First mate's log:

May 18, 1971

I was really surprised when Sam the butcher confided in me yesterday, when I went into his shop for hamburger meat. (I can cook burgers at least, nothing fancy.) No one else was around and he said that he went over to the Bradys' last night to invite Alice to the semi-finals of the Blenford Supermarket Bowling League. He knew it was last minute but she's very supportive of his bowling, "a great little cheerleader." Alice was all gussied up, but for a date with another man!

"She said it was just an old friend, but she sure wasn't acting like it."

"Well, are you and Alice going steady or something?" I asked, because I've never been sure how serious they are.

"Well, no, but I thought we had something special. Has she ever told you how she feels about me?"

"Me? No, definitely not." She probably has talked to Mary Ann about it, but that's not really something I could discuss with Mary Ann.

"Oh. Well, what should I do?"

It's one thing for like Greg Brady to ask me for advice about girls, but I really don't have any dating experience that I can share with a middle-aged man like Sam. I mean, I've read a lot of comic books and seen a lot of movies, so I know a little, but not firsthand.

"I guess just play it cool, like it doesn't bother you. I mean, if this is just some friend of hers from the past."

"OK, and he is only on the island this week."

"Good, so just let it play out. It's not like he's moving here."

"What if he does later?"

"Then that probably means they've fallen for each other, and there's not much you can do to stop it."

He didn't look happy with that answer, but then another customer came in, so I said goodbye and left.

Carol Brady's diary:

May 21, 1971

Alice's old high-school boyfriend is on our island for a week and they've revived their romance after all these years. I feel a little sorry for Sam, but he's never acted like he has serious intentions, while Mark Millard might actually propose to Alice. They've gone out every night this week so far, and they look utterly smitten with each other.

I'm trying not to selfishly think of how much we'd miss her if she got married, and we'd miss her not just as a maid but as one of the family. Her happiness is more important.

May 23, 1971

I talked to Sam after church today, and he told me that he knocked out Alice's new boyfriend with a frozen leg of lamb. It was an accident but she wasn't mad at him anyway. It turns out that guy was just wining and dining her to get her involved in a shady investment scheme, and he's a gambler who's been married six times!

Alice and Sam are definitely back together and they went on a picnic yesterday. It wasn't that romantic, since they took the Brady kids along, but Sam didn't mind. He'll take Alice bowling next weekend. (He made it to finals for the BSBL but his team came in third.)

May 27, 1971

Well, things definitely didn't work out for Alice and Mark. He turned out to be a swindler after Alice's nest egg. I feel bad for encouraging the romance, but even Mike was fooled at first.

She and Sam are definitely back together and she had planned a romantic picnic, but it ended up being only romantic for me and Mike, since we had the house to ourselves when the kids tagged along on Sam and Alice's date. She didn't complain though.

I don't think I'll put this in the article I'm writing. I haven't told anyone about it, not even Mike, but I think I can confide it in here, as I've admitted so much in my diaries over the years. Ginger introduced me to Mr. Delafield of Tomorrow's Woman magazine. It's published in Honolulu, since Hawaii is the newest state. He and some of his staff are staying with Mrs. Tiffany Smith for a few weeks, doing a special issue about Blenford Island.

Anyway, I had brunch with Ginger recently and Mr. Delafield was in the same restaurant, so she made introductions. When I said I think of myself as a "homemaker," not just a housewife, he wanted to hear more. So I told him a little about my life with Mike and the kids on the island named after our family, both before and after we were rescued.

"Mrs. Brady, would you be willing to write about your family for my magazine?"

I was flattered, and obviously I do like writing about it in here, but that's for my own private amusement. (Well, I could see my descendants reading it after I'm gone, as a historical/family record.) Still, with Ginger's encouragement, I agreed to at least try to write something for publication. I've asked her not to tell anyone, and I'm not even going to tell Mike unless I go through with this.

So far, I'm just taking notes as I skim my old diaries. I think I'll just cover the time of our marriage, since the years before then were often sadder and more frightening. Hopefully Mr. Delafield won't be bored by the domesticity.

May 31, 1971

The Brady kids recently told me that their mom wrote an article about them. It's not just for the PTA newsletter but for a real magazine, Tomorrow's Woman. She went through a lot of drafts and the boys read through the rejected pages when they were emptying her wastebasket. The girls can't wait to be famous, although I don't know how many people would read an article like that. But I'm happy for them and I'll read it when it comes out.

I admit, I'm kind of surprised she didn't write about her time on this island in the old days, when things were more exciting. And even if you leave out headhunters and lions and scurvy and quicksand and all that kind of stuff, if I was a housewife or even a career girl, I'd want to know how we managed cooking and laundry and everything under primitive conditions.

June 4, 1971

My article was rejected, after countless drafts. I feel like my self has been rejected, although obviously writing is not my whole identity. I guess I thought that maybe people who don't know me would want to hear what I have to say. And I thought the stories about the family were cute and funny, with some sadness and stress mixed in, because it's not all sunshine and roses.

Still, at least I tried, and maybe someday I'll figure out how to turn these diaries into a book, probably after the children are grown. And I am glad that the whole family was supportive. I thought maybe the kids would be embarrassed or Mike would think I was making a fool of myself. But they were eager to see their names in print. Well, maybe someday.

June 8, 1971

Mrs. Brady's article got rejected but Mr. Brady talked to the editor about it. It turns out that they wanted something more upbeat and positive, while her article had the good and the bad about a blended family with a maid and a dog, living on a formerly primitive island in the middle of nowhere. But he agreed to give her another chance.

Greg and Marcia told me that the new version is too sweet and goody-goody and it doesn't have things like their arguments and illnesses. They're not so crazy about seeing their names in print now, because the kids at middle school will make fun of them. But they want to be supportive of their mom, so they didn't stop her.

Well, maybe this version will be rejected, too.

June 12, 1971

Mike went behind my back and met with Mr. Delafield to discuss my article. The editor told Mike I was "telling it like it is," but that wasn't what he wanted. Mike got Mr. Delafield to give me another chance, and I swore I'd never write again, but then I couldn't help trying, draft after draft. This time I accentuated the positive, eliminated the negative, as Bing Crosby advised.

Mr. Delafield loved the new version and invited himself and his staff over for a tea party. Unfortunately, I was so excited, I got the time mixed up and had just stepped out of the shower shortly before they arrived. So there will be pictures of me in my robe, with a towel wrapped around my wet hair. I had hoped I'd have time to do my hair and makeup, and put on one of my nicest outfits (something a happy mother of six flawless children would wear), but now I had to entertain Mr. Delafield and a bunch of strangers before I was ready.

Then the children came home from school. Marcia and Jan were bickering and poor Cindy had the hiccups. (At least her sniffles are less of a problem after the tonsillectomy.) Bobby tore his good pants and poor Peter got in another fight with Buddy Hinton, who I guess hasn't really reformed, judging by Peter's black eye. But worst of all, Greg has poison oak! Any one of these problems would be something I'd have to deal with, but all at once and with judgmental guests, like staff writer Nora Maynard?

Then when Alice was bringing in the finger sandwiches, Mike came home through the kitchen and they crashed into each other. Mrs. Maynard pointed out that this was not the family in my (revised) article. And the other writer, Wally Witherspoon, told me tell it like it is.

Mr. Delafield is going to publish the earlier version, but I've decided my writing career is over. I can't deal with all the added stress. Alice, on the other hand, is working on a nonfiction piece, maybe a whole book, about her experiences as a maid. I hope she doesn't share anything too embarrassing, but I am sort of proud of inspiring her.