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When I was eleven years old, I somehow got the idea that my family (and my best friend) should homestead on one of the uninhabited Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska.
Committed to my inspiration, I perched behind my dad’s old typewriter and with one finger, tapped out a list of everything we would need from 7 chisels and 50 hinges to 100 lbs of tuna fish and 30 sheep. Yes… sheep.
The four-page list is pretty funny. Apparently, I thought 15 rolls of toilet paper were sufficient for this adventure but wanted 200 bars of soap!
A few other items from the list (with conversions):
2 big bells
6000 packs of seeds
20 hair brushes
4 dog sleds
2 dogs
52 lbs of instant chocolate (23 kg)
400 lbs of chicken noodle soup (181 kg)
1000 lbs of tea (453 kg!)
140 books
The plan never got off the ground, but I saved the list all these years. You never know…
Colleen’s #Tanka Tuesday challenge was to create a poem using synonyms of inspiration and plan.
~*~
Childhood’s fantasies
rewrote a commonplace life
plotting a passage
my sails filled with misspellings
my dreams charting windswept isles
Myths of the Mirror 
[…] #Tanka Tuesday Challenge: Inspiration and Plan | Myths of the Mirror […]
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This is so fun. Loved your priorites….tea and chocolate:)…definite must haves.
Pat
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Thanks for taking a peek at my childhood plans, Pat. I was so tickled when I found the list in an old box of writings. Yes, I had my priorities straight, including lots of hair-brushes. Lol. Happy Holidays!
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Yeah, the hair brushes, that gave me a chuckle too😊. Happy Holidays to you as well.
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Innocence is golden. I encourage all kids to write down or draw their crazy ideas, you never know when you might need them. Great post.
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Thanks, Ann. It’s actually a good thing that we never followed through on my plans! I had a great time making my list. Finding it again years later gave me a laugh, and I got a poem and post out of it! Ha ha. Have a wonderful day. 🙂
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[…] via #Tanka Tuesday Challenge: Inspiration and Plan — Myths of the Mirror […]
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Thanks again for sharing! Much appreciated. 🙂
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That’s awesome
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Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed my childhood inspiration and plans. It’s probably good that they didn’t go anywhere! Sorry about the late reply (family stuff). I’ll be over to say hi soon. 🙂
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Wow! Such an inspiration from you.
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Thank you. I was an adventurous kid and had all kinds of plans. Fortunately my parents were a bit more practical. 🙂 My brother actually works in the Aleutians… so perhaps it was supposed to happen on some level. Thanks for the visit! Have a great week.
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I was an adventurous kid but after high school, the interest wasn’t there anymore. Maybe because i wasn’t receiving any motivation from my family as non of them were adventurous like me! Thank you too and have an awesome week!
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I also became far less adventurous as a teenager… dating became more important. 😦
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Hahahahaha.. It’s normal at that age.
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That was quite a list, Diana. I notice it was heavy on the chocolate. The amount of toilet paper is hilarious. Maybe you thought you could wash off with snow. 😀 — Suzanne
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Ha ha ha. Yes, there were a few problems with quantities. I don’t think I was changing too many toilet paper rolls at the time so had no idea how much we went through! Thanks for the visit, Suzanne. I’m glad you enjoyed the post. 🙂
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Its a really simple and lovely writeup
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Thanks for reading about my childhood plans for adventure. 🙂 It’s good they never happened, but it was always fun to pretend it would. Have a great day and Happy Writing!
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Imaginative and inspiring poetry.
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Thanks for stopping by, Kamal. I had big ideas as a kid and did lots of planning to make them come true. It was probably good that many of them didn’t happen, though. Lol. Have a great week.
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Hahaha true Diana and we all do the same thing in our childhood. You too have a great week ahead
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Typed inspiration and found this! Now I am inspired to settle in Amazon rainforest with apes and anacondas. C’mon, I can survive with 500 lbs of cheese and 800 lbs of coffee.
