Sunday, October 21, 2007

Conclusions

Day 24

I've lost and kept off about 15 pounds. My blood pressure has come down to a normal 120/80. I feel healthier. I've learned to enjoy buying fresh fruits and vegetables at the grocery store and preparing meals. I look forward to it each day. Studying the particulars of the most effective parts of this diet, it seems to compare most directly to what is know as a "Vegan" diet. I studied fasting and found that it is an effective way to detoxify your body and is considered a healthy activity at 5-7 days, and should be done from time to time. An unexpected benefit of this diet experiment is that I have developed a keen interest in cooking from scratch, whether it is making bread or preparing my own dishes by varying the ingredients of other recipes that I've found.

For the selection of foods throughout this diet, I rolled dice and compared the results to a table of possible foods I might find. I started with nothing but water, then added tropical fruits, grains, and vegetables. Each of the items I could find was on a percentile table. If I rolled a low enough number to have found it, I added it to the diet.

The events of the blog were loosely based on events going on in my real life. Part of the reason for going on the diet was to prepare for a reunion of people who worked at Apple Computer, Inc. over 20 years ago. (I worked at Apple from 1983-1993.) I had not seen many of these people for 20 years and wanted to lose some weight before they saw me. The "Festival" at the end of the narrative was based on the Apple Reunion held at the Lake Lanier Island Resort near Atlanta, GA.

This will be my last entry in the maroonediet blog, but I intend to continue cooking our meals from fresh and healthy ingredients, working out at the fitness center, and fasting about once every 6 months. I think that this will not only allow me to live a healthier life as I move toward old age, but is just another way to enjoy the little things that pass by unnoticed every day.

Thanks to all of you who have read and commented on this blog or to me in person. It helped me adopt the attitude necessary to make the diet a success.

For those of you who want to follow my adventures in cooking, I'm starting a new blog garrycooking.blogspot.com where I intend to keep notes on things I cook. Mainly so if I ever cook anything good, I'll be able to figure out how I did it, so I can do it again.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Festival!


Day 23
Weight: 218 lbs.
Food Intake:
  • Brunch:
    • orange juice
    • whole grain pancake with pecans, walnuts and honey syrup
    • 2 eggs
    • 2 strips of bacon
  • Dinner:
    • various fruit juices
    • steamed beans and carrots
    • roasted potatoes
    • carved flank steak
    • fish cooked with almonds
    • mixed greens salad
    • various cheeses, crackers and meatballs
    • chocolate pie

Today was a great gathering of villages from all over these lands. The sun rose over the lake and the air was cool, clean and crisp. The leaves on the trees were changing to glorious autumn color and falling.There was no breakfast because all of the land's best cooks were setting up their cooking pits, fires, and ovens for use all day. For masons like me there was nothing to do but wander around the island and enjoy the beauty of it.

At mid-morning we had a brunch consisting of pancakes, eggs and bacon. For the rest of the afternoon, I watched as the villagers interacted with each other...old friends, new friends. I rested most of the day content and one with the nature and peoples around me.

By sunset, a great feast was prepared. There were bonfires and dancing. Everyone ate and drank. Several of the leaders gave speeches and many just went up to a platform and talked a bit telling stories about things that had happened to them since the last gathering. Some of the natives sang beautiful songs. It was a grand evening.

After the feast, the villagers began making their way down to the shore of the lake. It was late and very dark. The waxing moon had set. There were no fires on the beach-like shore of the lake. At the shore of the lake, everyone started lying down in the sand. I followed in turn and laid down. Everyone was looking up into the sky at the stars. Soon it began...one, two, then a pair. There was a meteor shower...beautiful streaks of color across the sky. We lay there for hours watching this heavenly display.

Then I noticed something odd. I was looking at the big dipper, but something was wrong. It didn't look right. The handle of the dipper was bent back toward the stem at a very sharp angle. Then all at once it hit me. I remembered reading something a long time ago about how due to the movement of the sun through the galaxy and our solar system's perspective of constellations, images like the big dipper would change shape over time. The top of the handle would eventually bend back into the stem. If this was correct, then what I was seeing in the sky told me that thousands of years had passed. I was not on some remote island...I was not somewhere far in the past...I was someplace far, far into the future.

Suddenly there was a bright light in the sky between Mars and Betelguese. It grew brighter and brighter until it lit up the whole sky in blinding white light. Someone grabbed my shoulder and shook me. I opened my eyes and saw my wife in bed beside me attempting to wake me up. She asked if I was okay. I looked around me and realized that I had dreamed everything since the time I found myself floating in the raft. I told her that I felt a little thinner, healthier, and well-rested...and also that I felt like getting up and cooking breakfast for us. "How about some polenta with fresh fruit?"

Friday, October 19, 2007

A Long Journey

Day 22
Weight: 219.5 lbs.
Food Intake:
  • Breakfast:
    • small cup of mango juice
    • polenta (grits) with melted provalone, Swiss, and pepper-jack cheeses
    • plain rye toast
  • Lunch:
    • orange juice
    • chicken smothered with spinach and cheeses
    • a salad
    • a type of pasta with a rich creamy sauce
  • Dinner:
    • various fruit juices
    • steamed squash and other vegetables
    • some leftover chicken from lunch

Slept very well last night. When I awoke this morning, everyone was packing and checking their packs. They seemed to be packing for a journey of several days, so I did the same. I found a pack with a wood frame in my hut, so I filled this with everything I thought I might need for a 2-3 day journey.

Breakfast was the usual polenta, except they had added a generous amount of melted cheeses to the mix. This made me feel well-prepared physically for whatever journey was ahead. After breakfast, everyone in the village put on their packs and grabbed one of those walking stick things and began the journey. I had found a stick in my hut with a particularly carved head which I think identified the type of work I do. I fell in with the rest of the villagers and we walked inland for the rest of the morning.

Around noon, after crossing several streams, we encountered another village. This village was about the same size as ours. They had a very large meal prepared, complete with cooked chickens. Everyone seemed to know each other and they seemed to be expecting us. We all sat down together and shared a marvelous and satisfying meal of chicken, spinach, melted cheeses, pasta, and some other vegetables.

