Alec’s first realization of the day was that he had no bathroom. And at the moment finding a place to go would be his first priority. He quickly scooted outside and found relief under a Palm tree. Then he re-entered the strangely shaped building and went toward the kitchen to figure out what resources he had available to him.

There were six boxes in the back of the room, all about the size of a 30 inch TV. Alec assumed they did not contain TV’s but there were labels on the top of each box.

He grabbed the first one to his right which was labled MRE’s. MRE’s, was the military abbreviation for Meals Ready to Eat.. There had to be roughly a hundred packets inside. In the next box he discovered an equal number of granola bars of multiple varieties as well as multiple plastic bags of nuts, dried fruit and beef jerky. While there was a lot of food in front of him it certainly wouldn’t last a year.. He would have to ration carefully.

Alec grinned when he look at the rest of the boxes because they all had LL Bean labels. His grandfather was a big fan of the Freeport, Maine company, and had even taken Alec there when Alec was just a little boy.

It looked as if Grandfather had simply called LL Bean, which was famous for their customer service and said, my grandson is spending a year by himself on a Deserted Island, here’s my credit card number. Please outfit him properly and within a budget of $1000.00.

One box was full of clothes… shirts, shoes, sandals, guide pants, sweatshirts. The next had two canteens, compass, collapsible fishing pole, first aid kit, backpack, mask, snorkel and fins. And the list went on with the final two boxes.

Suffice to say, he had everything he needed. LL Bean could probably package this as the “Island Survival Kit.”

Alec selected a pair of multi-pocketed Khaki shorts, a gray Coolmax T-Shirt, and found a very hi-tech looking waterpro sport shoe sized 12. Alec chuckled remembering his grandfather had commented on his shoe size a few weeks before.

Attired in his new outfit he grabbed two of the granola bars and an empty canteen and headed back out the door.

He set a course towards the center of the island. The brush was light and gave way to what was obviously once a path. The path varied in width from two to four feet with an occasional branch blocking the way. Alec continued to follow its slow rise for at least a hundred yards or so. His new shoes were extremely lightweight and gave him the sensation he was walking on air, five minutes and two mud puddles later, the sensation passed.

The end of the path soon beheld a beautiful sight, a pool fed by a stream of water flowing out of a rock formation several feet above the surface. it didn’t take Alec long to realize that the pool was man made, the concrete bottom being a dead giveaway. Upon closer examination he determined that rainwater was captured in tubes and filtered into a pipe which ended at the hole in the rock. It appeared Alec’s water problems were solved.

He continued on for another few hours which proved rather uneventful, although he did come across more signs of previous inhabitants, such as a ramshackle hut on the south side of the island and cleared paths near the beaches.

After eating both granola bars Alec plopped down on yet another beautiful beach and realizing he was exhausted and sore, he let himself drift off to sleep.

When he awoke he checked his Omega Seamaster to see that it was 5pm and he should get going. He decided to follow the shoreline on the way back, and after walking another hour through rocks, palm trees and tiny beaches, he gazed up towards a small bluff overlooking the water. It was probably 50 feet above the Caribbean.

It took Alec about five minutes to make his way through the brush and get to the clearing.

He was slightly winded after the uphill trek and was amazed at how out of shape he had become in a few short years. He would have to get himself back in shape.

When he finally broke through into the clearing he was astonished at the view that awaited him, it was breathtaking and not because he was still trying to catch his…. He had about a 270 degree view of the sea. To his left and right were beaches that belonged in a commercial and smack-dabbed in the middle was the beginning of the most amazing sunset he had ever seen. Alec knew instantly that this was where he would make his home.

The bluff was roughly 400 square feet in size and very flat. The location was perfect; He could actually see the roof of the Rubb building from here, being a fair golfer Alec likened the distance to a short par four. Heck, he thought with his elevated Tee box, and a nice Tradewind, he could reach it with his driver on a good day.

Moments later when Alec looked down to the beach below, he discovered how he could get himself back into peak shape. It wouldn’t be easy, but he quickly calculated that it would only take about three hundred trips between the beach and the bluff to get him in shape and give him the stone house he always wanted.

By eight the next morning he had brought all the tools from the lab to the bluff and drew lines to lay out a foundation. He realized that his house wouldn’t be an architectural wonder but he had settled on making a 10×10 foot shelter with two windows and a door facing the ocean. He would find the squarest stones possible from the rocky beach below lay them out and then use mud from near the watering hole to hold them together. Alec figured he could use the planks from the abandoned shack to fashion his windows and door.

While Alec had thought carrying the rocks up to the bluff was going to be good exercise he had no idea just how good. The rocks easily weighed 30-40 pounds each and by noon he was totally exhausted and that was only after thirty trips.

He found himself drenched in sweat, sun burned on his back. his arms and legs felt like Jell-O, and his hands were a mess. Gloves he thought.. Doesn’t LL Bean sell gloves?

After an hour break he was back at it and by sundown he had laid out the whole perimeter two feet high. Collapsing back on his cot that night he had never been so tired. Oddly enough he found himself anxious to get started at first light.

As the fourth day approached he found himself completely focused on the project. He had easily dropped 10 pounds since, arriving mostly water weight but he felt good. That day Alec was actually successful at his first attempt spearing fish. This new diet gave him an energy he had never known and also self confidence derived from being able to provide for himself.

On Thursday May 22nd eight days after arriving on the island he put the finishing touches on his house. Sitting on the edge of the bluff he leaned back onto his blistered hands and let out a big sigh.

It was about ten seconds later that he realized what day it was. His Omega read 5:54pm and he had approximately six minutes to get back to the lab to received his grandfather’s message. He made it in four.

Posted by on Sunday, March 12th, 2006 at 6:31 pm.