Random Stew It seemed like a good idea at the time.

25 Things To Do Before I Die

I was recently asked as part of an exercise, to list 25 things I would like to do before I die. What a waste of time, I thought, this exercise will be trivial drivel.

However, once I got past the initial impulse of glib responses -- what glib responses, you ask? Well, a few that tickle my sense of humor would be:

• place huge beanie/propeller caps on Mt. Rushmore
• slip a Whoopie cushion into Oprah's chair
• set a bratwurst on a rotisserie over JFK's eternal flame
• save a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico

So, as I was saying, once the initial glib responses were past, I found this exercise to be no small task. It's quite easy to list a few things, but 25 becomes difficult. And I found myself scratching out some items just as soon as I wrote them down. On the other hand, some items jumped onto paper with a will of their own and actually surprised me when I saw them.

Here's my list in no particular order (except numerical, of course).

1. Achieve financial independence.
2. Learn to speak Spanish fluently.
3. Learn to weld.
4. Visit Italy.
5. Visit Spain.
6. Act in a movie.
7. See my son hold his son.
8. Learn to fly.
9. Watch a sunrise from the top of Mt. Fuji.
10. Visit the Bahamas by boat.
11. Weigh 225 lbs. (or less) the rest of my life.
12. See the Aurora Borealis.
13. Take up photography as a hobby.
14. Become a writer.
15. Learn to really drive my Porsche.
16. Read a book per week for the rest of my life.
17. Fish and hunt more.
18. Help solve a truly major problem. A world-changing solution.
19. Become proficient at magic.
20. Receive a black belt in karate with my son.
21. See my wife truly and finally quit smoking.
22. Taste the perfect vodka martini.
23. Change someone's life for the better.
24. Try a different career.
25. Find time to do all these things.

Try this exercise and see if you don't find it to be an interesting activity. And if you care to share your list with other people, 43things is a web site dedicated to this type of list.