I noticed that no one unpacked. In fact, the other villagers had all packed, and as soon as the meal was done, they joined us and everyone began walking again. Miles and miles passed. Darkness fell and we were still walking. The air became cooler and the ground ascended. I caught a glimpse of some granite outcroppings which let me know we were climbing into a mountainous area. Suddenly, in the darkness, we saw torch lights ahead. It was very quiet in these woods. The tropical vegetation seemed to have given way to hardwood trees of many types. Tiki torches marked the path we followed.

Soon I began to hear voices. Many voices talking excitedly. Then we came to a very large lake. There were many canoes pulled near the shore and several paddling out into the lake. There were hundreds of villagers from many villages gathering at the canoes. I climbed aboard one of the larger canoes and was soon smoothly moving with the rest of the villagers out into this mountain lake. The water was clear and cold and not salty. In the distance I some more flickering lights from what looked like bonfires on an island in the middle of the lake. We steered toward this island and soon made landfall.

Everyone clambered out of the canoes and followed a well-worn path up onto the island. The path was marked by tiki torches and there were many villagers from all over following it. The lake island was very steep, and the path wound its way up through the woods on the island until we came to what looked like a large festival area in the forest high above the lake on the backside of the island. There were many, many villagers here. There were camps set up all through the woods and in the meadows. Many small campfires were burning, giving the air a smokey flavor. Although many villagers were just getting there, many more were already asleep. I laid down in a meadow under the stars and fell fast asleep after the long journey.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Preparing for a Journey

Day 21
Weight: 218.5 lbs.
Food Intake:
  • Breakfast:
    • small cup of banana juice
    • polenta (grits)
    • rye toast plain
    • a banana
  • Lunch:
    • mineral water
    • pot pourii stew leftovers
  • Dinner:
    • pineapple juice
    • 2 ears corn on the cob
    • steamed asparagus spears
    • steamed okra
    • stewed squash
    • plain rye toast

Had a pretty good day today. After starting the day with my regular fare of polenta, I began laying on the terracotta roof to the storage house. It was a beautiful sunny day. Temperatures in the 80s. Most days here are usually in the mid 80s with the nights in the mid-70s. It is very nice weather. For lunch there was leftover pot pourii stew. It was still mild and filling, though most of the spice had lost its punch. By the end of the day, I had half the roof finished.

Toward late afternoon I noticed a general flurry of activity in the village. Everyone was packing. They packed mostly food and food-making implements. When I tried to understand what was going on they seemed to indicate that I should pack, and they pointed far away toward the mountains. For dinner I had steamed asparagus, okra, and stewed squash along with a slice of rye toast. I was feeling very good by nightfall, glad to be over my sickness.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Sick

Day 20
Weight: 220.5 lbs.
Food Intake:
  • Breakfast:
    • small cup of pineapple juice
    • polenta (grits)
    • rye toast with butter
  • Lunch:
    • mango juice
    • 2 slices of barley bread veggie pizza
    • stewed squash
    • handful of salted, smoked almonds
  • Dinner:
    • pineapple juice
    • 2 ears corn on the cob
    • asparagus spears
    • fried okra
    • 1/4 a papaya
    • thin slice of buttered rye toast

Woke up about 3:00am very sick. Had a bad dream where I got lost in London and accidentally went through a wormhole and traveled too far too fast for the current laws of physics and ended up in my Grandma Ruth's house. As I started to make a cell phone call, all the windows and doors of the house started shutting to prevent me from causing a paradox. Weird, I know, but those are the kind of nightmares I have sometimes (especially after eating spicy food).

I was sick all morning. After trying to eat a little polenta for breakfast, I went out to check on the terracotta shingles, but got sick again and ended up going back to my hut and spending the rest of the morning in the hammock. I think the leftovers contained a lot of meat. My body really wasn't use to processing meat for the last 20 days. Maybe my gall bladder just decided to shut down or something. I dragged myself out to the courtyard for lunch (because I didn't know what the consequences of begin late for a gong call were). I ate some barley bread veggie pizza and stewed squash and felt a bit better, but I still spent the rest of the day in the hut.

By nightfall I began to feel somewhat normal again. I decided to stay away from any meats for awhile. We had corn on the cob, okra, asparagus, and papaya for dinner. Very nice. I hope to sleep better tonight.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Leftovers

Day 19
Weight: 221.5 lbs.
Food Intake:
  • Breakfast:
    • small cup of banana juice
    • whole wheat bagel with avocado spread
  • Lunch:
    • glass of sweet tea
    • mixed leftovers from the feast and rice
  • Dinner:
    • glass of grape juice
    • mixed leftovers from the feast and rice spiced with horseradish

Had a good bit of indigestion last night which kept me from sleeping as well as I'd have liked. Had some avocado with wheat bread for breakfast.

Today was mostly a left-overs day as far as food was concerned. It seemed they wanted to finish off any food left over from the feast with no waste. I worked with the villagers who made pottery and finally got them to understand that I wanted them to make me some terracotta shingles. I spent most of the day helping them craft the shingles and determining how many we'd need to cover the storage shed.

The evening meal was mostly leftovers mixed with rice, but really spiced up with horseradish (I suppose to cover any bad flavors associated with the leftover food). Time to crawl into the hammock.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Pot Pourii Stew

Day 18
Weight: 220 lbs.
Food Intake:
  • Breakfast:
    • small cup of mango juice
    • polenta (grits)
  • Lunch:
    • glass of sweet tea
    • 2 tacos
    • stewed beef and vegetables
    • corn bread with beans
    • some fried flat bread with honey and cinnamon
  • Dinner:
    • small cup of pineapple juice
    • pot pourii stew
    • jalapeno corn bread

Slept very well last night. I've started snoring again. I think 218 is the magic "snore" number. After a bowl of the usual polenta with mango juice, I continued laying mud bricks onto the storage building. This would be a nice building. It should help keep provisions dry.

