Bucket List
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Champion ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() I never really liked the term Bucket List as it sounds cliché and often includes doing things just for bragging rights. The tri community talks about the people who do one triathlon and then call themselves a triathlete for the rest of their life. I played a round of golf once but I am not a golfer. I’m not looking for bragging rights, I just want to experience as much of life as I can in the time I have left. So here is my bucket list as of 1/25/16 at 1300. It will change before I go to bed tonight and that is as it should be. I won’t be a slave to a list but I life having a menu of things to choose from. I am not gonna try to do all of these things but they are all on the table. 1. Hike some of the Appellation Trail 2. Help build a house for Habitat for Humanity 3. Bike end-to-end on Natchez Trace 4. See the Great Pyramids 5. Catch some trophy-sized fish 6. Take a train across America 7. Hike/camp/raft in the Grand Canyon 8. Visit Australia 9. Drive/bike/hike the PCH 10. Bike from Key Largo to Key West and back 11. Camp/hike/bike in the Great Smokey Mountains 12. Camp/hike/bike in Vermont in the fall 13. See the northern lights 14. Hike the Camino del Santiago 15. Hike to top of Pike's Peak and back down 16. Buy a sawmill and work as a sawyer 17. Drive a semi-truck 18. Ride the trans-Siberian Railroad across Russia 19. Go to Louisiana and go deer hunting with friends 20. Visit aunt/cousins in south Louisiana to catch white perch 21. Go camping and hiking in Yellowstone 22. Hike Yosemite and the Redwood Forrest 23. Camp in Glacier National Park 24. Snow ski in the Alps 25. Fishing in Suriname 26. Build a chicken coup and raise some chickens 27. Build a green house and grow tomatoes and herbs 28. Do another Olympic Triathlon 29. Visit the Andes 30. Go to Cabo and visiting my family 31. Build a barn/shed for my sawmill 32. Build a shed for a 1926 DB Coupe 33. Work various jobs trying different things 34. Learn a foreign language 35. Home improvement - add a room, wood flooring, paint 36. Own a Corvette 37. Spend some time in Paris 38. Giving motivational/inspirational/humorous after dinner speaking 39. Write a book 40. Go on several more cruises 41. Take another shot at EBC 42. Spend some time working in the downtown rescue mission 43. Do something unequivocal If you knew you were gonna die, what would you want to do? Well I’m pretty sure I am going to die….maybe not today but someday. I will be 53 next month and I swear to Pete time is accelerating! I know time can’t accelerate and this makes no sense but blink your eyes and 2016 will have vanished like a fart in wind. So what’s in your wallet? Uh…I mean, what’s on your list. Think about it….and if we have any intersections maybe we can combine forces and resources and horses (just because it rhymes too) and experience some things together in the coming years. Get busy living or get busy dying. ? ~Mike |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() I have both a Bucket List and an Accomplished List. The latter helps to remind me to be grateful and just how lucky I am. A lot are travel or experience related, but quite a few are family or relationship related. I will say my only 3 Tri related goals are to break 2:30 in an Olympic, do Escape From Alcatraz, and to WATCH Ironman Kona live some day. I have more golf and hiking/climbing goals than Tri goals :-) "See the Northern Lights" is on my Accomplished List. They are so cool! |
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New user ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() I'd do most of those with you. Not sure about driving a semi truck, but the rest looks up my alley!
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New user ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() My list grows and changes almost daily as I get older, but just to throw a few out there: - Get into powered paragliding and use it to go on multi day adventures to places that are too dangerous/difficult to get on foot, mostly deserts - Do a solo ocean row across the Atlantic - Swim the 31 mile crossing of Lake Ontario - Run self supported across the United States - More multi week bike tours - Build my own 20 foot trimaran sailboat, stitch and glue style - Pass on whatever good life lessons I've learned to a mini Jamie, boy or girl, doesn't matter |
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Champion ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Originally posted by ejshowers I have both a Bucket List and an Accomplished List. The latter helps to remind me to be grateful and just how lucky I am. A lot are travel or experience related, but quite a few are family or relationship related. I will say my only 3 Tri related goals are to break 2:30 in an Olympic, do Escape From Alcatraz, and to WATCH Ironman Kona live some day. I have more golf and hiking/climbing goals than Tri goals :-) "See the Northern Lights" is on my Accomplished List. They are so cool! A few years ago I started to draft some notes for my eulogy. When I die they can say I live a full life and did all I ever wanted to do....and some things I didn't want to do. I started writing and it became sort of a long rambling stream-of-consciousness. I've added onto it over the years but haven't updated it in the last few years. So here is my "accomplishments" list....some I'm proud of...some....not so proud. Mike’s Eulogy: It’s been a wonderful life! I served 11 years in the US Army National Guard and Reserves. I've completed 5 marathons, 7 sprint-distance triathlons, one Olympic Distance Triathlon and completed my second ironman triathlon in 14 hrs and 37 minutes. I graduated college and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Louisiana Tech University. I've spent the night in jail in Louisiana, Kansas, Alabama, Ohio and South Korea. I’ve been SCUBA diving in the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. I worked on the International Space Station program for 12 years. I volunteered for active duty deployment during the first Gulf War but only served stateside during the war. I looked for a monster on Loch Ness and rode on the Marrakech Express in North Africa though Casablanca. I've seen the USS Arizona Memorial, the Coliseum in Rome and sat inside a Japanese WWII bunkers on Kwajalein and Roi-Namur islands in the Pacific. I walked up the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy. I've seen Mt McKinley, stood on a glacier, hiked to the top of Mt Vesuvius, Diamond Head and Kilauea volcanoes and panned for gold on an icy creek in Alaska. I've been to Mammoth Cave, Diamond Cave and Cave of the Winds. I've hiked to the top of Pike's Peak and have been on 13 cruises on Disney Cruises. I’ve been snorkeling at Molokina crater, went to a luau on Maui, toured the Dole Pineapple Plantation on Oahu and went kayaking in the rainforest on Kauai. I’ve been to Edinburgh Castle, Sterling Castle, Eilean Donan Castle, Leeds Castle, Dover Castle, Rosenborg Slot Castle and Akershus Castle. I've ridden a train across America and crossed the Strait of Gibraltar on a ferry. I've made furniture and flooring out of trees I fell myself on my own property and built my own workshop. I've biked 122 miles on my bike, once swam 3 miles non-stop and have a urinal in my bathroom at home. I've broken my leg, my arm, my nose and my jaw in bar fights but have only been KO'd once. I broke a bouncer's leg and got sued for a million dollars. I rode bikes downhill for 15 miles with my wife and kids in Denali National Park and took a spin on the Millennium Wheel in London, England. I've been to Mexico, England, Scotland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Vatican City, Spain, Liechtenstein, Morocco, South Korea, Canada, Japan, Bahamas, British West Indies, Norway, Sweden, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Russia, Denmark, Finland, Belize, Honduras, China, United States of America and Singapore. I’ve seen dead people in a monastery in Palermo, Sicily. I completed Army basic training, Advance Individual Training, Officer Candidate School and am an honor graduate of the Ordnance Officer Basic Course. I helped raise two children and love my wife. I was the third-shift test conductor for the US Lab module at Kennedy Space Center. I’ve had my rental car stolen and almost got ran over walking on the causeway at 4 in the morning. I've seen and felt the Space Shuttle launch and land at KSC. I was t-boned by a Cadillac while on my brand new Felt B12 triathlon bike while 60 miles into a training ride. I spent three days in ICU after flipping my Z-28 Camaro and getting ejected through the tee-tops. I parachuted out of a Cessna 180 airplane at 3,000 feet. I’ve looked down the barrel of loaded guns pointed at me in anger on more