Knickerbocker Hash House Harriers #15
Wednesday 13 January 2010
Start: 40th Street and Queens Blvd
On-In: Irish Rover @ 28th Ave and 38th St
Hares: Smashmouth
Guest Scribes: Just Rich and Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Mickey was absent at this week Knickbocker, so whilst you will no doubt miss the maniacal musings of Mouth you’re stuck with me! I arrived late to the start to be informed by Smashmouth that he’d forgotten to give full instructions to the hash. “Look for a K and a N”, he shouted. “They’ll be questions at the end. Tell the others!” So with this most random of thoughts in my head and joy in my heart I set off in search of a trail and some beer…
Miss Mouth had asked me to be inventive with the write up and for some reason I’ve got The Charge of the Light Brigade* by Alfred, Lord Tennyson stuck in my head and can’t think of any original prose.….
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Queens
Ran the two dozen
"Forward, the Hash!
"Charge for the bar!" Smashmouth said:
Into the valley of Queens
Ran the two dozen.
"Forward, the Hash!"
Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the hash knew
Smashmouth had blunder’d:
Their’s not to make reply,
Their’s not to reason why,
Their’s but to do and die:
Into the valley of Queens
Ran the two dozen.
Bum to right of them,
Hobo to left of them,
Drunk in front of them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shout and yell,
Boldly they ran and well,
Into the jaws of Queens,
Into the mouth of Hell
Ran the two dozen.
Flash’d all their sabres bare,
Flash’d as they turn’d in air,
Sabring the runners there,
Charging Astoria Heights, while
All the world wonder’d:
Plunged in the chimney-smoke
Right thro’ the signs they broke;
Kays and Enns
Reel’d from the sabre stroke
Shatter’d and sunder’d.
Then they ran back, but not
Not the two dozen.
Hobo to right of them,
Bum to left of them,
Drunk behind them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shout and yell,
While FAD and Barfly fell,
They that had run so well
Came thro’ the jaws of Queens
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of two dozen.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made,
Honour the Hash,
Noble two dozen.
And so to the bar…
Too Long and Hardman arrived after running 6/min miles. Twas a fast trail! Mean Jean arrived muttering about Queens. Others arrived at the bar asking for directions to the nearest subway. The standard issue bitching and moaning didn’t last long as the beer started to flow in copious amounts. The Knickerbockerer’s enjoying the non-Manhattan pricing and wide choice! Not often we get any draft as the beer of the night. Even Mean Jean started to be less mean. The Committee called for the circle and down downs were administered:
• Smashmouth for being a hare
• Hotrod for forgetting which man was her man
• Smashmouth for setting some obscure quiz involving K’s and N’s – and when one Dave drinks, they all drink. So Hardman, Too Long and another Dave got pulled in…
• FAD and Barfly for running in traffic – not understanding that in Queens people just don’t give a damn and will run you over.
• It should be noted that Mean Jean was supposed to get one for being in a pissy mood. WC made the probably smart move not to antagonize her further and declined the request to give her a beer
But it was a quiet night for the rule breakers and so we disassembled the circle quickly and got on with the more important business of drinking.
*for the original http://poetry.eserver.org/light-brigade.html