Category: III Pillars

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III Pillars – 04.11.23 – “What’s the 4-1-1?”

16 HIM picked up the phone and got dialed in for a 4-1-1 themed workout at III Pillars this morning.

QIC: Princess Aurora

PAX: Formica, Go Fish, Gov’t Mule, Grape, Grisham, Haggis, Harbaugh, Howitzer, It’s Just Lunch, Michelin Man, Paper Pusher, Pep, Ranch Hand, T-Cell, Zelenskyyy

THE THANG:

After a haphazard disclaimer and brief preview of the theme, mosey to field for COP:

  • SSH
  • LBAC F
  • OH Clap
  • LBAC R
  • SnL Squat
  • WMH

Telephone:

Grab the 20lb slam ball and line up for a little game of “telephone.” Starting at the goal line, PAX stand shoulder to shoulder, pass the ball to the next man, running to the front to repeat until we’ve crossed to the opposite goal line. Repeat other direction. For third round, we switched to alternating behind the head and between the legs and then repeated again.

Dialtone

All talked out, we hit the bleachers to get “dialtoned.” PAX completed 4 rounds of 11 reps each of the following circuit with a lap in between each round.

  • D. – Derkins
  • I.  – Irkins
  • A. – Ab Thrusters
  • L. – Leg Raises
  • T. – T-Raises
  • O. – Overhead Squats
  • N. – Newton’s Cradle (2-ct)
  • E. – Eccentric APD (4-5 seconds to lower)

Rotary Phone

Mosey back to midfield and circle up facing outward and on our six. PAX pass the slam ball around the circle, aiming to get faster in each subsequent revolution. After some confusion with this antiquated piece of equipment, we threw it out and made our way back to flag for cooldown stretches and COT/BOM.

MOLESKINE:

Hopefully PAX got all the information they desired from calling 4-1-1 today. Always appreciate the way y’all humor me and my silly themes. My hope is that y’all have as much fun doing the work as I do coming up with it.

BULLHORN:

TAPS:

  • Prayers for my mom, Louisville, and the Covenant and Nashville communities.
  • Prayers and praises for PP’s M’s last chemo treatment

Keep shining your light in this city and leading with kindness and conviction.

PA out.

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III Pillars – 02.14.23 – “Lovefools”

Nine PAX acted like a bunch of lovefools after Cupid paid a visit to III Pillars this morning.

QIC: Princess Aurora

PAX: Go Fish, Grape, Grisham, Haggis, Pep, T-Cell, Vector, Yum Yum

THANG:

Today’s theme followed the lifecycle of a young man’s date.

Mental and physical prep – Warmorama

  • SSH
  • LBAC F
  • OH Clap
  • LBAC R
  • WMH
  • Good Morning
  • Bulgarian Split Squats 2 x 10
  • Skullcrushers 2 x 10

Buying flowers – “Flower” by Moby

  • Classic routine of holding people’s chair and moving up and down on corresponding lyrics #crowdpleaser

Time to meet our date – Cindy

  • 20’ 12’ AMRAP of 5/10/15 with Pull-ups/Merkins/ Squats, respectively.

This place sucks, let’s go dancing – Cupid Shuffle

  • Plank circuit – J-Lo’s during chorus, Mountain Climbers, Kicks, and Low-to-High in sync with instructions

Misguided advances are rejected and we find ourselves alone back home looking through old Valentine’s cards – Mary

  • I’m Jane Fonda You
  • You Make My Heart Flutter Kicks
  • Be My Little Baby Crunches
  • You Make Me So Happy Crunchy Frogs (T-Cell)
  • I Want You to Be My Alabama Prom Date (Grape)
  • Let’s Monkey Humper Around (Yum Yum)
  • You Put the Pound in My Pickle (Grisham)

Frustrated by a date gone bad, it was time to take it out on this stupid little Valentine box with Boxcutters.

COT/BOM

MOLESKINE

Thanks once again to the PAX for putting themselves out there this morning. Rejection isn’t easy, but we’re better for it. Glad to introduce many of these guys to the “Flower” routine. It’s certainly been a minute for me. Also, grateful for minimal judgement during the “Cupid Shuffle.” Certainly had to be where the date turned sour since Cindy realized we couldn’t dance. 

