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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Toric_Arthendain" data-source="post: 1037560" data-attributes="member: 9833">September 1st, 1933 2:30PM SS Gabrielle, Pier 74 Moore appears distracted as Father Steele makes his request and actually has to have the request repeated.  He rubs his chin in thought and then answers.  "Bringing a few extra dogs along shouldn't pose a problem but they will have to remain in the hold caged up with the rest of the dogs.  We can't have dogs running around the ship during the voyage and I'm certain that the Captain and crew wouldn't allow it.  But they can be kept in the hold with the other dogs and cared for there.  Bear in mind though that we are going to Antarctica and there are few dogs on the planet that can handle the extreme weather there.  Best choose the animals carefully if you intend to follow through with this plan."That said, Moore returns his attention to his clipboard and continues greeting arriving members of the expedition.Once everyone has gotten something to eat and drink, each member of the expedition is then taken through the same routine:  each is fitted for clothing, individual photos are taken, and each receives a rather thorough medical and dental examination.  This process takes up the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening.Peter Sykes is in the crew's lounge, along with a large number of chests, racks and open boxes.  He is one of the expedition's polar survival experts and has been given the job of measuring the explorers for their cold weather clothing.  He is a quick, competent man in his thirties with an instinct for diplomacy.  He is Canadian, a rugged adventurer of average height, with long limbs and a narrow, wide-mouthed face and black hair.  One by one, he measures each arriving member of the expedition: height, weight, waist, chest, collar, inseam, shoe size, hat size, glove size, and anything else he feels is appropriate.  Ladies in the party (Roxie!<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> ) who object to this treatment receive only a small smile and a sigh from Sykes, who in fact is quite professional.  "You'll want this done right, miss.  It'll save your life, it will."After measurements are taken and written into a small book, Sykes gives each person a quick instruction on the use of each of the many pieces of clothing (liners, boots, gloves, trousers, parka, hoods and overalls-more than fifteen pounds of clothing in all) and has them try on some for size while he begins measuring the next person in line.  "Another day or two," adds Sykes, "and we'll have a kit for each of you.  The ski shoes and gloves haven't arrived yet, but they should be here by the end of the week."Once the fitting is completed, each person must then meet with Dr. Greene, the expedition's physician.  Greene is in his late twenties and is lean, youthful, and has the natural grace of a dancer.  He performs a modest physical examination and questions each person at length about his or her medical history.  If anyone has conditions of obvious symptoms that require attention, he schedules them for a complete examination within the following three days.Next up is the expedition photographer for a series of publicity pictures.  Each person is photographed in street clothes and in cold-weather gear, and asked to pose here and there among the tools, charts and instruments.Then it is off the ship and downtown for a dental examination.  By the time each person has finished with the photographer, Moore has arranged an office visit with a dentist in the midtown area.  The meeting with the dentist is a typical cleaning and inspection.  Moore has already made arrangements for payment in the event of a need for fillings or extractions before the ship sets sail.  If these are required, they will be seen to in the next few days.After investigators finish with the dentist, the rest of the evening and night are the theirs to enjoy on their own.  They are reminded by notes in their rooms to be in the Amherst Hotel Rose Room at 8:00AM for the first official expedition meeting.</blockquote>

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