What's in Your Bucket by Julie Elias Bird

 

Do you have a Bucket List?

The other night my husband, Gary, and I sat down and  watched the 2007 film, from which this famous question was born, The Bucket List, starring Morgan Freeman, Jack Nicholson, and Sean Hayes. I had never seen it before. It is billed as a comedy, and although we found ourselves chuckling at certain moments, it was not slap-stick or sidesplitting. What was supposed to be one of the funnier scenes was when Carter, Morgan Freeman’s character, fulfills his dream of driving a 1961 Red Shelby Mustang with white racing stripes. He and Edward (Jack Nicholson) end up at a race track, Carter with his Shelby and Edward in a 1970 yellow Dodge Challenger. They are racing around the track and it’s a thing of beauty to watch…until they get overly-excited and out-of-control. They WRECK these iconic, classic cars. Oh my stomach!

Yet the film was endearing, and left us with a lengthy discussion afterward about goals, dreams, and our need to know we’ve squeezed the best out of our one shot on this planet.

So, what’s on your bucket list?

I have actually requested that my UWRF Spanish 102 students answer this question in their journal assignments every February for the last I-don’t-know-how-many years. Because what I teach has to do with different cultures, my alums tend to write about travel and languages.  They want to visit Spain, or they want to see Mexico City, or volunteer somewhere where they can use their Spanish skills. The cynic in me has secretly wondered if they are merely paying me lip service, guessing what they think I want to hear, or if they truly are creating a future plan to see the world.

I am also surprised by the number of my millennials who tell me that they don’t have a bucket list, at least nothing beyond graduation from college. Again, Little Miss Cynical thinks that these particular journal writers may just be trying to get the assignment done in as few words as possible with as little investment as possible.

It’s not an easy question, really. Many of us haven’t actually put the pen to paper and recorded our Before-I-Kick-The-Bucket-Goals. And if we do have a bucket list, it’s much safer to keep it private than to share our ideas with a trusted friend, only to receive a retort such as “Why would you want to do THAT??” I distinctly remember telling a professor in college that I wanted to learn to speak Portuguese. “Why would you want to do that,” was exactly his reply. “Because it is so beautiful sounding. I love to hear it and I’d love to understand what they’re saying.” “Well, unless you’re going to spend time in either Brazil or Portugal, it isn’t worth the time. It’s a hard language to learn.” Boom. Air out of my sails.

Do bucket list items have to be grandiose? Do they have to involve world travel and a huge budget? Hardly any of us have the funds that were available to Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) the billionaire who took the lower income mechanic, Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman), on the journey of 10 lifetimes. Theirs was a trip of desperate men, facing the final days of their existence, trying to shake out all the meaning they could before their time was up. For many of us, we are still young enough and healthy enough. We don’t necessarily feel the pressure of numbered days.  

Via a group text, I took a poll of our family, asking them to tell me one item from their lists that they have completed, and one that they have yet to complete. Some of their answers are as follows. Completed: traveling to Poland, living in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, diving with the sharks at the Georgia Aquarium, seeing the Taj Mahal in India. Not yet completed: visit Japan, marry the love of their life, ride in the Live Peloton Studio, stay on the top floor of the tallest building in Dubai, visit Australia and meet Chris Hemsworth, scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef, live in New Orleans, and visit the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. One phrase that was not uttered or even thought was “Why would you want to do that?” I am so impressed when I see us allowing ourselves to expanding our horizons. That may be more than half the fun.

A couple of the family members in my survey said that they have not made a bucket list per se. Yet I know these individuals to be action oriented people who live in the moment, inspiring us all constantly. Their daily lives seem to be bucket lists.

Two important questions that Carter asks Edward (while sitting atop a pyramid in Egypt, of all places): Have you found joy in living? And, have you brought other people joy by your life? Maybe “The Joy List” is a better name for it. And maybe our list doesn’t have to be huge and expensive. Maybe it consists of simply making a decision to say “yes” to opportunities when they present themselves. Sometimes our most memorable adventures aren’t found on the bucket list itself; but in the process of living we happen upon them unexpectedly. 

Earlier today we were made aware of a local attraction, Nelson’s-On-The-Rush. Gary had been there several years ago, but I had never heard of it before. So, after supper, we piled ourselves, and Dharma Dog, into the car and headed for Salem, Wisconsin. For those of you who have not yet visited this winter wonderland, it is simply amazing. Castle, after castle, after castle, Roger Nelson transforms his farmstead into a maze of hauntingly beautiful ice structures. Families, children sliding and climbing, grandparents, cameras, “selfies”, giggling, glowing lights illuminating the structures—a definite Joy List item. We experienced joy thanks to Roger Nelson, who has been providing joy to hundreds for over 20 years.

If you’re interested in adding Nelson’s-On-The-Rush to your bucket list, you can find out more here: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/nelsons-on-rush-river

My own bucket list items? When I was younger I thought I would like to spend an entire year living on Mackinac Island, so that I could experience all of the seasons there. Now that I’m older (and wiser!), I am thinking a little further south.  I like islands, especially warm ones...in the Caribbean.  I’d also like to leisurely eat pastry at a café in Paris while a small band with a concertina player serenades us. Oh, and, yes, I’ve been teaching myself Portuguese.