10 Comments

I agree with pretty much all the other comments. I found the tale amazing and the man heroic. Thanks again, Jack.

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Morning Jack. Another really good story from Talking to America. War back then was just as bad, if not worse than today. Bernard was a smart man and did do well and learned that having nothing, he could still come out okay. We have so much and I do try everyday to be very thankful for that blessing.

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Thanks. Less can be more.

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Wow, talk about a high survival instinct, geez! Todays humans, stranded on a far away island, would need to subsist on plastics and other floating garbage.

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Good gracious. What a remarkable tale. And one that had entirely escaped my attention. Thanks, Jack, for telling this story to those of us lucky enough to subscribe to your posts.

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Wow......He would be an amazing dinner partner. I want to know why his mates left him and came back. What an optimist... “to value our blessings we ought sometimes to be deprived of them.”

I think this when my fridge has gone on the fritz......he takes it to a whole new level. Thanks Jack.

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One of the British sailors told the other two and the American seaman that the Isabella still contained provisions. He even convinced them that a woman who had been sent out to Australia for prostitution had remained on the island. He fomented the mutiny and then bullied them into staying away from Barnard, fearing punishment. They had even taken the captain's dog. Barnard's worst fear was that his fire would go out -- they had left him without tools to strike another. He kept feeding it, day and night, with vines and driftwood. Yes, blessings galore.

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Amazing resilience! It’s comforting, but frustrating, to know my problems are petty.

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I feel the same.

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Keep writing, Jack, you put my every day in perspective.

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