I
keep meaning to write a bucket list. The
trouble is the only time I think about bucket lists are when I’m doing
bucket-worthy things.
By
bucket-worthy, I’m not talking about a country I want to visit. To me a bucket-worthy line is more specific
than that. The problem is that I’m not
sure I would have known to put them on the bucket list until after I’ve
accomplished these line items.
So
if I knew then, what I know now here are a few things I would definitely put on
that list. It is unfortunate that I
don’t know now what I will know then or this list would obviously be longer!
1.
WITNESS A LEATHERBACK TURTLE COMING ON SHORE AT TWO IN THE MORNING Watching
a leatherback turtle come up on shore to lay eggs is amazing. I was no more than a couple of feet from
her.
2.
HIKE ACROSS AN ISLAND THROUGH THE RAIN FOREST I walked across Saint
Lucia rain forest and listened to the parrots, tree frogs and cicadas singing
in unison. It was grand until we became
lost in the forest; then a nightmare, today a great memory.
3.
SLEEP IN A GRASS HUTS AND LEARN ABOUT STRANGE RELIGIOUS PRACTICES I
rode a boat across Lake Atitlan in Guatemala with two of my sons. We stayed in a grass hut. We went to pay homage to Maximon, the God who
is tied to a string. But first, we had
to look for a boy and a girl. The girl
would be holding a chicken in her arms.
They were our guides to witness Maximom on an alter with a few men
drinking “spirit”. While we were there,
the people who we paid to stay in the grass hut fished for our dinner.
4.
EAT GIANT MANGOS Costa Rica and Honduras (and probably others) have
“real” Mangos that are the size of a small watermelon. I am sure I will never find that quality
again, unless I return to Central America during Mango season.
5.
LEARN THE VALUE OF THE TEAK TREE I probably would not have thought to
add a line to learn how people make palm oil.
I learned that in Costa Rica. I
learned that Teak Trees produce an oil to temporarily die skin. They are a major source of die for the Henna
industry.
6.
WASH A STRANGERS FEET I never
would have added washing the feet of a complete stranger in a foreign
country. This is something I did in
Saint Lucia at the Seventh Day Adventist Church.
7.
BECOME A PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER I was inspired to become a Peace Corps Volunteer while
visiting son in Honduras. Until my visit to Honduras I did not know that my life would
not have been complete without it!
8.
EAT SOUP WITH MY HAND In my
wildest imagination, I can’t think of any reason I would have added "eat a
strange soup the big dough balls – and eat it with my right hand". That was definitely a great Ghanaian
experience.
9.
EAT SOUP THAT MOVES Another food story would be to eat soup that
appears to be moving in a country where few speak English and the ingredients
are unknown; an experience in Kyoto, Japan.
10.
ATTEND A PENTECOSTAL CHURCH I would not have gone to the Pentecostal
Church with the Pastor and his family but the people were warm and welcoming
making the experience rich. I’m so happy
to check that off my list in progress.
11.
FLY INTO ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS AIRPORTS Flying into what many call
the “world’s most tricky” airport where the pilot admits before landing that
the landing strip is not long enough to be safe, further explaining that the
mountainous range makes it even more difficult.
Passengers ritually clap when the plane stops safely, but sometimes it
doesn’t.
12.
SIT IN A BOAT SURROUNDED BY ALLIGATORS Spend an afternoon on an airboat
surrounded by alligators being coaxed closer with the lure of marshmallows.
13.
LISTEN TO JAZZ GREAT ELLIS MARCELLIS Attending a set at Snug Harbor and
listening to the great Ellis Marcellis who is over eighty years old while thinking
of my dad who loved both Jazz and New Orleans.
14.
REALLY HAVE DIVERSE FRIENDSHIPS
Having met people from all over the world and learning we are different and the same.
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