If I Was Lost

When I was little, my friend Caryn McClure and I used to go down to the creek and play in the dirt. I wasn’t really a tomboy, but something about pretending to create a house out of giant holes dug in the ground, rocks and assorted bottles and bits of rope, and whatever else we could find lying around, satisfied my imagination and an early sense of domesticity. Maybe this is how Martha Stewart started out too. You never know.

I am not sure why, but I have always had a fascination, or maybe it’s just a motto of preparedness, that has led me to occasionally ponder what I'd do if I found myself stranded on a deserted island. I remember watching The Swiss Family Robinson in 2nd grade and thinking how fantastic it was that they rigged little hammocks to sleep in and made a way to have running water. A majestic tree house.

When my husband and I gave in to peer pressure (actually peer suggestion, but there was enough of it to feel like pressure) and rented the first 2 episodes of LOST the other night, I started thinking about it again. What would I do if I was stranded on an island all by myself?

I would begin by making a house. First I would gather up giant palm leaves and find some rope, or if I had to, I’d weave some out of reeds that I had peeled into strong strips. (I think that’s what he did on Castaway.) I would build my house with a nice view of the water…I’d need a nice view in order to keep my spirits up and to be reminded that I was not really alone…but it would be far enough away that the tide couldn’t sweep in and get me. I would build the house from sticks woven together, and mud to fill the crevices. Palm leaves for the roof.

Next I would make a basket to function as my refrigerator. And I’d collect a variety of fruits in all different colors and display them as an edible still-life so I’d also have art.

Every day I would catch a fish and play chess with myself using rocks and a board drawn in the sand.

In the evening I would get out my iPod and listen to some music before going to sleep (somehow I would have an unlimited supply of batteries). A few of the albums I’d have to round out my island life:

Patty Griffin - Living with Ghosts
Ellis Paul - Carnival of Voices
Phil Keaggy - Beyond Nature
Simon and Garfunkel - The Concert In Central Park
Bob Marley - Legend
Marc Cohn - Burning the Daze
Soundtrack - The Mission
The Cardigans - Long Gone Before Daylight