BULLHORN

TAPS

  • Pep’s job search continues, and his renovation has begun
  • Yum Yum’s mother’s health as well as his MIL’s health. Prayers for safety as they travel to visit.

Love you all. XOXO
PA out.

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III Pillars – 12.27.22 – “Hippendicitis”

Three amigos enjoyed the cool temps and a stand-in Q at III Pillars this morning.

QIC: Princess Aurora

PAX: Go Fish, Grape

THANG:

Post-disclaimer, PAX carefully moseyed up to midfield for warm-o-rama.

COP:

  • SSH x 20
  • Windmill x 10
  • WMH x 10
  • Imperial Walker x 15
  • SnL Squats x 10
  • Good Mornings x 10 OYO

Hop over to the jungle gym and find some space for a 20’ AMRAP circuit of the following:

  • Pull-ups x 5
  • Merkins x 10
  • Big Boy Sit-ups x 15
  • SSH x 20

Find some space on low wall for another AMRAP circuit:

  • Dips x 15
  • Step Down R x 10
  • Step Down L x 10
  • Bent-over Y Raise x 15
  • Run 120 yds

RnR for 12’

Mosey back to start and get 10 quick reps of side-lying hip adductions (Thighmasters?) on each side

COT/Triangle of Man

MOLESKINE:

Felt good to lead again after having to punt on last Friday’s subzero Bomber and having the good problem of a steady stream of Qs and VQs at iiiP.

I owe it all to Hipster’s appendix which is the perfect segue into…

BULLHORN:

TAPs:

  • Hipster’s appendectomy and recovery
  • Grape’s and Go Fish’s small group
  • Holiday travel for all

Upcoming events:

  • 01.01.23 – NYD Convergence, 0600 at Bermuda Triangle in Brentwood
  • 01.02.23 – LeanPax Challenge begins – No alcohol, follow a *healthy* diet of your choice, and 30 minutes of exercise
  • 01.03.23 – Brewsday! (If you’re forgoing the above OR can stomach the taste of NA beer OR just want to hang out in a bar – all are acceptable)

Go Tigers!

PA out.

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iii Pillars 12-13-2022: Time Keeps on Slipping . . .

YHC was excited to travel east to join the HIM of iii Pillars.  Had to bring my best in terms of a theme/playlist . . . oh, and there was a workout too.  Today we focused on time – how we don’t know how much we have, we risk wasting it, and we must value it.

PAX:  Bad Boy, Formica, Go Fish, Govt Mule, Grape, Grisham, Haggis, Harbaugh, Headgear (FNG), Hipster, Howitzer,  Jazzercise, PA, Pep, T-cell, Vector (QIC) & Yum-yum.  

Conditions:   37 degrees but a pretty nice sunrise

Patented Cheesy Yet Secretly Good Playlist:  

Only Time Will Tell – Asia
Days Go By – Dirty Vegas
It’s Time – Imagine Dragons
4 Minutes – Madonna with JT
Time Has Come Today – The Chambers Brothers
Happy Hour – The Housemartins
Too Much Time on My Hands – Styx
Tik Tok – Ke$ha
If I Could Turn Back Time – Cher
Closing Time – Semisonic
Clocks – Coldplay

Disclaimer given and then mosey to the track, stopping to respectfully lunge up the hill:

  • Warm-o-rama:   SSH x 20, LBAC x 15, RLBAC x 15, Squats x 15, Toy Soldiers x 10
  • Thang 1:  Race the Clock:

12 Pull ups, 24 merkins, 30 squats, 60 LBCs and then run lap (clockwise, of course) — repeat until Q grew tired of this round

  • Thang 2: PAX O’Clock

Circle up.  Starting with Q, each PAX calls exercise for 12 reps.  While rest of PAX do the exercise, that person serves as the second hand, doing SSH until the 12 reps are over. Great mix of leg, arm, core exercises by the crew.

Ended with a demonstration of the well-wound clock with 60 SSH as a group.

  • Mosey to startex for a few last Flutter Kicks and Alabama Prom Dates.

COT:

  • Next Open Tab: This Friday, December 16th at Fat Bottom in the Nations (start ~5:30p) — topic : A relationship that has impacted you
  • NYE Convergence
  • LeanPAX coming in January (c’mon, HIM – you know you want 6 pack abs, right?)

