I stumbled across the title phrase of this post today, and Googled it. I found several lists and scrolled through them.
One of them was all “Go watch the Masters golf tournament,” and “Sit ringside at Madison Square Gardens for a boxing match,” and “See the Tour de France in person,” and it just seemed like most of it was a lot of shit you’d do to impress other people, instead of having an adventure exclusively for your own self.
I mean … golf?? City stuff? Crowds? Sheeeeit. I pass.
I’ve been making lists like this most of my life, and MY list has almost nothing in common with this dopey faux-cool list.
Speaking of trying to impress other people, it may sound like it for a moment here, but I hope that’s not what I’m doing. I am proud of some of the things I’ve done, and I like relating them. But I’ve also found that, most of the time, other people don’t really care too much about such stories. Maybe it’s because I’m not very good at telling them; maybe it’s because I look like a short little nobody and it’s hard for people to believe I’ve done some of this stuff.
Anyway, here comes the brag, if that’s what it is. At the age of 55, I’ve done this:
Parachute out of a plane
Scuba dive
Hitchhike around the U.S. (26,000 miles)
Hop a ride on a freight train
Ride a bull
Conquer a major fear
Fly upside-down in a plane
Ride horseback for 100 miles or more
Get a standing ovation
Ride a snowmobile
Spend the day at thoroughbred horse racing track
Camp alone in the wilderness
Pet a grizzly
Visit with a wolf
Touch a live lion
Hand feed a red fox
Get close to a wild black bear
Watch a deer migration from close range
Spend a day at Disneyland
Swim under a magnificent waterfall
Eat at a 5-star restaurant
Shoe a horse
Ride a mule to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
Write a book
Fly a plane
Drive a team of draft horses
See a glacier with my own eyes
Take a ride on a steamboat
Live and work at a ski resort
Fly in a helicopter
Go whitewater canoeing and rafting
Fly in a sailplane
Swim in an ice-cold mountain lake
Soak in a natural hot spring
Go winter camping
Own a black German shepherd dog
Sell a story to a national magazine
Fly in a hot air balloon
Go cross-country skiing under the full moon (I almost died)
Get lost in the wilderness (see above)
Own a motorcycle (3 of ’em)
Own my own house
Join Mensa
Ride a dog sled
Drive on a racetrack
Tour Las Vegas
Be self-employed/own my own business
Ride a steam train
Go canoeing in a wild place
Hear wild elk bugling
Hear coyotes sing
Visit the San Diego Zoo
Visit historic Native American ruins
See the aurora borealis
See the Hoover Dam
Take a road trip cross-country with friends
Take a road trip across the country on my own
Speak in public
Visit a bawdy house (ahem/blush)
Become a cowboy/work a branding at a ranch
Dive backwards out of a 3rd-floor window into the snow
Run away and join the circus
Go elk hunting in Montana
The funny thing is, at 55, even though I’ve done a bunch of stuff off my earlier list, I can STILL find more than 50 things I want to do before I die. Here’s 51:
Save a life
Own an Appaloosa stallion
Hike the Appalachian Trail
Get a pilot’s license
See whales migrate
See wild game on an African safari
See the polar bears near Churchill, Canada
Learn to dance
Hike the John Muir Trail
Swim with dolphins
Visit the Australian Outback
Ride in the cab of a freight train
Ride a horse on the beach
Run a marathon
Speak a second language fluently
Learn American Sign Language
Experience weightlessness
Fly in a jet fighter plane
Ride a horse across the U.S.
See mountain gorillas in person
See the aurora borealis in Alaska
Write a best-selling book
Meet Richard Dawkins
Walk Darwin’s Sandwalk
See the Green Flash
Learn to surf
Learn to windsurf
Fly a hang glider
Have a pet raven
Meet Koko the gorilla
Hear wild wolves howling
Go parasailing
Visit Antarctica
Clone my deceased dog
Take an ocean cruise along the Inland Passage to Alaska
Go on an all-expenses paid speaking tour
See Karl Rove and Dick Cheney in prison
Ride a train across the U.S. or Canada
Own my own ranch
Go swimming in a mountain lake with my dog
See an erupting volcano
Tour a cave
Learn to juggle
Visit the Statue of Liberty
Take up sculpture
Sing in public
Spend an entire year having adventures
Become a millionaire
Lose weight and get buff
Establish a black bear rescue foundation
Go see the space shuttle blast off
So: Have you made your own list? Are you doing it?
Time to get cracking, then.