Carol And Phyllis

TigerBlog has often said that of the 50 funniest things he's ever seen or heard, Pete Carril is probably responsible for 25 of them.


Bryce Chase? He's on the list somewhere, at least once, maybe more.


There are two woman who have been very much woven into the fabric of Princeton Athletics who can offer 100 stories about each for every one TB can.


And both are leaving that fabric in the next few weeks.


Carol Weston and Phyllis Chase, who between them have 62 years of service to this department, are retiring at the end of the month.


Carol spent much of her time here as Carril's secretary, though that hardly covers their relationship. She was the glue of the basketball operation here, and he was highly dependent on her to tie up any and all loose ends.


Through the years after Carril left here and Carol moved from basketball to work with some other programs, the mere mention of his name would make her laugh and remember this time or that time.


TigerBlog knows much of Carril's bio and many of his mannerisms. Carol knows all of both.


TB hasn't seen too many combinations like the two of them, with the mutual respect and the way they always protected each other.


Carol, whose husband Don has a 15-word title that TB believes boils down to running purchasing for the University, spent a lot of years in Carril's shadow.


Outside of that shadow, she's her own person of course. She and Don have kids and grandkids, and she spent a lot of time here talking about them and all of her other interests. When TB thinks about all the years he worked with her, he thinks about 1) her laugh and 2) Carril. Hey, there are way worse people to be lumped in with, right?

Phyllis, whose husband Bryce is a longtime player/coach/consigliere for the men's lacrosse team, spent 29 years as the travel coordinator, and so many meals, trips, flights, hotels and the rest went through her that TB would say they were incalculable, had she not calculated them all.

Phyllis was honored at the Princeton Varsity Club banquet with the Lorin Mauer Award for her contributions to the department and the athletes. TB had this to say about her then:

 As much as Phyllis impacted the student-athletes, she also had a tremendous effect on the people who have been fortunate enough to work with her.

Phyllis owns a never vanishing smile and a laugh that can be heard throughout the building. her office was always open to anyone who ever wanted to stop in and say hello, and she and her husband Bryce even opened their home to dozens of new hires who had not yet found a place of their own to live.

she has provided humor, counsel, sympathy, advice and anything else a situation called for to all of those with whom she has come in contact, and even long before we were fortunate to be clothed by Nike, she made orange and black Fridays mandatory in Jadwin Gym.

As TB said, the two are woven into the fabric of the department. 

There has never been a time that TB has been around this building when Carol and Phyllis didn't work here, and it'll be a huge adjustment not to have them around.


It's part of how it works in the world, of course.


People are thrown together in the workplace, and they form their friendships and groups and like some and don't like others. But they work together every day to a common goal, in this case, providing a great experience for Princeton's athletes.


TigerBlog will miss both of them. He's sure he'll see them at events and such, but the building will be  a little sadder, a little less friendly, without them.


Somewhat ironically, as TB hit send, his iTunes shifted to "Free Bird," the Lynyrd Skynyrd song that starts out "if I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?"


Well, the two of them are leaving. And TB will remember them.


Fondly.