Thanks, HIM.  Honor to lead you this morning.

SYITG,

Vector

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F3 Nashville 8th Anniversary Convergence – 09.13.22 – “8-Bit”

39 PAX, including one FNG, converged at St. Paul Christian Academy, home of III Pillars, to celebrate 8 years of F3 Nashville with a workout and to knight our knewest Knantan, Michelin Man.

Conditions: Positively sublime

QIC: Oatmeal, Pedialyte, Princess Aurora*, Sooner

PAX: Bad Boy, Bagger Vance, Bareback, Black Widow, Blindside (WL-KNX)*, Boone’s Farm, Breadsticks, Caddyshack, Detective Pikachu, Flying Monkey, Formica, Gov’t Mule*, Grape (LIFO), Grisham, Haggis (FNG), Hipster, It’s Just Lunch, Michelin Man, Moneyshot, Movin’ On Up, NFT, Offshore, Pole Dancer, Ponzi, Ranch Hand*, Right Said, Screwball, Siri, Supernova*, T-Cell, Toga*, Toothless, Topanga, Vector, Venus

*Extra Credit – an 8-ct Bodybuilder Apocalypse from 0515-0525

THE THANG:

Welcome, disclaimer, and medium mosey over to field for COP:

  • SSH x 21
  • WMH x 8
  • LBAC x 8 F/R
  • Reverse Flyes (Ws) x 8

Main event:

Count off 1-3 (starting with Bad Boy *whoops* Screwball).  1s are with YHC, 2s with SoonMeal, and 3s with Pedialyte. Each group starts at one of three stations and rotates through roughly every 10 minutes. YHC gave a template to the co-Qs but encouraged them to make it their own. Read on for all iterations!

Group 1 – PA

  • Station 1 – Track
    • “8 Track” – PAX complete descending reps of Ab Thrusters 8>1 with a lap around track after each set (it’s a 200m track).
    • Soundtrack – “Reelin’ in the Years” – Steely Dan, “Born to Run” – Bruce Springsteen
  • Station 2 – The Hill (off side of track)
    • OTD in 1985, Super Mario was first released, so PAX performed a “Super Mario Ladder” – 8 Jump Squats at the bottom (Mario on land), Bernie to top, 8 4-ct Flutter Kicks at the top (Mario in water), run back down. Descend ladder subtracting one rep from each exercise each round all the way to 1.
    • Soundtrack – “Overworld Theme,” “Starman Theme,” and “Underwater Theme” – Super Mario Bros. soundtrack; “Killing in the Name (8-bit Version)” – Rage Against the Machine
  • Station 3 – Jungle Gym/Swing Set
    • “Hangin’ 8s” – 7 pull-ups and 1 Underdog (row on swing), 6 pull-ups and 2 underdogs…1 pull-up and 7 Underdogs. 
    • Soundtrack – “Sultans of Swing” – Dire Straits, “Swing Swing” – The All-American Rejects

Group 2 – SoonMeal

  • Station 1 – abs for 20 count with 1 lap between.
  • Station 2 – 8 count ladder with squats on the bottom, Bernie up the hill, four count flutter kicks at the top.
  • Station 3 – Underdogs aka Down Unders and dips rotating for duration.

Group 3 – Pedialyte

  • Station 1 – 8 reps each of WW1’s, V-ups, American hammers followed by 1 lap. 16 reps of each followed by 2 laps.  24 reps of each.
  • Station 2 – Ladder with jump squats at the top, Iron Mikes (jump lunges) at the bottom.
  • Station 3 – Same as Group 1, but we finished early and did bear crawls from one side of track to the other then 5 burpees, repeating until rotation.

Reconvene at midfield for everybody’s favorite, Jack Webb. 1 Merkin on Q’s call of “down” followed by 2 Air Presses. 2 and 4, 3 and 6,…8 and 16. #crowdpleaser

4MOM honoring the place this whole thing started:

  • Sit-ups x 8
  • Elbow to Knee (L) x8
  • V-ups x 8
  • Imperial Walkers x 8
  • Elbow to Knee (R) x 8
  • Reverse Crunch x 8

Quick photo op, sports team bleacher-style (thanks, Haggis), and mosey back to lot for COT/BOM.

