RipWalker - Post East Coasts
RipWalker - Post East Coasts
History
Last summer (seems a lot of people started then) I met a few of my friends at a camp that I usually go to. They had some crappy hacky sack and were circle kicking, but I still found the object of the game, and the fact that it wasn't competetive so much as cooperative, very fun. I was probably the worst in the circle, if not the entire world, and decided to get better. This brought me to footbag.org, footbag.com, and lastly here. I ordered my lavers and a mirken soon afterwards, followed closlely by two Mr. Sandbags. I've been playing for about two months now, starting at the beginning of this year, and having taken a month and a half break in between. Welcome to my Footblog.
Last summer (seems a lot of people started then) I met a few of my friends at a camp that I usually go to. They had some crappy hacky sack and were circle kicking, but I still found the object of the game, and the fact that it wasn't competetive so much as cooperative, very fun. I was probably the worst in the circle, if not the entire world, and decided to get better. This brought me to footbag.org, footbag.com, and lastly here. I ordered my lavers and a mirken soon afterwards, followed closlely by two Mr. Sandbags. I've been playing for about two months now, starting at the beginning of this year, and having taken a month and a half break in between. Welcome to my Footblog.
Last edited by RipWalker on 28 Sep 2011 07:36, edited 15 times in total.
Mark Bull
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
As I mentioned in my introduction post... I'd taken a break from footbag partially because I raped my knee schooling mirages and partly from lack of interest I suppose. Just recently I've been visiting the forums again (sorry for my absence) and getting back into the sport. Last night I had a sick session (sick in terms of my skill level, not yours), stringing 10 two/three adds together which is the highest since I've started, having never tried to actually string moves before. I also footed a Phoenix after realizing that I could actually duck my strong side pixies. If I can have Phoenix before three months of play time, I will be very pleased. That, I guess, can be considered the good news... while the bad would be the fact that family plans are not going to allow me to make it to Worlds this year. I am, however, looking for some events closer to my home town of Binghamton, NY but we'll have to see what happens. I don't have anyone under a two hour drive from my house to shred with, so I want to make a couple of events/tournies in order to meet some people. Shredding alone is alright, but shredding with others is indescribably better. Sweet, time for work...
Peace.
As I mentioned in my introduction post... I'd taken a break from footbag partially because I raped my knee schooling mirages and partly from lack of interest I suppose. Just recently I've been visiting the forums again (sorry for my absence) and getting back into the sport. Last night I had a sick session (sick in terms of my skill level, not yours), stringing 10 two/three adds together which is the highest since I've started, having never tried to actually string moves before. I also footed a Phoenix after realizing that I could actually duck my strong side pixies. If I can have Phoenix before three months of play time, I will be very pleased. That, I guess, can be considered the good news... while the bad would be the fact that family plans are not going to allow me to make it to Worlds this year. I am, however, looking for some events closer to my home town of Binghamton, NY but we'll have to see what happens. I don't have anyone under a two hour drive from my house to shred with, so I want to make a couple of events/tournies in order to meet some people. Shredding alone is alright, but shredding with others is indescribably better. Sweet, time for work...
Peace.
Last edited by RipWalker on 14 May 2010 05:18, edited 1 time in total.
Mark Bull
Saturday, August 28, 2004
Well, it's been quite a long time since I've last written in here. I was at the camp that I mentioned in my introduction post for about 2 months, which accounts for the break. It's very encouraging to see how everyone has progressed while I was gone, and also the amount of new names on the message boards. New people are coming to love footbag every day. Just think of those who do and don't have access to the internet/modified. Probably quite a number that we're not even aware of!
Well, I'm starting in on my second year of college this monday at Binghamton University in NY. I was there yesterday in order to take another good look at the campus and make some last minute preparations concerning my meal plan. There are some sick courtyards there... prime footbag spots. One of the courtyards has about four or five circular steps leading down to the center circle which is wide enough for about 15-20 people to shred comfortably. Reminds me somewhat of the Coliseum
I'm not sure if BU has a club related to footbag, but it's definitely something to check out. Hopefully I'll meet some people there who either shred or just kick... the latter of which I'll soon convert to freestyle.
