I had just finished my last day of work and I was stoked. I loved working as a financial adviser, but I had made enough from my own investments to comfortably retire. My big plan was to get out of the rat race altogether, leave San Francisco and move to Italy-just me and my trusty Jeep…
I admit that I obsess over my Jeep. Jeepy was the first vehicle that I ever bought and well, they say your first car is like your first love… I knew that when I left SF I had to somehow take my beloved Jeep with me. Then I hit on a plan. Rather than ship her to Italy, I would hire out a cargo plane and fly with her there! The plan sounded adventurous and it appealed to me because I wouldn’t be separated from Jeepy for a moment.
Initially, the flight out of San Francisco was routine. The pilot was an expert and a car fan to boot, so we had a great time talking over Jeepy’s finer points. But a couple hours into the flight, disaster struck. We got caught in turbulence caused by a fast moving storm and the plane groaned and shook with tremendous force. It was exactly like the scene from that movie Castaway. The pilot tried unsuccessfully to radio for help. “Mayday!” he shouted, but the equipment started to crackle and smoke. Suddenly, a sharp jolt flung him from his seat and across the cabin where he struck his head against a bar and lay still.
I was in a panic. I grabbed the controls and tried to keep the shaking plane steady, but I had no idea what I was doing. I knew we were losing altitude and a crash was imminent, and there was nothing I could do. A few seconds later, we slammed into the ground and I blacked out.
When I came to, I was lying on a beach next to the smoldering wreckage. I staggered to the cabin, but I was too late. The pilot was dead. But more importantly, how did Jeepy fare? Amazingly, she had somehow survived the impact and her engine started up in no time. I climbed in and carefully drove out of the twisted metal and started explore the beach. We had apparently crash-landed on a medium-sized tropical island, and as far as the eye could see was the sky and the endless blue ocean. The island was volcanic and clearly deserted; the only sounds were chirping birds and Jeepy’s rumbling.
At first I thought the terrain would be too rugged, but I shouldn’t have worried-Jeepy’s, powerful engine allowed me to rove over the rocks and through the forests to explore. There was some good news. I found that the island was well populated with fruit trees and streams of fish so I wouldn’t starve. I also found pools of fresh water and a cave which would shelter me for the time being.
It suddenly occurred to me that most people dream of retiring early and moving to a tropical island, and now my dream had come true. I had peace and quiet and a kingdom of my own with Jeepy to reign as my queen. My only concern now is what to do once all my gasoline runs out!