MOLESKINE:

T-claps to Oatmeal, Sooner, and Pedialyte for combining forces to deliver this special workout as well as T-Cell, Toothless, and Michelin Man who also played a part in making this happen. So much leadership on display!

On an occasion such as this, it was only fitting to pass the Nantan baton, and I had the honor, as CCR’s delegate in his regrettable absence, of passing it to none other than Michelin Man. We are grateful for CCR’s gracious service to F3 Nashville and move forward with excitement and anticipation of great things in the Michelin Man era. If I may speak for him, I believe if he would have you remember just one thing from this season, it would be that “you are freed to lead.” Don’t forget it!

BULLHORN:

  • Welcome to FNG Spencer Westcott aka Haggis!
  • Be on the lookout for more special events as we add them to the calendar. There’s an appetite for them amongst the PAX, so let’s work together to deliver!

Always a pleasure,

PA out.

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III Pillars – 04.19.22 – “ADD”

8 PAX warmed their chests on a chilly April morning.

QIC: Princess Aurora

PAX: Crablegs, Formica, Gov’t Mule (FNG), Grisham, Harbaugh, Howitzer, T-Cell

THANG:

Mosey to the field for COP:

  • SSH
  • WMH
  • SnL Squats
  • LBAC F/R
  • Overhead Shrugs

Hop over to the bleachers for a D.I.D. alternative called A.D.D.

Three rounds of the following, each superset followed by an Indian Run around the track.

  • Archer Merkins – 5 ea side
  • Decline Merkins – 10
  • Diamond Incline Merkins – 20

With all teeth in tact, PAX turned around and lined up along the sideline for 11s with 4ct Mountain Climbers and Jump Squats, running sideline to sideline in between.

Mosey over to the swings and partner up. P1 performs 10 pike push-ups while P2 performs 10 pull-ups. Tag out, and rinse and repeat for 4x for 5 rounds total.

Circle up for Mary on the track

  • Leg Raises Ring of Fire-style all the way to 128.
  • Scissor Kicks x 15
  • LBCs x 10
  • Newton’s Cradle x 10
  • Bird Dogs x 10
  • Jane Fondas x 10
  • Alabama Prom Dates x 10

Mosey back for COT/BOM

MOLESKINE:

Welcome Ben Cook aka Gov’t Mule. A jam band junkie married to a Columbia, TN native, we’re glad to have another Clemson Tiger in the mix!

BULLHORN:

Continued prayers for professional decisions and ailing friends and family as well as for health during the race this weekend.

Pleasure to lead you all!

PA out.

 

 

 

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III Pillars – “EMOMa So Ugly…” – 03.08.22

7 PAX gathered on a brisk Tuesday morning for a slow burn of a full-body workout designed to get you beach ready just in time for spring break.

QIC: Princess Aurora

PAX: Formica, Grisham, Howitzer, It’s Just Lunch, Pumpkin Spice, T-Cell

THANG:

Disclaimer and mosey to the track for a warmup lap and COP:

  • SSH x 20
  • LBAC F x 10
  • Overhead Press x 15
  • LBAC R x 10
  • WMH x 20

Phase 1

PAX gathered ’round the jungle gym to embark on an EMOM circuit hitting all major muscle groups as well as the aerobic system, all to the sucré sounds of mostly French electro house. PAX perform reps as prescribed and rest for remainder of minute. Exercises as follows:

  • 0:00 – Pull-Ups x 10
  • 1:00 – Hand Release Merkins x 15 – upped to 20 for second set onward
  • 2:00 – Big Boy Sit-Ups x 15
  • 3:00 – Squats x 20 – scaled up to 1.5x Squats for second set onward
  • 4:00 – 200m Run

RnR up to 25:00

Phase 2

Quick jog over to track gate and down Bernie Incline for a leg afterburner. Iron Mikes x 10 (2=1) followed by Bernie up to gate and jog back down. People’s Chair for six and go again x 2 for 3 rounds total.