Well, not really much news as far as my game is concerned. During the two months in which I was away, I didn't really have much time to shred. A few friends and I would kick periodically and I would shred when they passed it to me, but that's about it. It's awesome to see people's reactions to shred when all they know is kicking. It's like opening up a whole other world right before their eyes... and most people who kick are immediately sucked in by the prospect of freestyle. Had a couple of people ask me where they could get the shoes I use (Lavers) and where they could order some bags. I directed them to freedomfootbags.com (Sandbags) and worldfootbag.com (shoes) for the time being... to which they happily acquiesced after I told them that the other bags I was using (Mirken, Abshire) can run around 25-30 dollars.
Yesterday and the day before I managed to squeeze in a good 1.5 to 2 hour session. The weather was awesome, warm but breezy, so I took a stereo out and practiced on the patio between my house and my garage. No stunning news yet though. I basically had to get back in the groove after not having played for so long. Just practiced all of the things that I've already known and managed a Phoenix without the butterfly at the end... just a regular clipper in its place. Soon enough! Keep shreddin'.
Peace.
Well, it's been quite a long time since I've last written in here. I was at the camp that I mentioned in my introduction post for about 2 months, which accounts for the break. It's very encouraging to see how everyone has progressed while I was gone, and also the amount of new names on the message boards. New people are coming to love footbag every day. Just think of those who do and don't have access to the internet/modified. Probably quite a number that we're not even aware of!
Well, I'm starting in on my second year of college this monday at Binghamton University in NY. I was there yesterday in order to take another good look at the campus and make some last minute preparations concerning my meal plan. There are some sick courtyards there... prime footbag spots. One of the courtyards has about four or five circular steps leading down to the center circle which is wide enough for about 15-20 people to shred comfortably. Reminds me somewhat of the Coliseum
Well, not really much news as far as my game is concerned. During the two months in which I was away, I didn't really have much time to shred. A few friends and I would kick periodically and I would shred when they passed it to me, but that's about it. It's awesome to see people's reactions to shred when all they know is kicking. It's like opening up a whole other world right before their eyes... and most people who kick are immediately sucked in by the prospect of freestyle. Had a couple of people ask me where they could get the shoes I use (Lavers) and where they could order some bags. I directed them to freedomfootbags.com (Sandbags) and worldfootbag.com (shoes) for the time being... to which they happily acquiesced after I told them that the other bags I was using (Mirken, Abshire) can run around 25-30 dollars.
Yesterday and the day before I managed to squeeze in a good 1.5 to 2 hour session. The weather was awesome, warm but breezy, so I took a stereo out and practiced on the patio between my house and my garage. No stunning news yet though. I basically had to get back in the groove after not having played for so long. Just practiced all of the things that I've already known and managed a Phoenix without the butterfly at the end... just a regular clipper in its place. Soon enough! Keep shreddin'.
Peace.
Last edited by RipWalker on 14 May 2010 05:17, edited 1 time in total.
Mark Bull
Wednesday, February 9, 2005
Wow, it's definitely been a while... but that's what I said last time. I got inspired after reading all of your footblogs and decided to take mine off the shelf and dust it off for a fresh entry.
Finally managed to bust a Phoenix soon after my last entry, which has been followed by many since. I was trying for Barfly and Ripwalk after that but I stopped after realizing that I was just trying to hit massive tricks once and then move on. (By massive I, of course, mean not massive at all.) So I'm pretty much taking it easy and schooling all of the basics. I never really stopped to get my ATWs dialed in, nor my Mirages or Illusions or Legovers or Pickups. Basically I just dialed Clippers both sides and strong side Pixie and went from there. Time for some serious foundation schooling... on both sides of course.
The other reason that I've decided to take it easier on myself is the fact that I've got a bad shin splint in my left leg. It doesn't act up too often unless I try certain moves. I tried to bust some Torques the other night... not a good idea. Had to sit down for a while. Oh well, hopefully if I keep it simple the shin splint will heal and, conversely, the presence of the shin splint will make me stick to schooling the basics until they're fluid.
In other news, I got a girl I know somewhat interested in footbag. Was chatting with her on AIM and she asked me if I would teach her how to play some time. I directed her to freedomfootbags.com and showed her the Mr. Sandbags there. Hopefully she'll stick with it because there's no one in the immediate area for me to kick with at the moment. Well... other than the people who live in the shred vids on my laptop...
