What's in your bucket?

You might say I’ve had some idle time since retiring.  It hasn’t all been traveling, remodeling, and hobnobbing, so in those moments of silent reflection, there are bucket list thoughts that slip in and out.  But a list has never revealed itself on paper.  So with this in mind, as we were cruisin’ on the Harley on Highway 1, along the central California coast this afternoon, between Big Sur and San Simeon, it dawned on me that my bucket list has been more an accumulation of activities that grew in appreciation after the fact.  For example, building the earth contact house in the mid 80’s on our own (for the most part) seemed to be quite an accomplishment and really couldn’t appreciate it until after the fact and knowing it hasn’t fallen down yet or caught on fire!  So that was a bucket lister.  Rafting the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River was special, but again, its significance didn’t really soak in until afterwards.  So, another addition to the bucket.  Today, while riding Highway 1 on my motorcycle, it too was added to the list post haste.  Since I don’t do motorcycle stunts, race motorcycles, or build them, riding them in really cool places will suffice and so is added to the list.  Others on my list are teaching for 29 years (and enjoying most of it), being at the Masters Golf Tournament, having a few rounds of golf under 80, riding our motorcycles to Maine for a lobster dinner with Stuart, Jeff and Ed (then turning around and coming back), fishing for walleye in a slice of heaven in Canada, and retiring at age 50 years 9 months, and I’ll spare you the minutes and seconds.  Not a bad highlights reel!  I think I will put pen to paper sometime, during one of those moments of silent reflection, and try to assemble a more complete bucket.  Until then, I will continue to do stuff, and after the fact be amazed by some of it, add it to my bucket, and repeat.

Words cannot describe.

Still, no words.

Once in awhile when staring down a naughty expectation, I would get a knee
squeeze from the back seat and that put me back in the moment.  Thanks, Beth
for my squeezes!

My Zen from the Road:  Expectations suck.  I know this, but they continually rise up and tweak me on occasion.  Today I had high hopes of Highway 1, this smooth ribbon of highway that clings to the coastline, overlooking the vast Pacific Ocean…what motorcyclist’s dream of.  Well, the road wasn’t smooth, it did cling to the coastline most of the time, and it did overlook the vast Pacific Ocean (when the fog wasn’t coving it up), so was it the ride of a lifetime?  It was a bucket lister, so yes it was, but I had to work at it.  So that “be here”, “live in the moment” stuff…helped make it to the bucket.  Occasionally the traffic disappeared and it seemed like we were all alone.  The fog lifted and dispersed for our return trip home, and the rough road…hell, the road is built on the side of cliffs and mountains, what should I expect…  Hah!  That’s right, I shouldn’t.