10 Items On My Bucket List (and why)

The worst thing you can do is live a life...           ...without living at all.  Staring at the hospital room ceiling from your deathbed on your final days (should you be so lucky to wait for the end), looking back on your years, regretting the many things you never accomplished or experienced is not the way, at least not for me.  I dread the thought of seeing the decades as one big collection of workdays.  Wake up, wash up, work up, wind down, wake up, wash up, work up, wind down, weekend, wake up...

No.  HELL no.

I know too many people that live to pay bills.  If they're lucky, they attend their children's school plays, catch a night with friends at the bar, drive to visit in-laws, get some spring cleaning in, take an occasional trip to the local theme park, etc.  But in the end, what have they done worth noting? Worth remembering with fondness?

Don't get me wrong.  If that's all you desire, fine.  You are far from a failure at anything.  Being a responsible parent or significant other is a great thing.  You satisfy the needs of those that look to you on a daily basis.  But what do YOU want to do? What are YOUR hopes? Dreams? Goals?

There was a movie called, "The Bucket List" that made me realize there is an actual phrase for all of the things you want to do, experience or witness, usually out of the ordinary.  Whether it's skydiving, going down a waterfall in a barrel, visiting all 50 states or all seven continents, there's something you want to do that's not part of your normal routine.

I know what I want to do and what I've already accomplished.  Whether or not I get them all done, I'm gonna have a helluva lot of fun trying.  I hope you set your list and accomplish yours as well...

Soooooo, without further ado, here are 10 items from my BUCKET LIST (and never forget - "Life is short.  Play HARD!"):

1. Write a novel or screenplay.  I'm honestly on that path, as I have already begun work on three different novels.  I've recently decided to focus on one and convert it to a screenplay.  It will be a romantic comedy.
2. Go fishing.  This one seems simple enough, but for the life of me I never get to go!  People have been promising me for years and something has always gone wrong.  I'd take myself but I don't have a clue what I'm doing.
3. Go sledding with a team of Alaskan Malamutes.  Malamutes and huskies are the most beautiful animals on the planet, second only to black panthers, but I can actually OWN a dog.
4. Meet former President Barack Obama (he'll ALWAYS be MY president).  I want to hug that man and thank him for being more than just a leader.  More than just a humanitarian.  More than just a game-changer and improver of life for ALL people.  I want to thank him for being the living dream that so many have had for so long.  Being the inspiration for others to live and grow beyond the limitations of expectancy and the human imagination.
5. Learn to play the classical &/or bass guitar. It's always been my dream to sit on the beach at sunset and play the classical guitar as the seagulls sang along and the waves crashed against the rocks.  Bass guitar because I love a good walking bass line in a jazz tune.
   
6. Witness an Aurora Borealis in Alaska, Iceland or Norway.  Another one of the beautiful natural occurrences that this world has to offer.  I'd love to photograph it.
7. Visit Uganda, Ghana &/or the place of my ancestors (once I learn what that is).  In recent years, I've learned so much about Africa that I can't begin to describe.  I want to visit Ghana because I have reason to believe that a strong percentage of my blood is from there.
8. Form an "old school" R&B/Funk band and record an album.  I think that R&B and Funk are two genres of music that should be shared for generations to come.  Especially since they've been referenced and sampled so much over the years.
9. Go to the Superbowl.  Preferably to see my Chicago Bears, winning it all!
10. Run one more 5K marathon.  It's been years since I've been able to run at all, much less a marathon.

Bucket List Items Already Achieved (some before I heard the term, "Bucket List" )

Winning the Champions Of Safety Award in 1998.

• Appear on a newspaper or magazine cover.
• Learn Sign Language.
• Join the "Mile-High" club.
• Contact and forgive/reconcile with anyone who's hurt me (took me 6 months to find them all).
• Meet Luther Vandross.
• Learn archery.
• Read the entire bible.
• Play jazz in a civic center.
• Perform with a professional jazz artist (Wynton Marsalis).
• Play in a back-up band for a celebrity (Suzette Charles).
• Live long enough to see each of my favorite teams win a national championship (Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Blackhawks and FINALLY, the Chicago CUBS!!).