Anyone who has spent more than two minutes with Oz knows his love for all things military and military history related. Though he’ll read about it all, weaponry; uniforms;battle logistics; etc. all day long he has the most passion for information revolving around WW II. From the time he was four, his favorite movie has been The Longest Day. Yes, four. My four year old would sit down and watch the entire movie of The Longest Day. From there he’s gone on to love Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers but his first exposure to John Wayne sticks closest to his heart.
Oz has been talking about D-Day all week, waiting for it, with full permission from the Ma to sit in front of the History channel all day. ***EDIT: The History channel has chosen today to air stupid shows such as American Restoration and Cajun Pawn Stars. Losers. So the kid is now sitting in front of the Military Channel all day. ***
So when I woke up to an e-mail from Stef with the following video, it made me smile. Stef and Oz are very good buds so of course she’d understand that this is a big day for him. It touches the Ma’s heart, as does the video. I have no understanding what had run through these men’s minds and I’ve had the very honored pleasure of spending time with veterans who stormed two of those beaches. I’ve heard their words, but still have no understanding of what is felt, deep in their hearts. I have no words that could explain the admiration I have for these soldiers courage and bravery. So I’ll stop and simply say thank you.
A few weeks before school was out for the summer, Oz asked me to drive him the next morning. Umkay, that’s kind of weird because he loves to ride his bike to school. I say something like ‘Sure bud, why?’ He comes back with something like ‘I want to do a combat roll out of the car.’ Made perfect sense.
So day one with the combat roll out of the car was fun and the Mom behind me had a WTF! face that was priceless. But it didn’t get on video. And you know the rules, if it’s not on video…it didn’t happen. So Combat roll take two only this time we both rode our bikes up to school and I brought the camera. Here it is:
Now the combat roll and run into school had me cracking up pretty good. Then as I watched the video, I noticed a little dude running into school behind Oz and that got me thinking…did I ever “run” into school? I think the last time I liked anyplace enough to “run” into it, food and alcohol were involved (as in me getting there fast.) I started watching the kids after that and sure as shit, most of them run into the school. It’s awesome. Bigg told Oz they would have a combat roll/run off at some point…stay tuned for that video.
Which brings us to the screaming. Our new home is a house away from an Elementary school and the Cheesehead kids are still cooped up, poor things. While I was just sitting here enjoying my steak and eggs and French press coffee, they seemed to take an impromptu recess break (I’m guessing more for the teachers.) Heh. Anyways, the screaming coming from the playground was epic. I’m quite sure not one of those kids used a voice resembling anything other than a shrill, “I must be louder than everyone else” sound. Which got me thinking again, when was the last time I screamed with such abandonment? Can’t remember but it was probably at some type of hockey game or other sporting event (and yes, alcohol was probably involved.)
So here’s my challenge to you (the few anyway reading this), in the next week go ahead and Roll, Run, and/or Scream. Oh, screaming at your kids doesn’t count, that’s too normal. Go ahead, I dare ya. Run into work. Roll out of a conference room chair. Scream while running (no, you can’t scream at your kids’ soccer and baseball games, that just makes you a douche’ sport parent.) This is about you. Do it. Report back.
Misha Koklyaev is one of Bigg’s favorite Strongman to compete with. Misha trains and lives with dedication, tenacity, and joy. Yup. Joy. Bigg says that whatever he’s doing, he’s doing it with a smile. He loves training and competing (and family time but Bigg’s experiences involve competition) and his love for life shines through in everything he does.
Personally, I think that’s pretty cool. Here he pulls 753# for a set of 10. WHAT? Yup. You can even hear a little chuckling afterwards. Crazy. Absolutely crazy.
On a side note: Congratulations to Bigg who has been invited to Poland for the Champions League in Europe. (Yes, originally he was asked for Portugal but that won’t work out.) Unfortunately, Poland is a week before America’s Strongest Man so that may not work. Stay tuned. In the meantime, see past pictures and event updates here: http://www.strongmancl.com/website2010/.