At noon, we were treated to a new dish. Tacos, beans, meat and vegetables. I have a feeling that this was mostly leftover food from the feast turned back into a new meal. These people wasted very little. The dessert was interesting. Cinnamon and honey coated flat bread. Very tasty.

By the end of the day, I had a few rafters in place. Most of the masonry was done. Dinner time brought a new dish. It smelled absolutely wonderful while it was being cooked. It reminded me of a Kirkland store at the mall around Christmas time. It looked a lot like Mom's beef stew. As for the taste ... well, close your eyes and try to imagine eating beef stew with potatoes, except it tastes like a Kirkland store smells at Christmas. That is why I call this dish "pot pourii stew". It had brown rice, plantains, okra, onion, squash, dates, and almonds in it, flavored generously with cinnamon, ginger, and clove with some jalapeno cornbread on the side. It was very filling, but I think I'd have to eat it a lot to get used to it. It just didn't taste like something you'd eat. Sure made the village smell good though.

As the moon was setting, several of the young men gestured for me to follow them down to the beach. When we got to the beach it was very dark. I began coughing, but looked out into the water and thought I saw lights. Perhaps a ship? Then a large wave welled up. It was lit from one end to the other like a neon sign. The water was full of a phosphorescent algae bloom. That's why I was coughing. Irritating fumes in the sea spray. That would also explain a lot of the dead fish I saw washed up on shore. They were experiencing a "red tide". I had heard that those things could cause a good amount of irritation if you swam in them, but had only killed people who'd eaten contaminated seafood. I hiked back to my hut in the village and drifted off to sleep, thankful that I was high above the ocean breeze tonight.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

A Hot Day in the Sun

Day 17
Weight: 222.5 lbs.
Food Intake:
  • Breakfast:
    • small cup of pineapple juice
    • polenta (grits)
  • Lunch:
    • glass of mango juice
    • Homemade Barley Bread Veggie Pizza (flat bread made from barley and yeast covered with diced tomatoes and enchilada sauce, garlic, green, red, and yellow peppers, and several types of grated cheeses
    • stewed squash
  • Dinner:
    • glass of pineapple juice
    • stewed squash
    • fried okra
    • 2 ears of corn on the cob
    • some chunks of fresh coconut

I woke up in the middle of the night with extreme indigestion. Too much food too fast. I felt very sick. I walked out of my hut and just sat outside on the ground for awhile looking at the stars and swaying in the night breeze. I drank some water. My throat burned and my stomach threatened. I sat up for about an hour then tried to lay back down. All was quiet, but I didn't sleep very much the rest of the night.

When morning came, I had made up my mind to collect the remaining materials I'd need to finish the storehouse. I met with the council of elders (the 6 men who brought me here -- they seemed to be the decision-makers for the village) about my plans. With a stick in the sand, I drew what I thought was a pretty good representation of three sleds carrying mud bricks. The council seemed to understand and one of them left the hut and returned followed by 6 young men with sleds. Their sleds were much better built than mine and looked like they could carry quite a load. They didn't drag them, but carried them front and back. So eastward we went into the rising sun to retrieve building materials.

Around noon under the hot sun, as we were placing the last of the bricks in a stack near the storehouse, the gong sounded for lunch. These people were really into eating together. Everyone stopped what they were doing and assembled in the courtyard. I ate some more of that barley bread veggie pizza along with some squash and mango juice.

After lunch I tried to make the elders understand that I needed rafters for the storage shed roof. They finally got it when I started making hacking motions at a palm trunk and assigned several native woodsmen to cut the wood for me. By the dinner gong, I had begun to lay bricks having mixed a mortar of limestone and sand. I quickly finished up and made my way to the courtyard. I don't know what the penalty for being late to dinner was, but I noticed that no one ever seemed to come to the table late.

Dinner this evening was corn on the cob, stewed squash, and fried okra. I washed this down with pineapple juice and am headed off to sleep with the sun. It has been a very hot day, but I feel much better than last night.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Feast!


Day 16
Weight: 225.5 lbs.
Food Intake:
  • Breakfast:
    • small cup of banana juice
    • polenta (grits)
  • Lunch:
    • glass of mango juice
    • Homemade Barley Bread Veggie Pizza (flat bread made from barley and yeast covered with diced tomatoes and enchilada sauce, garlic, green, red, and yellow peppers, and several types of grated cheeses
    • 1/4 cup of smoked and salted almonds
    • 1/4 sliced fresh avocado
    • 5 dates
  • Dinner:
    • several glasses of fruit punch
    • stewed squash
    • cooked potato and cheese casserole
    • corn bread
    • potatoes
    • BBQ pork
    • BBQ chicken
    • BBQ ribs
    • Chocolate French Silk Pie
    • a couple chocolate chip cookies
    • 4-5 crackers with different kinds of cheeses on them
    • Butternut Squash Soup

Today was a huge feast day for the village. I'm not sure what they were celebrating, but nearly everyone had a part in cooking something. The smells of the cooking fires all over the village loaded even the very air you breathed with delicious food of some kind.

I focused on planning the completion of the mud brick storehouse and collecting materials to accomplish that task. I also took some time to acquaint myself with the primitive masonry tools in my hut.

The eating in the village started simply enough with a bowl of polenta (grits) and banana juice. But by lunchtime new things were emerging from the village ovens. Lunch consisted of a nice spread of almonds, dates, and their own version of a pizza. It was very good, very filling, and quite colorful. But all of the excitement was geared to peak at dinner. For the dinner feast I have only imagined such piles of food as they placed on the big tables. Cooked whole pigs, chickens, seemingly acres of meats and vegetables, confections and baked goods. Juices of all kinds. There were torches placed all around the eating area that night. The bonfire blazed and it seemed that everyone danced, young and old. Drums and musical instruments provided a constant rhythmic backdrop to this festive occasion. I ate and ate and ate, and still didn't sample even half of what was laid out. By bedtime, I felt really stuffed and treaded back to my hut with the music and laughter in the distance.

