Predictions and the Hash House Harriers...

Well, so much for my NCAA Bracket picks... how could UNC and UCLA both lose?  Oh well... I've never won one of these, but it's always fun- last year I was second place in my squadron, but this year it looks like I'll be in 5th or so... and I never follow basketball leading up to March Madness either... but it's always something fun to do.

In other news, yesterday I participated in my first ever Hash Run... in case you've never heard of it, and I'm guessing most people haven't, although, allegedly, it is getting bigger- anyway, back in 1938, a group of bored expatriates tasked with governing the British provincial outpost in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, decided once a week to start running together... heck, why reproduce it when I can just paste the article from Wikipedia... here it is... and I quote: 

Hashing began in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1938, when a casual group of British colonial officials and expatriates, Cecil Lee, Frederick "Horse" Thomson, Ronald "Torch" Bennett, and a British accountant of Catalan descent Albert Stephen Ignatius Gispert (A.S. Gispert) would meet after work on Monday evenings to run, following a paper trail, through the environs of Kuala Lumpur to get rid of the excesses of the previous weekend. There was another member of the group, John Woodrow, who is rarely credited as one of the founders as he left Malaysia after the war to return home to his family in Scotland.

After running for some months they were approached by the Registrar of Societies, who advised them that, as they were a "group" they would require a Constitution (the aims of which are reproduced below) and a name.(A.S. Gispert) (known as "G") suggested the name "Hash House Harriers". As bachelors, they were billeted in the Selangor Club Annex, known locally as the Hash House, because of its monotonous food. Their runs were patterned after the traditional British paper chase. A hare was given a head start to blaze a trail, marking his devious way with shreds of paper, all the while pursued by a shouting pack of "harriers." Only the hare knew where he was going...the harriers followed his clues to stay on trail. Apart from the excitement of chasing the hare and solving the clues, reaching the end was its own reward...for there these thirsty harriers would find a tub of iced beer (and, in those earlier, more forgiving days, ginger beer and cigarettes).

Hashing died out during World War II after the Japanese invasion of Malaysia, but started again shortly after the war, when the original protagonists, minus "G" who had been killed in the Japanese invasion of Singapore, re-assembled in Kuala Lumpur. Apart from a "one off" chapter, formed in the Italian Riviera, (now the Royal Milan and Bordighera Hash), hashing didn't take off until 1962, when Ian Cumming founded the 2nd kennel inSingapore. From then on, the phenomenon started to grow, spreading through the Far East, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as Europe and North America. Hashing experienced a large growth in popularity during the mid-1970s.

By the end of the 20th century, there were thousands of Hash House Harrier clubs in all parts of the world, with newsletters, directories, and even regional and world hashing conventions. This boom is owed largely to the power of the Internet to provide timely and accurate information on kennels and their events and points of contact. As of 2003, there are two organized HHH groups in Antarctica.^[

So there you have it.  It so happens that they have a couple of 'kennels' here in Honolulu, and the particular one that ran with yesterday, was the 'Aloha Hash House Harriers.'  We did about 4 miles or so through the hills around and above Kaneohe Marine Corps Base.  I took the Murphster with, and he enjoyed running off-leash.  He was quite in his element, being a field-dog, he was quite at home- in fact, I was surprised, given the terrain we traversed how well he did.  The race finished at this park where a keg of beer was produced and all the runners brought down chairs and got in the 'circle' where awards were given, nick-names were created, and of course 'down-down's' were issued... (violations of the 'traditions' of hashing... there are no 'rules' just traditions to be followed... penance for a violation involves drinking a full glass of your drink of choice- water and sodas where used as well) it was all-in-all a good time.  The run, the conversation and the good time afterward... There were probably 10 or so other people with dogs there, so Murphy had a great time socializing with them as well after the run.

Well- not much else to report this weekend... although, First Friday in Chinatown was sort of special for me for a reason maybe I'll explain some other time... and last night, some friends and I went to the Hawaii Yacht Club to watch someone we know play Jazz Harmonica... it was pretty cool- anyway- peace.  Oh yeah- the exercise is over- thank God!