It was a message that I (T-Bone) dreaded seeing.  Cousin IT’s mother was in the hospital with an infection and had likely had some mini strokes.  The prognosis wasn’t good.  On Saturday I felt moved to rally the troops and sent out a last-minute Call to Action to rally at Cousin IT’s for a prayer followed by a prayer at Papa Smurfs.  Our Brothers needed us.  We knew Cousin IT wasn’t home, because he and his family were at Upward basketball.  But we also knew it didn’t matter if they were home or not, God would hear our prayers.   One-by-one, we each said a prayer while taking a knee.    We then visited Papa Smurf and visited for an hour or so, followed by another prayer for him and his family as we circled around him and one-by-one humbly prayed.  Incidentally, we watched Wisconsin win the game for which Mr. Belding was happy, because he picked them as the overall winner, but Papa Smurf was less than happy because it blew his bracket!  The following day (Sunday) Cousin IT hitched a ride with his brother down to Florida.  My prayer was that he’d get to see her before she passed.

Most of you probably don’t know that while his mother and my mother had different types of cancer, their battles were similar.  They were two strong women who fought that terrible disease into remission.  Unfortunately, my Mom passed while I was out of town on business.  A routine doctor visit ended up with her being hospitalized, followed by a series of mini-strokes.  I was 300 miles from her when this occurred with no chance of making it home to see her.  I said what I needed to say to her over the phone as my wife held it to her ear.   I then called my brother, who lives in Phoenix, so that he could do the same.  She passed a short time later from a massive stroke on June 19, 2015, almost 4 months to the day after the official F3ENC launch, and one week before her 49^th wedding anniversary.  I remember that Cousin IT attended her service.  I was surprised to see this guy I had only known for a few short months standing in the receiving line.  I don’t know if I was more shocked by his presence or the fact that he was in his Sunday’s Best and I had never seen him in “regular” clothes, let alone a suit!  What I do know is that it meant a lot to me and I’ll never forget it.  Hence, my prayer that he’d get to see his Mother and say whatever he needed to say prior to her passing.  Thankfully and fortunately he was able to do this, although I imagine it was one of the toughest things he’s ever had to do.

Wednesday morning we received word that his mother had passed just a few days short of her 50th wedding anniversary.  Several of us had already been planning the next steps and there was no doubt what we’d do.  At least 3 PAX would road trip to Florida to support our Brother and represent F3ENC.  Bono and I heard Mini-Me talk about 3 PAX from Charlotte traveling to the Northeast to support one of their Brothers in a similar fashion.  It takes at least 3 PAX to shield-lock….that’s what we’d do.

We learned the following day that Cousin IT’s mother didn’t really want a funeral.  The family wanted to respect her wishes and so there would only be a small service for the family and a few close friends.  We would certainly respect her wishes and didn’t want to impose on the family, so we made the decision to pass on the road trip and find another way to support our Brother.  We threw some ideas around but nothing seemed to stick.

Fast forward to Thursday night 18:41.  String Bean threw out a DM to about 20 PAX calling for them to stealthily deliver and plant shovel flags around the perimeter of Papa Smurf’s house around 21:00 (2-1/2 hours from the original Tweet for those of you who don’t understand military time) as a surprise and celebration of Papa’s 50^th RESPECT birthday on Friday morning.  The thread blew up with PAX being added to the thread and PAX driving to other PAX houses to pickup flags in order to plant as many as possible.  The goal was 50 flags and the thread was titled 50 Shovel Flags.  At 21:03 the first flag was planted, followed by many others.  Prayers were said in a BOM in the front corner of the property, both out of sight and out of earshot by anyone in the house.  The following morning a final count was in and a total of 25 flags were planted out of love and respect for the man we all know as Papa Smurf.  It was short of the goal of 50, but String Bean told everyone that he and his daughter had prayed the previous night that an angel would stand by each flag…..25 flags….25 angels…..50 it was!

I drove by Papa’s house about 0700 on Friday morning and was amazed by the sight.  Tears filled my eyes as I drove around the corner, knowing what a bond these men of F3ENC share and how much love and brotherhood exists within this fine group of men.  That’s when it struck me!  The flags would remain at Papa’s all day on Friday in honor and celebration of his birthday.  We would come back Saturday, retrieve them and plant them at Cousin IT’s in the same manner…in love and honor of him, his family and his Mother.

On Saturday a handful of PAX rallied at Papa Smurf’s where awesome 2^nd and 3^rd F were shared, followed by flag retrieval and transport to Cousin IT’s.  Instead of planting around the perimeter of the yard, we decided to plant on each side of the driveway, like PAX standing shoulder-to-shoulder, welcoming Cousin IT and his family home, surrounding them with our presence in the best way we knew how, out of love and honor.  A few flags were also planted along the curb leading to his driveway, and the granddaddy of all (Shrimp’s) was planted next to the street sign and strapped to the pole to prevent it from taking out a car, window or small child in the event of a heavy wind.

Finally, the PAX that planted the flags stood at the head of the driveway, locked arm-in-arm, as a symbol of unshakable strength, commitment, and protection for this Brother and his family who we love awaiting their arrival and took a photo before departing such a powerful and touching sight.

Cousin IT, may God be with you and your family through these tough times.  May He surround you with love, and bring you a sense of Peace and Comfort that only He can.  I know your Mother (Tough Cookie) is looking down on you, proud of what you do and what you’ve done and I can imagine my Mother next to her, locked arm-in arm……