Peace.
Wow, it's definitely been a while... but that's what I said last time. I got inspired after reading all of your footblogs and decided to take mine off the shelf and dust it off for a fresh entry.
Finally managed to bust a Phoenix soon after my last entry, which has been followed by many since. I was trying for Barfly and Ripwalk after that but I stopped after realizing that I was just trying to hit massive tricks once and then move on. (By massive I, of course, mean not massive at all.) So I'm pretty much taking it easy and schooling all of the basics. I never really stopped to get my ATWs dialed in, nor my Mirages or Illusions or Legovers or Pickups. Basically I just dialed Clippers both sides and strong side Pixie and went from there. Time for some serious foundation schooling... on both sides of course.
The other reason that I've decided to take it easier on myself is the fact that I've got a bad shin splint in my left leg. It doesn't act up too often unless I try certain moves. I tried to bust some Torques the other night... not a good idea. Had to sit down for a while. Oh well, hopefully if I keep it simple the shin splint will heal and, conversely, the presence of the shin splint will make me stick to schooling the basics until they're fluid.
In other news, I got a girl I know somewhat interested in footbag. Was chatting with her on AIM and she asked me if I would teach her how to play some time. I directed her to freedomfootbags.com and showed her the Mr. Sandbags there. Hopefully she'll stick with it because there's no one in the immediate area for me to kick with at the moment. Well... other than the people who live in the shred vids on my laptop...
Peace.
Last edited by RipWalker on 14 May 2010 05:17, edited 2 times in total.
Mark Bull
Friday, May 14th
It's been years since I've dusted this piece off... 2005 was the last entry.
I fell away from footbag a bit after finally bringing some friends into the sport and then watching them move away. Shredding alone loses its luster for me very quickly. Good news though -- I may very well be hitting up East Coasts this year w/ Clavens, my bro in law, and potentially someone Dave knows. This will be my first tourney and one of the only opportunities I've ever had to shred with other footbaggers.
After my hiatus, I recognized that my game was 90% one-sided so I've been concentrating on working my flip side and schooling the basics hardcore. I want smooth, fluid ATWs (both directions), clippers, mirages, pickups, pixies, illusions, legovers, and butterflies on both sides before I start moving on.
I did break from this mold a little bit last night. Had a tight, two-hour session in which I hit my first clean drifters (thanks for the tutorial vid, Cleaver). I hit about 5 of them throughout the sesh on my strong side and came very close on my flip. Aside from that, I watched that ridiculous Euro 150-second Rippin' Run video and tried to emulate that smooth, controlled style in my clippers and butterflies. Did a little bit of drilling for sick 3 at East Coasts and hit another drifter to end the night.
Also been stitching with my bro-in-law recently so expect some pimp bags in the near future.
Good to be back.
It's been years since I've dusted this piece off... 2005 was the last entry.
I fell away from footbag a bit after finally bringing some friends into the sport and then watching them move away. Shredding alone loses its luster for me very quickly. Good news though -- I may very well be hitting up East Coasts this year w/ Clavens, my bro in law, and potentially someone Dave knows. This will be my first tourney and one of the only opportunities I've ever had to shred with other footbaggers.
After my hiatus, I recognized that my game was 90% one-sided so I've been concentrating on working my flip side and schooling the basics hardcore. I want smooth, fluid ATWs (both directions), clippers, mirages, pickups, pixies, illusions, legovers, and butterflies on both sides before I start moving on.
I did break from this mold a little bit last night. Had a tight, two-hour session in which I hit my first clean drifters (thanks for the tutorial vid, Cleaver). I hit about 5 of them throughout the sesh on my strong side and came very close on my flip. Aside from that, I watched that ridiculous Euro 150-second Rippin' Run video and tried to emulate that smooth, controlled style in my clippers and butterflies. Did a little bit of drilling for sick 3 at East Coasts and hit another drifter to end the night.
Also been stitching with my bro-in-law recently so expect some pimp bags in the near future.
Good to be back.
Mark Bull
East Coasts 2010
Wednesday, May 26th
East Coasts 2010 marked my first footbag tourney ever and it was awesome.
