The Red Balloon

The worst thing I ever did in this sport is snatch 160kg.  Before that day the bar and I were best friends, we were like one, that bar made me confident, strong and fearless.  The bar is so high now that I can't seem to find it.  The bar didn't invite me on its travels upward.  The bar and I were ready to go together, we both had our tickets and our bags packed just waiting for that big gust of wind to carry us into the sky full of success, but right when I looked away, the bar was already starting to float away.  I reached up and tried to grab it yelling, "wait bar, wait for me I want to go with you"!  I tried jumping as high as I could but it was just a little too far up, minute after minute, and day after day the bar started to rise higher and higher until it disappeared into the sky.  I put up flyers everywhere but no one has gotten back to me on it's whereabouts.
I feel so lost without my bar, I am not myself anymore.  I am now just an average Joe walking around lost and confused.  I walk and I walk through the dark hills that constantly whisper negative comments about me.  The deeper I get lost looking for my bar the more I hear words of hate, and the more backs I see. I see red faces of haters that start to laugh and smile, the better they sleep and the worse I sleep, the more I get lost, the happier people get.  They say, "Finally no more annoying yelling, stupid shout outs, bar slamming and over the top, cocky, arrogant blog postings". Finally he is no longer number one, finally he is lost and he will never find his bar again".  Even though I might be stripped of my confidence and my strength is down, I am still that crazy jumping Jonathan North that came out of nowhere with Coach Jackie Mah.  She unleashed me and said "sick em boy" and even without my bar you can't take that away from me.  I told you people that I am not going anywhere, I told you that I will keep fighting no matter what, I told you I will keep slamming bars, spitting on weights and yelling loud in every battle I go into, I told you mother fuckers that I am not going anywhere.  I will continue to piss people off, gather even more haters than I have now, I will continue to win, lose, make teams, miss teams, break records, bomb out, clark weights, kiss weights, yell Arnold, love this sport, and hate this sport.
After guidance by a few close to me,  I found my bar deep in the woods behind a big wall of rocks.   I have hit many walls in this sport and in life, but after a while of fighting, after a while of trying to live up to my mentor Donny Shankle, I have broken through all of them.  But this wall is not going down, the more I push the heavier the wall feels.  I cant seem to do it on my own, I have hit a wall I can't seem to bring down.  My bar lays in the mud behind the wall still shinning bright, and I fuck'n want it, I fuck'n need it as other lifters keep getting stronger.  I am wasting time. I need to win right now.  I need to get back on top and get my fire back.
A very big man that towered over me with his black beard and sword called coach steps beside me and starts striking the wall with massive power. Right then, a legend of the woods with long hair and war tattoos steps on the other side of me striking the wall with confidence I have never seen before.  I am in shock. I just keep pushing and hitting the wall as a small smile crosses my face, and right at that moment everyone seemed to stop and move out of the way kneeling down as a king with a golden crown and a golden stick started to walk up to the wall with his beautiful queen. That man is the king and owner of all the woods.  Soon there were soldiers coming out of the woods to help.  One was a wolverine. One was a dark muscular creature who was smaller and fast.  One was an old friend with blond hair and legs that were made out of tree trucks. They all came to help.  The wall started to crack and move.  Two new creatures that just joined the woods came to help too.  Even a small Asian creature helped with the wall, while also doing many other things for the king at the same time.  The woods lumberjack showed up to help, who is known for kicking down trees and carried them off tied around his massive back, his leg power will be very useful in bringing down this wall.  I was very happy to see the colorful haired athlete of the woods who has a power that prevents her from aging, she who brings energy and motivation to us all.  The  quiet wise man with glasses who was respected and won many battles leading people to victory of the woods came and started at the wall too.  A big eyed skinny creature who is the woods watcher and greatest people reader in all of the land came to hit the wall.  Last but not least a young kid new to the woods came to help with his big new bronze medal around his neck, he is known for having the biggest heart in the woods.  Bang! bang! bang!  We all came together and smashed and hit the wall giving it everything we had, but still the rocky wall would not go down.
My gold medal seemed to be out of reach, until the most beautiful creature in all of the woods came flying down slowly with her white wings and beautiful smile.  She is the creature I am going to marry, she is the angel that I love.  She gave us all strength, as she floated over and pushed against the wall.  The wall started to move and shake and then in a blink of an eye it fell down crumbling all around the Pendlay bar.  Everyone stepped back and watched as I hook gripped my bar back into my hands.  I stood tall with my elbows locked out and the bar high over my head.  I could feel my strength pumping through my blood, my heart started to beat faster, and I began to yell as the backs faced forward, the red faces of hate ran and hid away, and the negative whispers turned into positive praises.  I kissed my angel, shook the hands of all the great friends that helped me and walked back into the gym.  I have my bar back, I will see you at Nationals bitches.  North 2012