than one occasion. I capsized my boat on the Tennessee River in the winter time and nearly downed. I’ve worked two full-time jobs in college and still managed to find time for school and partying. I've lived with no electricity for over 6 months and rode a motorcycle for a couple of years. I once spent the night in the Mohave Desert. I got stranded in Germany, hitch-hiked from Canns to Nice, France and woke up on a topless beach on the French Riviera. I was on the Speech and Debate Team in college and won numerous competitions in public speaking around the country. I've seen Old Faithful erupt at Yellowstone, felt the spray of Niagara Falls and toured Arlington Cemetery, the Smithsonian and Washington, DC. I’ve tried to straighten the Leaning Tower of Pisa and have been to Bush Gardens, Florida and Dogpatch, Arkansas. I've spent some time in a condo on Gulf Shores and have been to Disney World more than a dozen times. I went snorkeling with whale sharks in the Sea of Cortez. I've been to Sea Word, Universal Studios, Opryland and rode the General Jackson paddlewheel down the Cumberland River. I have snow skied in Colorado, California, Lake Tahoe, the Pocono's and Snowshoe, West Virginia. I went parasailing in Houston over Clear Lake and can water ski but not very well. I’ve been to the Arctic Circle, the Tropic of Capricorn and the Southern Most Point in the US in Key West. I almost got knifed in Morocco and was beaten up pretty bad by 12 fraternity guys in college and spent the evening in a whorehouse in Cologne, Germany. I've worked in a grocery store sacking groceries, a department store as a cashier, a golf course driving a tractor, as a roofer with one leg in a cast, in a drug store mopping floors, a Dominos Pizza delivery driver and an engineer for the Boeing Company. I've been to Dollywood in Gatlinburg, TN and have biked the Cades Cove loop in the Smokey Mountains a few times and once found $450 in one dollar bills in a suitcase in the middle of the interstate and tracked down the owners and returned the money. I've been a Boy Scout leader and spent the night in a Chattanooga Choo-choo sleeper car. I've have seen sea otters, sea lions and whales in the wild in the North Pacific and I've chased dolphins in a boat in the South Pacific. I have been SCUBA diving with dozens of sharks. I’ve made numerous SCUBA dives on the German battleship, Prinz Eugon in the Kwajalein Atoll and found a loaded 3” Japanese artillery shell on the bottom of the ocean floor. I have played 18 holes of golf only once but have been to St. Andrews, Scotland. I've picked up a dead body from the hospital in Seoul, South Korea following an autopsy and took it to the morgue and helped embalm it. I've been riding in the back of a pick-up truck when it flipped over. I've written some poetry that doesn't rhyme and some that does and have been to the home of the Poet Laureate Robert Burns in Scotland. I drank too much booze and smoked two packs of cigarettes a day for nearly 20 years and quit both cold-turkey when I was 33 years old. I've been to Six Flags over Georgia and Underground Atlanta. I spent the night in the back end of a pick-up truck on the streets in Monterey, Mexico and danced with a Mexican gal and sang "Hotel California" in her ear as if it were a love song. I've been to the Sear's Tower in Chicago and have jogged across the Golden Gate Bridge and a few miles down the Alaskan Pipeline. I've hiked the Muir Forrest and sat in Al Capone’s cell in Alcatraz Prison as a tourist and was a real inmate in jail for the first time when I was 17. I played the slots and blackjack in Las Vegas when I was 17 years old and have played roulette in Atlantic City. I drove from Wichita, Kansas to Seattle, Washington in a rented station wagon and lost $300 paying cards in Montana. I spent a few days in Ogden, Utah, Cleveland, Ohio, Barcelona, Spain and Baltimore's Inner Harbor and have been to Chinatown in San Francisco. I've been hit by a car on a motorcycle, been thrown from a horse and been snow-bound in Albuquerque, NM. I've had fist-fights with my father, my brother and a countless men in bars around the country but have never won a fight in my life. I’ve walked the streets of Pompeii and ate pizza in Naples, Italy. I've been to Wittier, Alaska and Stone Mountain, Georgia. I’ve take horse-drawn carriage rides down Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans and around Central Park in Manhattan. I've seen Riverdance and Beauty and the Beast at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on Broadway in NYC and Oliver at a London playhouse. I've been Convoy Commander and got an entire convoy lost in the mountains of Colorado. I've toured the USS Alabama in Mobile, the USS Missouri in Honolulu, the USS Constitution in Boston and the USS Constellation in Baltimore. I've toured Mayan ruins in Cozumel, Coba and Chichen Itza and I stood in St Peter's and St Paul's basilicas in Rome, Italy and flew over the North Pole. I’ve been whitewater rafting in Tennessee and Alaska and hiked to the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail in north Georgia. I’ve marveled at Michael Angelo’s paintings in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican and I logged over 1,000 miles jogging in 2001. I’ve seen the Kon Tiki boat and Viking ships in Oslo. I’ve ridden the ski lift in Lillehammer, ate reindeer steak and whale meat in Norway and dinned on Swedish meatballs in Sweden. I’ve stayed at the Waldorf-Astoria in mid-town Manhattan, been to the top of the Empire State Building, went up in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty and cried when I found where my grandfather emigrated from Italy through Ellis Island. I have seen the WTC Ground Zero site and roamed the streets of Little Italy, Soho, Wall Street, China Town and rode a bus through Harlem. I stood in the middle of Tiananmen Square, toured the Forbidden City in Beijing and hiked a few miles on the Great Wall of China. I’ve loved and lost the best dog a man could ever have, Jake the Wonder Dawg, head of Ranch Security at the Rogillio Ranch. I’ve climbed the lighthouses of Door County and lookd over Lake Michigan and swam in chilly waters of Green Bay. I’ve cruised the North Sea and the Baltic Sea and ended up in Russia. I’ve been snorkeling in Honduras, spelunking and zip-lining in Belize. I’ve been to the Hermitage, Peterhof Palace, Catherine’s Palace and the Church of Spilled Blood in St Petersburg Russia and stood beside the Vasa Ship in Stockholm, Sweden. I’ve been to Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen and been inside the great Helsinki cathedrals. I’ve flown first class to Honolulu and to Tokyo and to London and been to the Tower of London, Tower Bridge. I drove on the wrong side of the road from London to Dover. I’ve ridden hop/on hop/off buses in NYC, Chicago, Boston, Copenhagen, Lubeck Germany and Stockholm, Sweden. I’ve seen the Red Sox play at Fenway and sang “Sweet Caroline” during the 7th inning stretch. I traced my Rogillio heritage back 7 generations to a Spaniard named Policarpo Rogillio who established Rogillioville in West Feliciana Parish in the 1780s. I cruised from Boston to Nova Scotia and down the St Lawrence Seaway to Montreal on a cruise ship. Edited by Rogillio 2016-01-25 2:50 PM |
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Pro ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Originally posted by Rogillio Originally posted by ejshowers I have both a Bucket List and an Accomplished List. The latter helps to remind me to be grateful and just how lucky I am. A lot are travel or experience related, but quite a few are family or relationship related. I will say my only 3 Tri related goals are to break 2:30 in an Olympic, do Escape From Alcatraz, and to WATCH Ironman Kona live some day. I have more golf and hiking/climbing goals than Tri goals :-) "See the Northern Lights" is on my Accomplished List. They are so cool! A few years ago I started to draft some notes for my eulogy. When I die they can say I live a full life and did all I ever wanted to do....and some things I didn't want to do. I started writing and it became sort of a long rambling stream-of-consciousness. I've added onto it over the years but haven't updated it in the last few years. So here is my "accomplishments" list....some I'm proud of...some....not so proud. Mike’s Eulogy: It’s been a wonderful life! I served 11 years in the US Army National Guard and Reserves. I've completed 5 marathons, 7 sprint-distance triathlons, one Olympic Distance Triathlon and completed my second ironman triathlon in 14 hrs and 37 minutes. I graduated college and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Louisiana Tech University. I've spent the night in jail in Louisiana, Kansas, Alabama, Ohio and South Korea. I’ve been SCUBA diving in the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. I