I rolled down to Bethlehem, PA with my bro in law (Nate) and picked up Clavens from his place. The consecutive drives to PA and then MD sucked and we hit some traffic but it was worth it. Friday night was comprised of meeting Vince Bradley, Ryan Thomas, and some others (I'm extremely bad with names). Vince and Ryan taught Nate and I how to juggle for a little while which was sweet. Nate and I were crashing with my cousin for the weekend so we bounced for the night soon after that.
Saturday was the first day of the actual competitions. I didn't get to see much of the net that was going down but I was able to hop into some shred circles and meet more new people which was cool. The open freestyle competitions were insane (from my vantage point) with huge smooth strings from Clavens, Goode, and Thomas along with many others whose names I fail at remembering. Intermediate circle rolled around and it turned out to be only myself and two others. I thought I had a pretty good chance but it turns out that I severely underestimated the power of spectators. I dropped a LOT and ended up taking last place during that comp. I was so nervous just being out there in front of people even though there were two others in the circle with me. Intermediate sick 3 came up down the line and I actually managed to win that one in OT after myself and the only other person enrolled dropped all nine of our first attempts (3 combos, 3 tries each). I think I was trying too hard and the crowd/judging pressure was hitting me really hard -- I ended up winning on Butterfly > Butterfly > Osis just to land something.
The rest of that day was spent watching the open routines which were ridiculous (especially the one that resulted in a bag getting kicked 40ft or so up into the rafters -- they had to get it down with a huge rope the next day) and shredding outside. The non-competition shredding was my favorite part of the tourney and I took every opportunity to hop in a circle. I shredded with Nick Polini, his friend Corey, Jon Schneider, Clavens, Mike Angeski, John Goode, and too many others for me to even remember (the names, anyway) and Sunil even showed up and joined my circle so that was sweet.
Sunday was more shred inside the gym with Clavens looking on and offering some pointers. I got some really good drills out of that which I plan to school as soon as my legs aren't sore from a weekend full of kicking. We bounced to Hard Times Cafe after that for dinner and the awards ceremony.
All in all, it was an excellent time and I'm definitely glad that I made the trip.
East Coasts 2010 marked my first footbag tourney ever and it was awesome.
I rolled down to Bethlehem, PA with my bro in law (Nate) and picked up Clavens from his place. The consecutive drives to PA and then MD sucked and we hit some traffic but it was worth it. Friday night was comprised of meeting Vince Bradley, Ryan Thomas, and some others (I'm extremely bad with names). Vince and Ryan taught Nate and I how to juggle for a little while which was sweet. Nate and I were crashing with my cousin for the weekend so we bounced for the night soon after that.
Saturday was the first day of the actual competitions. I didn't get to see much of the net that was going down but I was able to hop into some shred circles and meet more new people which was cool. The open freestyle competitions were insane (from my vantage point) with huge smooth strings from Clavens, Goode, and Thomas along with many others whose names I fail at remembering. Intermediate circle rolled around and it turned out to be only myself and two others. I thought I had a pretty good chance but it turns out that I severely underestimated the power of spectators. I dropped a LOT and ended up taking last place during that comp. I was so nervous just being out there in front of people even though there were two others in the circle with me. Intermediate sick 3 came up down the line and I actually managed to win that one in OT after myself and the only other person enrolled dropped all nine of our first attempts (3 combos, 3 tries each). I think I was trying too hard and the crowd/judging pressure was hitting me really hard -- I ended up winning on Butterfly > Butterfly > Osis just to land something.
The rest of that day was spent watching the open routines which were ridiculous (especially the one that resulted in a bag getting kicked 40ft or so up into the rafters -- they had to get it down with a huge rope the next day) and shredding outside. The non-competition shredding was my favorite part of the tourney and I took every opportunity to hop in a circle. I shredded with Nick Polini, his friend Corey, Jon Schneider, Clavens, Mike Angeski, John Goode, and too many others for me to even remember (the names, anyway) and Sunil even showed up and joined my circle so that was sweet.
Sunday was more shred inside the gym with Clavens looking on and offering some pointers. I got some really good drills out of that which I plan to school as soon as my legs aren't sore from a weekend full of kicking. We bounced to Hard Times Cafe after that for dinner and the awards ceremony.
All in all, it was an excellent time and I'm definitely glad that I made the trip.
