Week 6 Story: Chuck's Adventure
There once was a man named Chuck who was in his mid 40s and worked as a real estate agent. Chuck lived a simple life working his job, and tending to his yard. Every day of Chuck's life appeared to be identical. Chuck would wake up, work on yard and go to work. After work, Chuck would watch the news, eat dinner and go to bed. One day at work, Chuck's co worker Jason came over to his cubicle. After some small talk, Jason told Chuck that he should add some flavor to his life. Jason claimed that there was nothing worse in life than having regrets.
This conversation weighed on Chuck's mind for the remainder of the work day. As he drove home he wondered what Jason meant by adding more flavor to his life. He had a solid job with a good home, Chuck felt content. As he explored these thoughts more, he realized that he did have regrets. Chuck's dad would always take him fishing when he was younger and it had quickly sprouted into a passion of Chucks. Once Chuck went to college he failed to make time to fish and it quickly shriveled away, out of his life. Jason's words about living with regret repeatedly rang in Chuck's mind until he realized he could not fall sleep. Chuck lived right by a dock because he loved the sea. It was now 11pm on a Tuesday night, and Chuck was getting dressed, ready to head down to the dock by the sea.
When Chuck got there, he found a crew of fisherman ready to set sail and catch some fish. He begged them to join and they were skeptical but allowed him to tag along with them. As the ship drew away from the doc, a feeling of peace and serenity came over Chuck. For the first time in a very long time, Chuck felt like he was exactly where he was supposed to be. This feeling was replaced with complete terror as a brutal and unforgiving storm came upon the crew. The storm was so violent that Chuck stumbled over the edge and landed in the sea along with another crew mate. They washed up on a local shore and found shelter under a cliff. As the storm settled, the crew mate calmed Chuck down and assured them that the others would come back to them. Chuck was beside himself with fear and frustration.
The crew man told Chuck that he saw a great deal of his old self in Chuck. He too used to have a normal life, but through it all away to pursue his fishing dream. Chuck asked him why he would choose a life where nothing was promised to him, where he would have an inconsistent supply of food and shelter. The crew man replied that in life, nothing is promised to us. He told Chuck that he would rather live a life doing what he loved with people that he loved instead of doing something that he had no passion for, by himself. In the morning the crew returned to find the two on the shore. They were overjoyed that they were unharmed as well.They returned to the dock by Chucks's house. Chuck told them to wait because he would be right back. Chuck ran inside his house and texted Jason telling him that he wouldn't make it to work that day, or the next one.
Man by Pacific Ocean
Author's Note: The original story I read this week was titled Sinbad. The story detailed a man who would continually grow tired of his boring life and would seek out adventure. These stories usually included sailing and monsters. On multiple occasions Sinbad would barely escape with his life. There were many tales but the reoccurring theme was that Sinbad was not satisfied with a boring life and always sought out adventure.
Bibliography: This story is part of the Voyages of Sindbad unit. Story source: The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898).
This conversation weighed on Chuck's mind for the remainder of the work day. As he drove home he wondered what Jason meant by adding more flavor to his life. He had a solid job with a good home, Chuck felt content. As he explored these thoughts more, he realized that he did have regrets. Chuck's dad would always take him fishing when he was younger and it had quickly sprouted into a passion of Chucks. Once Chuck went to college he failed to make time to fish and it quickly shriveled away, out of his life. Jason's words about living with regret repeatedly rang in Chuck's mind until he realized he could not fall sleep. Chuck lived right by a dock because he loved the sea. It was now 11pm on a Tuesday night, and Chuck was getting dressed, ready to head down to the dock by the sea.
When Chuck got there, he found a crew of fisherman ready to set sail and catch some fish. He begged them to join and they were skeptical but allowed him to tag along with them. As the ship drew away from the doc, a feeling of peace and serenity came over Chuck. For the first time in a very long time, Chuck felt like he was exactly where he was supposed to be. This feeling was replaced with complete terror as a brutal and unforgiving storm came upon the crew. The storm was so violent that Chuck stumbled over the edge and landed in the sea along with another crew mate. They washed up on a local shore and found shelter under a cliff. As the storm settled, the crew mate calmed Chuck down and assured them that the others would come back to them. Chuck was beside himself with fear and frustration.
The crew man told Chuck that he saw a great deal of his old self in Chuck. He too used to have a normal life, but through it all away to pursue his fishing dream. Chuck asked him why he would choose a life where nothing was promised to him, where he would have an inconsistent supply of food and shelter. The crew man replied that in life, nothing is promised to us. He told Chuck that he would rather live a life doing what he loved with people that he loved instead of doing something that he had no passion for, by himself. In the morning the crew returned to find the two on the shore. They were overjoyed that they were unharmed as well.They returned to the dock by Chucks's house. Chuck told them to wait because he would be right back. Chuck ran inside his house and texted Jason telling him that he wouldn't make it to work that day, or the next one.
Author's Note: The original story I read this week was titled Sinbad. The story detailed a man who would continually grow tired of his boring life and would seek out adventure. These stories usually included sailing and monsters. On multiple occasions Sinbad would barely escape with his life. There were many tales but the reoccurring theme was that Sinbad was not satisfied with a boring life and always sought out adventure.
Bibliography: This story is part of the Voyages of Sindbad unit. Story source: The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898).
Donovan,
ReplyDeleteI have never read any of the Sinbad stories, but I really enjoyed your take on this. I found myself intrigued and wondering what was going to happen next. I liked the length of the story- it was long enough to include details, but it also kept my attention the whole time I was reading. Overall, this was a really great post!
Hello Donovan!
ReplyDeleteI liked your story! It's a more modern take on what I assume Sinbad was going through in his time. While I cannot relate to how Sinbad must have felt in his days, I could totally relate to Chuck in this story. I would hate to be stuck in a cubicle! Great job retelling an old story to make it more relate able! Hope you have a great semester!
Hey Donovan!
ReplyDeleteI really liked your story, and think it was really well-written. I also think it would be interesting to read from Chuck's perspective (in first person), so we could hear his thoughts/ideas. I've never read Sinbad, but I also thought your author's note was a good summary and I understood all the connections you made right away!
Hey Donavon,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your take on Sinbad. I definitely liked that you modernized it more so that we could more easily relate to it. I do agree with you that a lot of his adventures seemed to end the same, with him shipwrecked. I wonder why that is? I have a feeling the people who came up with these stories, wanted to show us that Sinbad’s life was never boring and that he was always in peril while adventure seeking. I also enjoyed how you gave Chuck a life of purpose in this story.