WE PLANTED THE SHOVELFLAG IN THE GLOOM AND THE FAITHFUL GATHERED:
PAXORAMA: the general practice is to list the PAX by F3-name here Brothers, but sadly (Aye, it's bittersweet) McNulty can't do it today. We always wondered if there was a number after which a Paxorma would not be possible and it looks like we hit it today. 46 PAX with 6 FNGs is too much for the limited gray matter of McNulty. If you were at the Senator's Office this AM, you know who you are. If you weren't, than where the hockey-stocks were you Brother? Today was a big day. Aye.
THE THANG:
Run to Harper Valley
Warmorama
Run to Brickyard
Hey Johns (3)
Plankorama
Once around the track
Run to AG Lot
Six Minutes of Mary
Run to Troubled Water
Esau's Ladder
Lunge Walk
Piggy Back
COT--Flag Passer
NAKEDMAN MOLESKIN:
1. Six FNGs this AM: Drexler, Elevator Door, Taser, The Canadian, Barnabas and one more McNulty is drawing a blank on (somebody jump in here, Aye). Cobains to you Brother. Drexler was also the WarDaddy at 51 which kept him from being named "Bonnie". Aye Brother. Taser also avoided a less (ahem) manly nickname due to Moniteur's incessant shouting of "CMPD CMPD". Glad to have you with us Brother. You can hardly be in a group more appreciative for what you to do to protect kith and kin. TClaps.
2. CORE RIPPER: the explanation for all the core work today should be that McNulty thought it was what the Faithful needed, but the real reason is he hurt his shoulder throwing his kids around in the pool this weekend and didn't have a Pusherama in his six. Aye.
3. FLAGORAMA: Post the COT this AM, we presented ShovelFlags to the QICs of the new F3 groups who hit jump street this Saturday. TClaps to SixMke and RedLeg Six for making that possible. TClaps to the QICs for their willingness to lead. Leaders are as rare as hen's teeth Brothers. Thank you.
4. NO SIGN OF PROGRESS: for those PAX who wonder, the Hey Johns we do at the Brickyard were started about 2 months ago when SixMike reported to the Faithful that some FartSacker named John lives 20 meters away from the Brickyard and was contemplating a post. So, we did the shout out for a little encouragement. That was about 50 Hey Johns ago and we've seen no sign of John. But the tradition remains Brothers, the tradition remains. And the Faithful do not quit. Aye.
5. ROLLING HARD: McNulty declined to take the 1 second required to investigate whether the track gate was locked before deciding to jump over it. That's how we roll Brothers. The hard way, always the hard way.
6. LARRY BIRDS: many PAX (too many to count) nipped McNulty on the Esau's Ladder this AM, earning Larry Bird kudos. Good hustle. Aye, and no Larry Drews--all made it to the end.
7. BALL OF MAN:
McNulty EH'd a guy last night who said what they all say (at first): "gee wiz, that seems kind of early in the morning to do be doing something like that. I like to go to the gym in the afternoon (blah blah, insert whatever here)". Yes, we get it. It's completely unreasonable to post in the Gloom to work out when you can ride the Elliptical next to the Fern anytime--no Gloom required. The Fern is a 24/7 deal Brothers. It's always convenient for the Fern.
But look, the Fern may always be there, but the Fern doesn't actually care whether you post or not. So what's the point of relying something that's always "there", but never THERE when you need it? The Fern isn't going to Hey John you for 50 weeks in a row until you de-FartSack. The Fern isn't going to change your F3-name to L10 because you begged off in your boxers after hard-committing to a guy who had to get a babysitter to be there (sorry about that L10, but there's an instructive TruthNugget in that and McNulty was never in love with 74 as a name anyway).
So look, yeah the Ball of Man convenes at an unreasonable hour. And the Ball of Man gives you a hard time when you UA. And the Ball of Man gets wet when it rains and sweats more when its hot and shivers in the cold. But here's something else about the Ball of Man. You matter to it. And it has a place for you that is not just some empty place next to the Fern that any joker with a pulse could fill for an hour. Yes Brothers, the Ball of Man is us. It's why we post. It's why we do The Thing We Do. Aye.