The Current Meme...

Mon., December 22, 11:25 AM

Somehow this list looks vaguely familiar, and I wasn’t going to do it. Then I wondered whether it’s just because I’ve written about these things before. In addition, maybe you are new to this page; I really don’t keep track of who is reading.

The rule is that you bold any of these you have done yourself. I am inclined to mark the ones that I was “going to do after I retired.” Well, I won’t go there…

  1. Started your own blog. It will be seven years next month.
  2. Slept under the stars.
  3. Played in a band. Definition, please: when I played an instrument, there were dance bands, concert bands, marching bands. No band; I played in symphony orchestras.
  4. Visited Hawaii.
  5. Watched a meteor shower.
  6. Given more than you can afford to charity.

    “I want Sammy to be a philanthropist when he grows up,” says Mama. “Why? Because all the philanthropists you read about are rich.”
  7. Been to Disneyland (and DisneyWorld). I visited the original Disneyland in 1964, before there were any Disney Worlds.
  8. Climbed a mountain.
  9. Held a praying mantis. I fed it grasshoppers. It bit me with its leg.
  10. Sang a solo.
  11. Bungee jumped.
  12. Visited Paris.
  13. Watched a lightning storm at sea. I was in a boat-shaped house on the Jersey shore. The storm was several miles away from us. It was beautiful.
  14. Taught yourself an art from scratch. I had forgotten; about thirty-five years ago, I taught myself to crochet.
  15. Adopted a child.
  16. Had food poisoning.
  17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
  18. Grown your own vegetables. If you count tomatoes at the House on Court Street.
  19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
  20. Slept on an overnight train. Described in Those Good Old Days? Also describes my experience with No. 33.
  21. Had a pillow fight.
  22. Hitch hiked.
  23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill. Twice, I think, in forty years or so.
  24. Built a snow fort.
  25. Held a lamb.
  26. Gone skinny dipping.
  27. Run a Marathon. (Slowest runner in the class in high school. But I was — and still am — a pretty good walker.
  28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
  29. Seen a total eclipse. Only on television.
  30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
  31. Hit a home run.
  32. Been on a cruise.
  33. Seen Niagara Falls in person. From the Canadian side.
  34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
  35. Seen an Amish community.
  36. Taught yourself a new language.
  37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. Truly is the part that gets to you; you think you have it, and then the world bites you in the a$$. Dollar signs are appropriate there.
  38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
  39. Gone rock climbing.
  40. Seen Michelangelo’s David.
  41. Sung karaoke.
  42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
  43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
  44. Visited Africa.
  45. Walked on a beach by moonlight. It wasn’t romantic; we had been on a boat ride and returned after dark.
  46. Been transported in an ambulance. For myself, I think it was twenty years ago. I have accompanied others as well.
  47. Had your portrait painted. See previous post.
  48. Gone deep sea fishing.
  49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
  50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
  51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
  52. Kissed in the rain.
  53. Played in the mud.
  54. Gone to a drive-in theater. It was a regular thing when I was a kid, both for families and for dates.
  55. Been in a movie.
  56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
  57. Started a business. Not exactly; I worked for other people in businesses that had just started. It’s very exciting.
  58. Taken a martial arts class.
  59. Visited Russia.
  60. Served at a soup kitchen.
  61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies. Only to my family. One of my mother’s rules.
  62. Gone whale watching.
  63. Got flowers for no reason.
  64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma. See Bloody Awful.
  65. Gone sky diving.
  66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
  67. Bounced a check. The bank thought I did once and charged me for covering it, but I “yelled” at them and they gave me my money back.
  68. Flown in a helicopter.
  69. Saved a favorite childhood toy. Only books.
  70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
  71. Eaten caviar. And I hope to do it again.
  72. Pieced a quilt.
  73. Stood in Times Square.
  74. Toured the Everglades.
  75. Been fired from a job. Fired, as in for cause? Never. Let go for economic reasons? Oh, yeah.
  76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London. The band was playing American show tunes… But we were there.
  77. Broken a bone.
  78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
  79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
  80. Published a book. Never did myself, but assisted in the publication of books for others.
  81. Visited the Vatican.
  82. Bought a brand new car. For myself, twice.
  83. Walked in Jerusalem.
  84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
  85. Read the entire Bible.
  86. Visited the White House.
  87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
  88. Had chickenpox.
  89. Saved someone’s life. Not spectacularly, but I have. Twice for Husband. Some others as well, I think.
  90. Sat on a jury.
  91. Met someone famous.
  92. Joined a book club.
  93. Lost a loved one. Many.
  94. Had a baby. Three; the first one was thirty-nine years ago today.
  95. Seen the Alamo in person.
  96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake. Nor the Dead Sea.
  97. Been involved in a law suit. I just prepared them.
  98. Owned a cell phone.
  99. Been stung by a bee.
  100. Read an entire book in one day. Often.



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