It’s a tale worth telling, an eye opener, a wake-up call. Many of us have such a tale, in one form or another. This one is about a friend of mine, Bob Greenlee.
As I understand it, the story starts around a camp fire, in the snow, where he and his best pals of prep school, now some 50-odd years later, gather each year, religiously, to warm themselves with brandy and cigars, laugh over old times, share the annual news and reaffirm a lifetime of friendships. They camp in winter in the snow as an annual get-together, most often somewhere different as an added element of adventure. I imagine they congratulate themselves, not so silently, on their manhood, throwing large logs on the fire and pretending it’s not really below freezing. As the brandy is poured, I can also imagine it becomes the truth. Other truths would be shared as well about family, work, pleasures, and pastimes, laughing together and, far too often as we all age, grieving together.
Bob’s brotherhood began at St. Andrews and has remained loyal into adulthood. Most were rowers on the St. Andrews crew team at the time and several of the fellas have continued to row on masters’ programs as adults. That’s why in 2016, when Bob heard that two young friends of his family’s, Chloe Tong and Willoughby Buxton, were starting Eastern Shore Community Rowers, a masters’ rowing team here in Easton, he signed right up. Bob said he had always loved crew at St. Andrews as a boy and was one of the few without bragging rights and ergometer scores in his circle in the snow every year. He was excited to get on the water and had visions of licking his pals in upcoming crew regattas. Bob also knows rowing is one of the best total body exercises - and this is why I am telling his story.
Bob and I have been rowing with ESCRowers since we started in 2016. We are on the water from April to December. Although Bob rows only a few days a week, he would assert that those few days a week have been transformative to his health. So much so that his cardiologist exclaimed when he had a heart attack some time ago, “that if it were not for rowing, you would not have survived.”
One might argue that it was rowing that encouraged the attack, but we all know it’s the lifestyle and genetics that puts us at risk. As Bob’s friends will attest, he has spent a lifetime working hard and playing hard. Like many of us, he enjoys a good meal after a long day and loves to celebrate the holidays. He “lives life large,” as I would say. So it is without surprise that he felt arm pain after a row last year. One of our teammates, a registered nurse, saw the signs and made a call to another rowing team member, a physician to get him in for an EKG. Bob was taken to Anne Arundel Medical, an hour’s ambulance drive and within 12 hours he was receiving a stent. He was then sent to D.C. for Bypass surgery. Bob was lucky and he survived because his heart was strong. When asked if he could keep rowing they were adamant that he should and that rowing is what contributed to the healthy condition of his heart and what saved his life.
Rowing is not, as most would think, an upper body sport. It works the deep core muscles from the triceps all the way down from pushing off the shoe platform with a sliding seat. As well as an excellent cardio workout, it builds external and internal muscles, strengthening one’s heart and surrounding muscles. (It also makes it especially good for those of us who work in offices most of the day, as it has strengthened my back muscles, which suffer from sitting too long.)
There were many days when we would skip showing up if we could. Another huge benefit for rowing is that it is a team commitment. Once Coach Chloe assigns you a seat that week, there is no hitting the snooze button, or you will leave the boat with an empty seat, and your teammates won’t let you live it down. But it’s worth the early morning rise. We meet of Evergreen at Easton Point at 5:30 or 7:00 am and each day is a new and exciting experience.
Bob will agree that rowing is simply one of the most enjoyable sports that takes advantage of our beautiful waterways. The experience of being on the Tred Avon in the early morning when the water is calm and often misty, watching the waking waterfowl and the sun rise over the trees, in syncopation with fellow rowers, is an extraordinary experience. It can be both meditative during the long stretches of steady state as well as exhilarating when we build to race pace. And there are few people we are happier to call friends. Rowers simply exude health and fitness, take pride in personal bests, and by and large are committed, conscientious and community involved. They seem to live by an unwritten code of honor.
No wonder Bob’s classmates still enjoy rowing all these years later. No wonder he is still alive to enjoy many more years of rowing and camping in the snow with friends. Bob has changed his lifestyle, and rowing is a big part of that. We are grateful to ESCRowers for their commitment to building a healthier community, and hope there will be many more members who will join us in staying healthy and join the fun! For more information about the spring Learn-to-Row clinics, go to ESCRowers.org
