Tempe Tuesday Talks 7/7
Good morning to you all! For those of you of a certain age, today is Ringo Starr’s birthday. Who’s he, you say? Oh my. Google it. He is 80 today which makes me feel monumentally old. I got to see the Beatles in concert in 1966 with my big brother. Quite the treat.
Well, today I have a beef to pick with the idea of the Bucket List. I have always hated that expression. Yeah, yeah, I know it was made cute in the movie with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman where they did all this extreme stuff because one of them was dying. I don’t even recall the film that well. The expression means “these are the things I want to do before I ‘kick the bucket'” AKA die! Yikes!!! Why would I plan my fun, outings, events, travel around what I want to do before I die. UGH. This really gets me. Why wouldn’t I want to plan my fun, my outings, my wild events, my dream travel around what I want to do NOW and while I am alive. Sheesh.
Ok, so a couple of weeks ago, I played a game with my UVa sorority sisters called Never Would I Ever. We had a zoom call where one member would say something she either did or didn’t do and everyone would guess if it was true or not. Some of the entries were pretty cute or borderline scandalous, like not wearing underwear or eating rattlesnake or cheating on a test. Some, I must say, were kinda boring in my book. I lied to my boss about being sick and took a day off from work. I talked my way out of a speeding ticket. Yawn. Ok, so I did win by being the only one who jumped out of a perfectly good airplane. Ha Ha. Yep. About 7 years ago in Kauai. My greatest fear in life….so, I did it. I can now say, I did it and overcame my greatest fear. I must say I was inspired by the documentary about Shania Twain (yes, I did say Shania Twain) where she decided to live her life saying “Why Not” instead of “Why”. She too jumped out of a plane in that documentary. If it’s good enough for Shania, it’s good enough for me.
So why would I reserve the fun things I want to do in this life to being the things I want to do before I die. How Debbie Downer! I want to do things because I want to enhance the life I am living. Yes, see the orphaned elephants in Kenya. Yes, climb the Eiffel Tower. Yes, play with my grandson coming in about 17 weeks. Yes, sing Dream On with Steven Tyler. Yes, have lunch with Oprah. Yes!!! What is on your Living your Life List. What is your Why Not? In these times we are in, a little daydreaming and going out on a limb to fantasize is definitely in order!
Have a great week! More on Coalition stuff at a later date!