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Along with these unwelcome physical changes come changes in my attitude toward the hash, and at first I wasn't sure if these changes were welcome or not. Like someone'll interrupt the Circle to shout "Head? Who said Head? etc, etc." It was hilarious the first time I heard it, and it stayed funny the next 6,347,993 times I heard it, but from the 6,347,994th time on, it quit being funny . . . and when it first quit being funny, I wondered if there was something wrong with me. You know what I'm talking about?

I still love hashing, but I'm less enamored of the things that have grafted themselves onto hashing over the years. When I first found the hash, I uncritically took it all in as a whole . . . the pre-trail antics, running through angry homeowners' back yards and gardens, the beer checks, the Circle and Down-Downs, all those wonderful songs, the gallons of ice water dumped over you and the stinging blocks of ice to sit on, screaming "show us yer tits" to harriettes (who sometimes would!), invading pubs or bars afterward and chasing the civilians away, liberating trophies from visiting hashers, throwing up in other peoples' shoes, socks, gym bags, and cars . . . oh, it was all so wonderful!

Well, as the old poem goes . . .

. . . or if you can't relate to that because you're wymyn . . .

And now some things aren't as much fun as they used to be. I get angry at hares who haven't sense enough to pick a spot for the Circle that's well away from civilians or cops. I want to stop and apologize when ex-pat hashers boorishly and selfishly insult the customs and values of their host nations. I feel bad when harriers scream "show us your tits" and some harriette feels pressured into doing it. Sure, many harriettes love showing off, but some don't, and they don't all have the strength to say fuck off. I turn around and find another way when the trail goes onto private property. I won't sing hash songs in front of non-hashers, or in front of hashers who don't like those songs . . . I've discovered that many hashes in other parts of the world are quite tame compared to hashes I grew up in, and I've learned to respect others' wishes.

But as I mentioned earlier, I still love the hash. I've absorbed enough hash history to know that the songs, the ice, the Circle and Down-Downs, even "Head? Who said Head?" are all things that hashers have imported from other groups . . . private schools, rugby teams, fraternities, and so on. These rituals have been attached to hashing for so long now that younger hashers just assume they've always been there. In 1938, there were good mates, a trail, camaraderie, and a few beers afterward. And here I am in 2001, on the wrong side of 50 and then some, finally realizing that the very things that keep me coming back to the hash are . . . my good mates, the trail, the camaraderie, and the beer.

Last spring I finally did something about it. I started an invitational hash, one Monday evening each month, modeled on the Mother Hash . . . as near as I can get it to the Mother Hash in 1938, in fact. We have a trail and we have beer (in a bucket, as God and G intended it). We drink a toast to a new or departing member if we feel like it, but mainly we're there to do the trail and see our friends. And people are knocking down our doors now, trying to get invited.

I've heard a lot of hashers comment that the hash is getting too intense for them lately . . . too many "traditions," too many down-downs, too much pressure to do this or that. If you're one of those hashers, try setting up a "back to basics" hash. It doesn't have to be a separate, new group, like ours . . . you could try haring and hosting a "traditional" trail once in a while. I know you'll love the experience, and I bet others will too. And not all of them will have gray hair!

- Flying Booger