worked on the International Space Station program for 12 years. I volunteered for active duty deployment during the first Gulf War but only served stateside during the war. I looked for a monster on Loch Ness and rode on the Marrakech Express in North Africa though Casablanca. I've seen the USS Arizona Memorial, the Coliseum in Rome and sat inside a Japanese WWII bunkers on Kwajalein and Roi-Namur islands in the Pacific. I walked up the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy. I've seen Mt McKinley, stood on a glacier, hiked to the top of Mt Vesuvius, Diamond Head and Kilauea volcanoes and panned for gold on an icy creek in Alaska. I've been to Mammoth Cave, Diamond Cave and Cave of the Winds. I've hiked to the top of Pike's Peak and have been on 13 cruises on Disney Cruises. I’ve been snorkeling at Molokina crater, went to a luau on Maui, toured the Dole Pineapple Plantation on Oahu and went kayaking in the rainforest on Kauai. I’ve been to Edinburgh Castle, Sterling Castle, Eilean Donan Castle, Leeds Castle, Dover Castle, Rosenborg Slot Castle and Akershus Castle. I've ridden a train across America and crossed the Strait of Gibraltar on a ferry. I've made furniture and flooring out of trees I fell myself on my own property and built my own workshop. I've biked 122 miles on my bike, once swam 3 miles non-stop and have a urinal in my bathroom at home. I've broken my leg, my arm, my nose and my jaw in bar fights but have only been KO'd once. I broke a bouncer's leg and got sued for a million dollars. I rode bikes downhill for 15 miles with my wife and kids in Denali National Park and took a spin on the Millennium Wheel in London, England. I've been to Mexico, England, Scotland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Vatican City, Spain, Liechtenstein, Morocco, South Korea, Canada, Japan, Bahamas, British West Indies, Norway, Sweden, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Russia, Denmark, Finland, Belize, Honduras, China, United States of America and Singapore. I’ve seen dead people in a monastery in Palermo, Sicily. I completed Army basic training, Advance Individual Training, Officer Candidate School and am an honor graduate of the Ordnance Officer Basic Course. I helped raise two children and love my wife. I was the third-shift test conductor for the US Lab module at Kennedy Space Center. I’ve had my rental car stolen and almost got ran over walking on the causeway at 4 in the morning. I've seen and felt the Space Shuttle launch and land at KSC. I was t-boned by a Cadillac while on my brand new Felt B12 triathlon bike while 60 miles into a training ride. I spent three days in ICU after flipping my Z-28 Camaro and getting ejected through the tee-tops. I parachuted out of a Cessna 180 airplane at 3,000 feet. I’ve looked down the barrel of loaded guns pointed at me in anger on more than one occasion. I capsized my boat on the Tennessee River in the winter time and nearly downed. I’ve worked two full-time jobs in college and still managed to find time for school and partying. I've lived with no electricity for over 6 months and rode a motorcycle for a couple of years. I once spent the night in the Mohave Desert. I got stranded in Germany, hitch-hiked from Canns to Nice, France and woke up on a topless beach on the French Riviera. I was on the Speech and Debate Team in college and won numerous competitions in public speaking around the country. I've seen Old Faithful erupt at Yellowstone, felt the spray of Niagara Falls and toured Arlington Cemetery, the Smithsonian and Washington, DC. I’ve tried to straighten the Leaning Tower of Pisa and have been to Bush Gardens, Florida and Dogpatch, Arkansas. I've spent some time in a condo on Gulf Shores and have been to Disney World more than a dozen times. I went snorkeling with whale sharks in the Sea of Cortez. I've been to Sea Word, Universal Studios, Opryland and rode the General Jackson paddlewheel down the Cumberland River. I have snow skied in Colorado, California, Lake Tahoe, the Pocono's and Snowshoe, West Virginia. I went parasailing in Houston over Clear Lake and can water ski but not very well. I’ve been to the Arctic Circle, the Tropic of Capricorn and the Southern Most Point in the US in Key West. I almost got knifed in Morocco and was beaten up pretty bad by 12 fraternity guys in college and spent the evening in a whorehouse in Cologne, Germany. I've worked in a grocery store sacking groceries, a department store as a cashier, a golf course driving a tractor, as a roofer with one leg in a cast, in a drug store mopping floors, a Dominos Pizza delivery driver and an engineer for the Boeing Company. I've been to Dollywood in Gatlinburg, TN and have biked the Cades Cove loop in the Smokey Mountains a few times and once found $450 in one dollar bills in a suitcase in the middle of the interstate and tracked down the owners and returned the money. I've been a Boy Scout leader and spent the night in a Chattanooga Choo-choo sleeper car. I've have seen sea otters, sea lions and whales in the wild in the North Pacific and I've chased dolphins in a boat in the South Pacific. I have been SCUBA diving with dozens of sharks. I’ve made numerous SCUBA dives on the German battleship, Prinz Eugon in the Kwajalein Atoll and found a loaded 3” Japanese artillery shell on the bottom of the ocean floor. I have played 18 holes of golf only once but have been to St. Andrews, Scotland. I've picked up a dead body from the hospital in Seoul, South Korea following an autopsy and took it to the morgue and helped embalm it. I've been riding in the back of a pick-up truck when it flipped over. I've written some poetry that doesn't rhyme and some that does and have been to the home of the Poet Laureate Robert Burns in Scotland. I drank too much booze and smoked two packs of cigarettes a day for nearly 20 years and quit both cold-turkey when I was 33 years old. I've been to Six Flags over Georgia and Underground Atlanta. I spent the night in the back end of a pick-up truck on the streets in Monterey, Mexico and danced with a Mexican gal and sang "Hotel California" in her ear as if it were a love song. I've been to the Sear's Tower in Chicago and have jogged across the Golden Gate Bridge and a few miles down the Alaskan Pipeline. I've hiked the Muir Forrest and sat in Al Capone’s cell in Alcatraz Prison as a tourist and was a real inmate in jail for the first time when I was 17. I played the slots and blackjack in Las Vegas when I was 17 years old and have played roulette in Atlantic City. I drove from Wichita, Kansas to Seattle, Washington in a rented station wagon and lost $300 paying cards in Montana. I spent a few days in Ogden, Utah, Cleveland, Ohio, Barcelona, Spain and Baltimore's Inner Harbor and have been to Chinatown in San Francisco. I've been hit by a car on a motorcycle, been thrown from a horse and been snow-bound in Albuquerque, NM. I've had fist-fights with my father, my brother and a countless men in bars around the country but have never won a fight in my life. I’ve walked the streets of Pompeii and ate pizza in Naples, Italy. I've been to Wittier, Alaska and Stone Mountain, Georgia. I’ve take horse-drawn carriage rides down Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans and around Central Park in Manhattan. I've seen Riverdance and Beauty and the Beast at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on Broadway in NYC and Oliver at a London playhouse. I've been Convoy Commander and got an entire convoy lost in the mountains of Colorado. I've toured the USS Alabama in Mobile, the USS Missouri in Honolulu, the USS Constitution in Boston and the USS Constellation in Baltimore. I've toured Mayan ruins in Cozumel, Coba and Chichen Itza and I stood in St Peter's and St Paul's basilicas in Rome, Italy and flew over the North Pole. I’ve been whitewater rafting in Tennessee and Alaska and hiked to the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail in north Georgia. I’ve marveled at Michael Angelo’s paintings in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican and I logged over 1,000 miles jogging in 2001. I’ve seen the Kon Tiki boat and Viking ships in Oslo. I’ve ridden the ski lift in Lillehammer, ate reindeer steak and whale meat in Norway and dinned on Swedish meatballs in Sweden. I’ve stayed at the Waldorf-Astoria in mid-town Manhattan, been to the top of the Empire State Building, went up in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty and cried when I found where my grandfather emigrated from Italy through Ellis Island. I have seen the WTC Ground Zero site and roamed the streets of Little Italy, Soho, Wall Street, China Town and rode a bus through Harlem. I stood in the middle of Tiananmen Square, toured the Forbidden City in Beijing and hiked a few miles on the Great Wall of China. I’ve loved and lost the best dog a man could ever