Hey, kids…want to have some fun? Let’s play a game. For this game, imagine yourself stranded alone on a deserted island a la Tom Hanks in Cast Away. (Please tell me you’ve seen Cast Away. I love that movie!) Here are my rules:
1. You must name the three (3) things you would like to take or have with you
2. You cannot take along another person or people; remember, you are alone
3. You must be able to carry your 3 items in a regulation (school) size backpack
4. You can’t say “plane ticket” because there would be no airplane or airport
5. Rule #4 applies to all forms of transportation you could not carry with you
You get extra points for creativity. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Wilson is a perfectly acceptable answer.
P.S.S. – My 3 items are a knife, a tarp and flint. My momma didn’t raise no fool. But if I knew I’d be rescued quickly, I’d take a knife, a salt shaker and tequila.
Inside NanaBread's Head 
This is hard!
1. I really want to say a toothbrush but it’s not very practical. I think I could fashion a toothbrush out of a stick and some pokey leaves or something. So I say definitely a knife of some sort…for protection, spear-fishing, and cutting down sticks and palm fronds to build me a lean-to.
2. A lighter to start a fire that I will never allow to burn out.
3. My Bible to keep me sane. Maybe then I could actually memorize bible verses! :)
I’ll say it again: this is hard! I’m not cut out for being a castaway. Being on Survivor would be a nightmare – $$$ or not! :)
I love that you started and ended your comment with “this is hard!” You crack me up. This was supposed to be FUN. I can clearly see that you’re more of a Kate Gosslin than a Sarah Palin in this instance. And I’m guessing you won’t be heading out to the deer camp with J.D. and the boys anytime soon. It’s okay, Kandi. We’re not all meant to be “outdoorsy” girls. I’m somewhere in the middle. I grew up camping (sometimes very rustic camping), and I’d love the challenge of something like this, but only for a while. Then I’d want my pajamas, my fleece blanket, my coffeemaker, my family, my dog, my Whataburgers…I’d want all that back. Oh, and chocolate. There had better be lots of chocolate on that rescue boat, or someone’s getting hurt.
When I was in high school I went on all kinds of “leadership quest” kinds of things with my youth group. Some of them were extremely “rustic”… we portaged our canoes out in the middle of the wilderness with nothing but a tent, some pre-packaged camp food to cook over the fire and a hole in the ground for the bathroom. I’m glad I went on these trips because I proved to myself that I CAN be an outdoorsy wilderness-girl…I just don’t want to!!! :)
(I do love hiking and being outside but give me my bed at the end of the day!)
I stand corrected! Any woman who can use the term “portaged” in a sentence correctly has clearly spent time outdoors. I’ve been on some of those camping trips where you clear your own campsite and dig your own toilet, and I’m with you. I just love my Tempurpedic mattress too much to be away from it overnight! My ideal camping situation these days would be an RV with a bathroom, stove and running water. And maybe a mini-TV with a satellite dish. Parked in a shopping mall parking lot.
Well. I *would* say laptop with working wifi … but let’s face it, that probably wouldn’t work anyways..
Hmm..
I would say a flint, my vegetable seed stash box and a small pot with a hanging handle.
That way I could start fire, attempt to grow some veggies and have a small pot to cook my home grown veggies (and I’m sure lots of seafood) in.
yum! :)
Hugs,
Wendy / sassyb
Interesting! And very pro-active of you. I wouldn’t have thought about seeds for growing stuff. A pot would definitely come in handy (even for catching rain water to drink). So you’re thinking of growing your own corn & potatoes and having an old-fashioned New England crab pot. I think I would like to visit your desserted island that day. Maybe I could swim over.
I used to go “hard-core” camping when I was younger. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal at the time, but now I might just come unglued if I didn’t have running water or a real shower. That said, if my cargo plane crashed near a deserted island:
1. I’d like to say that I’d bring a flint, but I have no idea how to work one, so I’m going to have to “chick-out” and bring a very large lighter.
2. A tent. If I’m going to be stranded, I want to have a shelter that doesn’t double as home or food for creepy crawlies.
3. A heavy duty skillet. Something that I can cook grubs in, or use to whack something over the head, if need be.
If I knew I would be rescued soon? Then I would bring sunscreen, vodka to go with the abundance of tropical fruit available, and a knife to slice the fruit.
