10 years. Mama, we made it.
There were too many Qs to fill the Q slot above and too many Pax to do Name-o-rama or even accurately count. There were 172 Pax left standing at the end, but a few left early and a crew of runners ran through on a fly by.
The WarmUp
Moses and some of the OGs (Ludi, Primo, and Possum) had the difficult job of corraling 170+ Pax and getting us started. Using the bandstand as a home base, they each shared a few words about what F3 means to them, while leading us through warm up exercises. Excerpt from Moses and Possum below. Did not get an exceprt from Primo or Ludi, but I can tell you that Ludi certainly looked and acted the part, and Primo was likely making fun of all of us without our knowing it. I also rememeber them leaving us in plank for minutes at a time, which was terrible for those of us actually trying to do the exercises while listening. Oh, and there were burpees.
Moses:
"I used to think I was unique and that nobody knew what it was like to be me. I mean, we were all made in different shapes, sizes, and colors, right? But then F3 happened. Now, looking back 10 years, I see that before F3 we were the same, but living parallel lives that only periodically intersected at the soccer field, church, the office, or walking our dogs, and that we are really the same, but didn't know each other well enough to realize it. Maybe some of our memories of F3 over the last 10 years are also yours…
- listening to a man as he finds his way out of financial or family problems
- standing shoulder-to-shoulder with you at funerals, one of which was a 6-hr 1-way day trip to West Virgina
- visiting one of you in the hospital after cancer surgery & raising the money to cover the medical bills
- praying with another of you in the ER before heart surgery and telling your M you were going to be okay
- driving one of you to the ER after a broken bone at a workout
- supporting a man through gut-wrenching personal tragedy and then following him as he turned his sorrow into joy for thousands
- pushing someone in a chair who couldn't race for himself
- attending a brothers baptism performed at the hands of the toughest pastor in F3
Through all of it, I've been inspired by YOU. If you want to understand F3 better, read Freed to Lead. If you haven't read it because you don't have the book and keep forgetting to order it, Jersey Boy has over 20 copies to give away. See him after the workout and then share the book with someone else after you read it. Imagine if YOU had never heard about F3? Give it away."
Possum:
Possum mentioned a recent backblast of GRATITUDE https://f3lakenorman.com/backblast/1-full-year-of-life-changing-gratitude-and-burpees from Popcorn, who shared his story and struggle, followed by deep appreciation of what F3 has meant to him. This same story resonates with a lot of men in different ways. Possum will always be grateful for the “Audible” called by Moses – like a seasoned experienced quarterback, an audible was called by Moses the night before a workout where the AO was changed last minute to Possum’s own neighborhood. 15 PAX from all over came to his neighborhood and shared in his struggles through a beat down, ending in prayer. He is forever grateful for that morning circa 2012.
The THANG
Split into 5 groups based on location on the field. Duvall made things difficult by not following directions. Qs from each LKN region each take a group and head to different station. Pax stay while Qs rotate through, Qing for 10 minutes at each station.
- F3 Denver – nothing says Denver more than hip gyration and lengthy steel beams. Thanks for that. Great prop, but terrible idea to carry between stations. Oh yea!
- F3 MIL – fully living up to the hype with the portable boombox, DJ, and Rocky music
- F3 Davidson – needed 4 Qs to get the job done, but having seen the Qs I assume it was a smackdown
- F3 Hville / Cornelius – true to form – the Qs called so many merkins they couldn't do anymore, so they pigeoned and told manly stories the remainder of the time as Cherry Bomb shook his head & pumped iron.
- F3 Race City – these guys are their own region now, professionals. Executed the plan perfectly, except they forgot the paddleboards
- Scrappy and Jolly got their beauty sleep and then lead a water balloon and egg toss filled beatdown with the 2.0s. Didn't see much of it, but could hear the laughter across the park.
Closing Remarks:
Take a few minutes to pause and reflect on the last 10 years.
- Where where we 10 years ago? Age? Stage in life? Location? Job?
- How have things changed in the last 10 years? For some of us positive, for some negative – due to both decisions we've made and circumstances outside our control. Whatever the answer – what impact has F3 and the men of F3 had on you and your family?
10 years goes by quickly, where will we be in 10 years? How old? How do we want the next 10 years to be remembered?
Fill the Gap
"If not me, then who?" (Lt. Travis Manion)
- In our community – Provide more opportunities to lead, continue to build on what has been started. We already do this, keep it going. Loved seeing some of the Huntersville guys clean up and put in fresh landscaping at Bradley Middle the day after the convergence. F3 was made to be done in small groups – as we grow larger, stay small, multiply the # of tight communities. Tclaps to Race City for branching out and becoming their own region – providing more leadership opportunities for their Pax, allowing them to better focus on their local community.
- Between our communities – there are other men and communities in CLT that need F3. Tclaps to Camelback HSB and other LKN Pax on partnering with Thickburger in MeCa to grow #TheBridge (7am Saturdays in bus lot for Blythe Elementary). Other AOs are in the planning stage, one to be launched in September in 3rd Ward, led by HSB.
Moleskine
- Thanks to all of you who put time and effort into this event and shout out to all the LKN regions for showing up and leading.
- Thanks to Callahan and Scrappy for setting up the date night last Thursday at Primal
- Thanks to all the Qs – full list here:
- Davidson: Stout, Tater, Hawkeye, and Grouch
- Denver: Hefty and Clark (and Cobra Kai??)
- Hville / Cornelius: Popcorn, Crocs, Cherry Bomb
- MIL: Natty Lite and Caesar
- Race City: Contra, Goodell, Usain
- Jersey Boy – thank you for bringing and givine away 20+ copies of Freed to Lead. Reading that book sparked something in YHC and helped me understand what F3 is really about
- Mini-Me thanks for showing up and staying for so long
- Duvall still has it… the ability to count to 6
- Scrappy and Jolly – thanks for getting the 2.0s involved Saturday
- Bagboy – thanks for taking us out at the end with some heartfelt words, and covering our nation's leaders and the situation in Afghanistan. Also, thank you for giving YHC the opportunity to serve as Nantan
- WMD – thanks for all the pictures, link here in case anyone wants to access: https://drive.google.com/drive
/folders/1PyvHxWXwS9N0u6dTzlNk SP53ScFI2OtY?usp=sharing - Yukon – thanks for the FNG Justice / Matador video
- Goat is an FNG naming machine
- Jaws – thank you for the feast after the workout. Down for Donuts are delicious
- Get involved in Operation Sweet Tooth 8k run / 2 mi walk on Sept 18th. Volunteers and donations needed as well. Talk to Olive or sign up here: https://latinimemorial8k.raceroster.com/
Ramrod – one of the best EHers I know. I don't say this often enough, but thank you for the EHing, for giving YHC a copy of Freed to Lead, and for being a great example of a husband, father, and friend.
AYE
Swing State