3rd F meetups are service and faith related where faith is believing the world is bigger than just yourself
F3RVA Brothers, Merry Christmas! Let’s start 2020 strong with a Convergence at The FORGE next Wednesday 1/1. We will start at 7am, so you have 1 week to headlock an FNG into coming out – save them the New Years resolution gym membership fee! SYITG – Aye! ~DTH
2-PACs sallied forth into the evening Gloom for some fellowship and a good meal.
COP (FYI: this means “Circle of Pain,” as in, the PAX has to circle up, which the PAX did – Vers thought this was weird.):
YHC failed to read all of the instructions while starting to cook bar-b-que. YHC asked for advice from a more experienced member of the PAX, who suggested that a quick flip of the Q to her (YHC’s M) would help, and things were quickly straightened out. With that and a ton of advice, she re-earned her FO3 designation. Someone give the lady a tassel.
Back to YHC…
Out and Back’s (Evolution 1):
Slow Mosey…to and from the car. YHC and Vers carried items in bags or crock pots. 3 rounds.
Slow Drive-sy:
Drive to 180 Belt. Blvd. Try to find as much traffic as possible at 5 p.m. on an RVA Sunday.
Back and In’s (Evolution 2):
Reverso the previous exercise with the following modifications:
3 rounds.
Serve-a-Ram-a
Vers and YHC heated and served bar-b-que, mac-and-cheese, and veggies. Self-serve on the beverages. Cookies for dessert.
A minor scuffle was avoided when the Medical Q (Nurse) executed a Search and Seizure (or perhaps Search and Seizure Avoidance) Order against a resident who had absconded with 3 chocolate-infused cookies against doctor’s orders. The names – even the F3 names – were changed to protect the innocent (and to avoid any HIPPA Violations).
Clean-a-Ram-a:
Vers crushed this, doing virtually all of the work OYO. Like when you and a partner do Dora 100-200-300 and the other guy has done all 100 merkins by the time you return from the first run. Well done.
Out and Back’s (Evolution 3):
Rinse, wash, and stack. Repeato. AYG.
PAX went down stairs with empty dishes, yet full hearts and full stomachs. 2 Rounds. Mission accomplished (no banners were flown).
NMS:
Another successful evening of food and fellowship. Vers continues to crush this, each time taking on more and more of the responsibilities on her own. YHC estimates he’s down to 25-30% of the on-site work. Basically, YHC is eye-candy at this point. Way to go, Vers!
For any PAX who have not had a chance to do this as well as for the handful of PAX who have told YHC they would do this, but have not yet signed up (and you know who you are…), there are plenty of spots on the Q-sheet.
3 PAX plus an FNG (Friendly New Gal) labored over a hot stove and a pair of hot slow cookers on Sunday. Temps were sunny and 72 (hey, the kitchen is a temperature controlled environment).
6 residents plus the center manager joined us for dinner. Beef or chicken? Hard or soft shell? Guac, salsa, sour cream, cheese? Good stuff, and YHC sends his thanks to Vers, Westminster, and Pencil (FNG) for doing the overwhelming portion of the prep. And to his M for doing most of the shopping.
Good chatter all around with the 3 kiddos making some new friends and sharing a bit about middle school with the residents. YHC chatted with a pair of guys, one from Gloucester and another from Washington (albeit a Cowboys fan). Topics included the Cowboys, old movies, and how the Redskins could somehow lose on Sunday despite not playing.
For those PAX who are considering doing this, but aren’t quite sure what’s involved, it’s a piece of cake.
RVA PAX – you have TWO WEEKS to get your orders in for an F3RVA shirt with YOUR F3 nickname on the back! Click HERE and follow the instructions carefully. To cut on cost, all shirts ordered will be shipped together to me for distributing. SYITG Aye! ~DTH
LINK: https://f3.mudgear.com/products/f3-rva-shirt-pre-order
EF Hutton and his 2.0’s Llama and BB-8 went out to have a family dinner with YHC and the fine folks over at Breaking Bread.
YHC thinks nothing beats a Summertime Dinner of Fried Chicken, Side Salad, Rolls, Fresh Cut Watermelon, Banana Pudding and ice cold Sweet Tea. The only thing better than this meal were the gracious individuals we got to share it with. We all had a wonderful time of fellowship with everyone there. There is truly something special about having a meal with someone you don’t know.
If you haven’t had a chance to participate in Breaking Bread, I highly recommend it. It’s a wonderful time and a great experience for the 2.0s.
Gentlemen, the retreat is set for 9/21-9/22 in Amelia. Gomer Pyle’s extended family is kind enough to allow the use of a beautiful/quiet piece of property. Please RSVP below if you plan to attend. As we draw closer, take note of the following:
Opening Ceremonies: 9/21 at 2:00 p.m.
Closing Ceremonies: 9/22 at 10:00 a.m.
Attendees: PAX members 21 years of age and older. No FNGs.
Celebration: September 2019 will F3 RVA’s 5th year anniversary – what a way to celebrate!
Corn Hole tournament: Will be facilitated by EF Hutton and Dr. Try Hard (firm 4:30 p.m. start time). Two-man teams must be comprised of PAX members from different nano-regions. There is a sign-up sheet in google docs. Please register your team no later than 9/1 so that we can set the field. There is a sweet trophy for the winning combo!
There is plenty of cleared land, so bring footballs, frisbees, croquet, whatever. But again, no guns (other than squirt and/or nerf). Other than the corn hole tournament, this is a sit and sip, informal affair. THERE WILL BE NO ORGANIZED FIRST F!!! We do that the other 364 days of the year. Or, leave early and hit Sunday Funday or OTB.