Phase 3

Indian Run back to parking lot and circle up for 4MOM:

  • APDs x 10
  • Boxcutters x 10
  • LBCs x 10
  • Shoulder Taps x 10
  • Jane Fondas x 10 ea

COT/BOM

MOLESKINE:

Glad to have Howitzer back out, and great effort by all throughout the EMOM circuit. T-claps to Pumpkin Spice for pushing the pace on the 200s and also to Grisham for providing Spice with a riveting final 200 duel. As predicted, the 200m rest period was the shortest and added an extra level of difficulty to the pull-ups. At first glance, the workout didn’t seem to intimidating, but after witnessing Grisham shed a layer each round, YHC started to feel better about his Q.

BULLHORN:

Continued prayers for IJL’s friend, Formica’s dad, and Howitzer’s M.

Upcoming: Grow Ruck 27 here in Nashville – 04/29 – 05/01. Kick off the weekend with some HIM over beers and hot chicken, wake up Saturday for a morning workout, dive into the four quadrants of Preparedness in the F3 curriculum at GrowSchool, and embark on an overnight ruck designed to you push beyond your comfort zone and accelerate your leadership.  Hit up Big Bang and Tampa Libra with any questions, and be on the lookout for some promo videos.

PA out.

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III Pillars – 11.23.21 – Thanksgiving History

Conditions: A crisp 25º, extremely clear, stars shining brightly

QIC: Toothless

PAX: Cowboy, Moneyshot, Rocket Mortgage

A stalwart 4 PAX gathered this morning in the cold dark gloom to get better together and learn a bit more about the upcoming holiday.

Warm-o-rama

  • 21 x Side Straddle Hops (first Thanksgiving was in 1621)
  • 10 x Quad stretches OYO
  • 15 x High Knees
  • 10 x Willy Mays Hays OYO
  • 15 x Butt Kickers

The Thang

0535

Run to the Lipscomb parking garage, a little over 1/2 a mile

0540

It was in 1863 President Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a holiday (although federal holidays as we think of them with time off and bank closures had yet to be established)

  • 1 x Run out, start the next exercises heading back
  • 8 x Lt. Dans
  • 6 x Standing broad jumps
  • 3 x Burpees

50 LBC’s at the halfway point for heart rate recovery

Rinse and repeat x 8 until 0555

Run back towards post, stop at swing set at school roundabout

0600

Give thanks for the harvest our bodies have reaped at GHP, also pay homage to the 50 settlers out of the original 100 aboard the Plymouth bound ships who survived to the first harvest festival we now recognize as Thanksgiving.

  • 15 x Decline merkins at long swing sets
  • 20 x J-Los on tennis courts
  • 25 x Incline merkins on picnic tables
  • 30 x LBCs at far playground
  • 35 x Dips at corner bleachers
  • 40 x Two count flutter kicks at entrance corner
  • 45 x Single count euro steps at gate
  • 50 x Carolina dry docks at post

A quick coffeeteria was shared before PAX loaded up togo containers for the day ahead.

Prayers for safe travel for all and for good health as we visit loved ones. I’m so grateful to have the chance to workout and be in community with you men week in and week out, and as always it was an honor to lead!

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III Pillars – 11.09.21 – “School Ties”

23 PAX participated in a field trip to the birthplace of III Pillars, St. Paul Christian Academy. Q instruction was cloudy at times, but the skies were clear and the coffee was hot!

QIC: Princess Aurora

PAX: Bicentennial Man, Cowboy, Cunning Linguist, Detox (FNG), Dr. Rupp, En Fuego, Gables, Grisham, Harbaugh, High Flyer, Howitzer, It’s Just Lunch, Moneyshot, Oatmeal, Pumpkin Spice, r/Eddit, Red Tees, Silver Medal, Sooner, T-Cell, Tater Hole (WL – Hickory, NC), Toothless

THE THANG:

Moderately brief welcome and mosey around parking lot with moving disclaimer on the way over to the field for COP:

  • SSH x 14
  • LBAC x 12 F/R
  • SnL Squats x 10
  • WMH x 10

Just like St. Paul, today’s workout was built on three pillars:

Academic Excellence

How do we measure our knowledge attainment in school?  With tests, of course! So YHC gave the PAX a test of their own. In this case, a modified version of the Army PFT. PAX partnered up for administration of the following:

  • 2:00 Max Push-Ups
  • 2:00 Max Sit-Ups
  • ~300 yard shuttle (10 x 30 yd shuttle run for time)

Test complete. Everybody passed. Barely.