have, Jake the Wonder Dawg, head of Ranch Security at the Rogillio Ranch. I’ve climbed the lighthouses of Door County and lookd over Lake Michigan and swam in chilly waters of Green Bay. I’ve cruised the North Sea and the Baltic Sea and ended up in Russia. I’ve been snorkeling in Honduras, spelunking and zip-lining in Belize. I’ve been to the Hermitage, Peterhof Palace, Catherine’s Palace and the Church of Spilled Blood in St Petersburg Russia and stood beside the Vasa Ship in Stockholm, Sweden. I’ve been to Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen and been inside the great Helsinki cathedrals. I’ve flown first class to Honolulu and to Tokyo and to London and been to the Tower of London, Tower Bridge. I drove on the wrong side of the road from London to Dover. I’ve ridden hop/on hop/off buses in NYC, Chicago, Boston, Copenhagen, Lubeck Germany and Stockholm, Sweden. I’ve seen the Red Sox play at Fenway and sang “Sweet Caroline” during the 7th inning stretch. I traced my Rogillio heritage back 7 generations to a Spaniard named Policarpo Rogillio who established Rogillioville in West Feliciana Parish in the 1780s. I cruised from Boston to Nova Scotia and down the St Lawrence Seaway to Montreal on a cruise ship. Well......I guess that's all there is to say about that. Edited by Left Brain 2016-01-25 10:06 PM |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Not a eulogy--I'm too modest for that and anyway don't have a lot of remarkable stuff to report. (I may have impressed myself or feel satisfied at having done some good, but most people could probably care less). But this reminds me of a sixth grade teacher who asked us to write our own epitaph (kind of morbid--I don't think I'd assign that for 11-year-olds). Mine was the shortest in the class-- "I tried." Kind of has more meaning now; not sure I would change it. Edited by Hot Runner 2016-01-26 3:09 AM |
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Champion ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() I guess my list is less in the way of specific activities... * See my daughters establish themselves as a independent adults, in a happy lives. * Provide for my family until well after I'm gone. * See my frame building business grow into a decent income stream as a retirement supplement (and maybe be a catalyst for an early retirement). * Be at peace. |
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![]() | ![]() Actually I already did some and I feel good about it. I'll visit Boracay in the Philippines this year, It's one of the most places that I love to visit. http://boracay.com/ |
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Pro ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() My wife and I have recently started creating a "pseudo bucket list" of things we want to start doing now that the kids are off to college. We were talking a few months back and came up with our number 1's. She wants to visit all 50 state capitals and I want to get my pilots license and buy an airplane. So, both our number 1's are compatible and that's what we're planning to start this year. |
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![]() Great list! I've been lucky enough to do one or two & I have a few of the same on my "to do" list. Does #13 (northern lights) include going back to Alaska? You seem to love the outdoors as I do. Not sure what your rafting in Alaska entailed, but I can not recommend enough backpacking middle of nowhere Alaska (I'm sure there are plenty of spots to choose from). Go all out: Take a float plane flight to some lake that is miles & miles away from any signs of mankind. Watch that plane fly away & leave you...it's kind of a unique feeling. Either just basecamp it there or backpack your way to another lake to be picked up at the end. If I knew I only had 1 trip left to take, another backpacking trip in Alaska would win in a runaway. |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() TW (THE Wonder) and I have an ever evolving list. It seems like things appear out of no where and we jump on it when we can. We will knock off a few in March when we watch the sunset over the Pacific while camping in a van on the beach, eat chocloates on the wharf in San Fran, rappel in caves, and hike in Yosemite. We've had the opportunity to feed giraffes, seen Alaska, owned a business, worked for others, been parents to great (and not so great at times) kids, worked hard, loved strong, and fought harder. I've had 3 of the best pets you could have, 2 dogs and a squirrel. I've driven cars, trucks, motorcycles, ATV's, boats and bicycles. I've seen the underground at Walt Disney World and playoff hockey in Madison Square Garden. I've been in freezing snow and rain, burning hot summer days and many things in between. We've helped others and helped ourselves. Volunteered in schools, churches, and food kitchens, played music on big stages and in hole in the wall dive bars. Been to see Les Miserables on Broadway, and in the High School theater and been moved by both. Eaten in the lap of luxury and out of my own lap. We've stood in the Smoky Mountains as the horizon cleared. We've been in foreign lands and sometimes it seemed foreign right here in the USA. I've made friends, lost friends and family, and struggled through them both. I have been touched in some way it all, but not many as deeply as standing in Arlington Cemetery while the guards are changed. Through all of it I can say this. I have had the best partner to do it all with and I intend to keep doing it with her. And while I might have a list of things I'd like to do and see, I've learned that no matter what opportunity comes next, I will embrace it fully and drink it in. It is experiences that build us, expand us, stretch us and make us who we are. Share them with those you love and you will be enriched. |
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Extreme Veteran ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() We have a sawmill in Wisconsin if you would like to come work for us. |
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Extreme Veteran ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Originally posted by Rogillio Originally posted by ejshowers I have both a Bucket List and an Accomplished List. The latter helps to remind me to be grateful and just how lucky I am. A lot are travel or experience related, but quite a few are family or relationship related. I will say my only 3 Tri related goals are to break 2:30 in an Olympic, do Escape From Alcatraz, and to WATCH Ironman Kona live some day. I have more golf and hiking/climbing goals than Tri goals :-) "See the Northern Lights" is on my Accomplished List. They are so cool! A few years ago I started to draft some notes for my eulogy. When I die they can say I live a full life and did all I ever wanted to do....and some things I didn't want to do. I started writing and it became sort of a long rambling stream-of-consciousness. I've added onto it over the years but haven't updated it in the last few years. So here is my "accomplishments" list....some I'm proud of...some....not so proud. Mike’s Eulogy: It’s been a wonderful life! I served 11 years in the US Army National Guard and Reserves. I've completed 5 marathons, 7 sprint-distance triathlons, one Olympic Distance Triathlon and completed my second ironman triathlon in 14 hrs and 37 minutes. I graduated college and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Louisiana Tech University. I've spent the night in jail in Louisiana, Kansas, Alabama, Ohio and South Korea. I’ve been SCUBA diving in the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. I worked on the International Space Station program for 12 years. I volunteered for active duty deployment during the first Gulf War but only served stateside during the war. I looked for a monster on Loch Ness and rode on the Marrakech Express in North Africa though Casablanca. I've seen the USS Arizona Memorial, the Coliseum in Rome and sat inside a Japanese WWII bunkers on Kwajalein and Roi-Namur islands in the Pacific. I walked up the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy. I've seen Mt McKinley, stood on a glacier, hiked to the top of Mt Vesuvius, Diamond Head and Kilauea volcanoes and panned for gold on an icy creek in Alaska. I've been to Mammoth Cave, Diamond Cave and Cave of the Winds. I've hiked to the top of Pike's Peak and have been on 13 cruises on Disney Cruises. I’ve been snorkeling at Molokina crater, went to a luau on Maui, toured the Dole Pineapple Plantation on Oahu and went kayaking in the rainforest on Kauai. I’ve been to Edinburgh Castle, Sterling Castle, Eilean Donan Castle, Leeds Castle, Dover Castle, Rosenborg Slot Castle and Akershus Castle. I've ridden a train across America and crossed the Strait of Gibraltar on a ferry. I've made furniture and flooring out of trees I fell