Thirty-five of Fort Mill’s finest gathered at Springfield Elementary to honor a brother who left us too early:  Matt Giesler, aka Badger.   Matt was originally from Wisconsin but made his home in SC with his wife Becky and his three children Brayden, Ashlyn, and Carsten.   Badger was a neighbor and friend to me, Decibel, Trucker, and Jiffy, and this morning, his fellow brothers of The Fort joined us for a brisk morning workout.  Here is what we did:

The Thang:

Senator Tressel led the pax on a short lap around the drop-off lane of Springfield Elementary before ending up in the adjacent field for COP.

All in double count cadence:

SSH x 25, IW x 25, merkin x 10, windmill x 15, mountain climber x 25, Freddie Merc x 25, hello dolly x 25, squat x 25

Line up next to the set of cones:

Round 1:  Lungewalk to 1st cone, 5 squats, continue to 2nd cone, 10 squats, continue to 3rd cone, 15 squats, run backwards to the start.

Round 2:  Bear crawl to 1st cone, 5 squats, ….., run backward to the start

Round 3:  Run to the last cone, 10 burpees, and run backward to the start

Handoff to Decibel:

Do the following exercises with a lap around the field between each:

MERKINS X25
ALTERNATING LUNGES X25
TOE TAPS X25
TONY HAWK BURPEE X15
GORILLA HUMPER X20
IMPERIAL WALKER X20
EMPTY WHEELBARROW
SQUATS X20
LBCs  X39
E2K X20 EACH SIDE
ROSALITA X25

Heals to Heaven x25

COT

Naked Man Moleskin

ST’s comments:

I was truly touched by the number of men who showed up today to honor Badger.  I know that many of the men did not know him, but it meant a lot to us to have such a large group together as we remembered Badger.    It was another reminder to me of what a special thing we have at F3 here in Fort Mill and how much my F3 brothers mean to me.

Decibel’s thoughts:
It is hard to believe that it has been 4 years since Badger went to be in heaven.  I
was blessed to spend time with him prior to his passing.  We talked about him
being saved and how important that was to him.  He let me know that his M was a
big reason he was saved but also saw my family’s reaction to losing our
daughter and son and our dependence on God at that time.  I am saying this to let
you know as Christians people watch our actions and want to make sure our
actions match our words.  I encourage every Christian brother in F3 to live out
your faith and in times of need lean on God just like Badger did in his time.
My M and I received a letter from Badger.  In that letter he mentioned F3 and the
support he and his family received after the diagnosis.  I remember him just being
in awe of all the people that were praying for him.  He was so touched by this
community that he asked that I make sure that his boys get involved in F3.  They
would have been there today, but his youngest wasn’t feeling well. To have 35
men in our community support Badger is amazing.
Badger was a man I respected to the utmost.  He was not a guy that sought
attention or glory, but he was always there when you needed him.  He loved his
family and was a loyal friend.  I am still in awe of how he bravely prepared to walk
into heaven.  It was so comforting to know he was going to see Jesus.  He told
me many times that he would take care of our babies (Elizabeth Grace and
Garrett) until we met up with him.  Badger was a great Father and I know he is
having a blast with my kids in heaven.
Let us all take this time to pour into, support, love on and encourage our F3
brothers. Then take that momentum and turn it to our families.  Then take that
momentum and pour it out on the least and the lost in our community.  Badger
knew that God had a purpose for him and that purpose was to spread the word of
God’s Grace and Love.  Let’s make that happen for him.

Prayers and Praises – as spoken during COT

Announcements:  F3 The Fort 10 year anniversary starts this week.  Check Slack for the schedule of events.