The breeze around my hut was cool and the stars twinkled. I fell fast asleep on my nice cloth hammock (a great improvement from the old raft hammock I used to sweat in). I began thinking of my next big project. After the storehouse was finished, I had decided to begin work on a grist mill and bring the industrial revolution to these people.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Contact!


Day 15
Weight: 223 lbs.
Food Intake:
  • Breakfast:
    • small cup of pineapple juice
    • 2 buckwheat pancakes with honey
  • Lunch:
    • tall glass of orange juice
    • Pan seared jumbo scallops served atop a bed of roasted butternut squash ravioli tossed with tomatoes, garlic mushrooms and roasted tomato cream sauce
    • 2 small slices of buttered bread
  • Dinner:
    • small cup of pineapple juice
    • stewed squash
    • cooked okra
    • 2 pieces of corn on the cob
    • a banana

Didn't sleep much last night again. Deep in the night, every sound, every rustle, every creak and groan of tree is magnified. I woke up about every two hours wondering if I would be surrounded by angry natives with spears. I finally went to sleep when I figured they'd just kill me in my sleep and I'd wake up in heaven.

This morning started as any other, but little did I know just how much a single footprint could change my world by nightfall. I'd pounded the buckwheat into flour and used it to make pancakes. I used the rest of my honey as syrup and drank a small cup of pineapple juice. I felt strong, I felt satisfied, and I fell fast asleep.

I woke up to silence, and faces. There were 6 men standing in a semicircle. They were all dressed the same and each carried a walking stick. Their arms were bare and muscled (even the older ones). Those sticks weren't deadwood canes, but looked like they'd been carved from the center of palm trees each having a different heavy carving on top (either for holding or smashing -- probably both). One of them was gesturing toward the oven I was almost finished building with the bricks from the ruined farmhouse. Had I violated one of their holy sites? Were they talking about smashing me with the bricks? I did not understand the language, although from time to time one of the words would sound familiar to me.

I sat up slowly in my hammock. All of their eyes were on me. Poker faces one and all. I could not tell if they meant me harm or not. I noticed all muscles and grips tighten on their walking sticks. Not knowing anything better to do, I slowly stood up and extended my closed palms downward in front of me. Then raising and opening my palms, I said, "Greetings." in as gentle and confident voice as I could muster. They looked at one another and said a few things that I did not understand. Then they began walking away in a manner that indicated they wanted me to walk with them. Two were in front of me, one on each side, and two behind. I walked with them feeling much like a prisoner. I glanced back at the camp as we were crossing the meadow and saw that it was swarming with natives. They were dismantling my brick oven and stacking the bricks on my sled.

The walk through the jungle was long. No one spoke. There were log bridges to cross and time to think. They were dismantling the oven. Surely that meant I had violated one of their laws by taking those bricks. I began wondering about their system of justice. These people reminded me of what I would think Mayan natives would look like. I didn't know very much about the Mayans, but I knew enough about the Aztecs to know that cruel and unusual would be a great understatement.

Eventually we arrived at a village. It was much larger than I imagined it would be. I looked around for signs of civilization: cars, power lines, cell phones, t-shirts, iPods. I saw none of these things. Not even so much as a wristwatch or other piece of jewelry or clothing that I could recognize as being made in a factory. While part of me feared retribution, another part of me expected the American Ambassador for this place to greet me and put me on a helicopter home. It was beginning to look like the former was more likely.

Everyone in the village was standing still watching. There were women, children, teens, men. It appears that I was the main event. Everyone was silent. They walked me to an elevated platform. It looked like it might have had a clay floor once but now was covered in mostly sand. Once on the platform, my escorts took up positions behind me. One of them walked out in front of me and began speaking to the villagers. He gestured at me with his hands and made sweeping motions toward the sea. He pointed at a half-finished mud brick structure in the village. About this time, a group of young men came running up with my sled full of the mud bricks from my oven. They were neatly stacked. They laid the sled on the ground in front of the man speaking. He began to gesture at the bricks and at me. Although it was looking really bad for me, I gave it my best Sean Connery face and a look of supreme confidence.

The man who had been talking then came up and took my hands. He led me over to the bricks and placed my hands on the bricks. Then he seemed frustrated a little that I did not understand. He started shouting orders at various villagers in the crowd. In turn they each ran off with purpose. When they came back each had a primitive tool of some sort. There was one who brought some corn, a pestle and mortar, and some flour. One brought some seeds, a homemade digging device, and some plants. Another brought vines and a basket. In each case, the man who was doing all the talking gestured at the raw materials, then the villager, then the finished product. Oh! Everyone here has a job. Every job is important to the village. Then he gestured at the stack of mud bricks, then the half-finshed brick building (looked like a storage building of some kind). Then he made a shrugging gesture with arms wide. He called out. He made a sweeping motion with his arms to the sea. No one responded. They must have lost their bricklayer to the ocean during a storm. They think I'm a bricklayer. They need a bricklayer. They need me. I picked up a brick from the stack and walked over and placed it on the half-finished building. There was a collective sigh of relief from the villagers. This is what they wanted all along. I had a new family.

Suddenly a gong sounded. They all began talking and many of them ran here and there. I was led into a large courtyard where a table had been set. There was a lot of food here, prepared in ways I'd never seen before. They sat with me at the table and we had seared jumbo scallops served atop a bed of roasted butternut squash ravioli tossed with tomatoes, garlic mushrooms and roasted tomato cream sauce. And to wash it down a large container of orange juice. Now everyone was talking. It was like a big family reunion. I couldn't understand much of it but they all seemed happy. I couldn't help but notice that the sticks were stacked neatly outside. No one carried them in here.

After the meal, they led me to a small hut and showed me inside. There were bricklaying tools all around. This must have been where their bricklayer lived, and now it was my new home. I saw nothing at all modern in the hut. But there were many little hand-made devices for squaring and leveling. The hut had a clay smell about it.

I spent the afternoon walking around the village looking at everything. Everyone was so busy. All seemed to have a specific purpose. Even the children were helping in whatever their parents were doing. There were some people making baskets, others making furniture, others preparing food, some making clay pots, others carrying things here and there. What a marvelous society.