myself on my own property and built my own workshop. I've biked 122 miles on my bike, once swam 3 miles non-stop and have a urinal in my bathroom at home. I've broken my leg, my arm, my nose and my jaw in bar fights but have only been KO'd once. I broke a bouncer's leg and got sued for a million dollars. I rode bikes downhill for 15 miles with my wife and kids in Denali National Park and took a spin on the Millennium Wheel in London, England. I've been to Mexico, England, Scotland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Vatican City, Spain, Liechtenstein, Morocco, South Korea, Canada, Japan, Bahamas, British West Indies, Norway, Sweden, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Russia, Denmark, Finland, Belize, Honduras, China, United States of America and Singapore. I’ve seen dead people in a monastery in Palermo, Sicily. I completed Army basic training, Advance Individual Training, Officer Candidate School and am an honor graduate of the Ordnance Officer Basic Course. I helped raise two children and love my wife. I was the third-shift test conductor for the US Lab module at Kennedy Space Center. I’ve had my rental car stolen and almost got ran over walking on the causeway at 4 in the morning. I've seen and felt the Space Shuttle launch and land at KSC. I was t-boned by a Cadillac while on my brand new Felt B12 triathlon bike while 60 miles into a training ride. I spent three days in ICU after flipping my Z-28 Camaro and getting ejected through the tee-tops. I parachuted out of a Cessna 180 airplane at 3,000 feet. I’ve looked down the barrel of loaded guns pointed at me in anger on more than one occasion. I capsized my boat on the Tennessee River in the winter time and nearly downed. I’ve worked two full-time jobs in college and still managed to find time for school and partying. I've lived with no electricity for over 6 months and rode a motorcycle for a couple of years. I once spent the night in the Mohave Desert. I got stranded in Germany, hitch-hiked from Canns to Nice, France and woke up on a topless beach on the French Riviera. I was on the Speech and Debate Team in college and won numerous competitions in public speaking around the country. I've seen Old Faithful erupt at Yellowstone, felt the spray of Niagara Falls and toured Arlington Cemetery, the Smithsonian and Washington, DC. I’ve tried to straighten the Leaning Tower of Pisa and have been to Bush Gardens, Florida and Dogpatch, Arkansas. I've spent some time in a condo on Gulf Shores and have been to Disney World more than a dozen times. I went snorkeling with whale sharks in the Sea of Cortez. I've been to Sea Word, Universal Studios, Opryland and rode the General Jackson paddlewheel down the Cumberland River. I have snow skied in Colorado, California, Lake Tahoe, the Pocono's and Snowshoe, West Virginia. I went parasailing in Houston over Clear Lake and can water ski but not very well. I’ve been to the Arctic Circle, the Tropic of Capricorn and the Southern Most Point in the US in Key West. I almost got knifed in Morocco and was beaten up pretty bad by 12 fraternity guys in college and spent the evening in a whorehouse in Cologne, Germany. I've worked in a grocery store sacking groceries, a department store as a cashier, a golf course driving a tractor, as a roofer with one leg in a cast, in a drug store mopping floors, a Dominos Pizza delivery driver and an engineer for the Boeing Company. I've been to Dollywood in Gatlinburg, TN and have biked the Cades Cove loop in the Smokey Mountains a few times and once found $450 in one dollar bills in a suitcase in the middle of the interstate and tracked down the owners and returned the money. I've been a Boy Scout leader and spent the night in a Chattanooga Choo-choo sleeper car. I've have seen sea otters, sea lions and whales in the wild in the North Pacific and I've chased dolphins in a boat in the South Pacific. I have been SCUBA diving with dozens of sharks. I’ve made numerous SCUBA dives on the German battleship, Prinz Eugon in the Kwajalein Atoll and found a loaded 3” Japanese artillery shell on the bottom of the ocean floor. I have played 18 holes of golf only once but have been to St. Andrews, Scotland. I've picked up a dead body from the hospital in Seoul, South Korea following an autopsy and took it to the morgue and helped embalm it. I've been riding in the back of a pick-up truck when it flipped over. I've written some poetry that doesn't rhyme and some that does and have been to the home of the Poet Laureate Robert Burns in Scotland. I drank too much booze and smoked two packs of cigarettes a day for nearly 20 years and quit both cold-turkey when I was 33 years old. I've been to Six Flags over Georgia and Underground Atlanta. I spent the night in the back end of a pick-up truck on the streets in Monterey, Mexico and danced with a Mexican gal and sang "Hotel California" in her ear as if it were a love song. I've been to the Sear's Tower in Chicago and have jogged across the Golden Gate Bridge and a few miles down the Alaskan Pipeline. I've hiked the Muir Forrest and sat in Al Capone’s cell in Alcatraz Prison as a tourist and was a real inmate in jail for the first time when I was 17. I played the slots and blackjack in Las Vegas when I was 17 years old and have played roulette in Atlantic City. I drove from Wichita, Kansas to Seattle, Washington in a rented station wagon and lost $300 paying cards in Montana. I spent a few days in Ogden, Utah, Cleveland, Ohio, Barcelona, Spain and Baltimore's Inner Harbor and have been to Chinatown in San Francisco. I've been hit by a car on a motorcycle, been thrown from a horse and been snow-bound in Albuquerque, NM. I've had fist-fights with my father, my brother and a countless men in bars around the country but have never won a fight in my life. I’ve walked the streets of Pompeii and ate pizza in Naples, Italy. I've been to Wittier, Alaska and Stone Mountain, Georgia. I’ve take horse-drawn carriage rides down Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans and around Central Park in Manhattan. I've seen Riverdance and Beauty and the Beast at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on Broadway in NYC and Oliver at a London playhouse. I've been Convoy Commander and got an entire convoy lost in the mountains of Colorado. I've toured the USS Alabama in Mobile, the USS Missouri in Honolulu, the USS Constitution in Boston and the USS Constellation in Baltimore. I've toured Mayan ruins in Cozumel, Coba and Chichen Itza and I stood in St Peter's and St Paul's basilicas in Rome, Italy and flew over the North Pole. I’ve been whitewater rafting in Tennessee and Alaska and hiked to the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail in north Georgia. I’ve marveled at Michael Angelo’s paintings in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican and I logged over 1,000 miles jogging in 2001. I’ve seen the Kon Tiki boat and Viking ships in Oslo. I’ve ridden the ski lift in Lillehammer, ate reindeer steak and whale meat in Norway and dinned on Swedish meatballs in Sweden. I’ve stayed at the Waldorf-Astoria in mid-town Manhattan, been to the top of the Empire State Building, went up in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty and cried when I found where my grandfather emigrated from Italy through Ellis Island. I have seen the WTC Ground Zero site and roamed the streets of Little Italy, Soho, Wall Street, China Town and rode a bus through Harlem. I stood in the middle of Tiananmen Square, toured the Forbidden City in Beijing and hiked a few miles on the Great Wall of China. I’ve loved and lost the best dog a man could ever have, Jake the Wonder Dawg, head of Ranch Security at the Rogillio Ranch. I’ve climbed the lighthouses of Door County and lookd over Lake Michigan and swam in chilly waters of Green Bay. I’ve cruised the North Sea and the Baltic Sea and ended up in Russia. I’ve been snorkeling in Honduras, spelunking and zip-lining in Belize. I’ve been to the Hermitage, Peterhof Palace, Catherine’s Palace and the Church of Spilled Blood in St Petersburg Russia and stood beside the Vasa Ship in Stockholm, Sweden. I’ve been to Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen and been inside the great Helsinki cathedrals. I’ve flown first class to Honolulu and to Tokyo and to London and been to the Tower of London, Tower Bridge. I drove on the wrong side of the road from London to Dover. I’ve ridden hop/on hop/off buses in NYC, Chicago, Boston, Copenhagen, Lubeck Germany and Stockholm, Sweden. I’ve seen the Red Sox play at Fenway and sang “Sweet Caroline” during the 7th inning stretch. I traced my Rogillio heritage back 7 generations to a Spaniard named Policarpo Rogillio who established Rogillioville in West Feliciana Parish in the 1780s. I cruised from Boston to Nova Scotia and down the St Lawrence Seaway to Montreal on a cruise ship.
