Bucket lists and life rewards

Since I am turning 65 next month, along with Medicare, I probably should be thinking about making a bucket list of what I would like to do and accomplish in life.

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I’ve never been too good about writing down much of anything, other than notes from an interview, a grocery list or Christmas list.

And most of the time I hit the grocery store with my list in my head, all while texting Debbie and asking her what she needs.

And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve showed up for an interview and didn’t have an ink pen with me. And there have been a few times I’ve had to ask for some paper to take notes.

I need to work on the old Boy Scout motto “Be Prepared.”

It’s kind of embarrassing to ask to use someone else’s ink pen or a piece a paper in that type of situation.

Should I get around to making a bucket list, there will be no trips to world-renowned islands, outside of maybe a trip to Alaska.

I’m doing pretty good to get out of bed for a bathroom break in the middle of the night, let alone travel to a foreign country where I don’t know what I am eating.

I’ve thought about taking a cruise down the Mississippi River, and I wouldn’t mind traveling to Idaho, Oregon, Washington and the Dakotas. And a trip to Boston and Cape Cod wouldn’t be too bad either.

Outside of trips, I would like a new flagpole.

Debbie bought me a flagpole kit some years back. In November 2021, I hired a local contractor to install a new gate post on our horse pen. While he was digging and pouring concrete, he installed my new flagpole.

I was quite proud of it until an Iowa windstorm hit in July 2022 and bent the pole over and laid it on the ground. I didn’t discover it until two days later.

I’ve been looking at new flagpoles ever since, but most cost more than my budget will allow.

I did find one at the Iowa State Fair that I liked. It is a telescoping, 20-foot all-aluminum model. It is made to hold two 4-by-6 flags and has a sleeve in the ground, making it easy to remove the entire flagpole should we have a big wind storm.

The flagpole fellow said all it takes is four bags of concrete mix and I’m good to go. He said the pole is easily removed, and if I were to move, I can take the flagpole with me and just replace the sleeve.

I would also like to write a novel about a fictitious farm family from back in the day when steam engines and horse-drawn implements were a way of life.

I would like to piece together and sew a quilt. My mom made quilts and my grandmother on my mom’s side made all her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren quilts.

I don’t know how to sew a button on my pants, let alone make a quilt. I’m sure there is someone who can teach me how to use a sewing machine.

I would also like to travel around Iowa taking photos of various attractions and out of the way places. It might take several outings to accomplish this task, but what fun it would be.

I could even hit a few antique stores along the way.

I would like to return to the Crater of Diamond State Park in southwest Arkansas and visit Carhenge, a tribute to Stonehenge, in western Nebraska.

And I wouldn’t mind attending the Red River Rivalry football game between the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns, and I would like to take Debbie to Norman to watch an OU Sooner softball game.

Regardless if I accomplish these tasks or any other ones, the best part of life is giving your all each and every day and as my mom taught me from the good book, “Doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

I’ve put it into practice my whole life, and doing unto others is the best reward life has to offer.

Have a great week, and always remember that “Good Things are Happening” every day.