The Bucket List

Not so long ago, a movie came out called "The Bucket List", and, as it starred Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, I had to go and see it.  Jack Nicholson is the sort of actor I don't want to miss in a film, but would hate to run into in some dark alley. 

And so, as the plot goes, both were stricken with terminal illnesses and decided to create a list of things they wanted to do before they "kicked the bucket" so to speak.  Since Nicholson's character had limitless funds, it made most of those things quite possible.

Not that I'm planning on dying anytime soon, but I decided I would create my own bucket list.   Most of these are fantasies that don't stand a chance of happening, because, unlike Nicholson (or his character in the movie) I have no funds.  It's a great day when my bank account shows three figures rather than two...but I think it's a good thing to have something interesting to look forward to.  I think too many of us live to work; getting up day after day, going in, putting in our hours and collecting our pay.  I know I have been chastised for my recklessness in spending--doing things and going places that are clearly beyond my financial means.  This sort of lifestyle has left me destitute, relatively speaking.  And while being impoverished now lends itself to a small bouts of depression and a sense of listlessness, I still don't think I would change my past in that regard--the things I've been able to see and do so far, and, more importantly, the people I've met along the way have made it worthwhile, despite the hardships that resulted from being a bit of a spendthrift.   Dying poor and having lived a little is better than dying with money, but having no special memories.  Or at least that's the story I'm sticking to for now.

At any rate, I haven't done it all.  I'm sure I won't come close to doing the things I want to do in this life, and as I look at the list below, it all seems rather selfish and not at all philanthropic.  Maybe, as I continue to age, that will change.  Here's hoping...


Jude's Bucket List (in no special order)

1)  See one round of the Master's Tournament at Augusta National
2)  Go to the Kentucky Derby, and have real seats so I don't have to stand in the inner circle with a bunch of intoxicated Notre Dame students
3)  Visit Sicily and meet relatives I didn't know existed
4)  Attend a papal Mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City
5)  Tour Machu Picchu
6)  Put the Zipster in the car and drive to Lake Tahoe, and spend a week there at my brother's house (if he allows dogs, which he may not), looking for bear (but only from afar)
7)  Visit Hawaii
8)  Remove myself from debt
9)  Win Powerball (see number 8)
10)  Retire from my job, whatever it may be when I'm too old to work and open up a dog daycare facility
11) Get tickets and attend the Craig Ferguson Show
12)  Meet Tina Turner
13)  Spend a night in the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island
14)  Buy my own flat in London  (see number 9)
15)  Attend a NYC or London Opera (preferably Lakme or Aida)
16)  Do a 30 day Ignatian Retreat
17)  Finish learning to play the violin...at least so I can play more than "Drunken Sailor"
18)  Write a book--or otherwise be published
19)  Attain my advanced degree in Church History and complete a thesis on Cardinal Manning
20)  Break 80 on the golf course
21)  Go to Heaven (oops, that's the post bucket list)