Very interesting pre-eulogy. It makes it clear to me I've done virtually nothing in my life thus far.... It hadn't even occurred to me to do even a fraction of what you've accomplished so far. I have to get planning, time is running out.. |
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Pro ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Originally posted by TriMike Originally posted by Rogillio Originally posted by ejshowers I have both a Bucket List and an Accomplished List. The latter helps to remind me to be grateful and just how lucky I am. A lot are travel or experience related, but quite a few are family or relationship related. I will say my only 3 Tri related goals are to break 2:30 in an Olympic, do Escape From Alcatraz, and to WATCH Ironman Kona live some day. I have more golf and hiking/climbing goals than Tri goals :-) "See the Northern Lights" is on my Accomplished List. They are so cool! A few years ago I started to draft some notes for my eulogy. When I die they can say I live a full life and did all I ever wanted to do....and some things I didn't want to do. I started writing and it became sort of a long rambling stream-of-consciousness. I've added onto it over the years but haven't updated it in the last few years. So here is my "accomplishments" list....some I'm proud of...some....not so proud. Mike’s Eulogy: It’s been a wonderful life! I served 11 years in the US Army National Guard and Reserves. I've completed 5 marathons, 7 sprint-distance triathlons, one Olympic Distance Triathlon and completed my second ironman triathlon in 14 hrs and 37 minutes. I graduated college and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Louisiana Tech University. I've spent the night in jail in Louisiana, Kansas, Alabama, Ohio and South Korea. I’ve been SCUBA diving in the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. I worked on the International Space Station program for 12 years. I volunteered for active duty deployment during the first Gulf War but only served stateside during the war. I looked for a monster on Loch Ness and rode on the Marrakech Express in North Africa though Casablanca. I've seen the USS Arizona Memorial, the Coliseum in Rome and sat inside a Japanese WWII bunkers on Kwajalein and Roi-Namur islands in the Pacific. I walked up the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy. I've seen Mt McKinley, stood on a glacier, hiked to the top of Mt Vesuvius, Diamond Head and Kilauea volcanoes and panned for gold on an icy creek in Alaska. I've been to Mammoth Cave, Diamond Cave and Cave of the Winds. I've hiked to the top of Pike's Peak and have been on 13 cruises on Disney Cruises. I’ve been snorkeling at Molokina crater, went to a luau on Maui, toured the Dole Pineapple Plantation on Oahu and went kayaking in the rainforest on Kauai. I’ve been to Edinburgh Castle, Sterling Castle, Eilean Donan Castle, Leeds Castle, Dover Castle, Rosenborg Slot Castle and Akershus Castle. I've ridden a train across America and crossed the Strait of Gibraltar on a ferry. I've made furniture and flooring out of trees I fell myself on my own property and built my own workshop. I've biked 122 miles on my bike, once swam 3 miles non-stop and have a urinal in my bathroom at home. I've broken my leg, my arm, my nose and my jaw in bar fights but have only been KO'd once. I broke a bouncer's leg and got sued for a million dollars. I rode bikes downhill for 15 miles with my wife and kids in Denali National Park and took a spin on the Millennium Wheel in London, England. I've been to Mexico, England, Scotland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Vatican City, Spain, Liechtenstein, Morocco, South Korea, Canada, Japan, Bahamas, British West Indies, Norway, Sweden, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Russia, Denmark, Finland, Belize, Honduras, China, United States of America and Singapore. I’ve seen dead people in a monastery in Palermo, Sicily. I completed Army basic training, Advance Individual Training, Officer Candidate School and am an honor graduate of the Ordnance Officer Basic Course. I helped raise two children and love my wife. I was the third-shift test conductor for the US Lab module at Kennedy Space Center. I’ve had my rental car stolen and almost got ran over walking on the causeway at 4 in the morning. I've seen and felt the Space Shuttle launch and land at KSC. I was t-boned by a Cadillac while on my brand new Felt B12 triathlon bike while 60 miles into a training ride. I spent three days in ICU after flipping my Z-28 Camaro and getting ejected through the tee-tops. I parachuted out of a Cessna 180 airplane at 3,000 feet. I’ve looked down the barrel of loaded guns pointed at me in anger on more than one occasion. I capsized my boat on the Tennessee River in the winter time and nearly downed. I’ve worked two full-time jobs in college and still managed to find time for school and partying. I've lived with no electricity for over 6 months and rode a motorcycle for a couple of years. I once spent the night in the Mohave Desert. I got stranded in Germany, hitch-hiked from Canns to Nice, France and woke up on a topless beach on the French Riviera. I was on the Speech and Debate Team in college and won numerous competitions in public speaking around the country. I've seen Old Faithful erupt at Yellowstone, felt the spray of Niagara Falls and toured Arlington Cemetery, the Smithsonian and Washington, DC. I’ve tried to straighten the Leaning Tower of Pisa and have been to Bush Gardens, Florida and Dogpatch, Arkansas. I've spent some time in a condo on Gulf Shores and have been to Disney World more than a dozen times. I went snorkeling with whale sharks in the Sea of Cortez. I've been to Sea Word, Universal Studios, Opryland and rode the General Jackson paddlewheel down the Cumberland River. I have snow skied in Colorado, California, Lake Tahoe, the Pocono's and Snowshoe, West Virginia. I went parasailing in Houston over Clear Lake and can water ski but not very well. I’ve been to the Arctic Circle, the Tropic of Capricorn and the Southern Most Point in the US in Key West. I almost got knifed in Morocco and was beaten up pretty bad by 12 fraternity guys in college and spent the evening in a whorehouse in Cologne, Germany. I've worked in a grocery store sacking groceries, a department store as a cashier, a golf course driving a tractor, as a roofer with one leg in a cast, in a drug store mopping floors, a Dominos Pizza delivery driver and an engineer for the Boeing Company. I've been to Dollywood in Gatlinburg, TN and have biked the Cades Cove loop in the Smokey Mountains a few times and once found $450 in one dollar bills in a suitcase in the middle of the interstate and tracked down the owners and returned the money. I've been a Boy Scout leader and spent the night in a Chattanooga Choo-choo sleeper car. I've have seen sea otters, sea lions and whales in the wild in the North Pacific and I've chased dolphins in a boat in the South Pacific. I have been SCUBA diving with dozens of sharks. I’ve made numerous SCUBA dives on the German battleship, Prinz Eugon in the Kwajalein Atoll and found a loaded 3” Japanese artillery shell on the bottom of the ocean floor. I have played 18 holes of golf only once but have been to St. Andrews, Scotland. I've picked up a dead body from the hospital in Seoul, South Korea following an autopsy and took it to the morgue and helped embalm it. I've been riding in the back of a pick-up truck when it flipped over. I've written some poetry that doesn't rhyme and some that does and have been to the home of the Poet Laureate Robert Burns in Scotland. I drank too much booze and smoked two packs of cigarettes a day for nearly 20 years and quit both cold-turkey when I was 33 years old. I've been to Six Flags over Georgia and Underground Atlanta. I spent the night in the back end of a pick-up truck on the streets in Monterey, Mexico and danced with a Mexican gal and sang "Hotel California" in her ear as if it were a love song. I've been to the Sear's Tower in Chicago and have jogged across the Golden Gate Bridge and a few miles down the Alaskan Pipeline. I've hiked the Muir Forrest and sat in Al Capone’s cell in Alcatraz Prison as a tourist and was a real inmate in jail for the first time when I was 17. I played the slots and blackjack in Las Vegas when I was 17 years old and have played roulette in Atlantic City. I drove from Wichita, Kansas to Seattle, Washington in a rented station wagon and lost $300 paying cards in Montana. I spent a few days in Ogden, Utah, Cleveland, Ohio, Barcelona, Spain and Baltimore's Inner Harbor and have been to Chinatown in San Francisco. I've been hit by a car on a motorcycle, been thrown from a horse and been snow-bound in Albuquerque, NM. I've had fist-fights with my father, my brother and a countless men in bars around the country but have never won a fight in my life. I’ve