Cleveland, Ohio
Professor Roy Hinkley Jr., M.A. B.S. Ph.D., found himself back in the hectic clutches of the maddening hustle and bustle of a civilization he barely recognized. It all seemed too surreal for him. To go from living in the confines of a tiny island in the South Pacific, complete with a dense jungle, (a scientist's dream to explore, by the way), to being suddenly thrust into the lively, and intimidating sights and sounds of an urban jungle, was a bit much for him.
If the scientist wasn't intentionally hiding away from the shock of it all in his favorite type of comfort zone, which happened to be a school laboratory, he thought he might go bonkers!
There was so much to take in all at once!
In an attempt to ignore whatever it was he was dreading about this strange new world he now found himself in, he needed to grasp on to something that was familiar, in order to gain a sense of stability. Deeply engrossing himself in the middle of calculating some perplexing formula, or dissecting some unfortunate mouse or frog, gave him the comfort and footing needed to keep a level head in all the excitement of returning to normalcy...at least what was considered normalcy in this day and age!
The realities of modern life frightened him. But he had to face his fears...eventually.
Luckily for him, he had good friends and a supportive family to come to his aid. They helped him get on his feet in the months following the rescue. He had acquired a nicely sized apartment, which was a little larger than the one he had before he left on his ill fated journey to Hawaii. It was furnished with some of his old household goods which his mother had placed in storage, and some new items were bought to enhance the decor.
The usually guarded scholar was thankful his family respected his privacy while he was gone, and didn't go snooping through his journals, which were mainly scientific anyway.
But who knew? Perhaps they had taken a few peeks, and then were immediately put off by all the technical language and precise drawings of diagrams of animal parts, plants, the solar system, or notes on an experiment he happened to be conducting at the time.
Part of him was elated to be back home. How he missed his parents and other relatives! And let's not forget his mother's home cooking! Although Mary Ann was an exceptional master chef, it was easy to get tired of recipes containing coconuts, watermelons, lobsters and island herbs. They made off very well with what they had while on the island, though.
Roy did discover that he had to watch what he ate for a while and avoid the fast food restaurants, since his digestive system had become extremely healthy from eating fresh, natural foods with no artificial flavoring or preservatives.
To add to that, there was now a much greater, and more mysterious world out there for him to investigate. A small part of him was a little apprehensive, though, about facing blatant realities. Each new day that dawned, proved to be full of its own unpleasant surprises, obstacles and puzzles, which he found he had to keep on figuring out, until he got the hang of things.
Gosh, how do I program this answering machine again?...Good heavens, if it isn't a modern version of the washing machine! It's nothing like the ones I remembered using back in the 60s. How do you work this contraption? (He tried to familiarize himself with the new computer models and programs).
God, it was like suddenly waking up from a fifteen year coma, and learning how to walk all over again!
Now he knew how Rip Van Winkle felt!
He was currently employed at an inner city high school as a chemistry teacher, in 9th grade science. Although the professor had a considerable amount of years under his belt as an instructor in this subject, he found it a most challenging and frustrating task to land a position in the city schools, upon returning home.
However, the astute educator learned quite quickly though, that it wasn't always what you knew, but who you knew, while pursuing a teaching position. Thank goodness for the Howells...especially Mrs. Howell, whose niece was an administrator and on the board of trustees at one prestigious high school of science, located in downtown Cleveland.
Roy soon had to take it upon himself to become skilled in the day's new advancements in technology, and the current teaching trends being used in the '80s classrooms. A lot had truly changed in education since 1964, the year he and his fellow castaways became stranded on that tropical island.
Everything from the music to television viewing, to answering machines, to computers etc., made him marvel at how far the world had come in just a few years!
He had a lot of catching up to do. But fortunately for him, he was a fast learner.
Being the ever eager researcher that he was, with an inborn and insatiable appetite for obtaining knowledge, becoming reacquainted with life would ultimately prove to be an amazing adventure for the academic, once he got used to his surroundings.
Roy spent much of his time at the neighborhood library with his handsome head, hungrily buried in books, and using every resource possible, to obtain information on any subject he felt he needed to be knowledgeable in to survive in this fast paced world.
He found that all his hard work and research to gain more insight was beginning to pay off. However, all of the book learning on the planet would never prepare him for how considerably rude and dangerous society had become.
Even the young people were not immune to such wretched behavior.
While working in the extraordinary realm of teaching, he noticed that the students rarely said "Good morning" when they entered his classroom, and showed some defiance when occasionally corrected for unacceptable behavior. Apparently, having manners and showing respect for others were a thing of the past!
He did discover, however, that these students in the year 1980, were indeed more sophisticated and less naive than the scholars he had been used to in the 1960s. Kids today were exposed to so many things in their young lives... things they should never be exposed to until they reached an appropriate age. Early exposure made them mature at an even faster rate. He found this to be sad...and quite scary.
Roy loved being an educator. But he learned early on, that if he was to survive the modern day classroom, he had to be on the alert for certain pitfalls.
