Many of the Lake Norman residents think of Smithville Park and the often talked about Saeed's Bar and Grill when Old Cornelius is mentioned but often don't think about the rich history and communities tucked just a stones throw away from these points of interest.
The annual curb-side cleanup was on the agenda for the Town of Cornelius on Saturday morning. Because of the 2 year pandemic, this annual event has been cancelled for the past few years so as expected there was a larger than normal need in the community and extra manpower required.
The 1st F (YHC, Moses, BagBoy)
Since the curbside cleanup began at 8am, an OTB's workout beginning at 7am was called by YHC for those men who elected to partake in a pre-service workout. This would be the 2nd week in a row for the OTB workout in Smithville, the first being a historical tour of the area in order to better understand how significant this area continues to be in the heart of Old Cornelius.
YHC had no idea how many PAX would show up as this event was pre-blasted 3 times but was confident of a few HC's that would show up in the gloom. YHC received a text message from our former Nantan and learned SwingState had been up with his 2.1 since 4AM that morning and whose M was sick and couln't make the morning's festivities. Humbled and honored SwingState would text me the advance notice. You were truly missed SwingState!! Hope your weekend was awesome brother!
At just a few minutes before 7AM it was clear that a trio of us would participate in the OTB workout, as Moses and BagBoy pulled into the Smithville Parking Lot. At this poiint YHC was super pumped to lead a pre-determined jaunt starting with a disclaimer and Warm-A-Rama at the center of the soccer field, including SSH X 50 IC (that's a half-Soprano dose of SSH) and other standard exercises, including a warm-up of 5 burpees while Moses had to pick something up at his car.
After warming up, YHC made another disclaimer and gave Moses a heads-up that he would play a critical role in avoiding a series of potential 10 burpees by answering a handful of Smithville history questions. For each, missed answer, the trio would need to perform 10 burpees on the spot.
Mosey from Smithville park, towards Catawba, heading east to Smith Circle. Right on Smith Circle where we gathered in front of the the Neighborhood Care Center. After circling up and doing some planks, Moses answered question #1 correctly, "Grace Covenant Church" established the Neighborhood Care Center. Burpees avoided.
Continue Mosey to Nannie Potts Lane, where Moses again correctly answered why Nannie Potts was significant to Cornelius, being the first and only black Mayor of Cornelius. Burpees avoided again. Exercise bands were used for a brief offerering of leg exercises.
Continue Mosey down Nannie Potts Lane all the way down to Hwy 21 where the 3 PAX gathered in the parking lot of the Coin Laundry establishment. Rock work was performed upon arrival at the parking lot and a few mobility moments were offered as well. Next was a burpee ladder where the PAX would run across the parking lot, starting with 2 burpees on each end, in increments of 2, and ending after getting to a total of 10 burpees. (2, 2, 4, 4, 6, 6, 8, 8, 10, 10). 60 burpees in total were performed here.
THE RAPTOR DISTRACTION (not an owl or a hawk either)
An UNEXPECTED and SURPRISE AUDIBLE was called by BagBoy after he spotted a beautiful Ford F150 Raptor across HWY 21 at the used car lot. We took a quick jaunt to drool over this gorgeous piece on manly machinery. BagBoy was immediately enamored by the burnt orange/red colored beast of a truck and pondered it's price tag. FYI: The price of a brand new Raptor is upwards of 80K. To further fuel BagBoy's obsession, we performed a few IST's while staring at this work of art.
AN EPIC CALCULATION BY MOSES SAVES THE PAX FROM BURPEES
After the Raptor encounter, the PAX moseyed back up Nannie Potts Lane where it intersected Smith Circle for YHC's final attempt to force 10 burpees.
Final Question to Moses: If a custormer went to Pott's Barbershop and had all 4 offered services plus added a 20% tip to the bill, what would the final price be? YHC was sure his question would stump Moses. After a 13 second calculation in his mind, Moses barked out the answer ($43.20). AMAZING, Moses' answer was dead-on and his calculation was as follows:
- $14 haircut, $8 beard trim, $8 shave, $8 line-up (That's 36 x 1.2 = $43.20)
After this epic trivia standoff, the PAX continued their mosey back to Smithville Park, but first stopped at the picnic tables for dips, incline and decline merkins before ending back at the original starting point for COT.
The 3rd F (Metallica, Jersey Boy, BagBoy, Moses, YHC)
At 8AM, the Curbside Cleanup Crew gathered in the Smithville Park parking lot, and our very own F3 Metallica and newly appointed Town Commissioner was immediately spotted, along with 15-20 other faithful residents including Dennis Bilodeau, another Town Commissioner and Mayor Pro Tem. Pastor Judge gathered the group for prayer and we were given instructions how the curbside cleanup would be performed. 10 large dumpsters were strategically placed throughout Old Cornelius and all of those in attendance would select a truck and trailer and drive through the area to pickup up, load and then unloaded all of the unwanted debris which was left on the roadside by the residents. Lisa Mayhew-Jones, founder of the Smithville CommUNITY Coalition in 2011, arrived as well, introduced herself and gave additional logistics. Lisa missed the first prayer and asked for an additional prayer before the group began to launch on the mission.
There were so many "God moments" throughout the morning, including YHC, BagBoy and Moses, driving through the town with an elderly gentleman named Jim. Jim was a Gideon and not only provided his F150 pickup with attached trailer but handed out bibles to several of the residents we met, including a few hispanic residents. Each resident he encountered along the way, was prayed with and Jim reminded them of the nearby Cornelius Baptist Church and other places of worship.
Lisa Mayhew-Jones, one of the most joyful residents you will ever encounter, brought such a a passion for this event as she traveled through the clean-up area and distributed bottled water, protein bars and bananas to all the participants. Lisa pointed out where she grew up, just steps from the AME Zion Church and is deeply passionate about preserving the area where her and her grandparents lived. YHC had read a lot about Lisa-Mayhew Jones and was thrilled to finally meet her in person. At the end of our service project, YHC stopped by the Cornelius Community Garden where Lisa told us she would be if anyone wanted to lend a hand after the service project was over.
As is usually the case in a 3rd F, this service project was one where participants showed up to bless others, but an equal if not greater blessing was experienced for all those who participated.
What a morning! Truly humbled to be a small part of a larger vision in the Smithville Community.
Humbly in Christ,
Possum