First mate's log:

February 1, 1972

Greg Brady decided he was "done" with the boat yesterday. It did look nice, with a paint job and everything. But when he tried to set sail from the lagoon, in front of his family, me, Mary Ann, the Skipper, and the Howells, it sank! It wasn't that deep a part of the lagoon, so me and his dad and the Skipper helped him haul it back to land, while Alice and Mr. Howell cracked jokes.

Greg feels really ripped off by his so-called friend. And now he'll have to save up again, and a lot more so he can get a decent boat next time.

Carol Brady's diary:

February 2, 1972

Well, Jan has done something wonderful and unexpected. She won her school's Honor Society essay contest! Yes, ironic that this happened on Groundhog's Day, since it takes her out of her sister's shadow. She scored 98, almost perfect. There's going to be a school assembly to present her award on Friday, and Mike and I are invited.

This balances out poor Greg and his boat woes. He's definitely not going anywhere in that clunker. It sank in the lagoon! No, he wasn't that deep, and he can of course swim, so he's fine, just humiliated. He may be able to salvage his pride, but not the boat.

February 3, 1972

The good news is Jan won an essay contest. The bad news is she didn't really win. I mean, her teacher Mrs. Watson told her she won, but Jan did the math later and found out that she got a 93 instead of a 98. So the first-place essay is actually the one by a girl named Nora Coombs, who got a 95.

"What should I do, Gilligan?"

"Well, is there a reason you can't just tell Mrs. Watson?"

"I know I should, but, well, it's the first thing I've won in a long time. And nobody but you and me knows about it, and you won't tell, right?"

"Not if you don't want me to."

"Thank you. And my parents would be crushed if they found out I lost."

"I don't know about that. They would love you anyway."

"I guess, but I want them to think I'm special, that I've done something none of the other kids have done."

I can understand that. My big brother definitely wasn't an overachiever, like Greg Brady, but I grew up kind of in his shadow. And I got his hand-me-downs, like that red shirt I still haven't gotten around to returning.

February 5, 1972

I was proud of Jan when I thought she won the essay contest, but I'm even prouder of her now. She caught a mathematical error in the scoring and, even though she could've just said nothing and received the award, she told Mrs. Watson at the assembly. Mrs. Watson praised Jan's honesty and sportsmanship. And I told Jan, "Sometimes when we lose, we win." Better to lose a contest she might not even remember in a few years than to lose her integrity. And, lovely as prizes and awards can be, mindlessly pursuing them isn't healthy. I think Bobby and Cindy learned that, too, with their attempt to get in the record books.

Unfortunately for Greg, trying wasn't enough for his boat. I suppose he could use the wood for some other project, but he definitely can't travel in it.

February 6, 1972

Greg confessed to me that he almost sold his boat to a friend.

"My dad told me caveat emptor."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, I'm not taking Latin this year, but he said it means, 'Let the buyer beware.' Like, I got ripped off by a friend but it was kind of my own fault. So I figured I'd find someone who was a bigger chump than I am. So I talked to my friend Ronnie, who's a nice guy but very innocent and trusting. I pulled the same tricks on him that my so-called friend Eddie pulled on me."

"Gee, Greg, I don't know. Just because you got tricked doesn't mean you should rip someone else off."

"I know. I started to feel guilty, and I couldn't go through with it. I told him that I'd sort of told another guy he could have it. He offered to pay more, but I said I couldn't break my word."

"Why didn't you tell him you lied about the condition of the boat?"

"I didn't want him to get mad. I want to keep his friendship, especially since I lost Eddie's."

That made sense. Greg isn't sure what he'll do with the boat, but he joked that he might keep it as a souvenir, like the Skipper has kept the wreckage of The Minnow.

February 9, 1972

The Skipper ended up buying Greg's boat off of him. Not to sail but to use the pieces as decorations around the house he shares with Gilligan, to give it a more nautical theme. He didn't pay the whole $100, just $50, so Greg definitely lost money on the deal, not even counting paint and tools. But he's just relieved to have the boat out of his life. And he promises to be more careful next time.

And, yes, since he has his license, Mike and I will have to let him use our boats, which makes me nervous in a different way. But I think he'll mostly stay on this island until he has his own vessel.

February 12, 1972

Well, the wedding was the fanciest I ever went to, although Mrs. Smith, I mean Mrs. Waterford, apologized for its "island simplicity" to some of her rich guests. Not the Howells of course, who had a really simple island wedding when they renewed their vows on a raft. My favorite part at this wedding was when they released a bunch of butterflies, not rare ones, at the end. I looked at Mary Ann and I knew she was thinking of how I wished I could collect them, although I'm much more of an amateur than Lord Beasley.

I think if I ever got married, I'd like to do something like that, only maybe with monkeys.

Valentine's Day is coming up and it's my first one with a girlfriend, so I'm kind of nervous. But I think I'll pick some jungle flowers for Mary Ann, since she likes simple things, like me.

February 14, 1972

The wedding was just lovely, although I think Greg and Peter were sort of bored, except when they heard the jokes Mike was quietly cracking, despite my elbowing him. Marcia and Jan are both romantics, so they sighed happily, even though the bridal couple are middle-aged and Lord Beasley isn't exactly handsome. (Erika remains very well preserved of course.)

Mike can be romantic of course, if the couple seems genuinely in love, and he certainly is romantic about our relationship. We can tease and make fun of each other, but that's just one side of it. We're going to have an evening of dining and dancing tonight, back on Blenford.

Marcia has a date with a new boy, Andrew Whitaker, but since tomorrow is a school day, she's promised to just go to the pizza parlor and be home before curfew. Alice will watch over the house and the kids, as always, but she and Sam celebrated Valentine's Day yesterday. And all the kids seem to be crisis-free at the moment. I know it won't last, but it's nice for now.