Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
with an orange and some water, and set off to the clubhouse. I searched around the inside
and out, along the walls and in the back, and found nothing remotely like a spring. I kept
reminding myself of the ridiculousness of the situation, but there was an inner voice that
egged me on. I walked around in circles, finding rusty piles of tins and bottles, old rusty
pipes, and fencing. Nothing. I went farther a field and hoped I would stumble on some
spares from the Second World War. Anything! As I walked about, I discovered a path that
I had not ventured up before. It was between the clubhouse and the air strip. It led east
towards the shore of the lagoon. Soon I came upon an old, abandoned army truck. It was
a ball of rust and had turned a comic pink color from the faded red it once was. I peered
hopefully into the engine compartment and found a barren hole with a few rusty bolts and
cables. I climbed underneath and looked hopefully around the underside. Nothing! Well
what did I expect?
I gave that up and walked on towards an old building I had not seen before. It must have
been a workshop at some time. The paint had long since peeled off the walls, and there
were no doors or windows. The roof was almost gone and what remained had caved in at
one end. I looked about mesmerized. I felt the presence of former U.S. Air Force mech-
anics toiling over broken trucks in the tropical heat. How they must have love-hated living
out here. A shaft of pale sunlight hit the greasy floor and reminded me what I was here for.
I poked around. There was a large piece of conveyor belt rubber which I instantly made a
mental note of. I would make a pair of sandals from that one day, and incidentally, would
get them stolen off the dock where we had moored at Pago Pago in a few weeks time. There
were some old truck parts, presumably taken off the wreck outside, several old wheels
and tires. There was a greasy, old wooden crate with rusty oil cans and bolts and nuts. No
springs here! It was hot now, and my mind started to get lazy. I sat down on the wooden
box and stared vacantly at the wall ahead of me. One of the dogs came padding over and
stood next to me, his tongue lolling out. I patted him. I had my hand on his brown head,
and I closed my eyes and asked God where I was going to find a spring. Would you believe
me if I told you that something in my mind said, “Look behind you.”
I continued holding Palmyra's head with my eyes closed and answered cynically, “Yeah
right.”
“Look behind you!” repeated the voice in my head.
I turned around and saw a blank wall. I shook my head, thinking, “I am going crazy; I am
hearing voices now.” It started to rain; large drops pattered down on the iron roof, and a
cool zephyr of wind scurried through the old shed.
I looked behind again, and this time I saw the electrical box. It was rusty and had frozen
half open over the years. I stood up nonchalantly and went over to it, forcing open the door
