In his 1994 memoir “Inside Gilligan’s Island,” Schwartz describes in admirably good-humored detail how his stubborn determination to be handy around the house left him in debilitating pain throughout the writing of the series’ pilot. The tale begins with workers noisily sawing down a massive eucalyptus tree in his backyard, thus distracting Schwartz from banging out the script that would launch 98 oddly memorable episodes.

The trouble started when the men finished their task and asked Schwartz if he’d like them to chop up the felled eucalyptus into firewood. Recalling that eucalyptus logs are pleasantly fragrant when aflame, Schwartz, eager to turn the briefly aggravating experience into a positive, accepted their offer.

One Saturday, Schwartz was about to sit down and work on the pilot when he spotted storm clouds in the near distance. Worried about the eucalyptus logs getting soaked and rendered unusable, he stalked out to his backyard to haul the lumber into his garage. Alas, upon picking up the first log, the writer realized he was in for a grueling test of strength. Per Schwartz:

“My knees buckled. I couldn’t believe a three-foot section of eucalyptus weighed that much.

I had bought a lot of firewood over the years, but I never had any trouble lifting it. It never occurred to me that the firewood I bought had been cured for many months, maybe years. This eucalyptus wood was fresh, full of water and sap.”

After struggling mightily to lug the first two logs back to his garage, Schwartz probably should’ve put a wheelbarrow to use. Instead, he strode back out for log number three, which proved to be a Gilligan-level folly.