Sunday musings 5/13/12
Sunday musings…
1) Stalls. Either the dividing walls are low or there are some very tall guys at the Expo Center.
2) Production. I admit it…I have a CF problem. I watched the video feed of the Central East Regionals on Friday while doing unavoidable stuff. They were pretty darned good. Not NFL Game Day good, but frankly the ESPN3 feed and the CrossFit on-air talent was better than much of what we see on ESPNU by a long shot. Very fun, even for the non-CF’ers with me.
Makes me very excited to see what’s to come from Carson and the Games this summer.
3) People. “I like the animals; I LOVE the people”. (Movie quote). Sub in “workouts” for “animals” and you pretty much have CrossFit nailed for me.
Why? It’s a combination of finding the same thing each time I meet people in the CrossFit community for the first time, and watching the personal development of CrossFit folks I’ve known for many years. It never fails to amaze me how CrossFitters assume goodwill on the part of another CrossFitter they’ve just met. There is an assumption that you are going to be friendly, maybe friends. You welcome, and are welcomed by, each new CrossFit acquaintance, and it happens right away.
Without plans while waiting to hear from a friend last night I received no fewer than 6 invitations to dinner, most from folks I only really know a little, and one from a family I’d just met. Many thanks to all, but especially to the parents of one very special competitor who extended an invite to the Old Guy they’d literally just met!
It’s also striking to watch the personal development of CrossFit folks I’ve known for years now. Some of these people have become really big deals, and not just the competitors. Bigger jobs with lots of visibility and responsibility, successes piling upon one another. And yet each of these folks has retained a sense of humility that seems to be so often lost in other worlds as success arrives. They seem quite happy, too, even when under the gun. Their memories are long and the goodwill endures. One of them, arguably the busiest CrossFit person on the premises, took a few minutes he didn’t have to chat with an old friend. I’m glad I could make it too, Tony!
I spent a lot of my day smiling yesterday.
4) Mother’s Day. There’s a rather serious tone that pervades our CrossFit world when a new Hero is first introduced. Indeed, there’s been a rather serious tone ’round these parts ever since the “CrossFit for Hope” benefit was announced. How, you might ask, are these two things related, and how, for Heaven’s sake, are they related to Mother’s Day?
“He is survived by his parents, Ray and Pat…”
It’s been said that there are few things that are more painful than losing a child. No parent should have to bury a child. How often have you heard something like this? It’s a hard and dangerous world out there, and men like Mark Forrester do the hard and dangerous work necessary to keep the rest of us safe and secure. We mourn them, thank them for their sacrifice, but especially today we must look homeward toward a mother who has lost a child. We must look to her with arms outstretched to offer whatever support and comfort might be had.
Illness presents a different scenario, one that feels quite random and altogether unfair. No one asks for a life-threatening illness; no one volunteers for cancer. It’s especially poignant when this befalls a child, and then by extension a parent. It consumes you, fills up all of the spaces in your world and then some as you fight to save your child. There seems to be so little you can do, your desire and willingness to do so much notwithstanding.
This is in part because the people and the things that will help a mother save her child are the fruits of labors long-completed, the harvest of plantings made possible by the generosity of those who have gone before. 40 years ago only 25% of so of children with childhood leukemia survived. Now, through the generosity of millions and the foresight and talent of people like those at St. Jude’s hospital, ~90% of children survive.
90% survive to celebrate a Mother’s Day.
This is how these things are related, and this is what we should talk about when we discuss “CrossFit for Hope.” We are led by generous people who genuinely care about stuff like this, and it is on this that we should focus. Especially today.
So Happy Mother’s Day to Pat Forester; we grieve for your loss M’am and we pray for your comfort. Happy Mother’s day to Mrs. Foucher in Columbus, Ohio; thank you for sharing stories of your daughters and for your gracious dinner invitation. Happy Mother’s day to Grambingo, who is still convinced that her eldest is in need of parenting (which he may very well be!), and to Grammybingo who is comfortable that her daughter will ask if she does.
And Happy Mother’s Day to my darling Mrs. bingo, still blessedly the mother of 3 children through the generosity and talents of others long ago which were harvested when our child was in need.
I’ll see you next week…
Posted by bingo at May 13, 2012 5:34 AM
This entry was posted on Sunday, May 13th, 2012 at 8:54 am and is filed under Crossfit, Random Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.