Worcester 6

As an avid crossfitter I have always loved CF hero wods. The CF community’s acknowledgement of the sacrifice our service men and women have made in order to protect this country is a noble undertaking. Murph, Adam Brown, the Seven, etc are all beautifully brutal wods named after truly beautiful Americans. As a member of a CF affiliate in the Worcester MA region I can’t help but recall a tragic incident in this area in December 1999 when 6 firefighters were lost running in to a burning building bc they had been (mis)informed that there were two people inside. If you google the “Worcester 6” you will find numerous articles detailing the incident, and I have provided a link that I feel is the best article that summarizes the tragedy
 
http://www.esquire.com/features/perfect-fire-0700?click=main_sr
 
 
Sadly, the Worcester FD lost another member over the weekend, only a few days after the 12 anniversary of the Worcester Cold Storage Fire. In an eerily similar manner, WFF John Davies rushed in to a burning building bc he was told there was still someone inside. The building collapsed, killing Firefighter Davies, and we would find out days later there was no one inside. It is a moment that brings tears to the community, but also serves as a reminder, albeit a painful one, that the world is not devoid of heroes. That there still exists men and women who are willing to serve when called; who are willing to sacrifice when asked; who are willing to lay their life on the line for another, even a complete stranger, when the situation dictates it. There is no way to pay proper tribute to such heroes. No medals suffice and no words can encapsulate the selfless heroic nature of those who gave their lives so that we may live. It is my sincerest hope that someday the Worcester 6 (and perhaps even firefighter Davies) have a CF hero WOD named in their honor. The valor with which they served is far beyond my ability to ‘capture’ in an email. I humbly pray that one day I will log on to CrossFit.com and see a WOD called “The Worcester 6”. It would mean a lot to the community of Worcester, for as Stephen Splender once said in their lives they fought for life and left the vivid air signed with their honor.
 
MY SUGGESTION
WORCESTER 6
6 ROUNDS FOR TIME
6 DEAD LIFTS 315 POUNDS (THAT WAY IT IS 3 PLATES ON EACH SIDE; 6 TOTAL)
6 BOX JUMPS 36”
6 HSPU ON PARALLETTES
6 L PULLUPS (CHEST TO BAR)
6 STRICT SHOULDER PRESS 145 pounds (66kg)
600M ROW
 
Sincerely and Respectfully Submitted
 
Craig Boulay (member of CrossFit CenterMass)

I was working third shift that fateful Tuesday morning. Ironically it was one of those September days only someone from the north east could truly appreciate. You see as August turns into September most people in the area accept that as summer coming to an end. The days are noticeably shorter/colder, the kids are back in school, and the weekends are dominated by dreams of October baseball as well as the start of football. The leaves have not yet begun to turn, but the change in the air is palpable. Just as we are resigned to those facts we inevitably get one or two days that remind us of July. A day of brilliant sunshine and gentle zephyrs that force us to scramble for one more round of golf, one more day at the beach/pool, or to call in sick to work to do these things. That Tuesday was one of those days. The sun hung high. The mercury rose even early in the morning. I considered playing golf and ducked out of work at 7AM in order to do so. Unable to convince anyone to bang in to work ,I stopped at McDonalds, grabbed a handful of breakfast burritos and hash browns then headed home.



I began channel surfing and happened to skip over CNN around quarter to nine as they switched to live coverage in NYC about an “accident” involving a place and the WTC. I remember Paula Zahn discussing what she could see from CNN HQ and when they finally put a camera on the WTC I only had one thought in my mind…..there was no way that was an accident. The plane didn’t clip the WTC, or hit the antenna, it was dead in the middle of it. I have always been a cynic, and refused to believe that what the world was now seeing could have been anything but deliberate.



Shortly thereafter cameras captured the second plane crashing in to the second tower. The silence on the broadcast was deafening. My heart sunk. Selfishly I began to think about my friends who worked in and around NYC. I tried calling them to see if they were safe but couldn’t get through. Nothing but a busy signal. It was now even more evident that the United States was under attack in the most vile and despicable way imaginable. My brother called me and asked what I knew bc he was only hearing rumors at work. He was working at the Prudential building in Boston at the time and I told him if I were him I would get the hell out there. That this was no mistake. That there seemed to be a plot in place to hijack planes and crash them in to tall buildings. The call only lasted a minute or two but I couldn’t help but think how many other people must be having similar conversations…..sadder still how many people were never given the chance to.



