20 Things I Must Do Before I Die

I met an old friend last night. It'd been about a year since we'd seen each other. He had a rough go of it. In the past year he discovered that he had cancer and had been forced to undergo chemotherapy and other assorted bodily traumas.

Talking with him last night reminded me that I have no idea when I'm going to die. I could get electrocuted by my computer while writing this, run over by a bus filled with loud school kids, get cancer like my friend, or die in my sleep at 97.

The point is, and I realized it again last night, I cannot dwell on it. What I can do is dwell on my living. Here are twenty things I've decided that I must do before I die. I recommend all of you write your own lists. Feel free to share them.

1. Go on an African safari
2. Climb Mount Whitney in California
3. Summit all ten 5,000 ft. peaks in northeastern United States
4. Celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary
5. Visit all the continents - including Antarctica
6. Trace my ancestry in Italy back to the middle ages
7. Get a novel published
8. Compose a concept album - words and music by me
9. Visit Alaska
10. Visit Yosemite National Park
11. Eat and drink like locals in Italy, Spain and France
12. Hike and camp with my son
13. Complete the Appalachian Trail
14. Own a second home (chalet in Vermont)
15. Write a children's book with my son
16. Have a house with a porch when I'm older for Claudia and I to sit on while we remember
17. "Retire" early
18. Learn to SCUBA
19. Sail the Caribbean with Claudia, my best friend and his wife
20. Brag to my grandchildren about my adventures and exploits