First mate's log:
April 1, 1973
I went to the Blenford Record Shop today during one of my breaks. Mary Ann and I are now considering just playing records at our wedding reception, instead of having a live band. After all, if we'd never been rescued, we would've had to make due with just the old bamboo record player and whatever records had washed ashore. (And I guess the Mosquitoes album they gave as a goodbye gift.)
Greg was buying an album by the Strawberry Shortcakes. They're his new favorite band, but they're probably too out there for a wedding.
Bobby showed me his purchase, too, but it was from the pet store. He bought a frog for $2.
I said, "Why'd you waste your money when there are perfectly good frogs for free on our island?"
Bobby looked offended and maybe I was kind of rude about it. It's just, I was thinking of what a great pet Froggie was and how he saved our lives when we had a water shortage.
Then Greg said, "He's got some nutty idea about entering the frog in a jumping contest that the pet store is having Friday night."
"First prize is $25!"
"Yeah, and they'll probably make double the prize money just selling frogs this week."
I had to get back to the ferry, so I wished Bobby luck and left them arguing. I don't always feel like being the peace-maker.
Carol Brady's diary:
April 2, 1973
Greg almost had a boat accident! And it wasn't like my boat accident. Greg was clearly at fault.
Mike and I gave Greg permission to take the boat over to Blenford after church yesterday. He agreed to take Bobby along, because Bobby likes to visit the pet store. I had no idea that Bobby would bring home a pet frog. It's not just that he loves animals and hasn't had a pet in awhile. (The parakeet, for instance, long since flew away.) He said he planned to just look, but then he noticed that the pet store is holding a frog-jumping competition in a few weeks. So he bought a frog out of his allowance and has named it Spunker. I can only hope that the frog hops off into the jungle after the contest.
Before we could discuss it much, Bobby introduced a more upsetting topic. He said that Greg was a great driver, but it was because Greg avoided hitting another boat! I don't think Bobby realized the seriousness of the situation. Mike and I questioned Greg, but it was Bobby who said that Greg wasn't speeding and neither was the other boat. And then Bobby said that Greg was reading the back of the album he just bought!
Greg admitted this was all true, but he thought Mike and I were over-reacting. If anything, I think Mike went a little too easy on Greg, forbidding him to use the boat for a week. Yes, it could've been much worse, but it was still very upsetting, especially since he had Bobby with him. It doesn't matter if neither boy can see the danger.
April 3, 1973
Peter has decided to enter the frog-jumping contest, too. But he doesn't want to waste $2 from the little he saved from the bike shop on a frog. So I'm helping him find frogs for free on our island. You're allowed to have more than one entry, so he figures the more the merrier. "Or the hoppier," as I punned.
No, I haven't talked to the Skipper yet. I keep putting it off. There's still time and it will be real awkward when it does happen.
April 4, 1973
I was shopping at the Blenford Supermarket when I ran into Jenny Hamilton. We're not close friends but her son George is a high school junior like Greg. So I was very surprised when she offered me a lift back to our island.
It turned out that Greg borrowed George's boat last night, so Jenny assumed that mine was out of commission! I tried not to show how confused and angry I was. I just said, "Thank you, Jenny, but I won't need it."
She assumed I was taking the ferry, and I didn't correct her.
When I got home (in the family boat of course), I told Mike about that exchange with Jenny. It was after school by then, so he called Greg into the den. Greg admitted that he had borrowed the Hamiltons' boat. He wanted to get tickets for a rock concert on Blenford this coming Friday. He would've taken the ferry but it didn't run that late and he was afraid that the tickets would be sold out.
Mike said, "Greg, we told you not to take out a boat for a week."
"No, you said I couldn't take out the family boat."
I said, "You knew what we meant."
"But that's not what you said."
He thinks we should use exact words. So Mike suggested Greg live by that, too, and we'll lift the grounding. I was dubious, but after Greg agreed and left, Mike said that he doesn't think it'll be as easy as Greg thinks.
And, yes, I'm relieved Greg didn't get into a near accident in George's boat, too. (At least as far as I know.)
April 5, 1973
Peter's best frog, Old Croaker, beat Bobby's store-bought frog, Spunker, in a practice race in their backyard. So now I'm helping Bobby find some better frogs on our island, just like I helped Peter.
Mary Ann thinks I'm escaping into boyish fun to avoid talking to the Skipper about my career. She's right, but the contest is tomorrow night, so I'll talk to the Skipper sometime after that.
April 6, 1973
I guess Mike was right. Greg is finding it really isn't easy to live up to exact words. He promised to clean the boat yesterday, and Mike didn't remind him of it until 11 p.m., so he ended up heading down to the lagoon in his robe and pajamas, with a bucket and washrags and so on. When he got back, I reminded him he'd traded chores with Marcia and was supposed to do the dinner dishes, which he just managed before midnight.
April 7, 1973
The frog-jumping contest was last evening. Greg had promised to take Bobby, even though Greg thought it was stupid. But Greg forgot about his promise, when he later got tickets to a Strawberry Shortcakes concert that same night. His parents held him to it, because of some weird agreement involving an almost-boat-accident. (Bobby explained in a hurry, so I couldn't really follow.)
Anyway, Greg reluctantly took his brothers and their frogs over to Blenford, wishing he could go to the concert on the big island but the timing wouldn't work out. And then all the Brady frogs lost. So I sort of felt like I wasted my time, helping Peter and Bobby find contestants, but we all had fun, except probably Greg.
I didn't have long to talk to them after the contest, because Greg was going on a date to the Lagoon Dive-In and I had to do the next ferry run. On the way home, I told the Skipper about the contest and he chuckled.
Then he said, "Those Brady kids really look up to you."
"I guess so. Mostly I just listen and try to be supportive."
"Well, I think that's gonna be a big help when you work at the Pizza Parlor."
I stared at him. "Who told you?" Mary Ann is the only one I've confided in about that and I couldn't see her betraying me. But maybe Kilani or Ugundi eavesdropped and told him.
He chuckled again. "It's just common sense. You're marrying Mary Ann and you'll want it to be more of a mom & pop restaurant."
"Well, it'll still be her place, but I'll be a waiter."
He nodded. "That sounds like a good fit."
"But what about us and the ferry?"
"Look, Little Buddy, you'll always be like a nephew to me, but that doesn't mean you always have to work for me. And you know I love pizza, so you'll be lucky if I don't eat every meal there."
"Well, she doesn't serve breakfast."
Then we both laughed and hugged. I felt a lot better, although I wish I'd been brave enough to bring this up weeks ago.
April 8, 1973
Greg forgot that he promised to take his brothers, and their frogs, to the contest Friday night. While I've been focusing more on Greg, Bobby and Peter got a little carried away, scooping up what seemed like every frog on our island. Mike and I insisted on Greg keeping his "exact words," so he had to cancel his date to the rock concert with Rachel and instead take her to the dive-in, after the contest.
None of our boys' frogs won, and Peter and Bobby were so disappointed that they forgot they left the frogs on board, until Greg came home from his date. And, yes, Rachel is the girl that Greg took to the dive-in when Bobby tagged along and did such damage last year.
This time, the worst that happened was a frog jumped onto a pizza that Greg got from the snack bar. Luckily, Rachel is a sweet, understanding girl with a sense of humor. Bobby was of course more worried about whether cheese is bad for frogs, animal lover that he is.
And, yes, Greg has definitely learned his lesson about words vs. intentions. And, yes, we made the boys put all the frogs back into the jungle, except Spunker, since Bobby paid for that one.