As the day’s events continued to unfold the news broke about another plane crashing in to the Pentagon , another in Shanksville PA, and ultimately millions of us watched in abject horror as the twin Towers collapsed. I couldn’t help but jump to the conclusion that some Islamic jihadist must be behind all this. That bw “their” previous attempt to blow up the WTC , the embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya, only “they” would sink to this level of depravity. It must be their fault I thought; those radicals in the Middle East.



In history the middle east if often referred to as the cradle of civilization. I respectfully disagree. The only thing accurate about that contention is that many parts of the middle east are very much like an infant. A penchant for temper tantrums, an inability to form rational thoughts or put together a cogent argument. Not in any way self reliant, but rather reliant upon the politics of fear and hate mongering. For many the only message they spew is hate/intolerance; the only language they understand is violence. On 11 September 2001 “they” made this pronouncement to the world and in so doing thought they could break America, but they were wrong.



While America’s loss was tremendous that day; our resolve was greater. Whether those that hate us will ever realize it or not, America is the single greatest country on earth unified by a common bond and desire to be the best, the last best hope of man on Earth. America is benevolent beyond measure. Whenever tragedy strikes, who is there? Who leads the battle against man kinds terrible afflictions such as cancer and HIV? What country does more for the well being of others across the globe? Who led the charge on the beaches of Normandy and Okinawa to rid the world of brutal despots? Flying planes in to buildings will not and cannot change that. America continues to shine as a beacon of freedom and hope for the rest of the world. And no amount of hatred, no matter how it manifests itself, will ever change that. GOD BLESS AMERICA

Live a life that is a statement

Live a life that is a statement not an apology.

In my mind I always knew what this meant to me, but trying to define my life philosophy has proved more elusive than” greased up deaf guy”. Any life philosophy is difficult to enumerate. If it is true that “all the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances and one man in his time plays many parts” then I guess what I mean by living a life that is a statement not an apology is to tackle those many parts we all play with a zealousness heretofore unknown. Be bold, be daring, be memorable (moments of “ jack assery” like going down a flight of stairs in a shopping cart are acceptable as long as they are few and far between). Mistakes will be made, I know this better than anyone, but make your life a statement , a living testament to what you believe in and hold dear. Don’t be a spectator, or try to please the masses. Don’t be afraid to be a contrarian when it’s called for, but never be one just for the sake of being one. Doing those things turns your life in to an apology, a sorry ass way to live.


Stand up for what you believe in and leave little to doubt about as to where you stand. Love unconditionally, and laugh uncontrollably…doing these two things alone will make your life complete. Find something to dedicate yourself to (a worthwhile hobby that will make you a well rounded person…reading, writing, fitness, an instrument etc). Treat your body well, when you get older you will be happy you did. You only get one and you can’t trade it in. Surround yourself with good people, in doing so good things will happen to you and you will be able to take on anything that life throws at you, ANYTHING. Believe that. I know it to be true. Never abandon someone in need, for one day it may be you who needs the shoulder to cry on, or help up off the ground.

Never give up. Recognize that life’s biggest disappointments/setbacks are actually life’s biggest learning opportunities. True story. It will never seem it at the time, but remember, nothing worth learning can be taught. Work to live, don’t live to work, otherwise the statement you are making is the wrong one and you will owe an apology to your spouse/kids/friends bc you weren’t around enough. Your time means more to them than anything else. The key question to keep asking is, Are you spending your time on the right things? Because time is all you have, and you may find one day that you have less than you think. So make your life a statement bc one day it will flash before your eyes, and you need to make it worth watching.

If you have forgiveness in your heart for Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold than you're a bigger person than I am. I'd be lying if I said I didn't hope that they are burning in hell but today isn't about that, nor should it be. We as a society forget too much, too fast. Columbine was 12 years ago, how many of you even remembered or thought about it today without being reminded by someone or something you heard/saw? Be honest. That is not to say you are a bad person for not remembering, it just goes to the point that we forget too much, too fast. Admittedly distance is part of the healing process but there are people out there will never heal from those events. Part of the problem being that the two perpetrators chose to end that despicable act with a final act of cowardice by taking their own lives thereby robbing us of any chance to even try to understand why it happened.

