Some Strong Crimson Coxes

Strong coxes from Harvard.

Earlier today, the National Rowing Foundation (NRF) needed to move some books from the rowing exhibit at Mystic Seaport to Red Top, the Crimson boat house by the Thames River, where the Harvard crews are training right now for their races against Yale on Saturday, 7 June. 'Some book' is really an understatement, as it was 78 boxes with 12 copies in each box, which makes it a total of 936 copies of a very fat and heavy book. What to do? Well, phone calls were going back and forth, and soon there was a van leaving Red Top with assistant coach Patrick Lapage - yes, HTBS has written about Pat before, but also about his grandfather, Michael, who rowed in the British silver eight at the Olympic regatta in Henley in 1948 (read more about the Lapages, here). Of course, in between practice, the oarsmen need to eat and rest, so Pat brought along the Harvard coxes - a tough bunch.

78 boxes with 936 heavy books.

We carried boxes (yes, yours truly did not only act as a 'door opener', he, too, was a pack mule) through some rooms, down the stairs, through some other rooms and out on a small porch, and in the van. I did not count how many times we ran up and down the stairs, but I do not need to do any more work-outs today, or 'for this week', as Pat said. Well, now the books are out of the building thanks to Pat and some very strong coxes ~ Well done!