Some high school girls, especially, were "enlightened" far beyond their years concerning adult matters. The scholar heard about students developing crushes on their instructors, and as an instructor, he was definitely no exception to be preyed upon by the lionesses he was hired to educate.
He did enjoy working with them, however. They were extremely intelligent young ladies and could hold their own just as well as the boys in the class. He learned new things, (scientifically speaking), from them and they in turn, benefited from his his classes.
These girls had dreams of becoming physicians, scientists and engineers. It was fulfilling, exciting and fascinating to Roy to engage in stimulating conversations with them on the male dominated fields they were interested in pursuing. He was very proud of them and applauded their tenacity and hard work.
However,... there was a downside...
As a teacher...and a very handsome one at that, poor Roy, on more than one occasion, firmly, and professionally, yet delicately, had to put a few female pupils in their place, if they tried to "cross the line." He had to be extremely careful in keeping the teacher-student relationship strictly professional.
A few times, during his science lessons, while in the middle of explaining a chemistry problem, he would notice some girls staring at him with goofy expressions on their faces and giggling. Clearly, they were not paying attention to anything the academic was saying. One day, he recovered a note which was secretly being passed around the classroom. He was considerably irate as he ordered one of the young ladies to hand over the piece of paper.
The angry professor then took a glimpse of what had been written there, and abruptly turned his back to the class to shield his reddening face over the shock of what he had read.
Isn't he hot?
Yes- he- is!
Too gorgeous for words!
I would just love to "get" with him!...
The remaining contents of the note were so graphic, it astounded him that girls their age knew of such things!
The professor was mortified, to say the least! "Welcome to today's world Hinkley, where kids aren't all that innocent anymore."
"These girls can easily get you fired if you're not cautious!" The scholar anxiously reasoned to himself.
He breathed a deep sigh of frustration, and immediately tore up the note and tossed the pieces of it into a nearby trash can. He would remain calm, cool and collected, inwardly, and not draw anymore attention to it by yelling, and thus revealing his true disgust.
If only he could stop himself from imagining a frightening scenario, where one of these young ladies would one day go to the principal's office, and tell a lie about how he tried to make a pass at them.
That is, if they felt rejected and scorned by him for ignoring their advances. This was his greatest fear about working in a high school.
It would be their word against his. He intended to keep on ignoring the "special attention" they sometimes boldly gave him. Some girls brought him apples and candy and other little gifts. The girls would only be met with a polite, "Thank you," from him. Then Roy would immediately change the subject to something scholastic. Other girls pretended they were having difficulty with a certain mathematical formula, and would suggest remaining after school for his "tutoring assistance."
But the shrewd Roy was many steps ahead of them. He had to be! He arranged for someone else to do the tutoring. The scholar wished he had a camera handy to take a picture of their stunned faces when they discovered that a female teacher would be present in the classroom to help them, instead of himself.
The girls knew immediately there would be no "private lessons" with this Adonis.
He was not about to lose his job around any of this nonsense!
For that sensitive reason, Roy contemplated going to work for a college or university when the new school year rolled around.
He was intensely giving much thought to moving on to teach older, more mature adults.
Perhaps that would be a "safer" avenue for him. The professor planned to speak with the Howells about his career prospects once they saw each other at Mary Ann's engagement party.
Getting back to the rudeness of society...
Hardly anyone said "excuse me" if they happened to bump into him on a crowded street. Everyone always seemed to be in such a hurry! He even had to relearn when to cross the street! Once, he almost got hit by a car because he had forgotten to pay attention to a DON'T WALK sign.
Driving was even more of a challenge. It took him a good while to build back up his confidence and quick reflexes, and not to mention, a thick skin, in order to deal with crazy motorists and jay walkers who crossed against the light.
Watching the evening news was no picnic either, learning about the constant murders and robberies taking place everywhere, made him wince.
I suppose living on that uncharted island with those dangerous headhunters wasn't so bad after all!
Nonetheless, with all of the daily chaos aside, Roy seemed to find perfect solace in his musings of a certain red headed, and truly exquisite beauty.
His heart practically broke when they held one another as they said their goodbyes after their televised rescue. How he missed the sweet floral scent of her hair and the silky smooth touch of her creamy skin. Often times, he would lay awake at night and wonder if she were thinking of him too.
They never got around to writing to each other, since they were both so busy. But now, the distance between them, and her absence from his life, was beginning to take a profound toll.
Ever since he had been back in Ohio, Roy went on a few dates, and some of the women he became acquainted with, wanted to be more than just friends. The scholar simply was not interested.
Nothing compared to the green-eyed movie star. He felt lonesome without her, and could barely concentrate on many things. What he wouldn't give to hold her in his arms once more! It soon got to a point where the professor found himself irritable and restless with all of that tension building up inside of him.
Then, one evening, he discovered an advertisement in the local paper, announcing that one of her movies was currently playing. The movie studios wanted to honor the actress' safe return to civilization. The Rain Dancers of Rango-Rango was showing at a theater a few blocks away from his apartment building. The excited scholar went to see that film whenever he had time on his hands, and whenever the need to lay eyes on the cinema goddess, became too great to resist.
