The beginning (LWH3)

Least Worst Hash House Harriers (LWH3) is where my hash life started. So they are known as my "Mother Kennel." In Oct 2005 a friend of mine known in the hash community as "Blazing Saddles" asked me two simple questions. “Do you like beer,” and “Do you like to run?” My answer to the first one is “I am in the military, what do you think!” The answer to the second question was a little different, “I don’t like to run, but the military made be pretty good at it!” She then told me to meet up with her Sat and keep an open mind, but not in the sexual way.  So I did just that. After meeting up with her we hoped on the local bus to head out onto an adventure. We get to a parking lot in the housing area and I see a small group of people socializing. She introduced me to several people and introduced herself as Blazing Saddles. I was a little thrown back but it was not an issue, we all get nick names throughout our lives.

After a short time someone yelled out “chalk talk!” I was told to go and listen to what was being said. Here I saw markings drawn in flour, yes like cooking flour. I was told what the marks mean but I was pretty clueless what they really meant. Later we made a circle and someone in the middle called for the “hares.” Questions were asked but nothing was making sense to me. Then the hares left while everyone else stayed behind. At some point the person in the middle called for “virgins.” I laughed under my breath but only to be called into the middle myself. I was scared of the unknown. I said “I am not a virgin! I have had sex a few times.” Everyone laughed and said I am a “virgin hasher.” They asked me a few odd questions and then I was allowed to leave the middle of the circle. After a few minutes someone yelled “on-on,” and everyone started to take off. They started following the flour marks that were talked about in chalk talk.

I followed some of the lead runners to learn what was happening. We left the pavement at some point and went into the tall grass. We chatted a little and ran across the land. At one point we ran pasted a skeleton of a tortoise.  After a while we came to a spot in the middle of nowhere and we drank a beer.  When off we went again following marks and enjoying ourselves. At some point we ended back on the pavement. The marks then lead us back to where we started from. Later I would learn this is called an A to A trail, it starts and ends in the same location.

To me honest I was pretty clueless about how the marks worked and what was going one for a few trails. At some part is started to make sense to me. 20 years later and I am still learning new marks and new ways to do things. Though I knew from day one that this was a pretty cool adventure and these people where pretty cool too. I started to run with them when I had the opportunity. I learned that I needing to take part in at least five trails and help hare (co-hare) before I could get named. I was pretty nervous about the naming but I what it was going to be. I am not a big social butterfly and I worry about what everyone else things of me. As I have evolved I have learned to be more social and less worried about what others thing…part of the time. If you would like to know more about our hash traditions and what things mean within our community come out and see who we are in person and/or look through more of my blogs!

My Mother Kennel