When one student asked Eric and Dylan what they were doing when they burst into the library that fateful afternoon the response was as simple as it was evil..."Killing people" was the reply. I cannot possibly fathom how a heart could be so black; what could possibly motivate someone to sink to that level of depravity. Since that day there has been much debate regarding gun control. The far left and far right are both so far off base that they do not represent what I believe (and hope) to be the vast majority of peoples opinion on the matter. The trite old sayings of the far right make me sicker than bad dairy eaten during a drunken binge. The line guns don't kill people, people kill people is as overused as it is inaccurate. The fact remains that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold would never have been able to unleash upon the innocent student body of Columbine the abject horror that they did without guns.

Our friends from the left have called for a total ban on handguns. To the liberals I say that outlawing hand guns is an impeachment of our civil rights, and would not stop these senseless acts of violence. The people of Washington D.C. actually tried this, they outlawed handguns. It was a failure in stemming violence and was ultimately struck down by the court system anyway.

To the right I’d ask how it makes an ounce of sense that it is harder to get a driver’s license than it is to get a gun? I’d also suggest they actually read the second amendment rather than just quote your favorite part of it like a school child repeating a catchy chorus from the Billboard top 20. The entire second amendment reads "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed”, but the right wing only ever recites the right of a people to keep and bear arms. For Christ sake the word regulated appears in the amendment! It is not my position that we should have a ban on handguns, but certainly we can and must do a better job with gun control.

Thomas Hobbes wrote in Leviathan that one of the main reasons man enters into a society is to protect himself from the “war of every man against every man”. That the main impetus for the formation of societies is we make tiny sacrifices so that we may be afforded some kind of protection from each other, and random acts of violence. Yet as society evolved and became more sophisticated, the places that we should feel the safest, the grocery store, work, SCHOOL, have become scenes of bedlam and bloodshed. Can anyone tell me why? Or can anyone tell me how to stop it?
For starters why don’t we set a minimum age in which someone must be in order to own a handgun? Make it a crime for anyone under the age of 21 to even own a hand gun (exceptions made for those in the armed forces and police). There is no other reason someone under 21 needs to own a hand gun. Secondly we absolutely must do a better job controlling what happens at gun shows. Background checks aren’t run, and a lot of straw sales stem from these shows. I don’t necessarily believe, nor do studies show, that stiffer penalties are a deterrent. However, what stiffer penalties can, and will do, is combat recidivism. The longer someone is in jail, the harder it becomes for them to commit another crime. Those who deal/sell guns illegally need to be subjected to the stiffest penalties allowable by law. Those who illicitly deal guns are no better, and in some ways worse, than drug traffickers. They should be treated as such.

We should also punish gun makers/manufacturers who knowingly make guns that can be easily transformed in to automatic weapons. While we are it, I would even support an outright ban on many, if not all, fully automatic weapons. There is just no rationale behind a person owning a tech 9, an uzi, a street sweeper etc let alone two or three of them! Remember what Hobbes said…..we make tiny sacrifices in order to afforded some kind of protection, I think foregoing ownership of fully automatic weapons is a small enough sacrifice we can/should all make. I don't profess to have the answers, but what I do know is we need to make it as difficult as possible for guns to end up in the hands of children.

We would all like to believe that what happened at Columbine was preventable but I am not sure. As long as free will exists, than so too will evil. The shootings were an act of terror and my thoughts and prayers are with families of the victims as well as the survivors. It’s been twelve years , 4380 days since that fateful morning. I still remember when the news broke. I was in my senior year of college and was playing FIFA soccer on play station instead of going to class (real surprise). My friends and I caught the breaking news and looked on in disbelief. I remember looking at Frank Leone, Pat Tuohy, Beav and others who were at my house and saying “what the fuck? We are bringing guns to school now??” I was both dumbfounded and heartbroken. I had been in high school just four years earlier and had never imagined something like that happening. Our country was forever/irrevocably changed on the 20th of April 1999. I simply ask today at some point you remember those who were brutally terrorized and executed for no other reason than they were at SCHOOL.

