A List

I keep seeing these lists of things that people have done, will do, should maybe want to do...and many of the items on them seem pretentious:  "climbed Mt Everest," "cooked a ten-course meal," "run a marathon..."  Well, you get the picture.  However, reading one of these lists did remind me of a few things I've done that I remember fondly--even though they might be quite commonplace to someone else.  Here are a few of them, in no particular order:

~ Crossed the Atlantic three times by ship

~ Driven 4000 miles in one summer

~ Driven home to Round Rock from St Louis in 15 hours

~ Seen the Doors, Led Zeppelin, Janis, the Dead, the Stones, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder and a whole host of other great rock bands live.

~ Camped out for a week with nothing but a blanket, a box of matches and a bag of potatoes

~ Washed my hair in a snow melt stream cold enough to give me a headache

~ Crossed Canada by train

~ Hitch-hiked across Canada

~ Skated on pond ice

~ Seen Julie Andrews live in panto when she was a teenager

~ Stood eight feet away from the Queen Mother

~ Played Maude in Harold and Maude

~ Danced on a beach in the moonlight

~ Camped by an icy lake, fifty feet from a hot spring

~ Sat on a beach in the morning and hiked up a (smallish) mountain in the afternoon of the same day

~ Held a person's hand while they died

~ Held a person's hand while they bore a baby

~ Discovered a decomposing corpse (yes, I do remember it fondly) (I've posted the story elsewhere)

~ Borne babies at home with midwives and no drugs

~ Cooked on a wood stove

~ Won a Twist contest

~ Won a public speaking contest

~ Won recognition for theater accomplishments

~ Learned how to make a decent cup of tea

~ Ridden a float in a parade

~ Ridden a fire truck in a parade

~ Danced in the street to Grupo Fantasma

~ Costumed a famous actor's mother in a community theater production

~ Married the love of my life (though I did kiss a lot of frogs first)

That's probably enough to go on with...there may be further installments.