walked the streets of Pompeii and ate pizza in Naples, Italy. I've been to Wittier, Alaska and Stone Mountain, Georgia. I’ve take horse-drawn carriage rides down Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans and around Central Park in Manhattan. I've seen Riverdance and Beauty and the Beast at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on Broadway in NYC and Oliver at a London playhouse. I've been Convoy Commander and got an entire convoy lost in the mountains of Colorado. I've toured the USS Alabama in Mobile, the USS Missouri in Honolulu, the USS Constitution in Boston and the USS Constellation in Baltimore. I've toured Mayan ruins in Cozumel, Coba and Chichen Itza and I stood in St Peter's and St Paul's basilicas in Rome, Italy and flew over the North Pole. I’ve been whitewater rafting in Tennessee and Alaska and hiked to the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail in north Georgia. I’ve marveled at Michael Angelo’s paintings in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican and I logged over 1,000 miles jogging in 2001. I’ve seen the Kon Tiki boat and Viking ships in Oslo. I’ve ridden the ski lift in Lillehammer, ate reindeer steak and whale meat in Norway and dinned on Swedish meatballs in Sweden. I’ve stayed at the Waldorf-Astoria in mid-town Manhattan, been to the top of the Empire State Building, went up in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty and cried when I found where my grandfather emigrated from Italy through Ellis Island. I have seen the WTC Ground Zero site and roamed the streets of Little Italy, Soho, Wall Street, China Town and rode a bus through Harlem. I stood in the middle of Tiananmen Square, toured the Forbidden City in Beijing and hiked a few miles on the Great Wall of China. I’ve loved and lost the best dog a man could ever have, Jake the Wonder Dawg, head of Ranch Security at the Rogillio Ranch. I’ve climbed the lighthouses of Door County and lookd over Lake Michigan and swam in chilly waters of Green Bay. I’ve cruised the North Sea and the Baltic Sea and ended up in Russia. I’ve been snorkeling in Honduras, spelunking and zip-lining in Belize. I’ve been to the Hermitage, Peterhof Palace, Catherine’s Palace and the Church of Spilled Blood in St Petersburg Russia and stood beside the Vasa Ship in Stockholm, Sweden. I’ve been to Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen and been inside the great Helsinki cathedrals. I’ve flown first class to Honolulu and to Tokyo and to London and been to the Tower of London, Tower Bridge. I drove on the wrong side of the road from London to Dover. I’ve ridden hop/on hop/off buses in NYC, Chicago, Boston, Copenhagen, Lubeck Germany and Stockholm, Sweden. I’ve seen the Red Sox play at Fenway and sang “Sweet Caroline” during the 7th inning stretch. I traced my Rogillio heritage back 7 generations to a Spaniard named Policarpo Rogillio who established Rogillioville in West Feliciana Parish in the 1780s. I cruised from Boston to Nova Scotia and down the St Lawrence Seaway to Montreal on a cruise ship.
Very interesting pre-eulogy. It makes it clear to me I've done virtually nothing in my life thus far.... It hadn't even occurred to me to do even a fraction of what you've accomplished so far. I have to get planning, time is running out.. After reading the eulogy and you lamenting the fact that you seem to be way behind, I started thinking about things you could pull off right now, very cheap.......I would recommend your first step being a few beers at the corner tavern followed by punching the bartender in the face. That ought to get you a leg up on a least a half dozen from his list. Edited by Left Brain 2016-03-22 3:35 PM |
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Extreme Veteran ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Originally posted by Left Brain Originally posted by TriMike
Very interesting pre-eulogy. It makes it clear to me I've done virtually nothing in my life thus far.... It hadn't even occurred to me to do even a fraction of what you've accomplished so far. I have to get planning, time is running out.. After reading the eulogy and you lamenting the fact that you seem to be way behind, I started thinking about things you could pull off right now, very cheap.......I would recommend your first step being a few beers at the corner tavern followed by punching the bartender in the face. That ought to get you a leg up on a least a half dozen from his list. Thanks for the tip, I'm sure you wouldn't steer me wrong.. Interestingly fighting is about the only thing on the list I have some experience with... Haven't broken any legs, haven't been sued because of a fight (been threatened) haven't punched my Dad (wanted to a few times), I DID punch one of my brother's regularly until he got bigger than me and nearly broke my jaw..... Haven't touched him since... Oh and I've snorkeled in the tropical waters of Lake Michigan many times..
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Champion ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Originally posted by TriMike Originally posted by Rogillio Originally posted by ejshowers I have both a Bucket List and an Accomplished List. The latter helps to remind me to be grateful and just how lucky I am. A lot are travel or experience related, but quite a few are family or relationship related. I will say my only 3 Tri related goals are to break 2:30 in an Olympic, do Escape From Alcatraz, and to WATCH Ironman Kona live some day. I have more golf and hiking/climbing goals than Tri goals :-) "See the Northern Lights" is on my Accomplished List. They are so cool! A few years ago I started to draft some notes for my eulogy. When I die they can say I live a full life and did all I ever wanted to do....and some things I didn't want to do. I started writing and it became sort of a long rambling stream-of-consciousness. I've added onto it over the years but haven't updated it in the last few years. So here is my "accomplishments" list....some I'm proud of...some....not so proud. Mike’s Eulogy: It’s been a wonderful life! I served 11 years in the US Army National Guard and Reserves. I've completed 5 marathons, 7 sprint-distance triathlons, one Olympic Distance Triathlon and completed my second ironman triathlon in 14 hrs and 37 minutes. I graduated college and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Louisiana Tech University. I've spent the night in jail in Louisiana, Kansas, Alabama, Ohio and South Korea. I’ve been SCUBA diving in the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. I worked on the International Space Station program for 12 years. I volunteered for active duty deployment during the first Gulf War but only served stateside during the war. I looked for a monster on Loch Ness and rode on the Marrakech Express in North Africa though Casablanca. I've seen the USS Arizona Memorial, the Coliseum in Rome and sat inside a Japanese WWII bunkers on Kwajalein and Roi-Namur islands in the Pacific. I walked up the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy. I've seen Mt McKinley, stood on a glacier, hiked to the top of Mt Vesuvius, Diamond Head and Kilauea volcanoes and panned for gold on an icy creek in Alaska. I've been to Mammoth Cave, Diamond Cave and Cave of the Winds. I've hiked to the top of Pike's Peak and have been on 13 cruises on Disney Cruises. I’ve been snorkeling at Molokina crater, went to a luau on Maui, toured the Dole Pineapple Plantation on Oahu and went kayaking in the rainforest on Kauai. I’ve been to Edinburgh Castle, Sterling Castle, Eilean Donan Castle, Leeds Castle, Dover Castle, Rosenborg Slot Castle and Akershus Castle. I've ridden a train across America and crossed the Strait of Gibraltar on a ferry. I've made furniture and flooring out of trees I fell myself on my own property and built my own workshop. I've biked 122 miles on my bike, once swam 3 miles non-stop and have a urinal in my bathroom at home. I've broken my leg, my arm, my nose and my jaw in bar fights but have only been KO'd once. I broke a bouncer's leg and got sued for a million dollars. I rode bikes downhill for 15 miles with my wife and kids in Denali National Park and took a spin on the Millennium Wheel in London, England. I've been to Mexico, England, Scotland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Vatican City, Spain, Liechtenstein, Morocco, South Korea, Canada, Japan, Bahamas, British West Indies, Norway, Sweden, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Russia, Denmark, Finland, Belize, Honduras, China, United States of America and Singapore. I’ve seen dead people in a monastery in Palermo, Sicily. I completed Army basic training, Advance Individual Training, Officer Candidate School and am an honor graduate of the Ordnance Officer Basic Course. I helped raise two children and love my wife. I was the third-shift test conductor for the