First mate's log:

October 21, 1970

We're going to have a special evening cruise on Halloween this year, since it's a Saturday. We'll all dress up and have candy and other refreshments and we'll play music. The best (or worst) part is we'll go to the spookiest islands around here that we can reach on a three-hour tour. It'll mostly be for adults, since the Skipper figures that kids will be busy trick-or-treating. I'm still thinking about what costume I'll pick. And, yeah, it's different than the old days, when we didn't have all these stores.


Carol Brady's diary:

October 23, 1970

Mike and I have agreed to let Marcia throw her first slumber party. It's one of those growing-up experiences that I used to think she'd never get to have, marooned on this island until she was eleven. And now there are enough girls in her grade to make a good size group. They're all invited, as are Jan and Cindy, because I thought it would be cruel to leave them out when it's a party for girls and in their own home.

I'm helping Marcia with the planning, including the menu, but Mike and I are going to have a bit of a date night then, since we lost part of our date last time, due to worrying about Marcia and Greg babysitting for the first time. Marcia's party will be on Halloween, since that's a Saturday, and she and her classmates are too grown-up for trick-or-treating. (Jan and Cindy decided Marcia's party would be more fun. And, yes, my girls are growing up so fast!) Anyway, the Skipper is doing a special Halloween ferry run that evening, and Mike and I are going on that. It'll be three hours long (yes, like a certain other cruise), but we'll be back before anyone actually slumbers, if they do. (My sister and I never did at our slumber parties.)

I'd expect the boys to want to go trick-or-treating, Bobby and Peter at least, although Greg is too old. But he does have friends of his own he could do a sleepover with. To my surprise, they're not only planning to hang around that night, but they're being surprisingly cooperative. When I wasn't happy with the job they'd done airing out the sleeping bags, Greg cheerfully promised they'd redo it. Yes, Mike and I are both a little suspicious, but I hope that the boys are just happy for their sisters having a fun party. Or maybe they hope to throw a bash of their own sometime.


October 25, 1970

Just like when the kids decided to "haunt" their own house, Greg has told me about a bunch of pranks he and his brothers are going to pull during Marcia's slumber party on Halloween. I have more mixed feelings about keeping it a secret this time, because that time, while I thought they should tell their parents, they meant well. Greg promises they won't take the pranks too far, but I had a hard time keeping my mouth shut around Marcia.

And then Marcia told me that the slumber party has been cancelled. I don't know if it's for good, so the boys might still pull their pranks, but I knew it would be a bad idea to tell Marcia that. Anyway, she got in trouble at school, for something she didn't do, but her parents don't believe her. Her History & English teacher, Mrs. Denton, found a picture that Marcia drew, in Marcia's desk. Marcia says she was doodling a picture of George Washington, but someone wrote a caption, "Mrs. Denton or a hippopotamus?" Unfortunately, Marcia had written her name at the top of the sheet. And now she has to stay after school an hour every day this coming week.

That's why her parents cancelled the slumber party, but she told me, sobbing, that if they don't believe her, she doesn't want a slumber party or anything else from them ever again. I felt bad for her but I couldn't think of any advice, other than to try talking to her parents again when she's calmer. The thing is, I know how much it hurts when people you care about don't believe you. That's why I used to go live on the other side of the island so often in the old days.


October 27, 1970

I just don't know what to believe. Mike and I got a call from Marcia's principal, saying she drew an unflattering picture of her teacher and wrote a cruel remark. I know, that's so unlike Marcia, but Mr. Randolph has the evidence of the piece of paper, with Marcia's name written in her handwriting at the top. Mike and I had to cancel the slumber party, although that hurt us as much as Marcia. She insists on her innocence, and I think our lack of faith in her hurts more than the lost party.

Mike has scheduled a meeting in Mr. Randolph's office for today, to find out more. If there's any way that Marcia has been falsely accused, despite the evidence, he hopes to find out. She's doing detention this week, but maybe that can be lifted.


October 29, 1970

The Skipper, me, and the rest of the crew are excited about our Halloween cruise. We're all going to dress up as the Little Rascals. He's going to be Spanky and I'll be Alfalfa. And Mary Ann is going to have Ugundi and Kalani manage the diner so she can go with us as Darla. We'll start out on this island, pick up some more people on Blenford, and then, like I said, go to the spookiest islands that are close by. The natives have promised to put on scary, not not terrifying, shows when the passengers go ashore.

Meanwhile, Marcia's slumber party is back on. She told me that her parents believe her. However, she has her own suspicions, about Jenny Sherwood. They've been best friends for two years, ever since they were the only girls in their grade, but Jenny is taking 9th-grade History in the period after Marcia has English, so she's convinced that Jenny wrote the "hippo" line and got her in trouble. I said she should talk to Jenny about it, but she says she's never speaking to her again. I hope the slumber party goes all right anyway, and, no, I didn't tell her what her brothers have planned.


October 31, 1970

Mike and I had a blast on the Halloween cruise. Everyone was in costume. (He and I went as Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, so I had a brunette wig and a huge "engagement" ring, rhinestone.) There was dancing, food, and little shows that local natives put on.

Mike and I had agreed to let Marcia have her party after all, because even though Mike respects Mr. Randolph and felt Marcia should still do detention, we decided there was no point in her being punished otherwise. When we got home tonight, we found out that the boys had pulled a series of pranks on the girls, including itching powder in the sleeping bags they so helpfully "aired out"! Mike considered grounding them, but Marcia isn't holding a grudge, since her friends have told her it added to the fun. (The guests are still here of course, and definitely not slumbering.)

Also, it led to her friend Paula confessing that she's the one who wrote the rude remark under the George Washington doodle. She hadn't meant for anyone but Marcia to see it and just meant it as a joke. She's promised to confess to Mr. Randolph on Monday.

And Marcia had judged someone without all the evidence either, suspecting her best friend Jenny Sherwood, who she un-invited to the party. So she called Jenny up and apologized sincerely. Luckily, Jenny doesn't hold a grudge either. And neither does poor Mike, who got a bucket of flour dumped on his head when he opened the front door for her. (He and I had returned through the family room.)

So it's been another memorable Halloween on and near our island.