"No matter how cynical I get, I can’t keep up.” — Lily Tomlin
The hash, I believe, is unique in that it has no professional core or cadre. Somewhere within the structure of virtually every other “volunteer nonprofit” athletic, social, or charitable group – be it Road Runners USA, the national bike teams participating in the Tour de France, even Girl Scouts International – there’s a CEO, a […]
Some time ago, I visited a hash in Southern California. I knew most of the hashers there, so I was with friends. The weather was perfect. The hares and the pack were stoked. The trail was scenic and challenging, and the hares did an outstanding job of keeping the pack together – the quick and […]
Religion, also called “the circle,” is an important part of hash tradition, and often the most remembered part of the trail. With over 1,300 hashes in the world, there must be at least 1,300 ways to conduct a circle, but the basics are such that most of us would feel right at home in any […]
Every hash has wallflowers: harriers and harriettes who show up every week but never ever hare. You can beg, plead, and threaten, but they always have an excuse. I suspect that when you get right down to it, your really determined wallflower is afraid to hare. Afraid of doing something for the first time, afraid […]
Like many hashers, I’m interested in our origins and history. I read everything I can get my hands on. When I go to interhashes, I seek out experienced hashers and ask them for their take on things. I’ve swilled beer and talked trash with old-timers around the world, including Ian Cumming, Bill Panton, and Magic […]
I’ve long held that hashing didn’t start 1938 with Gispert and the Kuala Lumpur Hash House Harriers. It’s been around, in various forms, for much longer. This is taken from the home page of Cairns, Australia hasher Gil Jennex: Hashing: a History The hunting of deer, hares & foxes using hounds or beagles goes far back into […]
Ask hashers about the history of the Hash House Harriers, and most of them will tell you it started in Kuala Lumpur in 1938. Hashers with a deeper understanding of hash history will tell you that “harrier clubs” had been around in Malaysia since the early 1930s, and some will mention the British school tradition […]
I know a lot about hashing . . . enough to know I don’t really know anything about hashing. I grew up thinking once you’ve seen three or more marks after the last check, you’re on. That a false trail could be only three marks long before the BT. That if you can’t see the […]