I ordered a new desk since my old solid oak roll top doesn’t work for a computer. Since it weights 300 lbs., I was taking all the drawers out to move it to the basement. Behind one of the drawers I found some papers.
They were yellowed and 20 years old. It was a bucket list before any of us knew what a bucket list was. I wrote this shortly after I survived a plane crash in 1989(UA 232). The first two pages were what I considered worthy accomplishments. There were 34 of those. They ranged from the mundane like soloing in a sailboat in Lake Michigan to the critical, being sober for six months. (that’s now 20 years and 6 months) Some are big, like being married for 24 years, now 44 years, raising two great daughters, seeing one daughter graduate from college and the second soon to graduate, and saving some one’s life. Some seem like bragging, like playing 18 holes with Neil Armstrong, 2 holes in one, now 4, meeting Ronald Reagan, attending Harvard Business School, being on a stage in Las Vegas, running a marathon, spending time with Paul Neuman, riding a lap in a pace car with Mario Andretti, being on network TV(all three), etc. Some were small things, but things I worked to do, like attending a world series game, the Masters, the US Open, the PGA, whitewater rafting, etc.
The next 56 items were the bucket list. I’m not really sure when I saw these papers last, but it must have been 12-13 years ago.
I guess I can only give myself a C- minus for the past 12 years on this list. The top four I did OK on, staying sober, staying married, spending more time with my wife and daughters and trying to be a good grandfather(6 grandkids). I ticked off two more, working with kids and giving back, by getting involved in the American Dream Flight with cancer kids. My wife and I made 6 trips with 60-80 kids with cancer to Orlando for 5 days at Disney, Universal, and Sea World. These were 30 of the best days of my life.
I did climb a mountain(Rainier), I have hot air ballooned( with grand kids), I drove a race car(Skip Barber Racing School), I did make Vice President at my company, I did make the profit goal I set for the business unit I was running when I wrote the list, and I did have a live coral aquarium( don’t do it).
But, without the list, I didn’t do so well on the rest. I scored myself attaining 20 of the 56 items on the list. The rest fall into three categories.
Ones I can’t expect to do because time has passed me by, like winning a racquetball tournament, skiing a black slope, or to para kite( a new knee is way overdue) or shooting par for 18 holes.
Another group no longer interest me. Examples are getting a pilot’s license, owning a sailboat, or building a retirement home(tried that, want to buy a lot?), etc.
But, there are ten or so that I need to get back to work on and try to do.
Why share all this with you? For some time after I put this together I would pull it out and see how I was doing. It’s not an original idea, I got it from Lou Holtz, the old coach(I played 18 holes with Lou, got a picture to prove it) and he and I talked about his list of 100 things he wanted to do before the died. Being goal driven, it seemed like a good idea.
Besides working on those ten goals still undone, I need to update this list and add some things that keep me focused. The last item on my bucket list is one that should be the last on any one’s bucket list, to die happy.
My last bit of wisdom, if you make a list, don’t lose it for 12 years.