The Philosophy of Failure

During Obama’s presidency I have grown tired of hearing about what people are entitled to. Whatever happened to duties and obligations? There can only be one answer, socialism places entitlements above duties and obligations. But let us not forget that Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery (Winston Churchill).

Many state attorneys general have noted that ObamaCare is the first time Americans would be forced to buy a good or service, which is why they are challenging the constitutionality of it. So how do they justify this? As a bit of a fitness fanatic I bet we could save just as much money by literally forcing people to work out. Obama tried to pass a law that for the first time in American history would force Americans to buy a good or service, so why not force them to buy a gym membership and force them to work out? Is this ok with you socialists out there? If the justification for forcing them to buy health care is b/c it is good for them, well I submit so isn’t working out and would absolutely improve their overall health, thereby making it cost less to insure them. So Socialists is that ok? Socialism is absolutely an infringement on individual rights, socialists cannot get around that fact no matter how hard they try.

For the record I reread the constitution and only found the word entitled (or any permutation thereof) once in Article IV Section 2 basically stating that a citizen of any state had the same rights as the citizen of any other state. Interestingly enough Article IV Section 2 also guarantees a “Republican Form of Government”.

Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude. This country was born out of a set of ideals, the key components of which were rugged individualism, that the best government is the government that governs least, and that individual liberties must be protected. That no one was to be given a free ride, and that government was meant to treat us all as equals before the law, and give us all one vote. Government was never meant to be, nor should it ever be, meant to make us all equals in terms of wealth, property ownership, or even the level of education we all receive. It is about guaranteeing equal opportunity, not equal outcome.

Obama has said on more than one occasion that the rich need to pay their fair share, according to figures from the IRS it appears to me that they already do. “The top-earning 25 percent of taxpayers earned 68.7 percent of the nation's income, but they paid more than four out of every five dollars collected by the federal income tax (86.6 percent). The top 1 percent of taxpayers earned approximately 22.8 percent of the nation's income (as defined by AGI), yet paid 40.4 percent of all federal income taxes. That means the top 1 percent of tax returns paid more in federal individual income taxes than the bottom 95 percent of tax returns. The bottom 50% on the other hand paid just 2.89% of income taxes collected. “

I support a progressive tax, it is the only way this country will work but as Sam Seaborn once said " I paid my fair share, and the fair share of twenty-six other people. And I'm happy to because that's the only way it's gonna work, and it's in my best interest that everybody be able to go to schools and drive on roads, but I don't get twenty-seven votes on Election Day. The fire department doesn't come to my house twenty-seven times faster and the water doesn't come out of my faucet twenty-seven times hotter. The top one percent of wage earners in this country pay for twenty-two percent of this country. Let's not call them names while they're doing it, is all I'm saying". I find it offensive when the president, or anyone for that matter says the rich need to pay their fair share for the exact same reason Same Seaborn did. I am not in the top 1%, may never be, but that doesn't mean I support taxing them at a ridiculous rate when almost 50% of this country pays no taxes at all. If he honestly believes that the rich are not paying their fair share then he is more out his mind than Charlie Sheen banging 7 gram rocks. To even suggest the rich need to pay more, or their "fair share", is socialist.

Being a citizen of the greatest country on earth is not about entitlements, even though this president would have us believe that being a citizen of this country is something that everyone is entitled to, including those who broke the law to get here. It is about duties and obligations. It is our duty as citizens to work hard and pay the taxes we owe. It is our duty that if we choose to have kids that we raise them right, and provide them with a safe home that fosters stability and is conducive to learning. Sometimes I get the feeling that this White House feels that government is better for children than parents are. That it looks at 40 years of degrading and humiliating free lunches handed out in a spectacularly failed effort to level the playing field and says let’s try 40 more. This White House that says of anyone that points that out to them that they are cold and mean and racists and then accuses the Republicans of using the politics of fear. And just yesterday a school in the city of Chicago (Obama’s hometown) banned kids from bringing lunches made at home. Are you f-n kidding me? If that is not clearly an infringement on individual rights, and a move toward socialism, than I do not know what is.

