"My Bucket List"

By Clint Cox
I watched a movie over the Christmas holidays called "The Bucket List." Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman were the lead actors and the primeses of the movie is fairly simple. Two older fellows who do not know each other wind up in the same hospital room. Both are told they have terminal diseases and have only a short time left to live.

Freeman’s character starts a "bucket list," things that he wants to do before he dies, or kicks the bucket. Nicholson’s character likes the idea and the two set out to accomplish all the things on the list.

The movie got me to thinking and as you know that is always dangerous and that also means a column is usually soon to follow. I haven’t been told that I have a short time to live but no man is promised tomorrow. My own personal family history has sadly taught me that we can be here today and gone tomorrow. Our time can be so fleeting and I have a tendency to get so busy with my three jobs that I don’t take the time to smell the roses so to speak. I certainly haven’t figured out all there is to know about life, but one thing I am pretty sure of is that not many folks lay on their death bed and wish that they had worked more.

There are many things that I want to do before my time on this earth is up (and hopefully that will be a long time). Some of those things involve traveling to places I’ve never been to before, like the Grand Canyon and whitewater rafting down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Some involve doing things that I’ve either never done before or things I want to do out of love for my family, friends or fellow mankind.

I’m killing two birds with one stone so to speak (going to places I’ve never been before) with a couple of father / son camping trips (I want to do out of love for my family). I went camping with my oldest son in the mountains of North Georgia (Fort Mountain State Park) over the past holidays. It was mighty cold but fun. I head out this holiday weekend for a camping trip with my middle son to Key West. We hope to do a little kayaking and taking in the sites. Both of my sons are young men now (age 21 and 19) and I want to make sure that I stay connected with them. And I had never been to Fort Mountain State Park and I’ve never been to Key West.

My bucket list gets longer every day as there are so many things I want to do and so many places I want to go. I want to live life to the fullest. How about you? Are you living life to the fullest or are you just making time. Simply Put, the choice is ours to make.

From the front porch: Coach said it is not difficult to make a mountain out of a mole hill, just keep addin’ dirt.