In the summer of 1984, my dad, brother, and two uncles and I set sail in a rented thirty-foot sloop with a skipper for a three-hour cruise. Does this sound familiar? No, it’s not the story of Gilligan’s Island.
It’s our family’s story about how I spent three hours on the high seas, huddled over a white bucket. I was so intent on being sick that I forgot to put on sun screen. Needless to say, I was badly burned when we docked, but at least we didn’t end up on a deserted island with no way to get home or make a television show about it.
Thanks to Girlie on the Edge for inspiring the above true story with her six-sentence prompt word for this week. I wrote a poem about that sailing experience, which you can read here. It was recently published in The Weekly Avocet. To participate in this week’s blog hop and read what others have to say, click here.
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For those of you who use the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, The Red Dress is available for download from their site here. No matter how you read it, please be sure to review it wherever you can. That goes for all my books. Thank you for stopping by. Stay safe, happy, and healthy.
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New! The Red Dress
Copyright July 2019 by DLD Books
When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.
Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.
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My Corner 
Oh dear, I can think of little worse… I’m not a fan of smaller boats.
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Well, after that experience, I’m not a fan of sailing the high seas in any boat.
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I generally avoid boats of any sort. I can easily imagine getting seasick (or worse). Good reminder of Gilligen’s Island.
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I don’t blame you for avoiding boats. Using one on a lake isn’t bad, but I doubt I’ll ever try sailing the high seas again.
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Oh, Abbie! I’m sure you’ll never forget that trip! How awful. I feel lucky I’ve never gotten sea sick before.
Bad sunburns, now those I’ve had plenty of.
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Well, I’m glad you never got seasick. That’s one miss adventure I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
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I’m guessing you never ventured out onto the high seas again, with or without a bucket and sunscreen!
My Six!
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You guessed correctly, and I doubt I ever will.
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It was an unforgettable, albeit regrettable, trip! And now the Gilligan’s Island song is stuck in my head. 🙂
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I’m sure you’re not the only one with that earworm.
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C’mon, Abbie, a wee bit nausea and some sun and you’ve given up!
Man up, woman, or do we now say person up, person?
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Well, if I have an opportunity, I might try sailing again, but here in Wyoming, there are no opportunities to sail the high seas.
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That sounds like a dreadful trip, but I was right there with her. Poor girl….
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It was. Thank you for being there.
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