This morning the PAX turned 10 tightly coiled fire hoses into 10 bandoleer-style, carryable fire hoses for the 9/11 Stair Climb tomorrow. We did it as part of a workout. As we lugged around those bandoleer-ed fire hoses for a Corners Thang–on a whim–I asked each PAX where they were eighteen years ago tomorrow. It was like a couple of blood brothers putting their hands together to see where one guy’s scar lines up with the others’. If we are a collection of our scars then 9/11 is one scar that runs across a generations of Americans.
These days it seems like more people are willing to pull out a cell phone to film a crisis than use it to call for help. But there are still average Joes who, when the adrenaline is flowing, will step up. Tomorrow at Carter Finley 150-200 guys will try to emulate some of the physical exertions of the Twin Towers first responders. We will be tired but we won’t have to try to shut out the “Voice”.
I like to think I would be one of the average Joes that step up in an emergency. But it takes a while to climb 1,000 stairs. That is a long time to listen to the voice in your head screaming that you could die trying to save people you don’t even know. To have flash in your mind’s eye the faces of your loved ones as you climb, grab someone and then go back inside for another one. Where is the line between self-preservation and cowardice? Would you save someone you don’t know if it meant poentially losing all of the future moments with your loved ones? 1,000 first responders did and about 1/3 didn’t come back out.
Maybe that is why so many people pull out their phones and start filming. That little screen between us and the crisis absolves us. It separates us. Or so we tell ourselves.
I don’t know the answers to any of these questions. But I will be thinking about them tomorrow as I slowly plod up stair after stair. I will be asking the question my friend Callahan asked us all last year: Who would you climb for?
Warm Up:
Mosey to the left of the flag parking lot
- SSH
- Good Mornings
- Control Freak Merkins
- Left over Right / R over L calf stretch
- 10 burpees (No comment on who gifted us with them)
- Some other stuff
Thang 1:
Mosey to the right parking lot where the Q’s truck is parked and partner up in 2s
- P1 & P2 grab a fire hose from the back of the Qs truck
- P1 & P2 unroll the hose stopping at every parking line for 5 merkins
- P1 rolls up the hose into a bandolier-style while P2 runs to the rock pile, grabs an ego rock and lunge walks back up the hill
- Flip flop. P2 continues rolling the hose while P1 travels back down with the coupon
Repeato until we have 10 hoses rolled.
Thang 2:
- Everyone gets a hose so we can test our work
- Four corners 20 LBCs to start, add 10 each corner
- On the way ask each PAX individually where they were and what they rememeber about 9/11
Count-a-rama
2 Respects, 6 Mehs
- Announcements:
- 9/11 tomorrow, 10/5 Odyssey, 10/7 Golf Tournament
Prayers for the 9/11 families and other people tomorrow. Also for the people impacted by Dorian. YHC took us out.
NMS:
Thanks for letting me Tom Sawyer you guys this morning with the hoses.