A tent that zips is a good call. I hadn’t thought about creepies and crawlies. I also like your choice of a skillet. Very practical, for all the reasons you mentioned. And if I’m ever in a “rescued soon” situation, I hope we go down together. Sounds like we could throw one heck of a party!
Give me a Tom Hanks movie any day, they are like comfort food. I cried when Wilson floated away too.
It’d be a fun experiment. I’d give it a shot with:
1. A knife, a Crocodile Dundee “Now THAT’s a knife” kind of weapon. Something I could do some serious hacking with. Then I could lob down some cane and build a platform shelter. Crawl under it during the day; sleep on top during the night. A little thatch roof and walls.
2. A flint for sure, I like my parasites to be thoroughly cooked. And I hate being cold.
3. A big roll of sturdy twine, cause even with my knife, it may take me a while to master the art of rope making. I could make a hammock, fishing net, set snare traps, secure my food up in a tree…
When do we leave? We could share an island and meet up once a week for dinner.
Baby Sister, one of the things I love best about you is the way your mind works. I’d be honored to be stranded on an island with you. But if I have the tequila bottle, I’d be willing to bet you’d visit more than once a week. And I’ll bet my tequila will cook those parasites as well as any fire could.
After reading Robinson Crusoe, I can say that I would totally survive and befriend natives and animals.
That aside, I would bring:
-A pot-Bacteria ridden water would be the death of me.
-Seeds-In case the island isn’t filled with wild berries or coconut trees.
-A hatchet-I don’t know how else I would make a shelter other than chopping down some trees.
You know, I never thought about the bacteria/contaminated water thing until you and my Baby Sister mentioned it. I was thinking I’d catch rainwater. I never thought of the seeds, either. I’m a Survivor fan, and it seems like there are always limes and bananas and coconut around. A nice bowl of berries would be a treat. And I fancied a big machete so I could go all “Jungle Jane” on my island, but a hatchet would be great for chopping wood for those fires. I never read Robinson Crusoe, but I did see Swiss Family Robinson several times in my youth. Same thing, right?
Okay, why cant we bring someone? Ugh I wanted to bring my crushhhhhhhhhhh.
The first thing I would bring would be….
-A knife
and then …..
-a pot, pan, ect.
and……
-razers and shaving cream, cant get hairy legs on an island! Alone or not! :D
Now I want to know who your crush is!
I’m with you on the knife and a pot/pan is a good call – cooking & catching rainwater would be good. If I had to choose between my Burt’s Bees lip balm & shaved legs/armpits, I’m afraid I might pick the lip balm. I’m kind of addicted. Besides, I’m thinking my hairy legs could keep me warm at night. (Ack!)
I did a similar thing of this at school! It was sooo fun and my group one! I do a lot of hunting and fishing with my family, so I love all these kind of things! :) I would kill anything for a decent feed and i wouldn’t let myself starve. I would get water by making a water pipe out of the bamboo and other wood and vones on the island. I would find coconuts and all to drink and use the empty shells as cups, plates, water catchers etc… i would also use the pulp of the coconuts as sunblock. Don’t want to die from EXTREME sunburn!! :)
BTW I looooveee Cast Away, it is sooooo sad when Wilson floated away…… :(
1) I would definitely take a knife. No questions asked. A knife is survival. Without, you’re deasd. I would have the kind of BearGrylls knife! No knife = no shelter, no food, no weapons.
2) i would take my trusty bow Razorback. <3 That will be how I get my food! :) (I actually do archery! It's my LIFE!)
3) A flint/lighter. So i can start my fire. I would NEVER let it burn out. That would be 1/2 my ticket back to civilization! :) +Warmth!
I guess this would be easy if you stay calm and know what you're doing. if not, then it's just freak out and die time. I hope I would survive. I know I have a good shot at it though… Nevertheless, I'm not scared of hardout camping. I would do whatever it takes for me to survive in this situation. I jut need to know that my life is on the line from it all! :) have yoou read the book 'The cay'? it has a lot of survival stuff on there. It's a veryyy good book!! :)
I have not read ‘The Cay’, but it certainly sounds interesting. I’m afraid I’m not much of a survivalist. If I were ever stranded on a deserted island, I would need to have someone around that could help me survive it. Fingers are crossed that I’ll only have to imagine it as a game. (My mother would probably be disappointed in my assessment of my skills, since we camped so much as children, but it is what it is. I’m a city girl now.)