Saturday, October 26, 2013

In Memoriam; Bea Ross - Funeral Saturday 9 November

Bea accepts accolades from the Mufti at the 31st Anniversary Hash, June 2013

Bea Ross died at home on Friday 25 October 2013.  Her three daughters have scheduled a funeral mass for Saturday 9 November at 11:00am at St. Theresa Church in Ashburn, followed by a reception at the River Creek Club in Leesburg.  They'll be updating her Facebook page Wednesday or Thursday 30/31 October, and expect to have an obituary in the Washington Post this weekend.

To Bea or Not to Bea hosted the hash numerous times at her home in Ashburn, and always offered us a great party with a generous buffet.  For this year's anniversary hash, she made nine pounds of Southern-style barbecue spareribs.

One of my favorite Bea memories:  at a McLean hash at Cocked and Loaded and Queen Cobra's, I set a walkers' route that included a narrow bit of trail on a ledge above the Potomac.  Bea was one of two walkers who followed the set path, and she came back saying, "I'm terrified of heights, and that bit along the river was awful for me.  But I didn't look down and I kept moving, and I did it!"

When she first got sick late this summer, she asked for ice cream.  Blow in the Hole and I found that Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia met her sodium restrictions and brought a pint - she loved having it, though was pleased to have BitH spoon feed her as she was seriously exhausted by her illness.

Please feel free to share your memories, either in the comments section below or via e-mail to me.  I'll post them as I get them.

In February 2013, at Phoenix Rising's hash.

In March 2013, at Easy Strider's.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

GFH3 Run #1,720; 12 October 2013

Riley's first set!  Maria's cooking!  I know this one was great.  Details, please.  I do so want details, suffering as I am so very far from you.

In March 2014, Chip Off the Old Dick provided details as follows:



A coterie of ragamuffins gathered Saturday afternoon to celebrate the end of our fall flooding.   An intimate group – ten walkers and ten runners or so – gun shy from an eventful week of rain (more than six inches at Dulles from Monday through Saturday) gathered at a dry start near the USGS.  We appear to continue the trend of small fall turnouts.  [you fools – Maria’s cooking, and you’re not there?  -ed]

Co-hare Phoenix Rising jumped in the breach to set what seems to be his eighth trail in ten weeks. Some retirees move to Florida, some play golf ; apparently PhR plans and sets trails with his free time.  In atypical CoToD fashion the usually subversive co-hare revealed at chalk talk that this was to be an A to B .... necessitated by the looming threat of afternoon rain and little overhead cover at A.  Bags were loaded into the Phoenix Wagon ... en route to B the co-hares checked in to verify the small group was staying together, including Bad Dog/Perseverance keeping pace nicely through the first part of townhouse zig-zagging.  Wagon continues to B with beverages in tow.   As Mama put the finishing touches on food prep, Riley slept like, well, .... a baby.

Back on trail, the tiny pack of runners, mostly together, made through trail and neighborhoods around Dogwood Elementary School, then snaked though assorted apartments and townhouses before moving east-southeast, crossing (underneath) Reston Parkway.  The pack explored what the trail system associated with Snakenden Branch had to offer.  Very little?  It's woodsy trails only at this point as the pack looped around and ON IN with a tame trail (Manic Mechanic's Garmin said six miles), ending at the Pony Barn Pavilion. Seemed that Easy Strider was first to arrive and Perserverance made it before nightfall, as he always does, getting ready for his epic celebration the following week.

Well-rested Riley joined in with Just Susan for a family affair feast. We had just enough rain for the co-hares to validate their decision to go A to B (and isn’t that the purpose of having at least one hare with a degree in psychology) for a covered location.  After a quick clean up, the remaining walkers and runners were shuttled back to start.  Many thanks for the flexibility and cooperation everyone showed in offering rides and bringing out their personal sun to a soggy, soggy week.
 


Photos from other lands:




  

  



  

 


Monday, October 7, 2013

GFH3 Run #1,719; 5 October 2013

Who, where, how far; someone fill me in, please.

For instance, did you see any wildlife on trail?






PS:  Blow in the Hole, I hope you didn't stay up all night waiting for me to post.  I was in the wild, without interwebs.