PAX: Suckle, Pop, Maneater, Roxbury, Valve
AO: Tuesday Tuff
By: Paradox
6 Tuesday Tuffians posted on a standard balmy bayou morning. All the signs of sultry summer were in full swing: Maneater is on a 10 beatdown shirtless streak, Popeye stuck in contemplation of grass cutting patterns , Suckle and Rox seem to somehow improve as the heat index increases and safety valve is on week 3 of communicating in scowls and head shaking. The work commuters were present silently judging with their high beams and like clockwork the walking SUV guy would be there in a few minutes. Everything progressing like most F3 Thibodaux deep summers except one massive sorrowful elephant on the concrete….a gaping waterfowl shaped hole in all of our hearts…
As you know by now, Goose, our F3 thib founder/Nantan has moved on to Lafayette and accepted a Regional Director Himalayan DoorDash position. Who can blame him. We all knew this day would come. The man is surely talented plus the position uniquely suited to his mountain trained children who can now transport combination Pizza Hut/Tacobell meals fresh to rich Everest thrill seekers. A match made in heaven but I digress. The point is it was a position you don’t pass on and requisitioned by one you don’t say no to.
But none of this helps YHCs pain so let’s try to focus on what matters. To compound the misery YHC had missed most of the festivities in his last week, Gooses last Q , Gooses last beatdown, even last soft cadence criticism. Trauma after trauma. I was fortunate enough to partake in the final moving effort but I still needed closure. I needed a way to view it all. To attempt to encapsulate what Goose did for us , the torch he carried and the example he left. …
Duke! Roll that beautiful planet earth bean footage!
**The following immersive backblast experience is best enjoyed if you Imagine a hybrid narration voice of David Attenborough and Jeff Foxworthy.
…close your eyes …now open your eyes dummy this here is a reading document
…now see and hear that voice
Cue the Rapid Fire intro shots of flowers growing and slow mo bees to get the juices flowing…
*Now wide angle lens as we approach a Flying V
…. Let it carry you to the far northern shore of the big lake PunchEnTrain where we will observe for the first time ultra rare footage of an extraordinary creature…
It begins with this birds distinct classification:
Domain: Eukarryacoupon
Kingdom: of God
Phylum: He ain’t filing nothing
Order: Caniac, sub the slaw for extra toast IYKYK
Family : Catholic and Numerous
Genus : Dawson
Species : GOOSE
We zoom in on the horizon just 5 years ago to see the Dawson Goose in flight south . We see the Goose in his migratory phase. Feeling the intense urge to move his nest and goslings. Driven by his creator, he flies south across the big water and settles his flock in a live oak. Immediately after scattering bikes and mardi gras footballs about the nest, thus declaring it settled, he begins to look around for one thing. For this bird is uniquely created for a difficult task, leading men.
He begins the ritual simply. Not by force. Not by profit. Not even by honks and flapping about but by example.
He struts just outside the nest , stretches his aching wings and creaking webbed knees , and like he learned from birds of the northern shore, he begins to suffer with physical fitness.
He proceeds, mostly solo at first. All the time searching
And reassuring himself: There are brother birds here, surely? . arent there others here who need this?What about the young roosters at the bird university? Ney, too early in the am . Maybe the big Tyson chickens at the gyms? Na
, too conceited. But …there is another group … the weathered but still fighting middle aged dad birds.
And this is where he finds many and begins to imprint:
The Goose Lessons
(These were done in additive format reverse Billy Madison style with a track lap in between .)
Exercise-12 No Cheat Merkins
Lesson: Keep Good Form or let the Nicholls marketing professor call you baby snake for years. It’s really that your choice.
Exercise – 11 Curls
Lesson- simple is repeatable
Exercise 10 OHP
When in doubt – Prayer
Exercise 9 – Get on the Line
Goose’s Jamaican/Haitian? Basketball Coach
Exercise 8 : Coupon Rows
Lesson : Sea Shanty are Gods gift of music for a group of working men
Exercise 7: 7 burpees
Lesson : BurpeePalooza
When properly entertained , burpees are the least of your worries.
Exercise 6 : 6 WW3s
Lesson : Speak your opinion and be confident , even if it means a musical war that might last decades and beating your friends with a sledgehammer while calling them heretics.
Exercise 5 : 5 manmakers
lesson: Make the men around you better
Exercise 4 : 4 Goblet Squats
Lesson : Build a Strong Foundation ( A Donkey Butt, with big ole legs)
Exercise 3 : 3 Peter Parker Merkins
Lesson : if you can’t be yourself Be Spider-Man.
Excuse 2 Bear Crawl
Lesson : Things are going to get messy. You gotta get on the ground.
Exercise 1 Sprint
Lesson : We don’t know the day, nor the hour. Ask the Lord to extend your effort beyond what you can do alone.
These were the Lessons , among many others.
Lessons that are not written or spoken or sold or PowerPointed or tick toked.
They were learned and earned while suffering side by side with the Goose.
We Counted off and named off and many pondered how much the invisible ink board would cost the foundation. This was a great distraction from the real cost of the Grand Caymans trip during a cabinet transition but that’s for another blast.
Planet Earth Post Credits
We return now to see the Goose 5 years later, he still bears the mark of the roided gator.
Once again he hears the migration call, and prepares for flight but sees one last pax circle form below in his sight.
A Tuesday tuff group below on ground, watching him fly out and looking around.
They warm up with a nod and a grateful salute, Maneater even moved by single dry toot
Knowing they are better due to that bird , a level of thanks that surpasses a word.
Then they set off in mosey run, while reflecting on all that was done
So much to cover with the Goose and his peers , feeling deceived , had it really been 5 years??
Sure He didn’t know Collins was an angels harp but he always prepped September to make the iron sharp
Were my warmups stupid or just patent pending , yet somehow he knew the only way up was condescending
He put pax in wet grass without much flare , He blew out a shoulder and his doctor was Bonnie Blair
If he found you sad he’d assure your not broke, then Merkin you to life with a proper dad joke
Competition brought his fire, even lawn darts, he’s a rounded llama fluent in fine arts and great farts
He sees the good in most and Grace for the rest , not even sandwich hate with Americas Best
He brought music to the pax and avoided most drama, he even tried country and we were left with his Mama
To see his great scoff if you mentioned new fads, He helped show us value in being husbands and dads.
Embracing schisms amongst various groups , even partaking in non accidental Whoops
He knew a lot about the men without being a creeper, He saw faith amongst them and asked to only make it deeper
Take measure of this man by how he impacted others. He met strangers on the bayou and now they are his brothers
And so the mosey pax returned on that morning, nice and loose
Men fully alive who learned to fly with the Goose
See You in the Gloom Brother
Thanks for this gift.
Dox