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Ha ha ha. Well, I’m glad you enjoyed the glimpse into my 11-year-old mindset. Your trip to the Amazon sounds great – cheese and coffee. What else could you possibly need. 🙂 Have a great weekend.
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Your very brave and awesome !
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Thanks for the visit. I’m glad you enjoyed my childhood fantasy and the silly list. Sorry about the late reply. I was technology-free for two weeks. Back now and catching up. 🙂 Have a great weekend and I’ll be over soon.
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I think it would be awesome to live in an uninhabited island or forest and bring everything on your list. I have to say yours is way smarter than mine. You really had a plan.
When I was 9 years old, I wanted to go on an adventure and guess what I took? A dozen Hershey’s Kisses and my bicycle. I didn’t even think of taking water. A few blocks away from my house I realized I wouldn’t survive and just went back home…😅
I miss being a kid – 😊
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Ah, so you were an adventurer right from the start, Bel! I’m glad you are still following that urge… albeit with a little more planning. Lol. Thanks for reading my 11-year-old plans. The list was actually very detailed despite the few “what?” moments. My brother actually works in the Aleutians, so perhaps it was in the blood! 🙂
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Your brother is obviously living the dream! 😊 Besides, the “What?” moments are what makes it interesting – I just have to say you were planning on way too much hairbrushes. I’d cut back on that and replace it with more chocolates 😂
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Ha ha ha. Yes, but I might need the hair brushes for the dogs and sheep. 😀
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I figured – unless, you were Rapunzel. You’d definitely need 20 hairbrushes. 😂
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LOL..Very nice piece, D. I enjoyed it
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I’m glad you got a little laugh out of it. I would have needed a boat just for all that tea! Have a wonderful weekend. 🙂
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Thanks my Darlyn
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This is just… 😂 I love this. The idea, the list… Oh, that list! Bloody brilliant. Of course, the tanka is beautiful. Well done, my friend. 💖
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Thanks, Sarah. I was a weird kid, as you can probably tell. Lol. In some ways the list was amazingly complete down to the most minute details, and it other ways it made no sense at all! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Happy Writing, my friend. ❤
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This list sounds precious! Absolutely loved this post 😀
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Thanks, Neha. When I found that list it transported me back to that time in my life, and gave me a few laughs too. I’m glad you enjoyed the post and the little poem. Have a wonderful day.
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You’re welcome. It was a fun read 🙂
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Great aricle sir! https://buildurownway.wordpress.com check out mine please 🙂
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Thanks for the visit and I’m happy to stop by.
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Lovely post, the list was brilliant! I may have to dig around for some hidden treasures like these.
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Thanks so much for reading. Stuff from our childhoods are often so cute or funny. I’ve posted old angsty teen poems and other silly stuff. If you have a box of old writing, do go through it. You might have a lot of fun. 🙂
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Hello sir, i would like us to have a little conversation
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Thanks for stopping by. I’m happy to converse. 🙂
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Instant chocolate is always a must! What a sweet story and a lovely tanka. 🙂
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That’s a pound of instant chocolate per week! Lol. I had some instant coffee on the list too (for my parents). Thanks for reading and have a lovely day and weekend. 🙂
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Hahaha… the list just makes me smile 🙂 See, you even thought of your parents! That’s so sweet and thoughtful. Always a pleasure to read your posts! Have a great weekend.
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Those seeds were definitely planted…(K)
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All 6000 packs! Ha ha. It was fund finding the list and reliving those memories. Thanks for stopping by to read. Have a wonderfully creative day. 🙂
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Diana, maybe the eleven-year-old you thought you might need extra soap for when the TP ran out? 🤔 Great job on your Tanka this week. How fitting to post your list with it.
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I have no idea what my eleven year old self was thinking! Clearly I wasn’t very observant about tp usage. Ha ha. Thanks for reading about my adventurous dream as a kid. It’s a good thing we never followed through! 😀
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Really enjoyed reading this !
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Thanks so much. It was a trip through time finding that list. I definitely was planning an adventure, but it’s probably good we didn’t go. Lol. Have a wonderful Wednesday. 🙂
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