Thursday Top 5: Desert Island Items

I’m doing something special this week in honor of the Daily Prompt, which asked me which five items I would take with me on a desert island, which is why my Top 5 is on Thursday instead of Friday. Do not fret, I will be back to normal coming soon to another Friday near you. But for now, I will wax ecstatic about the five items I’m bringing with me. I want to qualify first, though, that I can’t bring another human being, so Jennifer Aniston is out. I know, you’re sad for me too. It’s also not acceptable to bring something like a large suitcase that counts as only one thing but holds 50. Damn. I also will avoid the items that would be useful in getting off of said desert island. So, without further ado, here are my Top 5 Things I Would Bring to a Desert Island:

5. A soccer ball. No, really. This isn’t just some Wilson reference from Castaway. Okay, it is just some Wilson reference from Castaway. That was a surprisingly good movie for only having one actor throughout the vast majority of it interacting with his surroundings in odd ways. I guess I would be messed up too if I was stuck on a deserted island alone, but he kept his wits about him. And who doesn’t remember the iconic scene where Wilson floats away. Still sad today. A soccer ball is #5 for the nostalgia feel and nothing more. After all, it would deflate in mere months.

4. A tent. Seriously, you’ve seen where these guys are stuck somewhere without anything for a covering, or trying to string leaves and branches together while they’re getting soaked to the bone. I’m going out with style at least. This tent would be large, and made of Gortex, warm on the inside because it reflects its own heat, and the heat from the sun. Niiiice. Too many people overlook the obvious. You can call me Captain Obvious.

3. A solar watch. I will definitely not be carving tally marks in cave walls, because 1) I can’t count on a cave being on my island, and 2) I hear carving tally marks wrecks your manicure. I know I won’t be able to count on my cell ph0ne and the ubiquitous cell phone time way out in the middle of nowhere, and a regular watch battery will die out after a couple of years. If I’m in it for the long haul I want to be in style and confident in my time-keeping skills. And stuff.

2. A photo album chronicling my life. I figure I might be there for a while and I’m already given to forgetting faces, so it sounds perfect having a photo album with me. Of course it would get weathered in time so I would keep it safe in my tent during the day when the sun is shining down harshest. Plus if I get really desperate I think the photos would burn pretty solidly for a couple of days if I have a thick enough album. I’m also assuming I know how to make fire without matches. If that isn’t the case, then I want a nice big supply of matches instead of the photo album. I can pretend I still know who everyone is if I eventually get rescued.

1. My copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. If you have to ask, then you’re just not cool enough.

Sam