First mate's log:

January 16, 1973

Peter was starting to enjoy the challenge of playing Benedict Arnold, but now some of his classmates are giving him a hard time about being cast as "a traitor."

"It's like they don't know the difference between acting and real life."

"Yeah, Ginger says some of the actors who play villains are the nicest guys you'd ever wanna meet."

"Well, I'm not saying I'm the nicest guy around, but I would never sell out my country. Or my school!"

"They'll get over it once they see how good you are in the part."

"Well, I don't know how good I am at being bad, but if I'm good they'll think it's because I'm bad."

I nodded. "Yeah, it was kind of like that when I was Hamlet."

I don't know if he understood that, although I understood him.

Carol Brady's diary:

January 17, 1973

I'm going to have to give up golf. Not only are my hands getting blistered, but I broke Mike's five-iron! I got so frustrated, I threw it aside while trying to sink a putt and it hit a tree. I'm not looking forward to telling Mike, but of course I'll have to. Hopefully, he'll understand I meant well. And, yes, I'll buy him a new club as soon as I save up enough.

Greg is very taken with Jennifer, so I doubt he'll have time to golf with Mike anytime soon. Yes, maybe I should train Bobby to be Mike's new golf partner, so my own practice and reading don't go to waste.

January 18, 1973

Peter got in a fist fight over the play! No, it wasn't with Buddy Hinton. It was with a boy who called Peter a traitor for playing Benedict Arnold, and this time Peter snapped. He gave the guy a black eye, and got a bloody nose himself.

I said, "Good thing you didn't get seriously injured, or you'd have to give up the play."

He suddenly looked like he wanted to get in another fight, but I shook my head and hoped he wouldn't be that stupid.

January 19, 1973

Greg brought Jennifer by to meet me and Mike this evening. She is very pretty and charming, but a little too charming. She said that Greg must get his good looks from Mike, and she gushed over my decorating tastes, which most teenage girls wouldn't even notice. (Marcia thinks my taste is a little old-fashioned actually.)

Greg was taking Jennifer to the dive-in. He said it was a great science-fiction picture.

"Oh, you'll love it!" she gushed. "It's so exciting!"

"You've already seen it?"

"Yes, but I don't mind going again."

"Well, what movie do you want to see?"

"Whatever movie you want to see, Greggy. You have such good taste."

Of course, it's not like there's a wide choice at the dive-in. They could go over to Blenford I suppose.

After she left, I told Mike, "She could give lessons to Jack Frost."

He understands my sense of humor and said, "Yeah, with a snow job like that, we wouldn't have to use all those boxes of Safe for the Winter at Valley Forge."

January 20, 1973

Greg told me he had another great date with Jennifer last night, at the dive-in this time, but when he called her today to see about going out again, she told him some surprising news. She said she's trying out for head cheerleader! She used to be on the cheer squad at her old school.

"She didn't even know I'm on the selection committee!"

"Wow, what a coincidence! Is she going to drop out?"

"No, that wouldn't be fair to her. I mean, Marcia hasn't dropped out and she's my sister!"

"Maybe you shouldn't be on the committee."

"Gilligan," he said indignantly, "I can be impartial!" Then he stormed off.

January 21, 1973

The school play is getting closer, but still three weeks from Friday. All of us, except of course Peter, who's got his hands full as one of the stars, have been helping build the sets Jan designed. Mike polished the designs of course, but I still think Jan is very talented, as I did even when she was making sandcastles at the age of four. To be honest, I could much more see her as an architect than poor Greg. But I learned from that experience of his "career paper" that I don't want to push the children into any specific future. It's better for them to find their own paths.

This weekend, Marcia and Cindy worked on the sky, with Marcia painting the clouds and Cindy making the sun into a big yellow "smiley face." I was so proud of Jan that she didn't yell at Cindy. She was mature enough to compliment her little sister, although she confided to me that she'll paint over the black parts before the play.

"It'd be fine in a musical, Mom. But this is a serious drama about the American Revolution!"

I nodded and didn't laugh until I was alone.

January 22, 1973

Peter told me he's getting desperate to get out of the play, although it's still almost a month away. Last week, he tried suggesting that they change the play so that Major Andre is the main villain and Benedict Arnold doesn't sell him the plans after all. But Miss Goodwin said they can't change history.

Today was the first rehearsal where they "went off script." Ginger has told me about that. That's where they say their lines while not looking at the words, although they can still be "prompted" if they forget. But Peter pretended he forgot his lines, even though he actually memorized them over the Christmas break.

He thought that this would make Miss Goodwin take him out of the play and replace him, but she taught him an old acting trick. They can hide pages of the script onstage, like with the plans for West Point that he's selling to Major Andre.

He's going to try to think of another plan to get kicked out of the play, but I would think at this point the damage is done. I mean, some of his classmates think he's a traitor just for getting cast as Benedict Arnold. He can't really undo that. But, like with Greg, he didn't want to listen to reason and he left.

Yeah, I am the sensible one sometimes, but I'm used to most people not taking my advice. I guess that means Greg and Peter are growing up, if they're acting like the Skipper and Mr. Howell used to. At least Bobby still listens to me, like the Professor sometimes did.

January 23, 1973

The sets are still coming along. George Washington's boat and the Potomac are all done. Jan thought to put the boat on roller-skates, and Mike made that work. We all, except Peter, tried it out this afternoon. No one can actually stand or sit in the boat, because it's just a flat, painted front, and it would be too small to fit even a crew of junior-high students. So, Alice, Greg, Marcia, Bobby, Cindy, and I put on our Colonial hats made out of newspapers (obviously there will be something more realistic for the actual play) and got into the famous pose, as Jan pulled the boat along on a rope and Mike directed her. Unfortunately, part of the Potomac fell over. Mike joked that it was the first time that the waves sank instead of the boat.