DeGrooth 1

Julia DeGrooth
Mrs. Oliveira
College Writing
23 January 2016
A Familys Tune
Two thousand three hundred and ninety miles separates me from my extended family.
This substantial distance impacts the way I celebrate holidays, birthdays and vacations. A six
hour plane ride separates our laughter, adventure, and memories. Like many, my family lives
what feels like an eternity away.
A majority of my family lives in Utah, except for me, my mom, and my sister. My mother
has always been close with her six siblings. A similar bond is shared throughout the entire
Olavson family. Although my mother grew up in Utah, her life brought her to the east coast.
Here, she began raising a family. Living so far away from her loved ones, she ritualized yearly
visit to Utah. It began when I turned two. At this age, the days were divided in order to visit all
the family I had gone so long without seeing. The days were broken up: four were spent with my
uncle, two with my grandparents, and the other four days with my aunt. Each day, no matter who
I spent the day with, was filled with amusement. Some days we hiked while others we baked and
cooked, however the most memorable days were spent with my family at the pool.
It all started with a large pool and an uncle who would sing a tale. My uncles infamous
song rang for countless minutes bringing laughter and humiliation in every verse. A day or two
after arriving in Utah, my family would visit the town pools. Which resembled water parks with
numerous platforms, water slides, and diving boards. In these venturesome pools, my fifteen
family members would bake in the hot sun and anxiously await for my uncle to sing the

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Gilligan's island song. It was a theme song of a famous sitcom in the sixties. My two cousins,
sister, and I would get lifted onto my uncle's shoulders as he belted out the lyrics, Just sit right
back. And you'll hear a tale. A tale of a fateful trip, that started from this tropic port, aboard this
tiny ship(Schwartz and Wyle). Moments later he would begin residing the next verse, The
weather started getting rough, But the tiny ship was tossed, my uncle would then flail his arms
while my two cousins, sister, and I would get jolted around. Immediately after the voyage my
cousins and I would play in the pool for hours on end while the tune of Gilligan's island played
on repeat in our heads.
The song was simple. It told a story of the sailor, Gilligan, and the voyage he
encountered with his crew. In our imagination, the pool acted as our ocean, my uncle as the boat,
and each of us as a member of the crew. A lucky one of us would act as Gilligan while the other
three would play the role of the crew members. These characters included, The Skipper. A
millionaire and his wife, or A movie star. we all were casted and we all had fun (Schwartz
and While). For me, the youngest of my cousins, I would beg and beg for the song to be sung on
repeat. During the four minutes of song I would get an immediate thrill. At a young age, this was
the most amusing form of entertainment. While some days my wish would be granted, other days
I would have to eagerly await until the next visit to the pool.
Going to Utah came to a startling halt for a few years. The death of my grandfather
represented the main reason we stopped going. It was my belief that visiting the state would
make my grandfather's death all too real, so we just stopped visiting for three years. My mom's
guilt of living so far away from her father haunted her. She feared she had missed a pivotal
moments in his life. Life simply became too chaotic and the idea of visiting the family slipped

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out of our minds. Even though communication continued the face-to-face contact came to a
cessation.
Three years later, though it felt like it had been substantially longer, the three of us
packed our stuff and flew to Utah. Although it was a daunting three years, the moment our toes
dipped in the iridescent pool, we felt at home. Immediately, the tune of Gilligan's Island was
sung and an elated sensation overwhelmed me. In those moments when the tunes of Gilligan's
island played, the sorrow from my grandfather's death disappeared and replaced with laughter.
No matter where we are located, my family remains united. For example, a few years ago
the Olavson family traveled to Rhode Island. The Gilligan's Island song still was song that year,
this time the 10,000 gallon chlorine pool was replaced with the grand atlantic ocean. The song
brings much laughter and conversation in my family, No matter when or where the song was
sung, my family can play that tune and feel elevated of any stress that saddened us.
Gilligan's Island is not the sole reason why my family remains so strong. Rather, the
people ti which it is sung to and the resulting laughter keeps us so close. I never fully grasped
why the Gilligan Island song was sung to my two cousins and I, but no matter the reason, it
brings a family separated by distance together. I will never forget this song and the lyrics that
come along with it. The single song brings an already strong family even more together. My
uncle may not be able to carry all four of us now as we have grown, but the song will remain in
memories. And in moments of great despair, I, as well as my cousins, listen to the tune, and feel
an immediate relief of our daily stress. Even betweens the ages of 17 to 23, my uncle still sings
the childish tune, to remember the memories which were once shared. We laugh about it now, but
the song means more today than it did when I was young. It resembles a time when the family
was enduring a devastating loss and heartbreak, and the song helped reassemble a damaged

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family as well as bring much needed amusement. Even though my relative live thousands of
miles away, they will remain close in my heart through the song,
Just sit right back. And you'll hear a tale. A tale of a fateful trip, That started from this
tropic port, Aboard this tiny ship.The mate was a mighty sailin' man, The Skipper brave and
sure. Five passengers set sail that day, For a three hour tour, A three hour tour.The weather
started getting rough, But the tiny ship was tossed. If not for the courage of the fearless crew.
The Minnow would be lost. The Minnow would be lost.The ship set aground on the shore Of this
uncharted desert isle With Gilligan, The Skipper too. A millionaire and his wife, A movie star,
The professor and Mary Ann, Here on Gilligan's Isle. So this is the tale of our castaways, They're
here for a long, long time. They'll have to make the best of things, It's an uphill climb. The first
mate and his Skipper, too, Will do their very best, To make the others comfortable. In the tropic
island nest. No phone, no lights, no motor car, Not a single luxury. Like Robinson Crusoe. It's
primitive as can be. So join us here each week my friends, You're sure to get a smile, From seven
stranded castaways. Here on Gilligan's Isle!

Work Cited
Schwartz, Sherwood, and George Wyle. Gilligan's Island.1964.