At sunset the gong sounded again and everyone went into the courtyard where dinner was on the table. We had boiled corn, fried okra, and stewed squash. There was also plenty of pineapple juice for all. I found it funny how that on this far away tropical island, except for the pineapple juice, these meals were not much different from the meals I was raised on back home in Western North Carolina. It was like one big family. No one looked starving, no one looked diseased. As darkness fell many of the younger villagers began dancing around a large bonfire, which had been lit in an area prepared for that purpose between the courtyard and the sea. I could tell that we were high above the ocean now, looking out over the valley from a high plateau or cliff.

I think I will like this place.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

A Single Footprint

Day 14
Weight: 219.5 lbs.
Food Intake:
  • Breakfast:
    • small cup of mango juice
  • Lunch:
    • thin slice of barley bread
    • 2 tbsp. mashed avocado
    • 2 cups corn and okra soup
    • pineapple (5 chunks)
    • small cup of banana juice
  • Dinner:
    • glass of pineapple juice
    • stewed squash
    • cooked okra

Didn't sleep much last night after finding that footprint. I went back toward the old farm ruins while gathering firewood and examined the fields more closely. I found okra growing in rows beneath weeds. I also found part of the barley field was planted with sorghum. I gathered some okra and sorghum kernels and stayed in camp most of the day.

Mango juice was enough for breakfast, but I made some soup from the corn and okra for lunch and had a slice of the barley bread and avocado to go with it. That barley loaf has lasted me almost a week. I worked carefully on my brick oven project for most of the day, keeping a sharp eye out for any movement on the edges of the field near camp.

For dinner, I cooked okra and squash and washed it down with a generous quantity of pineapple juice. I wondered about the owner of that footprint. Would they return? Would they bring others? Although I've regained my strength, I'm afraid I'd be no match for an army of angry natives.

Once again into the hammock I tried to sleep, but sleep did not come easily. The island was just as peaceful tonight as last night. What had changed? Just a single footprint and a fear I had allowed to grow inside me.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

A New Day Dawns


Day 13
Weight: 218 lbs.
Food Intake:
  • Breakfast:
    • a bowl of grits (1/4 cup dry)
    • small cup of mango juice
    • a banana

  • Lunch:
    • thin slice of barley bread
    • 2 tbsp. mashed avocado
    • corn (2 cobs worth)
    • pineapple (5 chunks)
    • a banana

  • Dinner:
    • polenti cakes (squares of cold grits cooked a day later)
    • mandarins
    • banana juice
    • stewed squash

I woke up to a beautiful sunrise after a sound night's sleep and, after a breakfast of grits, a banana, and mango juice; decided to head south down the beach and explore a bit. After passing some heavy brush areas, I found another open area inland. I tracked into it and found another field of grain. This one was buckwheat. Mmmmm... pancakes. I collected as much buckwheat as I could carry and headed back toward the beach. On the way, I found a pineapple bush. I cut the big pineapple growing on top and carried it back to camp, glad to have another sweet fruit to add to the mix.

Back at camp I pounded the buckwheat into flour and stored it. For lunch I had my usual barley and avocado sandwich with corn, pineapple, and banana. After lunch I began dragging more mud bricks to camp. It was a long slow process. While resting between trips, I continued building my brick oven. It was a long, hot day.

I ended the day by cooking up some more stewed squash and also cutting some leftover breakfast grits into squares and cooking them into little polenti cakes. I ate these with banana juice and a mandarin. It was a good meal.

Just before dark, I was checking around camp when I saw something that changed everything. Over in the area where I had set up the fence for the cow there were tracks on the ground. Not cow tracks...human tracks, and not my tracks. The feet were thinner and longer than mine. I stopped short and quickly looked around. I didn't see anyone, but someone had been watching me it seems.

I climbed into my hammock and started thinking about the fields of cultivated grain and the domesticated animals. Of course there had to be people around. Had I been harvesting the work of others for my own needs? I could not sleep. I no longer felt safe. I laid awake listening carefully to each and every sound of the night.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Polenty Amaizing

Day 12
Weight: 216 lbs.
Blood Pressure: 120/78 at pulse 84 (WOW!)
Food Intake:
Breakfast: small cup of banana juice
bowl of grits
Lunch: stewed squash
corn (2 cobs boiled)
6 dates
thin slice of barley bread with 2 tablespoons avocado
Dinner: 1 ear of corn on the cob
small cup of banana juice
4 dates
thin slice of barley bread with 2 tablespoons avocado

When I woke up, the sky was dark and full of stars. A low light in the east over the ocean showed where the sun would rise in an hour or so. I decided to go search for the missing cow while she was still asleep. That might make her easier to catch. The old farm ruin was quiet. Some rustling of small gusts of wind played on the backdrop of the ever present crashing of distant waves on the beach. I moved quietly through the barley fields but saw no signs of a cow but a few tracks. The morning was becoming lighter as I crossed the dry wash and searched an adjoining field. No cows there either, but something that made me stop right in my tracks. Corn!

Now anyone who knows me, knows that corn is my most favorite of all foods. I could eat corn almost every meal and be happy. To find corn here made me very happy. Some of these corn stalks were old and the corn was hard. I gathered what I could and headed back to camp with my new treasure. On the way back I spotted what I thought was a cluster of immature coconuts. Turns out they were dates hanging from a date palm. I made a mental note of the location of that copse of date palms for later visits.

Using the same stones I'd pounded my barley into flour, I cracked the corn and ground it into grits. When I had about a cup full, I boiled, salted, and then devoured them. This was a breakfast that would easiily stick to my ribs until lunch.

My cart was looking really good and was ready for testing. Unfortunately, looks are not necessarily a good indicator of how something designed with a paved road in mind would work in the sand. It was a disaster. The wheels didn't roll, they just scooped up sand and became anchors. I finally ended up with a very simple cart drug along the ground on two long poles. I began the tedious task of moving mud bricks from the old farm ruins to camp. My goal is to construct an igloo-shaped brick oven. Not only will this allow me to cook better, it might prove useful in other ways later on.