Mark Bull
25th Funtastik Summer Classic
Funtastiks 2010 was my second tournament experience ever and was amazing, to say the least. Met so many awesome people and made some new friends in addition to running into some old ones from East Coasts and elsewhere.
Watching the different comps and shredding at the sites and at the hotel was probably my favorite part, aside from hitting the following for the first time:
Whirl (both sides -- yes, I had never tried them before, only reverse whirls -- thanks to Ian Brill, Matt Cross, Doug Tank and others on the advice)
Nuke Dyno (twice -- first one was nice, other one was sloppy seconds)
Stepping Far Rev. Whirl (Mathieu GM suggested I try it and I'm glad he did -- hit it clean first try)
Zulu Refraction (was hitting Zulu Osis and decided to try throwing the dex in -- hit it after many tries and then hit it quite a few more times that day)
I totally burned out my legs on the first day by shredding from about 10 AM until 1 AM at the park during the day and at hotel shred that night. Looking forward to seeing everyone at future tournies. I'm definitely going to be playing as much as my schedule allows and am hoping that I'll either be able to make some drives to shred with others nearby or meet them halfway to cut down on driving.
Watching the different comps and shredding at the sites and at the hotel was probably my favorite part, aside from hitting the following for the first time:
I totally burned out my legs on the first day by shredding from about 10 AM until 1 AM at the park during the day and at hotel shred that night. Looking forward to seeing everyone at future tournies. I'm definitely going to be playing as much as my schedule allows and am hoping that I'll either be able to make some drives to shred with others nearby or meet them halfway to cut down on driving.
Mark Bull
Good Sesh
Kicked for two hours tonight. Spent 95% of the session focusing on the very basic foundational moves that need work in my game. I want to smooth out my style and school the basics until I see true improvement, increased stamina, and control.
I did break from the schooling mentality at the very end of the sesh and hit a new link:
Osis > Blurry Dyno
Felt really good to hit that link. Hadn't tried much stepping right out of an Osis before. Good sesh overall.
Peace.
I did break from the schooling mentality at the very end of the sesh and hit a new link:
Felt really good to hit that link. Hadn't tried much stepping right out of an Osis before. Good sesh overall.
Peace.
Mark Bull
-
Frank_Sinatra
- Avenging Disco Godfather
- Posts: 1660
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Re: Good Sesh
Delayed props...RipWalker wrote:
Osis > Blurry Dyno
Nice! From what I remember at Funtastiks your style already looked smooth & controlled, but its cool to see you're always working on your foundation. That's probably why you already look smooth & controlled.
10/4/10 Session
Thanks bro! I'm trying so hard to remember your face from Funtastiks. Recent pic/video? I'm so bad with names/faces and I really want to remember everyone that I met for future tournies/shred etc.
Good session last night. More basics, new stuff. Remembered Nick Polini asking if I'd ever tried spinning and it hit me that I've never really tried to drill it. I tried it and hit a few spinning clippers on both sides -- really stoked about that. Going to hit those hard from now on, working them into every session in some way.
Hit some fun/new links:
Pixie Butter > Ripwalk
Pixie Butter > Blurry Rev. Whirl
Sidewalk > Ripwalk
Schooled ducking clippers, ducking butters, dynos, ATWs (yeah, that's right), and stepping on both sides. Reading everyone's blogs is getting me stoked to get better. Schooling stepping lead to:
Stepping Ducking Clipper (Ripped War here I come!)
If anyone reads this piece, let me know how many times a week you play and for how long. My endurance seems borderline crappy and I want to work it up. I don't really have a ton of time to play with the new house but I want to start up a schedule. Right now I play once a week and it doesn't feel like enough (but I don't want to play too much and destroy my legs).
Let me know! Peace.
Good session last night. More basics, new stuff. Remembered Nick Polini asking if I'd ever tried spinning and it hit me that I've never really tried to drill it. I tried it and hit a few spinning clippers on both sides -- really stoked about that. Going to hit those hard from now on, working them into every session in some way.
