When I reached the start moments later, the day care center lot was full. Fortunately the Trash was in the care of No Class, so I didn't have to schlep it along trail with me-- there are certain lessons I only need to learn once, especially when they're a GIANT pain in the butt. Found flour almost immediately, and I was off in search of the pack.
What a glorious day to hash-- so long as you aren't a VIKING! We get a couple such days every Winter-- warm almost to the point of being balmy, sunny, and bright. Mud everywhere that isn't paved (you sometimes wish you were on a BRONCO). It feels like Spring, except the calendar tells you it's still way too early to harbor fantasies of consistent warmth. I guess if you had to bitch about something, it would be that it is easy to overdress on such occasions, and you end up carrying your surplus articles of clothing on trail. Oh well, a bitchin' hasher is a happy hasher...
Wound up through some nearby apartments (where the On In would later occur), then back through some muddy trails into more apartments. I began to think that Manassas was one huge apartment complex, then we got into some neighborhoods, past the new police station, and through Manassas High School's track and athletic fields. I'd been on trail for 10 15 minutes, and I hadn't seen one single resident. Maybe those Manassas COWBOYS were inside watching a good tractor pull on TV that morning.
Finally, after getting out of the high school, I saw a young Hispanic fellow wearing a RAIDERS jacket working on his JAGUAR. Without any prompting he laughed and pointed along a muddy trail where it looked like a herd of RAMS had gone through: 'They went that way!'
Got out to a main road, and I caught sight of the first hasher on trail-- Big Bird Turd, from Heidelberg. Didn't catch him, though (quick as a PANTHER, he was), and he was shortcutting out beyond a huge true trail arrow, which I followed.
Trail led back behind some seedy trailers, yards strewn with junk, just the sort of place you're afraid of catching hepatitis just by getting your feet wet. I kept an eye out for LIONS, BENGALS, and BEARS (oh my!). There was a check near a drainage canal; I took trail on the wrong side of the canal, and had to cross back over to regain trail. (Unfortunately, I'm not a DOLPHIN.) At this point I encountered Fat Lady, who was having a bit of a problem picking up true trail. We soon found flour in some woods, which led out to a library, and through the downtown area, and into some neighborhoods. Caught up with walkers No Class, Sweet Cheeks, Red Snapper, and Chu Mi, all of whom were ready for the On In-- turns out they had about 2 miles left on trail (too bad they didn't have a COLT). Finally headed back along Rte 28 among various garages, parking lots (the guard was friendly, thank goodness), and then parallel to Liberia Rd. We passed through an industrial yard where we saw some STEELERS; but at first I thought they might be OILERS. Shot the shit with BBT and his dog Lucy for the rest of the trail. He knew Byte and Roto from his days in Germany, yet he came to hash with us anyway!
Pretty soon the flour led through one of the many industrial parks in the area, on down though a creek, and into the apartment complex which In The End calls home. Found most of the pack drinking merrily in the warm sunshine dressed in PACKER green & yellow and PATRIOT red, white, & blue! I looked about, but I did not see Rear BUCCANEER. Mud Buns was there, but not on her CHARGER. Several hashers settled their BILLS with the habs for their sweats. With the festivities in full swing, we started the Circle.
It was apparent that, during the naming committee, there were too many CHIEFS and not enough REDSKINS.
Hares: In The End, Byte Lightning, Missing Link
Anniversaries: Continental Drip (175), Wilburrr (85), Hollow Point (75), Achy Breaky Fart (45)
Virgins: Phyllis Fern, Karin Bretthauer, Spits It Out, and Tom Jones
Returners: Loan Shark
Namings: John Hand-Cock got his name. Marilyn Drucker was voted on, but not announced. Maybe next week.
CARDINAL Sins (no SAINTS in this crowd)
Late Sign In: Slick Slit, Big Bird Turd
New Car (Finally): Wilburrr
Fashion Statement: Burnt Sox, Blank Check
Environmental: Hard Drive
New Shoes: Inbred Jed, Wilburrr
My Work Here Is Done. Your work is just starting, though. Which NFL team(s) are NOT mentioned in this writeup?