Recalling while drinking 12:30 AM, 6/16/2022
Sean’s wife, before escaping like Isrаel across The Red Sea in the wake of the coming testosterone deluge, bought lots of bacon, eggs, burgers and dogs and made a few trays of cheesy pasta and chicken for the first night. The bagels, rolls and bread on the table would have had Guru Rick in high dungeon. The chickens received my portion of bread. For dinner on day one I sliced up a cold stick of unsalted butter and ate it with strawberries, civilized like with knife and fork. A child was confused and Kieth assured her that Mister James was merely clogging an artery.
While Mescaline and I arrived on Thursday in time to help set up and finish some fencing on Friday morning, the rest of the folks arrived from 3 P.M. until midnight, mostly depending on how far they had to travel. In the future, I would highly recommend traveling in three’s. Fighters coming alone across long distances, like Paul, should bring a wife or other non combatant who drives. Eventually, someone is going to get hurt doing this—that’s why we do it in large measure, to enjoy taking that chance. In amateur boxing KO victims are not permitted to drive themselves home. Concussions happen.
I had planned on drinking a lot on Saturday night, Andy Edwards even walked me back to the house after our podcast so I could get drunk—and I just drank 2 beers. We did not do much drinking, I think due to all the sweating.
At the house we had three gathering areas, The dinning room table, the living room and the porch, which flowed nicely. We had a shortage of coffee mugs, which I think I can fix. There was no shortage of coffee come mornings, with two pots on. If we are set to get ore people next year somebody needs to bring an Alcoholics Anonymous size gravity pour coffee maker.
Cory slept in his car, at his size, basically a hammock with wheels, one night, and the other night slept in the actual hammock.
Marcus slept on the gravel driveway the first night—savage—and on the wrestling mat the second night.
Backfist Mick slept two nights on the mat.
These men and most of the others brought a sleeping bag and a foam pad.
Andrew slept in a stealth camping hide that was all of three feet at the head, with a bug net.
Mister Tony, Kieth and Mescaline Franklin set up a tent row.
The Brick Mouse, perhaps slept in a tree. Where else would Peter Pan with a tazer sleep?
Black Metal slept on the mat, picking the best spot, Marcus wondering if he marked his perimeter with piss to keep me in the poorest spot by the door…
Paul slept with His Woman at some hotel in town.
Our Man of Mystery also dwelt in a hotel, and was nice enough to take me back there for a shower. The logistics of showering on a small well-fed hot water heater was military. Sean is planning on running electric and water to the gym, which was powered for the event by a six hour gas generator. Some of the men attending work in trades and offered help with this. [1]
Since Dennis! has to eat every 2 hours to keep up his massive muscles, I suppose he never wandered far from the fridge or the toilet in the house.
This old hoodrat slept on the mat the first night and in the ring the second night.
In the future, I recommend sleeping in the ring, it is off the ground, the guys on the mat will be eaten first by the werewolves and boogermen... And besides the ring is actually more padded than the mat.
Sean set up a bucket and saw dust toilet in a vertical tent and plans on setting in an outhouse next year.
The gym is as hot in the late afternoon as any prefab structure is. At night and early in the morning, it is softly lit by the moon directly and then by the rising sun obliquely, and with the side door nothing but magnetic mesh and the main door a roll up affair left open, the ventilation is great and the fans are not needed.
After sharing gas costs and driving, some of the men gave Sean food money on Sunday, which was much appreciated, as we ate $100 in chow at least.
Sean is considering a large gravity cooler for next year. Since we all got into fighting, if it had been ten degrees hotter half of us would have been down with heat stroke. Next year we need some big coolers of ice and sports drink and some busy body making sure we drink.
Some of the machetes had to be discarded until next year due to deep nicks and the fact that the only file available was rusty, which is not what you want filing the edge of something you are about to rip into your mate with. Next year, we need fresh files.
Paul brought a horse liniment that turned out to be just what the knucklehead doctor ordered for our bruises. The horse foot doctor did note that one of my toes is not attached to the right place on the foot...oops.
Marcus, Kieth and Andy stepped up to time many of the fights when organization broke down. So, I really want a match maker-time keeper for next year.
Also, next year, when we register, men who are willing to coach, either as fighters or non-combatants [2] should note this. One thing we did not have, was debriefing coaches, Sean did some of this on the side, letting a man know what he needed to work on for his next bout. Ideally we have a coach from each state-region, for each event.
Overall, the crucial aspect of this event was the mix in age and experience, that allowed regular guys in their twenties, thirties and forties to mix it up in boxing and weapons with fighters with serious experience and discover that stepping up is what it is all about. I came with a real aversion to boxing more than one time, recalling how easy I am to hit now. But I did five rounds and didn’t get my reconstructed nose reconfigured. Boxing seems to be the keystone to this experience.
Next year I’d like to see some novice grappling with the experienced gorillas that rolled this year cornering fresh meat. If the next factory made plague doesn’t get me this winter, I’d like to roll with some new grapplers, and, if Juan Stabone can give me a rain check, grapple with him.
I noted how I get hit less damaging blows since I have lost weight and know fighters who started to get neck injuries when sparring over their natural weight classes. Sean is adamant that fighters scale at an athletic weight, 265 or less being ideal, largely for their safety. In 2023, we will do weigh ins on training day to help match making, put a focus on fitness and practice making weight for men who have their eye on sanctioned events.
Andy and I stood on the first night looking at the fireflies and he said, “I had always sworn that I would not live east of the Mississippi. But here I am, and I never even knew that these fire flies existed.”
We used to call them lightning bugs in Baltimore and would catch them in glass canning jars with holes punched in the lids to illuminate our rooms.
Notes
-1. Any men who plans on attending next spring, who have relevant logistical skills, such as electrical, HVAC, Carpentry, please consider ringing Sean about helping out in advance.
-2. For instance, if Backfist Mick’s back had been much worse it would not have been safe for him to fight. But he could have come as a coach and gear-wrangler and been a huge asset for the novice boxers.
