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The Reveal
It all started with a non-suspicious present.
I open it and see that there is a message written on a piece of wood. This isn't necessarily unusual for my family. Occasionally a gift will contain a message telling you to look somewhere else for the real gift, often because it is too big to wrap or the wrapped gift would look too obviously what it is and would ruin a surprise. Upon closer inspection though, I realized this gift was different. I had stumbled upon a clue to a hidden immunity idol!
The Hunt (Part 1)
Others at the table ask me what my gift is. I coyly explain that it's 'nothing'. I don't want to share my immunity idol clue with others. The block of wood gets hidden away in my pocket, to great laughter from others.
Now, what in this house is green? As it turns out, lots of stuff. I check some plants in the two nearest rooms. There's an antique chair that was painted green, maybe something is taped under the seat? The Christmas tree - we decorated it yesterday, but maybe my parents added something overnight? I start off with 3 strikes. Folks, this really is harder than they sometimes make it look on TV.
There's a book of poems written by my Grandmother and it's cover is green. Nothing. Another room has a waste basket that is green. Look, there are several things in the bottom and this one looks like handwritten notes. Shoot, it's old notes my mom didn't need anymore - actual trash - who would put that there?
Curtains! There are several rooms with dark green curtains. I better look behind them. Nothing in room one, or two, or three. Well, that seemed like a great idea. Hey, there's a gym bag and the zipper isn't entirely closed and you can see a rolled up towel inside - this has to be it. Or not. It was actually just a towel in a gym bag. About now I realize that clues and idols may be easier to find on a Survivor island because there is less human-related stuff.
Ok, so some of the family is leaving now and will have to wait for stories later on how this turns out. I notice that the spare bathroom might have light green wall paint. I check inside and look for anything suspicious, only to realize that there are green curtains in here too. I should check to see if I was on the right track earlier.
The Hunt (Part 2)
On a piece of birch bark inside part of a paper towel tube, stuffed inside the tag on the back of the curtain, I find clue #2.
Fire-making skill. This clue should be easier than the last one. There's a wood stove right here in the living room and another in the basement. Surely something should stick out in those locations. I look around the closer wood stove. Nothing looks amiss. I check the box that contains newspapers to help start fires. Nothing out-of-place there. I check the shelf above the stove and look in and around several knick-knacks. I check the shovel and poker to see if something has been attached to either one. Nothing yet. So I check in the basement. There's nothing notable near that wood stove either. Maybe in this pile of kindling or near the axe? Oh gosh, it better not be in some hollow between pieces of wood in the giant stack along the far wall. No, it can't be there - I'm not even going to spend time looking there. Let me try upstairs again.
I search around the wood stove in the living room a bit more. It can't be inside because dad has been working on a fire. Mom figures out which clue I'm working on and gives a verbal clue that I'm in the right area, but might need to expand my search. Ok, so the TV is next to the stove. I don't see anything under or on top of the stand. Nothing is under the DVD player or near the remotes. I check behind the TV but only see what looks like one of my dad's shop rags having been tied to the cords with a twist tie to hold them together. That's weird, but not unlike my parents. I check all around the rest of this room - the closet, under the rug, between and under couch cushions, all to no avail.
I suspend my search until later and eventually notice my mom looking behind the stove. That can't be right, I looked back there. Then she repositions and looks behind the TV. That can't be either, I looked back there. Mom walks away. I immediately go to inspect. Certainly if you see one of the producers giving away a location, or a cameraman pointing towards something that looks mundane, you must investigate. The darn shop rag wasn't a shop rag and it wasn't holding cables together. It was dryer lint being held together with some small strands of birch bark.
I'd like the record to show that behind the TV isn't "in a place of fire-making skill." One really won't want fire back there and if there was, it would likely be accidental, not skill based. I might have made the connection a little faster if the clue had read "near a place of fire-making skill."
Mom assures me that this was all the dryer lint she could collect and that I won't have to deal with any more on this journey.
The Hunt (Part 3)
On another piece of birch bark, held tight by a twist tie and masked by this darn piece of dryer lint, is clue #3.
So I have to figure out what rack this might be talking about. I immediately go to look in the drawer under the oven. The oven has racks to bake things, so the drawer seems like the perfect low place. A fairly extensive search through the items in that drawer comes up fruitless. In the past there have been some basket-like shelves where they keep potatoes and onions - maybe that could be described as a rack. I head to where I think this is located. I'm looking at all the drawers in the kitchen on my way there and realize that any one of these drawers could hold cookie cooling racks or turkey baking racks. I don't know where any of the kitchen stuff is in this house. I'm going to have to check every bottom drawer later. But the last drawer draws my attention. It is the full height up to the counter, so the handle is easier to reach. I might as well open that one to see what's in there.
Spice rack! This could be it. Bottom shelf - look - more dryer lint! Despite the promise, I inspect this and it looks like my search is finally complete.
Immunity Idol and Associated Prizes
Sure enough, under this dryer lint was a plastic package with a makeshift hidden immunity idol made of power towel tube.
Behind the idol, I found the items that could help me with a skill I may lack. There were 2 slide puzzles for me to practice solving in preparation for my future contestantship.
Certainly, I can't find slide puzzles and just wait to solve them later. I have to dive right in, use whatever skill I have, learn some tricks as I go, and get these puppies solved. Roughly 20 minutes later, both puzzles are solved and I'm that much closer to challenge dominance.
So that was my Survivor Christmas 2015 immunity idol hunt. It was exciting, frustrating, and fun, much the way I imagine being a Survivor Contestant would be. Although, I was well fed and well rested, so that might have helped the experience.
My mom was probably just as entertained watching me search as I was entertained searching.
I hope you enjoyed reading about this quest. If you have someone in your life who would enjoy this kind of adventure, consider making your own version of this idol search.
