I was not aware of the term “Bucket List” until the movie with that title was released in 2007.  Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman made a highly entertaining movie and had great chemistry on screen.

After watching the movie, I realized I have been living a Bucket List Life (BLL).  Before using the term, I wanted to write screenplays.  Which I did.  I wanted to write books.  Which I did.  When I wanted to skydive, I did.  Twice (on the same day).  I wanted to travel.  Which I did.  Ten times to Cuba, five times to Thailand.  When I wanted to visit WWII sites, I did.  When I wanted to study Dutch Master painter Johannes Vermeer, I did that.  Those two bucket list items are composed of seven trips to Europe and one to Japan.

This year I knocked three items off my list.  In April and May, I went to San Franscisco and Korea on a true Bucket List trip.  And then I knocked something off the list that I wanted to do for a long time.

I joined the Three Rivers Rowing Association Adult Learn to Row Class.  I am a swimmer and love the water.  I have enjoyed watching rowers and enjoyed both the book and the movie version of The Boys in the Boat, about the Depression-era rowing team from Washington state that won the Olympic Gold medal in 1936 Berlin (the story of how the book came to be written is even more interesting than the movie!).

Sports came easy to me but rowing didn’t.  It’s much more difficult than I thought.  When I started, it reminded me of high school football practice.  When a player was in the wrong position, the coach would grab his facemask and walk him to the spot where he was supposed to be.  That never happened to me but when I was in the 8+ (8 rowers plus a coxswain), one of the coaches, riding along in a launch, called my name far too many times with the bullhorn.  That was the equivalent of a football coach grabbing my facemask.  I was great in the rowing tanks but, on the water, a different story.  I’m glad I did it and I would encourage others to do it.

I would also encourage anybody reading this to create a Bucket List.  Do the things on the list, keep adding others, and then do those things.

I would assume most people, when facing the Final Curtain (w/ credit to “My Way”) have not done many (if not most) of the things they told family and friends that they would do.  They then “Go to Glory” with many things left to see, do or visit.

I teach a writing program.  You can’t really teach a person how to write; but you can teach them what they need to do in order to “train their brain” in order to think the way a writer must think.

Numerous people—too many to count—have told me that they are interested in my program, they want to write their story, but they are too busy to do it now.  Instead, they will write “someday”.  To those people—and to you—I always share the appropriately titled song by the great singer/songwriter John Fogerty: “Someday Never Comes”.  

Before your Final Curtain is in front of you, start knocking items off of your Bucket List.

Not “Someday”.  But “Today”.  

John Fogerty writing “Someday Never Comes” (or another great song)