Tender Heart, Strong Principles

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor. – Another group of middle aged men trying to take a principled stand.

21 independent warriors arrived to greed the dawn of a new day. It may have quite literally been 70 and sunny on this most blessed day in which our colonies that have turned to states celebrate Independence from the Queen Mother and her misguided attempts at trying to control a few so she could control her fortune. According to legend and naughty Ben Franklin, it went a little something like this:

Mosey to SW field.

Hardywood COP: SSH X 20, WWII X 10, FC X 10, AH X 10, AHAC X 20, HRM X 20, Lunge X 10 and an Arm Circle for our little cat burgular in the sky. One is more than enough.

Mosey To Pavilion

DTH Bulls On Parade: DTH busted out his favorite jam, by that one english band that was pretty famous. If you guessed The Beatles or Rolling Stones you would be wrong. Hell, it’s not even flipping Oasis. May the lord have mercy on his soul, he chose the song Tub Thumping by Chubawumba. Whenever the chorus came on, do a burpee on the line: “I get knocked down, but I get up again.”

Old Hundred Teen Slayer aka The Fresh Prince Sprint Show

Bust into two teams based on your preference for Ginger or Marianne. This is a 10 round sufferfest that goes like this. Start at the pavillion, run to other side to complete exercises as prescribed. Run back to pavillion. Team that finished first gets a point for something that is akin to bit coin or a Schrute Buck.

Round #1 100 LBC

Round #2 90 SSH

Round #3 80 2 Count Flutter Kicks

Round #4 70 Squats

Round #5 60 American Hammers

Round #6 50 Carolina Dry Docks

Round #7 40 WWII

Round #8 30 Merkins

Round #9 20 two count ball dippers

Round #10 Burpees

Mosey to NE field

Slippery When Wet Triple Check

Bust into teams of 3. The exercises for this classic are ball dippers and American Hammer Arm Circles. The real star of the show here was the timer, The Independence Hall Slip N Slide. Please see the great shots that our very own Shakedown took on Instagram, TicTac, MyFace, etc. There was so much style, that awards simply had to be handed out.

Hard-e-Wood Shuffle Dora

DTH just could not wait for everyone to get a hold of his wood. Here’s how this worked out; split back into the original teams. Each team gets 5 cabers. DTH gets one huge smile. Now for the Dora part. The exercises are done by all the pax who are not running with cabers. Exercises are done in cadence as a group. Cabers must be motion at all times.

Excercises:

100 HRM in cadence

200 Reverse Crunches

*1776 Burpees With Cabers

**Unfortunately we only had time to finish the 200 reverse crunches.

Mosey back to flag

Numberama, Namerama, Flatline opened his heart and spoke the truth on his way to taking us.

News: Puppy Pile is next Sunday from 7am – 8am at No Toll. The slip n slide may make another appearance. And if you were concerned that Seymour would be in his speedo, I can confirm his restraining order does not allow him to come that close.

Moleskin: Gents, thank you so much for making the time today. In all seriousness, it’s a really important day. I appreciate you for showing up, showing your enthusiasm and not being silent.

It’s as much of a time to celebrate as it is a time to reflect. The signers of the Declaration Of Independence were not perfect. Scratching just beneath what was taught to us in school shows that they were profoundly flawed men. Aside from the powdered wig and pantaloons, they were much like us. It would have been easier to be submissive to the largest military force the world had ever known. Most American colonists were opposed to a revolution of any kind.

Perhaps they sensed what would happen is they remained silent and obedient. Tyranny unchecked knows no boundaries. The following sums it up pretty good and is often attributed to Thomas Jefferson “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”

So on this most wonderful of days, as you hold a cool beverage in one hand and an imported explosive in the other, pause for a moment to think about what is worth lending your voice to? What principle needs a champion in todays world? What thing are you wishing for some one else to do that you can and should be doing?

Big cheers to you all.

-Hardywood