Food / Beverage: BYOB and BYOF. Circle K will bring his enormous charcoal grill. Please use the comment space below to announce what cooking gear you can volunteer to bring. Generally, I’m asking y’all to divide and conquer in smaller groups when it comes to food and beverage. That said, Rosie will be bringing oysters for the PAX. We’ll need to advance him some cash, I’m assuming.
Please also bring one food item to share with the group. Chips, desserts, whatever. Honeymoon has kindly volunteered to supply the PAX with drinking water.
Gear: Bring your own tent, hammock, or ready made yurt, chairs, etc. There will be a port-o-john on site, and running water (garden hose variety). Otherwise, it’ll be a straight up camp out. We need tables and canopies. I believe Flipper has a few canopies, but if you have one, please bring it I’d rather have too many as opposed to not enough.
Fire Wood: We won’t need to bring any, as there is plenty on site, but we will need lighters, matches, etc.
Details: —–>
Text me for the address.
For those who would like to caravan in to the site, we’ll launch from the Woodlake Lowe’s at NOON. 7001 Winterpock Road.
Designated Parking Area: There will be a designated parking area. Please use it. It’ll be obvious upon arrival.
Breakfast 9/22: If anyone wants to spearhead a breakfast campaign, please feel free to do so.
3rd F: There are plans for a Sunday morning devotional.
I’m sure I’m forgetting something. But again, the design is a laid back 2nd F. Be creative. If guys want to tee up a chill cook off or some other meal preparation contest, have at it. Hopefully this grows into a tradition that we look forward too on an inaugural/annual basis.
Two intrepid volunteers peeled, sliced, cooked, and cleaned their way through a sunny and 70 evening of Breaking Bread, NBA playoffs, and good fellowship at the Medical Respite on Belt Blvd. The drive-thru operator at the Wendy’s next door tells the tale as follows:
5:00 Set-up. Q has botched it already as he has forgotten the drinks. Water, water everywhere for everyone.
5:05 Oven heating mashed potatoes and spiral ham.
5:10 Shallots, oil, green beans, and lemon seasoning wafting throughout the building.
5:20 Plates and silverware ready to go, Kings Hawaaian rolls warmed, green beans simmering, ham sliced…let’s do this.
5:30 Residents stroll through, Round 1
5:40 Residents stroll through, Round 2
5:44:50 One Resident strolls through for Round 3
5:45 Cookies out. Mmmmm.
5:45:05 to 6:10 YHC and Vers (FNG) watch Warriors / Rockets with the residents
6:10 to 6:30 Clean up
Home by 7:00. Easy peasy.
NMS:
Welcome FNG Vers, aka Annabelle Nee, YHC’s oldest. YHC is declaring that volunteering for three Breaking Breads is worth at least one workout for a non-athletically inclined kid, thus the nickname has been bestowed. Plus, YHC came up with a good nickname, Vers, as in Carol Danvers. If you don’t know, look it up. Female super awesome heros rock.
Breaking Bread is awesome. This is dinner for 10-15 homeless people recovering from injuries. YOU – yes, you, the PAX member reading this – should sign up to Q a Breaking Bread. Many of us have our 3rd F efforts, but THIS 3rd F is unique – it is the only 3rd F that is uniquely F3. While not an official event, only the men of F3 are going to do this. You are the cavalry to these homeless people. Take every reason you are thinking of to avoid this and throw each excuse individually out the window…give yourself one reason to step up and take this on…YHC will give you two reasons…your M and your kids will likely never care if you attend a workout (be honest with yourself – they barely tolerate your stories), but they will love you for helping your fellow humans.
Once a month, F3 needs men to sign up to Q this. For example, May 26 is open. There is a Convergence the next morning…grab your best F3 pal, your kids, your spouse, or your neighbor and pull together a simple meal. Tacos, spaghetti, pizza (yes, you can just buy a lot of pizza), filet mignon, beef bourguignon, sushi, kimchi, welsh rarebit…you name it and you make it.
For the rest of the summer, we need men to step up and bring dinner for the following Sundays at 5…if you need any advice, ask Lab Rat, Hardywood, HoneyDo, Slurpee, or the many others have all done this successfully.
May 26
June 23
July 28
August 25
All the attendance points and all the mercans in the world can’t provide the same sense of purpose. Plus, as YHC said, chicks dig a man who help those less fortunate.
YHC took some warm food over to breaking bread on Sunday afternoon….folks were very appreciative as always! Thanks to Labrat for creating this fine program!
bread was broken
“If you have much, give of your wealth; if you have little, give of your heart.” – Unattributed.
Tonight Kubota and I, along with our 2.0s had the great honor of spending some time with those in need at the Daily Planet. We brought very little, yet received a whole lot. A great meal was shared, and great conversations were had. We could not be more proud of our 2.0s. They showed tremendous service, understanding and compassion for only being 8 and 6 years old.
YHC was incredibly surprised by the smiles and happiness of these folks, despite their having fallen on hard and uncertain times. On the ride home, Shark bait and I were discussing the lessons of the evening, and Shark bait simply stated that they were all so happy. What a powerful and true observation. We worry far too much about the material things we don’t have. Sharing with these folks tonight was a real reminder of just how lucky we all are, and more importantly, how grateful we all should be.
During my time with F3, I’ve heard a lot about Breaking Bread. Not until tonight did I realize just how powerful of an experience it truly is. Sign up and go if you haven’t. What little you bring will mean the world to those people, yet somehow you will walk away with the biggest gift – a much needed a timely reminder of just how truly blessed you are.