For lunch I boiled and ate 2 fresh ears of corn, 6 dates, a barley and avocado sandwich, and some stewed squash. My belly was too full. I hadn't eaten this much in a long time. I think I overdid it.

I continued moving bricks all afternoon and started work on the oven. This is going to take awhile.

As night fell, I boiled a fresh ear of corn, had 4 dates and a barley avocado sandwich. I wished the stars good-night and climbed into my hammock thankful to have found corn.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Don't Fence Me In

Day 11
Weight: 214.5 lbs.
Food Intake:
Breakfast: small cup of banana juice
Lunch: stewed squash seasoned with sea salt (3 young summer squashes)
2 small avocado on barley bread sanwiches (2 tablespoons of mashed avocado between 4 2x3 inch thin slices)
a banana
a mandarin
Dinner: small cup of banana juice
stewed squash seasoned with sea salt (3 young summer squashes)
2 small avocado on barley bread sanwiches (2 tablespoons of mashed avocado between 4 2x3 inch thin slices)
half a mango

When I woke up this morning, I found the cow had escaped during the night. The little fence I built was smashed through on one side. I saw more than just cow tracks. It looks like she was in heat and a bull got through the fence after her. Perhaps I should build a better fence before attempting to bring the cow home. How could I have slept through that?!

I had an idea to bring some of those old mud bricks here and construct myself a real oven. This would either take days, or a cart. So I filled my day with sizing wood and shapes to make wheels and an axle. In the process I spotted a small bush-like tree loaded with yellow and orange fruit. At first I thought they were lemons, but they proved to be mandarins. This was another welcome addition to my ever growing store of foods.

Since I had enough food stores in or near camp to last the day, I focused on building the cart until dark. My strength is beginning to return slowly. The weather is clearing. I look up into the sky and see stars!

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Old MacDonald's Farm

Day 10
Weight: 215 lbs.
Food Intake:
Breakfast: small cup of banana juice
chunk of hot homemade barley bread
a banana
Lunch: stewed squash seasoned with sea salt (3 young summer squashes)
half an avocado
thin slice of barley bread
Dinner: small cup of mango juice
small avocado on barley sandwich (mashed avocado spread between two thin layers of barley bread
stewed squash seasoned with sea salt (3 young summer squashes)

Early this morning while scouting up the river for firewood, I saw the first evidence of other humans on this land. A small abandoned farm which looked to have been washed out in a flood. There were a few mud brick out buildings which had survived, but none of them looked habitable. I began looking around the farm for things I might be able to use and found a field of barley. It was unkempt but plenty. Barley ... what could I make with barley? Beer came to mind, but I really don't like the taste of beer. This was a grain. I needed to find a way to use it.

As I was walking through the field I saw a large animal. At first I thought it was a water buffalo, but then I realized it was a milk cow eating the barley. A milk cow! Maybe it was a lost calf left behind when the previous owner abandoned the farm. Judging from the state of the ruins, it may have been several generations of cows since this place was washed out. But there it was. Milk ... butter ... cheese ... I must have this cow. It likes the barley and there is plenty enough here for me to feed it.

I didn't want to chance losing that cow, so I looked around for some rope in one of the out buildings. Sure enough, there was enough for a lasso. With a bit of chasing I soon had the cow bellowing and following me to camp. There must not be dangerous animals around here for this cow to have survived. On the way back to camp, I spotted a grove of banana trees. What a lucky day! I picked some of the ripest ones and carried them to camp.

I tied the cow to a tree and just sat and looked at it while trying to figure out the best way to use the barley. What I really wanted was bread. For that, I'd need to find eggs and maybe honey. With all the fruit on the island, there are probably plenty of beehives in the forest. I wondered if that farmer had chickens.

Back to the farm I went and searched for anything that looked like a hen house. I didn't find a hen house or any chickens, but I did find two brown eggs under a bush. I quickly snatched these up and harvested as much barley as I could carry. Then I ventured into the forest with a smoking torch to find a hollow tree. Before long I found what I was looking for. I had learned from my grandpa that if you "smoke" a beehive, the bees will think the hive is on fire and will all start to eat the honey, rather than defend it, so they could survive the journey to a new home. I put my smoking torch at the bottom of the hollow tree and then reached up and cut away a good sized chunk of the honeycomb. I only got 3-4 stings. Well worth it for this delicacy.

Back at camp, I took a few well-shaped stones and began pounding the barley into flour, separating the inedible parts from the good stuff. After a bit of work I had about 3 cups of barley flour. I mixed this with some milk from the cow, the eggs, some of the honey and sea salt and made a messy ball of dough. This ball of dough soon became a loaf of barley bread in my clamshell oven. I then enjoyed a wonderful breakfast of hot barley bread with banana. Barley bread tastes like a brand muffin with a "meaty" flavor to it. There is enough barley bread in this loaf to last me several days I think.

I spent the rest of the day working on a fence, water and feeding trough for the milk cow. For lunch I stewed some more squash and ate that with half an avocado and a thin slice of barley bread. For dinner, mango juice, an avocado and barley bread sandwich (mashed avocado spread between two 2x3 inch thin slices of barley bread), and a banana.

For some reason I've been feeling very weak for the past two days. Maybe something important is missing from my diet. With the luck I'm having lately, I can only hope I'll find and fill that missing piece soon.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

I Have Made Fire!



Day 9
Weight: 214 lbs.
Food Intake:
Breakfast: small cup of mango juice
Lunch: roasted squash seasoned with sea salt (3 young summer squashes)
half an avocado
half a mango
Dinner: small cup of mango juice
stewed squash seasoned with sea salt (3 young summer squashes)
half an avocado

Sleeping in a raft at sea is a whole different experience than sleeping in one on dry land. The sea is soft; land is hard. After a little mango juice for breakfast, I spent the morning working on my shelter. By lunch I had a roof over my head and enough raft pieces left to make a nice hammock. Walls and floor will have to come later.