Passion for Christ

Galatians 6:2 ESV: Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Our next segment was inspired by the above verse, and PAX divided into groups of four to complete 200 Burpees as a group. Plenty of huffing and puffing, but lots of teamwork to pick up the six and see that all reps were completed.

Leadership Development

Our final segment took us to the bottom of Bernie Hill off the side of the track. While one PAX performs Crawl Bear/Bernie up to the gate, another leads the PAX in Mary exercise of choice. Next man up picks his replacement leader and so on until time.

Mosey back to flag for one burpee and COT.

MOLESKINE:

Welcome to FNG Chad Elkin aka Detox and Tater Hole visiting from Hickory, NC. It was an absolute pleasure to lead the crew at this AO. With some who had not yet experienced III Pillars at SPCA and several Kotters on hand for the workout, the energy was high and the reunion was sweet. Looking forward to more workouts with these guys and involving even more SPCA dads.

BULLHORN:

Michelin Man on Q next week!

PA out.

 

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III Pillars – 06.02.20 – The Oregon Trail

A new record PAX count for the new iiiP location (5) turned out this morning to take part in a journey down the Oregon Trail.

QIC: Toothless

PAX: Crablegs, En Fuego, High Flyer, River Dawg

Conditions: Excellent temperature and relatively low humidity, sunrise was an 8/10, field grass freshly cut

WARM-O-RAMA:

Decent amount of stretching while waiting on the PAX to assemble, gave an extra 2 for the sake of those coming in hot.

  • 20 x SSH
  • 25 x High Knees
  • 25 x Butt Kickers
  • 8 x Jump Squats
  • 10 x Willy Mays Hayes
  • 10 x Windmills
  • 10 x Whatever You Need

THE THANG:

Round 1

Starting at old Independence, MO, the PAX loaded their gear into their wagons with 30 Squats every minute on the minute (EMOM) for 5 minutes.

Once the wagons were loaded, the PAX completed a roughly 30 yard Ox Crawl. That’s a newly coined exercise just for today consisting of 10 Bear Crawl steps capped with 5 Merkins per one rep – PAX did 5 reps.

After all of that traveling, it was time to go hunting and gather some food. Pax took off on a 1/3 mile Indian Run around the field, ending at the Balance Beams.

Round 2

The PAX were then struck with DIPtheria and proceeded to complete:

  • 30 x Dips EMOM for 5 mins = 150 total Dips
  • 40 x LBC’s EMOM for 5 mins = 200 total LBC’s

It was time for more grub, so the PAX took off for a rarely used modification of the Indian Run called the Scout Run. This is where the front runner picks a spot ahead of the group (~15yds away) and sprints there before returning to the back of the line of PAX. This continued around the 1/3 mile loop ending opposite STARTEX.

Round 3

The PAX were almost to Oregon, but they had to cross a river first. First the PAX completed 50 Merkins to make sure everything was packed down good and tight before making the crossing.

PAX proceeded to cross the river with:

  • 50 x Four Count Flutter Kicks
  • 50 x Australian Snow Angels

RIVER Dawg gave us a 15 count, which was enough time for the water to rise and begin washing away one of the wagons. PAX had to complete 20 Burpees quickly to rescue the supplies before they were washed away with the wagon.

PAX then ran back to STARTEX with a short Indian Run

MARY:

Time was running short, but the PAX circled around the campfire and called out an exercise to do 5 reps of. The mumblechatter spiked here as some of the PAX wanted to start the countoff prematurely.

  • 5 x Big Boy Situps
  • 5 x Happy Crunchy Frogs (Happy Crunchy Trail Mix)
  • 5 x LBC’s
  • 5 x Freddy Mercury’s
  • 5 x American Flutters

COT/COMAD (Circle of Man Appropriately-Distanced)

BULLHORN:

  • Prayers for our city and nation as we deal with the chaos – know that your brothers are here for you if you just need to talk or do something to take a break
  • Thanks to the PAX this morning the Q sheet is filled up for the next few weeks, but let me know if you want to grab a spot as the time will come quickly. The PAX have enjoyed the new location, and I’m looking forward to further introductions of our regular Tuesday crew.

As always, it was an honor to lead!

– Toothless