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30 Day Blogging Challenge: Fearless Leader

You and several friends are marooned on a desert island. Everyone is looking to you to lead. What are your first actions? (List at least 2 please)

I look around at the worried faces surrounding me. Ann looks a bit pale and a little green from being tossed around in the ocean waves. Nathan stands apart from the rest, looking into the trees.

"We're stranded aren't we?" Jasmine asks.

I clasp my hands in front of me. "I'm afraid so. Without a compass, food, or fresh water, this is about as good as it's going to get. We're going to have to make this our temporary home."

"How do we do that?" Ann asks in a shaking voice.

"Who here has experience camping?"

Six hands rose. Almost everyone.

"Anyone been a Boy Scout or have hunting experience?" Nathan's hand goes up along with Jeff's and John's.

"Alright, first thing's first. It'll be dark before we know it so we need heat, food, fresh water, and if there's time, some kind of shelter. Can I get volunteers?"

"I can do get firewood but I don't know how to start a fire," Ann said.

"I think I see some coconuts, maybe I can climb up or knock some loose?" Jasmine pointed at some trees not too far away.

"Good Jasmine, collect as many as you can but a minimum of two per person should help rehydrate everyone. That's sixteen coconuts."

"I've got a pocket knife, if I sharpen some sticks I might be able to get some fish." Jeff replied.

"I've got a lighter, if it isn't too wet," John said. "I'll work on the fire with Ann."

"Great, that leaves me and the other two to figure out some kind of shelter. Let's see what we can make happen everyone!" We all set out to our various tasks. Using nearby over-sized palm fronds plus some half grown saplings we broke at the base and large broken branches, we constructed a pretty large teepee like structure that would allow everyone to sleep comfortably side by side and in two rows. We scraped the ground flat and smooth with palm fronds and then laid down a bed of evergreen boughs for warmth and softness.

"Hey, look, I found some mussels! And there's a ton of them. I think there might be oysters nearby too." Jeff said, showing me a handful of fat mussels. "No fish though, sorry."

"This is great Jeff! The tide's probably wrong for fish anyway. We can look again in the morning when the tide is higher."

We walked back to camp where the first tendrils of smoke were starting to rise from the fire. John coaxed the flames, feeding them bits of wood until the rest caught flame. Not too far away were a nice stack of coconuts. Jasmine pounded one open and handed it to Ann.

"Here Ann, this will help you feel less nauseous," Jasmine said. Ann drank from the coconut as Jasmine worked to crack more of them open and hand each of us one. We sat around the fire in silence, drinking. Jeff cracked his open and cut a big chunk of the fruit loose. Without a word he passed the knife to the person next to him. John put some mussels on a palm frond and held it over the fire. I looked at the exhausted faces around us.

"I'm proud of you all. You've kept your wits about you. We're going to get through this, together, if we keep working as a team. I'm sure the Coast Guard will rescue us in a week or so. They have to be aware of the cruise ship going down by now."

A couple people nod but everyone is too busy or too exhausted to respond. One by one, they eat their fill and head for the shelter to catch what sleep they can. I keep the fire going, making plans for tomorrow and the long day that will be.


Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVebnPMY4dg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCT9K72ByUE

https://www.doityourself.com/stry/makeminnowtrap



Charity Marie
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