As Cecil Palmer once said ““Socialism is workable only in heaven where it isn't needed, and in hell where they've got it”.

Half the man...

On my best day I am half the man my father is. I cannot spell out it any simpler than that. The older I get, the more aware I become of this fact. We share many character traits my dad and I...a penchant for the drink, gambling, sarcasm, loyalty, intelligence and insanity. However, it is impossible for me to tell you how many times in my life someone has asked me " oh your last name is Boulay, is Ed Boulay your dad?". Now my dad and I are extremely close and have joked that we should always ask why someone wants to know if we know the other before we answer....but without exception when asked, I hold my head high, pump my chest out, and respond "yes he is my father" the response is always "he is a great guy".

Filled with pride I always reply "yea, he is" and anticipate that the conversation will end there. It never does though, instead it typically continues with the inquisitor insisting on buying me a drink, which makes me think two things:
1. Thanks dad for managing to buy me a drink when you're not even here
2. Umm dad how many f-n drinks have you bought people in your lifetime that this total stranger is insisting on buying me one? Not that I mind...just wondering...

Success can be defined many ways or measured by millions of different metrics. Life is arbitrary like that. One man’s failure is another’s success, and vice versa. Monetary success, to me, is the least important of them all. I have always believed that money does NOT change people, no matter what the mass media may have us believe. In my opinion, it just underscores or exaggerates who that person already was. A scumbag with millions is just a bigger, more notorious scumbag, you need look no further than the NBA/NFL to see that (Shawn Kemp, Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Cromartie, Chris Henry--he gone). And a billionaire philanthropist in all likelihood was always a charitable giving person, upon achieving success they just had more to donate. Is it any wonder that the two richest men in the world have decided to donate their fortunes to various charities rather than leave it all to their families?

Now my dad is no multi millionaire who donates bundles of money to charities across the globe, but don't be mistaken he is generous and philanthropic beyond measure. Generosity with money comes easy to him. Throughout his life he always, ALWAYS, told me money meant nothing. That if he had it, and a friend needed it, then it was his duty to help them out and not ask questions. Without exception he has walked the talk. He has lived humbly and helped many people out when needed. But his generosity goes so far beyond that, that it is really difficult to comprehend and impossible to quantify.

A more generous man there has never been. He donates his time to those around him far beyond whatever is asked of him. Growing up this often manifested itself as him coaching every single team me and my two brothers played on. He never put work ahead of any of us, and in all of our years he never missed a game. We never wanted for anything as kids, except maybe a little bigger house. Let's be honest...that place was bedlam growing up. I would like to believe we put the fun in dysfunctional, but mainly we just put our parents patience to the test. As we grew older our parents footed the bill so that we graduated whatever college we wanted to go to with zero debt. Something I for one did not deserve, if for no other reason than I am convinced I had the highest cost per class attended of anyone who has ever walked the face of this earth. As we grow older our parents spoil their grand kids, making an annual Disney trip almost a given at this point. My father also donates huge chunks of his time to a friend who suffered a stroke years back. Taking him everywhere, just trying his best to be a good friend. I can’t say I have seen many, if any, people go to the lengths he does.

It would be remiss of me not to mention my mom as well. As they say, behind every great man is a great woman. My mom stands behind 3 great men, my father and two brothers. Admittedly I don’t have as much in common with her as I do my dad, but to say she is a saint is a bit understated. A woman who has spent 40+ years with my father, and raised 4 kids (3 boys only 5 years apart and major pains in the ass) shows she is a woman of infinite patience, something I both admire and lack. They have always provided me support without judgment, love without condition, and have been bedrocks of stability for their kids. And I can say this authoritatively…knowing their kids that was not easy!


Tragically today I am attending a funeral of a very close friend whose father passed away. I feel so empty and helpless bc I know nothing I say can assuage his anguish. However, what I can do is remind all of you who feel the way I do about their fathers to tell them before it is too late. Furthermore, I can let the world know how lucky I am to have the father/mother I do. I am proud to be able to call Ed Boulay my friend, prouder still to be able to call him my father bc there are only four people on this planet so privileged.

