Marc Benton dot Com

My Bucket List

There is a show running on MTV now called The Buried Life.  Four 20-somethings are going around the country fulfilling both their and others versions of  a bucket list, or things to do before they die.  The title came from a Matthew Arnold poem of the same name.  Like them, I thought this passage from the poem poignant:

But often, in the world’s most crowded streets,
But often, in the din of strife,
There rises an unspeakable desire
After the knowledge of our buried life;

It made me start thinking of my unwritten list so I set off to put it on paper, or internet page if you will.  I realized a number of items I would add to the list I’ve already done.  With this in mind my list is not the normal 100 but set to 75 items.  After all I’m now in my mid-40 so I have less time than The Buried Life crew.

My list is full of silly items, serious ones, and some that might just be plain impossible to achieve.  The common factor in all of them though is that at least twice in my life I thought “Wouldn’t it be great if I…”.

So without further adieu here is my bucket list:

1.   Spend a week photographing NYC
2.   Get a tattoo
3.   Complete a cycling century
4.   See 170 lbs again
5.   Grow a pony tail
6.   Write and publish a short story
7.   Learn how to play a musical instrument
8.   Make a big donation to a charity
9.   Find my birth parents
10. Skydive
11. Shake the hand of a United State President, current or former
12. Ride a Harley (hopefully mine some day)
13. Make a cross-country drive and back
14. Hike the Appalachian Trail
15. Water ski
16. Snow ski
17. Go to space
18. Photograph Yellowstone National Park
19. Visit Mount Rushmore
20. Attend Mardi Gras in New Orleans
21. Quit smoking
22. Testify in a Congressional hearing
23. Shave with an old fashioned straight razor
24. Attend an Olympic event
25. Take my wife to Hawaii
26. Ride a galloping horse
27. Build something that lasts
28. Make a mark in the photography world
29. Climb to the top of the Washington Monument
30. Help someone find their religion
31. Scuba dive
32. Travel somewhere new and DON’T bring a camera
33. Ensure my family is taken care of for the future
34. Sing in a church choir
35. Learn to ballroom dance
36. Ride in a hot air balloon
37. Take a cruise
38. Travel – Bejing
39. Travel – Hong Kong
40. Travel – Tokyo
41. Travel – Scotland
42. Travel – Ireland
43. Travel – London
44. Revisit Barcelona, Spain
45. Revisit Rome, Italy
46. Travel – Moscow
47. Travel – Boston
48. Travel – visit all 50 states
49. Stand on the SkyDeck of the Willis (Sears) Tower in Chicago
50. Watch the sunrise at the Grand Canyon
51. Take a photo safari to shoot wildlife in the western United States
52. Sing karaoke
53. Have a photo taken of me and Jerry Lawler
54. Be an extra in a motion picture, or a commercial
55. Inspire someone
56. Make a New Year’s Resolution…and keep it
57. Milk a cow
58. Swim in the ocean with something enormous (whale, great white, whale shark, etc)
59. Keep a Bonsai tree for many years and pass it on
60. Attend the Kentucky Derby
61. Touch the Stanley Cup
62. Try escargot
63. Be happy with who I am
64. Spend a year without TV
65. Attend Burning Man
66. Get an earring
67. Be a better Christian and have a better relationship with God
68. Learn to surf
69. Attend SXSW
70. Attend a viewing at the Sundance Film Festival
71. Take my son to Key West
72. Witness a day where all my bills are paid up to date
73. Find a career that I truly love
74. Create and maintain a successful website
75. Invest in a new idea

What is on your list?

Related posts:

1. 10 Year Milestone
2. Marc-a-Day
3. Unemployment Day One