Thursday, April 5, 2012

Accomplished

            Well I made it, one week without a drop of alcohol.  Do I feel any different? Well I didn’t wake up with any hangovers over the past week. 
            Recently I was reminded of something called Banff Mountain Film Festival, which is a beautifully done movie of extraordinary people getting outside and doing things that most people put on their bucket list and never get to.  Unfortunately there are limited screenings in only 39 states, two screenings in Ohio, and only one night in Columbus, and of course it was sold out.  No one even on craigslist was selling tickets.  I was pretty bummed.  So I chalk that up on my bucket list of things to see before I die. Then I got to thinking this weekend about it and my “phucket-list,” which I had renamed my bucket list to a few post ago, and usually when that happens the list increases, and without disappointment it did, but instead of just thinking of things to add, I thought of things that I have done that might be on someone else’s list.  For instance, I hiked to the top of a mountain with three friends some years back, no it wasn’t Everest, but it was 3200 feet above sea level and the hike wasn’t an easy one.  A mile and a half of rocky jagged switch backs at almost a 90 degree angle to the top of Seneca Rocks. I have slept in a tent in all kinds of weather, except snow which is on my list, but from clear skies to massive thunderstorms I slept protected only by millimeters of tent wall.  I have hiked across a field of boulders in Pennsylvania, pieces of the Appalachian Trail in multiple states, along the coast in the Upper Peninsula, Michigan. I have climbed up the side of cliffs and repelled down others, and climbed all over boulders without ropes.  I have been on a handful of canoe and kayak trips where I had to make camp on islands.   I have mountain biked and hiked countless miles and attempted to surf, without much success, but I tried it.  I have been to the top of sears tower in Chicago, the Rockefeller center in New York City, and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. I have been to museums, zoos, aquariums, concerts, and I’ve even seen Gettysburg.  I have pulled the motor out of a car and replace it with another, I have built bicycles, and tore apart many other things, and some of them never were put back together.  I have driven all kinds of cars and trucks, a dump truck, ambulance, fire truck and I have even ridden in a cop car, not my proudest moment, but I did it. I have driven motorcycles on and off road, 4-wheelers and 3- wheelers, boats and wave runners. I have parasailed above the ocean and snorkeled below it.  I have seen sunrises and sunsets, I have walked on beaches and swam in oceans, rivers, lakes and ponds.  Needless to say, I have accomplished a lot in my life and I am not done yet. 
            That’s all I have for this week, so until next time, it’s time to start checking off that list, get started.

“The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.”      -Jack London