I have been on a hiatus the last few months, life gets in the way all too often, and by life I mean Budweiser, cookies and sandwiches. I promised myself that I would write more in 2011, and it did not take long to find a reason why. The federal government can always be counted on for many things, taxes, irresponsible spending/decision making, wide stances in public bathrooms and activist judges who in the past have ruled that our pledge of allegiance is unconstitutional. Today a 3 judge panel ruled that a cross in a cemetery in San Diego is unconstitutional. What is even more frightening is that they ruled 3-0, meaning not one of the three judges had enough common sense, or guts, to say that we have taken political correctness too far. Maybe I shouldn't be shouldn’t be so surprised given the ruling came out of California, a state who currently has a worse credit rating than Kazakhstan. Borat has better credit than the state of California. FACT. So clearly we should entrust national decision making to such a responsible people. After all, if they had their way they would also allow Borat to vote even though he is not a citizen of this country. I make this point bc it is clearly delineated in the constitution that you must be a citizen to vote but many counties (i.e. San Francisco) in California allow, and even encourage, illegal aliens to vote in local elections and have gone as far as saying illegal aliens should be allowed to vote in statewide and national elections. I think maybe they need a dictionary and this entire controversy could have been avoided. It seems very reminiscent of an incident involving Dr Nick Riviera when he blows up his office because he didn’t understand the definition of the world inflammable and yells "inflammable means flammable? Ugh what a country!" I can make no other conclusion than California is being governed and judiciated by thousands of Dr Nick Riviera's....you mean unconstitutional does not mean constitutional? What a country!

The reality is that the cross existed long before Jesus. Is it a symbol often associated with Christianity? Sure. But for starters that’s a pretty damn big group, Catholics, Protestants, Anglicans, Lutherans, Evangelicals, Baptists, Adventists, etc etc. But the cross itself stands for much more than that, and is no more unconstitutional than the phrase "In God We Trust" on all of our currency and a recent Gallup poll showed 90% of Americans supported leaving that saying on there(the 10% who disagreed were 'vacationing' at Guantanamo).

Personally I have divorced the Catholic Church (I like using that word since the Church itself would not allow divorces for so long....it's like the Seinfeld when George preemptively breaks up with the blonde who is about to leave him. They get back together, then at the end of the episode she leaves him and emphatically says NOW I AM LEAVING YOU!...that’s how I feel with the church....I digress). I cannot and will not support a group whose leadership acted the way it did during the whole sex abuse scandal. Cardinal Law, and now the Pope, having knowledge of the problem(s) and standing idly by are irreconcilable for me. Furthermore, I do not believe in original sin, never could, and as such will never have a desire to have any children of mine baptized, not that I judge those who do, I am simply saying I would not. I could go on and on, but my point is I divorced the church but still find the cross to mean something much more than just a symbol of Christianity. Over time the cross has come to be, in my mind anyway, the ultimate symbol of sacrifice; the very embodiment of the word regardless of religious beliefs.

When used to adorn a cemetery or a grave the cross symbolizes the sacrifice that was made by those who are interned there. Much like Jesus died for his beliefs (whether you believe he was the messiah or not there is no debate that Jesus existed and was crucified), the soldiers in those cemeteries laid the ultimate sacrifice upon the altar of freedom for us. They died so that we may live freely. They died because they believed this country and its ideals were worth dying for. When called upon to serve, they did not waiver, they did not question, rather they made “uncommon valor a common virtue”. And now, rather than let them rest in peace as the heroes they are, we choose to bicker about whether or not the cross is constitutional. COME ON!


Those men and women sacrificed their lives protecting the very constitution that these moon bats are now trying to use to remove a symbol of the sacrifice they made. What’s next? Do we remove the stand alone crosses in Arlington National Cemetery? According to the judges who ruled the cross unconstitutional at Mount Soledad we would have to. I am as big an advocate of the first amendment as anyone, but let's be clear about what the first amendment says...it says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;". Tell me where the violation is. The cross at the cemetery neither prohibits the free exercise of any religion, nor does it represent a law respecting the establishment of a national religion. It symbolizes a sacrifice made by honorable men and women who we are now dishonoring. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has taken common sense and made it an uncommon virtue.