About mid-morning I spotted something bright and yellow at the edge of a field. When I got to it, I found summer squash -- a lot of it. I gathered a few and took them back to camp. Now I've heard you can eat squash raw, but I shuddered at the thought. A hot meal is what I really needed after being rain-soaked so many nights.

Using a rock, a flat piece of driftwood, and a bow I made with a stick and flexible vine, I began spinning a pointed stick into the board while pushing down on it with the rock. After doing this for over an hour and a half, I only got a little smoke once. Maybe driftwood wasn't the best choice? I struck out into the forest until I found a cedar tree. Using my homemade axe, I cut a small plank and took that back to camp. I used a primitive knife I'd made from a seashell to cut a little notch in the edge of the plank and put a little pile of tender beneath the notch to catch any embers I could get out of the cedar. I drilled a little hole near the notch and began again, taking longer strokes with the bow this time. After about 8 attempts smoke started rising from the tender. I grabbed it up in my hands and continued blowing on it until it burst into flame. It was only when I placed it into the fire pit I built with rocks that I realized I hadn't taken the time to gather fire wood. Luckily there was plenty nearby and I ran back and forth with anything I thought would burn until I had a nice hot fire going. There is nothing like a fire to warm not only the body, but also the heart.

It gets pretty dark around here at night, and since this is a large land mass there may be animals around at night. Some of them may be dangerous. I've been relieving myself on all the trees within 50 yards of camp to "mark my territory" in case a night animal did come along, but this fire will probably work even better.

Now that I had fire, I cut up 3 of the small squashes and roasted them, seasoning them with sea salt. I found a much more efficient way of collecting sea salt. I would take my shirt and soak it in seawater, then let it dry out and wipe the salt from it into a seashell I used to collect it. With fire I should be able to dry the shirt much more quickly and build up a supply of sea salt in camp. The squash was great. I ate half a mango and half an avocado along with it.

By this time I was really tired and wanting to try out the new hammock, so I climbed into it and fell asleep. When I woke up it was almost nightfall. I spent the rest of the day gathering firewood.

Wanting a little more variety in my meals I decided to try and stew some of the other squash I had brought back to camp for dinner. I positioned a couple of rocks over the fire so they'd hold a clamshell bowl in which I was able to cook. I made a marvelous squash stew and ate that along with half an avocado for dinner, drinking mango juice instead of water. It was a wonderful hot meal. I look forward to sleeping in that hammock tonight.

Friday, October 5, 2007

Under the Mango Tree

Day 8
Weight: 215 lbs.
Food Intake: 2 avocados with sea salt, 1 mango, 2 small cups of mango juice.

I slept more soundly last night than I have in a week. I couldn't stand the thought of eating an avocado for breakfast and I was getting tired of drinking water, so I headed upstream into the river valley to see if I could find anything better. Not too far from the raft I found a mango tree in a meadow. Squeezing the fruit, I drank my fill.

It starting raining again and it was coming down pretty heavily. I knew I needed to build a shelter from the rain. The raft would provide good cover, but I'd need tools. Near the edge of the broad river valley was a rock outcropping that was crumbling. I searched through the rock pieces until I found a good flat rock with a sharp edge. Lashing this to a heavy piece of wood should give me a primitive axe. I climbed part way up a hill and looked into the distance. I saw mountains far away. This was not a small island.

Scouting around the raft, I found a high level spot that looked like it was far enough away from the river to stay dry in a deluge. I spent most of the morning cutting and gathering materials for my shelter. For lunch, I had my usual avocado with sea salt but this time I ate a mango for dessert. It was rather pulpy, but very refreshing. The avocado tasted great. Perhaps I'm developing a taste for them. I'm feeling the strength slowly come back into me, although I do tend to get heartburn after eating.

I dragged the raft to the high spot as darkness fell and the rain began to taper off. My dinner consisted of another avocado with some mango juice. I sure am glad I found that mango tree. I climbed aboard the raft and drifted off to sleep.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

And on the 7th Day, Land

Day 7
Weight: 216 lbs.
Food Intake: 3 avocados, 2 with sea salt


What is green on the outside, green on the inside, and has an avocado seed in the middle?

I awoke to a strange sensation. The ocean wasn't moving at all. I could hear running water, birds and insects. I was still in the raft, but when I looked up I saw the leafy branches of trees. I wasn't on a beach. I was on a riverbank. The high tide appears to have carried me into a river valley during the night and deposited me on dry ground as it retreated into the sea.

The first thing that caught my eye were these green hanging fruits from the tree above me. I wasted little time in obtaining a few specimens. They were avocados. I was so happy to have found food that I split open the first one. It was a little green, but it was food! I ate the avocado and found it to be quite bland. I felt sick and nauseous. I laid back down and slept to fight the sick feeling. After a few hours of sleep, I just rested. I was so weak and weary that I couldn't imagine hiking through an unknown and brushy forest. I pulled the raft away from the river so that it would not be carried back into the sea.

Around lunch time, I felt a little better, but the thought of eating another avocado made me squeamish. Maybe if I could flavor it somehow it would be bearable. I knew that I needed nourishment. So I opened up another one and hiked down the river to the sea. When I reached the beach I found it to be quite barren. Waves, sand and dunes as far as I could see in both directions. I mashed up the avocado and soaked it in seawater. This time it was much better.

I was still weak from my ordeal, so I climbed back into the raft and slept again. I felt safe in the raft which had carried me so many miles over the ocean to this shore. Tomorrow I can explore. Today I can rest without the constant tossing of the sea.

When I woke up it was dark. Night had fallen. I felt I should eat something to get me through the night but the only thing handy were the avocados. So I took one down to the beach, soaked it in seawater and began to eat. I got this one too salty and it was all I could do to force myself to eat it. I felt sick again, but I felt that I needed some kind, any kind, of energy flowing into my body as I slept.

