Lesson 439: Beast Captured!

Welcome to a special Sunday edition of the Lamp Post!

Special events earn their way to bonus blog posts,

and this year's Barber Beast on the Bay was very special, indeed!

Eloise is happy to report that after 4 years of hunting,

she finally captured The Beast!

For those of you who just came out of hiding

from the rock you've been living under,

the Barber Beast on the Bay is a 10 mile obstacle course race

on Erie's Presque Isle.

Beneath a rainbowed sky

my team of green,

110 of us strong this year,

set out to conquer a Beast of terrain.

We ran in the sand

and through the water.

We trudged through natural obstacles like the swamp,

and others man-made,

nearly all from local sponsors.

We crawled under

and climbed over

and through obstacles nearly every half mile.

Along the way we were motivated  by touching signs

and funny ones,

reminding us again why we were attempting The Beast.

Armed with my bat this year,

I set out to find this guy,

the most wanted monster in town.

Having completed the course three times prior to this year,

my team knew that sandbags would be an element of challenge.

We trained with sandbags this summer every Saturday morning,

to prepare for the September challenge.

As much as I loathed my sandbag at 7:30 am on a Saturday,

I grew more fond of it as the summer progressed.

It made me stronger!

I decided to take one along on the Beast--

a bat to club him with,

and a bag to carry him in.

My sister ran back-up behind me with a sword

in case he escaped by clutches.

Her assistance wasn't needed this year, though.

I filled my bag all by myself,

and brought The Beast back to the Lamp Post.

What's inside, Eloise?

Curious, are you?

Prepare yourselves, Readers!

Inside are Terrible Beasts!

Horrible haunters like

and

They are guarded by the most ferocious of them all.

The big,

horrible,

terrible,

no-good,

very-bad BEAST

who tells you that you CAN'T!

Here he is,

ready to be mounted and hung in my garage.

Wait.

What?

Him?

He's a beast all right,

but really,

how big and scary of a Beast is he?

The Beast helps you overcome all of these negatives 

that weight you down

and hold you back

from living a full life.

This Beast helped give me the strength

to take the I CAN'T

and snap it in two.

Believe, Readers.

It's the heart of faith.

If you don't do it for yourself,

do The Beast  for others.

Help someone.

Be the inspiration the world needs right now.

Join us next year.

I'd love to see my 110 person team double in size.

If Tough Mudders get to wear their orange headbands to work

the Monday after one of their events,

then I move that the Monday following the Beast on the Bay

should be Wear Your Beast Shirt to Work/School/Out in Public Day.

I'm wearing mine to school tomorrow, Harbor Creek School District.

I checked out the teacher rule book

and I am in compliance with the Code of Dress for School Employees.

Paired with a pencil skirt,

heels,

and an autism ribbon belt,

I do believe it is the perfect outfit.

See you on the beach in September 2017.

Register early and join the fun.

ELOISE