Hit some fun/new links:
Schooled ducking clippers, ducking butters, dynos, ATWs (yeah, that's right), and stepping on both sides. Reading everyone's blogs is getting me stoked to get better. Schooling stepping lead to:
If anyone reads this piece, let me know how many times a week you play and for how long. My endurance seems borderline crappy and I want to work it up. I don't really have a ton of time to play with the new house but I want to start up a schedule. Right now I play once a week and it doesn't feel like enough (but I don't want to play too much and destroy my legs).
Let me know! Peace.
Mark Bull
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Frank_Sinatra
- Avenging Disco Godfather
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DTank126
- Atomsmashasaurus Dex
- Posts: 977
- Joined: 09 Jul 2006 13:58
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Yea dude dont you remember? Nathan was the dude who showed up with the big white van with black tinted windows that said "free candy" on the side.

Props on stepping ducking clipper, that shits still so hard for me. As for training for endurance and stuff, back when I was super into it and trying for long strings I'd play nearly everyday for 1-2 hours. And look at me now, I can hit a clipper! But yeah, if you want longer strings just work on long strings of basic things like mirage, legover, bops and stuff then try throwing a harder move 15 or 20 contacts deep in a string.
Just my 2 cents. A better person to ask would be like Zac M or Jay B or Matt K. Or if you want hardcore advice ask someone like Anssi.
Props on stepping ducking clipper, that shits still so hard for me. As for training for endurance and stuff, back when I was super into it and trying for long strings I'd play nearly everyday for 1-2 hours. And look at me now, I can hit a clipper! But yeah, if you want longer strings just work on long strings of basic things like mirage, legover, bops and stuff then try throwing a harder move 15 or 20 contacts deep in a string.
Just my 2 cents. A better person to ask would be like Zac M or Jay B or Matt K. Or if you want hardcore advice ask someone like Anssi.
Doug Tank
DTank126 wrote:Yea dude dont you remember? Nathan was the dude who showed up with the big white van with black tinted windows that said "free candy" on the side.
No... it can't be him!!111one I just wanted some sugary treatz! /flashback
In all seriousness, I hope we meet again... Mr. Andersen, just so I can finally remember what you look like. In a last-ditch effort, did you wear a sweatband loosely on your wrist for circle comps at Funtastiks?
Anyway, thanks for the reply and for the props, Doug. Stepping ducking is only strong side, but not for long.
I'll definitely be working on longer strings and consistency in all of my sessions. I've been doing that right along, actually, but I don't have time to play more than once or twice a week right now. I was just curious as to whether or not the number of times a week I'm able to play would affect my overall endurance. Maybe I should shoot for 3 times a week? Every other day?
Peace.
Mark Bull
Good Sesh
Decent session at the tennis courts near my new place. Highlights:
Blurry Refraction
Blurry Rev-Whirl
Stepping Same Side Rev-Whirl
Strong Whirl (Schooled the whole time and only hit one -- that move evades me)
Spinning clippers both sides
Ran out of daylight and had to cut it short unfortunately. Got a pimp new footbag from my brother in law, Nate (etbwalster) -- thing is super choice. Expecting one from Pipenberg in the near future as well.
Peace.
Ran out of daylight and had to cut it short unfortunately. Got a pimp new footbag from my brother in law, Nate (etbwalster) -- thing is super choice. Expecting one from Pipenberg in the near future as well.
Peace.
Mark Bull
Eh.
Weird session tonight... felt really off but managed to hit some decent strong-side pixie moves at the end. I think it's mostly due to having not played in quite a while.
I tried taking some footage with the HD camcorder I just got so maybe I'll try editing that into a ghetto collage of weak tricks for your enjoyment.
Highlights:
Some meager strings
Phoenix x5 (not consecutive or same string)
Pixie Ducking Mirage
Diving Ss Reverse Whirl
Pixie Ducking Reverse Whirl
Pixie Diving Ss Butter
Pixie Refraction
Pixie Reverse-Whirling Rake
Zulu Refraction
Pixie Diving Ss Reverse Whirl
I tried taking some footage with the HD camcorder I just got so maybe I'll try editing that into a ghetto collage of weak tricks for your enjoyment.
Highlights:
Mark Bull
- F[uns]tylin' Eclectic
- Post Master General
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- Location: Drumore, PA
- F[uns]tylin' Eclectic
- Post Master General
- Posts: 4092
- Joined: 05 Feb 2010 19:53
- Location: Drumore, PA