Thursday, December 4, 2008

100 Things I Have Done - Have You Done Any Of Them

Have You Ever:

1. Waited for someone special who did not show up, and realized years later that your experience of that event had shaped much of your life?

2. Gotten so drunk you passed out and later had no memory of some things that happened before you passed out?

3. Repeatedly guessed what was inside wrapped presents each Christmas before opening them?

4. Taken a bus cross country?

5. Driven cross country, more than 2,000 miles by yourself?

6. Been wounded badly?

7. Seen the smile on a child’s face when he or she caught their first fish?

8. Field stripped and reassembled a firearm with eyes closed/or while blindfolded/or while in the dark?

9. Successfully hunted for wild game?

10. Achieved straight A’s in 2 or more consecutive semesters?

11. Walked more than 10 miles in one day?

12. Been to a foreign land?

13. Been overseas?

14. Sat patiently for hours, on your deer stand, in the rain or snow waiting, for a deer to show up?

15. Caught frogs, with your children, using your bare hands, and realized they were better at it than you - especially your daughter?

16. Ridden in a crowded subway and enjoyed it?

17. Heard someone in screaming in terror for help and actually gone to help them while unarmed?

18. Had nightmares because you had shot someone justifiably?

19. Seen the view from the top of the Empire State Building again and again and again?

20. Been to Ground Zero while it was still smoldering?

21. Taken a ferry ride for no particular reason?

22. Hiked to the top of a mountain?

23. Sinned while in a house of worship?

24. Grown a vegetable garden?

25. Been seriously assaulted and successfully defended yourself?

26. Bathed naked in a cold mountain stream?

27. Dug sea life fossils out of the ground near the top of a mountain?

28. Swam in the ocean at night after first having seen the movie Jaws?

29. Scored several consecutive bull’s eyes in archery?

30. Not balanced your checkbook in over one year, and not once having overdrawn your account?

31. Enjoyed sex more than 2 times in one day?

32. Broken a bone and set it yourself as best you could before getting to the doctor?

33. Visited your nation’s capital?

34. Enjoyed a visit to a museum more than anything else on a particular vacation?

35. Taught someone else how to shoot?

36. Sharpened a knife with a honing stone?

37. Gotten sunburned so badly you blistered on the same day as getting the burn?

38. Eaten a live animal?

39. Baked a traditional apfelstrudel (apple strudel) from scratch?

40. Gotten beaten up badly by multiple attackers in a fight, and still won the fight?

41. Told your child more than one bedtime story about more than one real life adventure you had and realized in the telling that you were your child's hero?

42. Stared at the sky for hours watching the stars or clouds pass by?

43. Been more than 100 miles out to sea for more than a day?

44. Volunteered for a dangerous job?

45. Slept outdoors without a tent?

46. Started a fire for cooking or warmth on a camping trip without matches or a lighter?

47. Been stung by a bee?

48. Caught a rattlesnake and held it in your hands?

49. Ever realized, as an adult, that you were so scared of something that you just wanted to cry?

50. No matter how scared, faced down that fear I just mentioned in number 49?

51. Marched in a parade as the color guard?

52. Been a pallbearer?

53. Lost over $500 in one card game, and won it back shortly thereafter?

54. Lied to a loved one, and later admitted the lie and told the truth?

55. Been in a car chase at 140 mph or faster?

56. Really fought for your life because someone was trying to kill you?

57. Thought the mailman was the greatest guy ever?

58. Forgotten your best friend’s name even briefly while speaking to him?

59. Gone backpacking for at least a few days in one stretch?

60. Been so broke you had to hunt for food?

61. Given $20 to a homeless guy you just happened to pass on the street?

62. Been in a car crash where the car was totaled and you received only minor injuries?

63. Had a body part removed by surgery?

64. Hitch hiked to anywhere more than 50 miles from your starting point?

65. Spent the night in a cemetery?

66. Watched children build a snow fort and tunnels in the snow and wonder why you remembered the snow being so much deeper when you were a kid?

67. Found a piece of buried treasure or a buried artifact?

68. Found everything you would eat in a day out in the wild?

69. Made a piece of wood furniture - no matter how crude?

70. Been humbled by a child?

71. Learned more than one language?

72. Lost more than 30 pounds?

73. Truly loved and lived knowing the future was uncertain and the end is always near? (Thank you Jim Morrison.)

74. Run more than 6 miles without stopping?

75. Canoe through rapids?

76. Walked up to within 25 feet of a wild bear in the woods?

77. Seen a Peregrine Falcon or other raptor in a large city like New York City?

78. Been in an earthquake of more than 5.0?

79. Swam in different oceans?

80. Read a good book end to end in one day?

81. Gone shopping routinely on Christmas Eve for your loved one’s gifts?

82. Seen at least one of your children being born?

83. Swum more than 5 miles without stopping?

84. Hiked in the woods at night?

85. Given blood?

86. Flown in planes 75 or more times in a single month? (Yes that means on 75 or more individual flights.)

87. Realized for whatever reason you had been an idiot at sometime in your life – and more than once at that?

88. Been taught what to do if you find a bomb on a plane, and actually be ready to do it if need be?

89. Been charged by a bull or a steer and actually push off of its head to get away?

90. Remained true friends with someone even though you had not seen each other in years?

91. Been terrified to do something and yet you did it anyway because you knew it should be done?

92. Been so sick in the hospital that the doctors were convinced of your imminent passing – but here you are after having surprised them?

93. Truly enjoyed your own company for a night out?

94. Enjoyed German beer in Germany?

95. Kissed someone while in your car at a drive in theater?

96. Been thanked by someone for having taught them something important to them?

97. Cared for a young wild bird that fell from its nest?

98. Dropped to your knees and then crouched down some more to really see why the snow looked so much deeper, or the trees so much higher, or an adult so much more imposing to you when you were a child?

99. Realized your children have become young adults and decent, hard working and loving ones at that?

100. Been truly satisfied with your life overall as you have lived it?

Yes I have done all of them, a lot more too when I think about the strange, wonderful, fun, difficult, easy, regular, unusual, recurring, unique, mundane, happy, sad, silly, smart, dangerous, and other things I have done in my lifetime. Nothing great, no bragging, just some 100 things that I have done or that have happened to me so far in my lifetime. I saw another blog with a similar list and it got me to thinking about my expereinces and I posted on some of them here.

All the best,
Glenn B