Roy even attended midnight showings to quench his emotional thirst for her. He probably saw that film for a total of eight times in the past week alone! But the movie was out for a limited time only, which was all the more reason to take full advantage of viewing it.
He was very happy that in a few weeks, he would soon be reunited with the enchanting star when he attended Mary Ann's engagement party. Roy couldn't wait. He had already RSVP-ed. How wonderful!...Mary Ann is getting married. The academic marveled.
Funny...I've always thought she and Gilligan would be the ones to come together as man and wife after all of this time.
0000000000
Kansas
She couldn't sleep.
She couldn't get comfortable.
It wasn't the bed.
It was her conscience...something was bothering it.
But what was wrong?
Late that night, the farm girl tossed and turned in her bed like she was being cast to and fro by the violent waves of an ocean in a terrible storm. Something was seriously haunting her... or rather, taunting her.
Her Aunt's words kept ringing in her ears.
"Could it be that you might have some deeply rooted feelings for this Gilligan, that you haven't explored yet?"
That utterance kept floating relentlessly throughout her mind.
Dear god...what if it were true?
Could she in fact, be harboring some deep rooted feelings for...Gilligan?
Mary Ann stared deep into the darkness of her room.
She made herself lay perfectly still for a moment, to reflect.
A cool, gentle breeze flowed into the room from an open window. It felt good as it kissed the soft skin of her rosy cheeks. "Concentrate, Mary Ann...concentrate!" She whispered.
The farm girl slowly inhaled, then exhaled. She was gradually beginning to feel more at peace as she took in the sounds of the night. She heard crickets chirping and wind chimes tinkling in the distance. There was an occasional bark from the neighbor's dog, and the suspicious noises of their old farm house settling.
Whenever this happened, the floor boards creaked, giving the listener the impression there was an intruder in the house. But she knew when to investigate. It was nearly impossible to tip toe silently on these rickety floors.
Terrible Tommy was still there visiting. He would often leave his bed in the middle of the night, like the "sweet" little boy that he was, to sneak downstairs to smuggle cookies out of the cookie jar in the kitchen.
If she happened to be awake, Mary Ann heard the pitter- patter of those little feet, on their merry way to get into some type of mischief. It was nice of Aunt Martha to give her sister Liz, a break from that unruly child. Now, he was going to be their little headache for a few more days!...the little darling!
"Concentrate." She whispered once more.
She was finally in a very relaxed state of mind, and ready to do some soul searching. The farm girl thought hard to unearth those deep rooted feelings her aunt alluded to. She dug so deep inside her psyche, that she could have hypnotized herself! As a matter of fact, she almost succeeded in doing just that.
There was nothing like laying awake in bed at night, staring into darkness and reflecting on your innermost thoughts. In the midst of the stillness, things which were hidden deep within, could unexpectedly come to light. Mary Ann decided to give the self searching a try, only to prove Aunt Martha's query to be nonsense. But she did give it some serious thought.
Could Aunt Martha's insightful comment be possibly true?...Well...could it be?...
Of course not! She and Gilligan were good friends.
Yes, it was true, she adored him and thought he was cute, but that was about it.
Bob was her man. Her future.
Life on that island...with Gilligan... was all in the past...all in the past now.
She and Gilligan, remained friends...only friends...to this day...
Only FRIENDS.
Nothing more...nothing less...
If they were only friends, then why did she keep feeling the need to constantly convince herself around it? Was she in denial about this?...Oh, that was ridiculous!
She currently breathed a heavy sigh to release the nervous tension trying to build up inside of her. Then she re-focused. This time, she whispered her words.
"Those dimples...that smile...those eyes...that sweet nature...that loving, giving heart...that hair...oh god,...that soft... brown hair..."
Mary Ann saw the dazzling image of the sailor in her mind's eye. A warm, bright smile came to her lips when she envisioned him smiling back at her.
"That gorgeous hair...I've never touched it...but I have always wanted to...how those brown bangs ruffled softly in the wind...how the bright sunshine rested upon it, giving the illusion that he had a halo...my...my...how fitting that should happen,... because he was an angel...a beautiful...wonderful...angel..."
Wait a minute! What was happening? She wanted Bob not Gilligan! Why was she fantasizing about the first mate?
She knew exactly why! But she did not want to accept what she had been feeling all along. She would suppress it until it faded away into nothingness...forever.
...Feelings for Gilligan you haven't explored yet.... Feelings for Gilligan you haven't explored yet...
Aunt Martha's words continued to cut right through to her stubborn heart. But she chose to ignore those words. "I will remain true to Bob...no matter what!"
"No...No.. It's Bob...Bob is my future."
"It's...Bob...Bob...and no one else..."
"It's...it's...Bob who I'm madly in love with...not Gi..." her voice trailed off as she remembered his letter.
"Where in blazes could it be?"
Just then, the house settled and the floorboards creaked.
The farm girl suddenly sprang up into a sitting position, her back resting firmly against the cushioned down pillows.
Her brown doe eyes went wide with excitement.
"Oh my goodness! That's it! The letter! Gilligan's letter fell between the floorboards!"
