekend warrior (Nooo!).
    It’s such a privilege to be out there with you, fellas!
    SYITG,
    Goose