US Lab module at Kennedy Space Center. I’ve had my rental car stolen and almost got ran over walking on the causeway at 4 in the morning. I've seen and felt the Space Shuttle launch and land at KSC. I was t-boned by a Cadillac while on my brand new Felt B12 triathlon bike while 60 miles into a training ride. I spent three days in ICU after flipping my Z-28 Camaro and getting ejected through the tee-tops. I parachuted out of a Cessna 180 airplane at 3,000 feet. I’ve looked down the barrel of loaded guns pointed at me in anger on more than one occasion. I capsized my boat on the Tennessee River in the winter time and nearly downed. I’ve worked two full-time jobs in college and still managed to find time for school and partying. I've lived with no electricity for over 6 months and rode a motorcycle for a couple of years. I once spent the night in the Mohave Desert. I got stranded in Germany, hitch-hiked from Canns to Nice, France and woke up on a topless beach on the French Riviera. I was on the Speech and Debate Team in college and won numerous competitions in public speaking around the country. I've seen Old Faithful erupt at Yellowstone, felt the spray of Niagara Falls and toured Arlington Cemetery, the Smithsonian and Washington, DC. I’ve tried to straighten the Leaning Tower of Pisa and have been to Bush Gardens, Florida and Dogpatch, Arkansas. I've spent some time in a condo on Gulf Shores and have been to Disney World more than a dozen times. I went snorkeling with whale sharks in the Sea of Cortez. I've been to Sea Word, Universal Studios, Opryland and rode the General Jackson paddlewheel down the Cumberland River. I have snow skied in Colorado, California, Lake Tahoe, the Pocono's and Snowshoe, West Virginia. I went parasailing in Houston over Clear Lake and can water ski but not very well. I’ve been to the Arctic Circle, the Tropic of Capricorn and the Southern Most Point in the US in Key West. I almost got knifed in Morocco and was beaten up pretty bad by 12 fraternity guys in college and spent the evening in a whorehouse in Cologne, Germany. I've worked in a grocery store sacking groceries, a department store as a cashier, a golf course driving a tractor, as a roofer with one leg in a cast, in a drug store mopping floors, a Dominos Pizza delivery driver and an engineer for the Boeing Company. I've been to Dollywood in Gatlinburg, TN and have biked the Cades Cove loop in the Smokey Mountains a few times and once found $450 in one dollar bills in a suitcase in the middle of the interstate and tracked down the owners and returned the money. I've been a Boy Scout leader and spent the night in a Chattanooga Choo-choo sleeper car. I've have seen sea otters, sea lions and whales in the wild in the North Pacific and I've chased dolphins in a boat in the South Pacific. I have been SCUBA diving with dozens of sharks. I’ve made numerous SCUBA dives on the German battleship, Prinz Eugon in the Kwajalein Atoll and found a loaded 3” Japanese artillery shell on the bottom of the ocean floor. I have played 18 holes of golf only once but have been to St. Andrews, Scotland. I've picked up a dead body from the hospital in Seoul, South Korea following an autopsy and took it to the morgue and helped embalm it. I've been riding in the back of a pick-up truck when it flipped over. I've written some poetry that doesn't rhyme and some that does and have been to the home of the Poet Laureate Robert Burns in Scotland. I drank too much booze and smoked two packs of cigarettes a day for nearly 20 years and quit both cold-turkey when I was 33 years old. I've been to Six Flags over Georgia and Underground Atlanta. I spent the night in the back end of a pick-up truck on the streets in Monterey, Mexico and danced with a Mexican gal and sang "Hotel California" in her ear as if it were a love song. I've been to the Sear's Tower in Chicago and have jogged across the Golden Gate Bridge and a few miles down the Alaskan Pipeline. I've hiked the Muir Forrest and sat in Al Capone’s cell in Alcatraz Prison as a tourist and was a real inmate in jail for the first time when I was 17. I played the slots and blackjack in Las Vegas when I was 17 years old and have played roulette in Atlantic City. I drove from Wichita, Kansas to Seattle, Washington in a rented station wagon and lost $300 paying cards in Montana. I spent a few days in Ogden, Utah, Cleveland, Ohio, Barcelona, Spain and Baltimore's Inner Harbor and have been to Chinatown in San Francisco. I've been hit by a car on a motorcycle, been thrown from a horse and been snow-bound in Albuquerque, NM. I've had fist-fights with my father, my brother and a countless men in bars around the country but have never won a fight in my life. I’ve walked the streets of Pompeii and ate pizza in Naples, Italy. I've been to Wittier, Alaska and Stone Mountain, Georgia. I’ve take horse-drawn carriage rides down Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans and around Central Park in Manhattan. I've seen Riverdance and Beauty and the Beast at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on Broadway in NYC and Oliver at a London playhouse. I've been Convoy Commander and got an entire convoy lost in the mountains of Colorado. I've toured the USS Alabama in Mobile, the USS Missouri in Honolulu, the USS Constitution in Boston and the USS Constellation in Baltimore. I've toured Mayan ruins in Cozumel, Coba and Chichen Itza and I stood in St Peter's and St Paul's basilicas in Rome, Italy and flew over the North Pole. I’ve been whitewater rafting in Tennessee and Alaska and hiked to the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail in north Georgia. I’ve marveled at Michael Angelo’s paintings in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican and I logged over 1,000 miles jogging in 2001. I’ve seen the Kon Tiki boat and Viking ships in Oslo. I’ve ridden the ski lift in Lillehammer, ate reindeer steak and whale meat in Norway and dinned on Swedish meatballs in Sweden. I’ve stayed at the Waldorf-Astoria in mid-town Manhattan, been to the top of the Empire State Building, went up in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty and cried when I found where my grandfather emigrated from Italy through Ellis Island. I have seen the WTC Ground Zero site and roamed the streets of Little Italy, Soho, Wall Street, China Town and rode a bus through Harlem. I stood in the middle of Tiananmen Square, toured the Forbidden City in Beijing and hiked a few miles on the Great Wall of China. I’ve loved and lost the best dog a man could ever have, Jake the Wonder Dawg, head of Ranch Security at the Rogillio Ranch. I’ve climbed the lighthouses of Door County and lookd over Lake Michigan and swam in chilly waters of Green Bay. I’ve cruised the North Sea and the Baltic Sea and ended up in Russia. I’ve been snorkeling in Honduras, spelunking and zip-lining in Belize. I’ve been to the Hermitage, Peterhof Palace, Catherine’s Palace and the Church of Spilled Blood in St Petersburg Russia and stood beside the Vasa Ship in Stockholm, Sweden. I’ve been to Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen and been inside the great Helsinki cathedrals. I’ve flown first class to Honolulu and to Tokyo and to London and been to the Tower of London, Tower Bridge. I drove on the wrong side of the road from London to Dover. I’ve ridden hop/on hop/off buses in NYC, Chicago, Boston, Copenhagen, Lubeck Germany and Stockholm, Sweden. I’ve seen the Red Sox play at Fenway and sang “Sweet Caroline” during the 7th inning stretch. I traced my Rogillio heritage back 7 generations to a Spaniard named Policarpo Rogillio who established Rogillioville in West Feliciana Parish in the 1780s. I cruised from Boston to Nova Scotia and down the St Lawrence Seaway to Montreal on a cruise ship.
Very interesting pre-eulogy. It makes it clear to me I've done virtually nothing in my life thus far.... It hadn't even occurred to me to do even a fraction of what you've accomplished so far. I have to get planning, time is running out.. Just live large Mike and when you get to be my age, 53, if you think about it, you will realize you've done a lot more than you think you have. Set near term, long term and life goals and make sure you revisit the list and keep trying new things. A lot of people end up doing the same things in life over and over and over again. I have a buddy of mine that goes to WDW 2x a year....and has done so for over 10 years! I love Disney and been there often but there is so much more to see and do in this world. Last year we went to Peru and climbed Machu Picchu and spend a few days in the Amazon jungle. More recently I bought a Harley Davidson and have been doing some biking. Get busy living.....or get busy dying. |
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![]() | What's left on YOUR bucket list? Pages: 1 2 3 | ||
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