I crept back into the raft and fell soundly asleep.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

A Ray of Hope


Day 6
Weight: 216.5 lbs.
Food Intake: nothing but water

More dreams of food (mostly doughnuts now). Slept better last night, but heavy rain and thunder continued all night and into the morning. The wind died down and the sea became calm under a steady rain. The rain stopped by the afternoon, and the clouds began to thin. When it became clear enough to see far in all directions, I was dismayed when I found no land in sight anywhere. I couldn't imagine another day without food. The sight of all that water discouraged me. I became weary and felt feverish and achy. I rowed for a long time toward the east, but then gave up due to the futility of it. I felt I was losing motivation to do anything. I am becoming weary. I just wanted to rest. And then I looked up at the setting sun as the clouds moved away and felt a ray of hope. I think I'll go to sleep early tonight.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

No Land, just Heavy Rain

Day 5
Weight: 220 lbs.
Food Intake: nothing but water
Blood Pressure: 142/98 at pulse 88

I had difficulty sleeping last night. I woke up about every two hours. At 3:00am I finally fell asleep and slept soundly without snoring. I had the most wonderful dream. I dreamed I was at the Smokemont camp ground in the Smoky Mountains National Park in western North Carolina. My great-aunt Ruby had cooked a huge meal and was inviting everyone to eat. I ate heartily. When I woke up from the dream, I really felt like I had eaten. Very satisfying dream that was.

Today was the heaviest rain yet. The sky has been dark all day, almost like twilight. Lightning and thunder are frequent. I tried rowing toward what I thought was east for an hour and 20 minutes. The waves are high. I'm still feeling okay, but I expect I should be weakening soon if I don't find land and food.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Possible Land Sighting

Day: 4
Weight: 222.5 lbs.
Food Intake: nothing but water

When I awoke this morning, there was a small gap between the ocean and the clouds. For a moment I thought I saw land! That brief moment was enough to get me rowing. I rowed for an hour and a half. But the wind picked up, and the rain continued pelting me. Soon I was directionless once again. Tonight the wind is howling, the waves are high, and the rain is stinging. But I know I saw land. If this storm would clear, then I could see what I'm missing. Maybe tomorrow. Still feeling good. Not much different than the first day really, except I feel about 10 lbs. lighter and my clothes aren't as tight as they used to be.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Nothing but Rain and Wind

Day: 3
Weight: 226 lbs.
Food Intake: nothing but water

72 hours and still no land in sight. The wind is blowing very hard and rain is constantly pelting me. I'm still holding up okay. No significant ill-effects so far. I seem more willing to take naps or sleep than normal. It would be a lot easier to look for land if the sea would calm down. Maybe tomorrow. Time to sleep through my 4th night in the open ocean.

Saturday, September 29, 2007

No Land in Sight

Day: 2
Weight: 228.5 lbs.
Food Intake: nothing but water

It has been more than 48 hours now since I've had anything to eat. The wind is blowing wildly, but I'm really not sure what direction. I developed a head-ache today, probably due to lack of caffeine which I normally drink all the time, but that has passed. I'm still feeling great. I don't miss food nearly as much as I thought I would. I think I ate more for entertainment than for sustenance. Time to head into my third night at sea. Maybe tomorrow will bring land and the hope of food.

Friday, September 28, 2007

Overboard!


Day: 1
Weight: 233
Food Intake: nothing but water
Blood Pressure: 154/98 at pulse 98

After a great meal of prime rib rubbed with Southwestern spices and grilled medium well aboard ship last night, I find myself in the ocean! I don't exactly know how I got here, but I am floating by myself on the open sea in a rubber life raft. It must have rained during the night because a considerable amount of rain water has accumulated in the deep-sided raft. I'm feeling great. There are long oars attached to the sides of the raft, so I've done a bit of rowing today. I thought about getting in the water and swimming a bit, but I appear to be caught in an algae bloom -- billions of microscopic single-celled photosynthetic creatures, each equipped with propelling flagella and a toxin which has an irritating effect on my lungs and eyes.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Introduction


I am 48 years old and have noticed that over the past 3 years I've gained a lot of weight and my blood pressure has gone up. I currently weigh 233 lbs. at 5'8" and my blood pressure is 154/98 at a heartrate of 98/min. I've also started snoring (when my weight passed 215). It is my understanding that this is not healthy.

Way back when I was thirty something, my weight was 185 and my blood pressure was 120/80. I've tried several dieting ideas over the years, but none have really worked for me. A strict variation of "the grapefruit diet" (no sugars or starches) along with daily exercise was the most effective in that I lost 10 lbs. of fat in 10 days, but then I just didn't seem able to lose any more and I experienced a loss of enthusiasm.

I got a new diet idea Thursday night while watching "Survivor: China". My wife and I had just finished a great meal at Longhorn Steakhouse -- their new prime rib dish cooked Southwestern style. Having watched all but about two of the Survivor episodes (this is about the only TV show we've watched with any consistency for the past 8 years), I remarked that those people who stayed on the island for an extended period of time (up to 38 days) all lost a considerable amount of weight. I wondered what made them different? Maybe part of it was the fact that they were in an exciting and exotic situation. This caused an adjustment in their attitude. The fact that it was a competition with a fixed maximum participation time may have kept some of them from giving up. Peer pressure also seemed to play a part. I don't know for sure what the motivational key was, but I do know that all my dieting efforts were eventually overcome by a lack of enthusiasm.

What if I created (in my mind) a situation similar to that experienced by "Tom Hanks" in the movie, Castaway? What if I made it so real in my mind that I could convince my body that it WAS real? What if I only eat whatever the narrative of the "marooned fantasy" would allow? If I emmersed myself in this fantasy enough, would I develop an enduring attitude that would allow the diet to succeed? If I wrote a fictional narrative around the fantasy, would that provide the exciting and exotic situation needed for a proper attitude adustment? I could start a blog to write my fictional narrative and for peer pressure!

I live oceanfront (30 normal walking steps from my front door to the sand, 50 more steps over the sand dune to the water at high tide -- probably less than 100 feet from my front door to the water) so it shouldn't be too difficult to imagine that I'm marooned on an island.