Welcome to my 101 Things to do Before I Die blog! It was created for the 101 friends that were suckered into helping me as "adventure companions" on my journey so that they can follow along while they wait for their turn, enjoy pictures and stories from their own adventure and thank God in Heaven they didn't get stuck with anything that ended up with some time in the slammer.
Here's the letter that started it all back in 2006:
From: Allison, Edith
Sent: Sunday, September 10, 2006 2:11 PM
Dear Friend/Family member,
As you might or might not know, I’ve been diagnosed with cancer. Everyone has been so wonderful in offering support so I wanted to say thanks; you have no idea how much this helps. Now it’s time to stop crying on focus ahead on living. Without exception, every person has made the offer “Let me know if there is anything I can do” and I’m writing to say that there IS something you can do! I need your help during my recovery (I do intend to fully recover) and here’s how to do it:
I read this book “101 Things to Do Before You Die” and wanted to attempt the list a little later in life. With my mortality staring me in the face, I’ve decided to move this up and begin a little sooner. This book consists of 101 little adventures/challenges to undertake before the end of one’s life. Rather than just checking off a list, I’ll make a scrapbook page for each task. This project combines my obsessive need for list-making, my compulsive scrapbooking and my love for the show “My Name is Earl”. Perfect! It will also give me a reason to haul my tired behind out of bed so I will recover faster.
Your part is to be my “adventure companion.” This job will vary depending on the task but you may be asked to be my lookout while I do Number 10 ( make my mark in graffiti) or to be there to bail me out when I do Number 23 (Get arrested) or you may be asked to snap a picture of me dangling from a bungee cord (Number 26).
If you are willing to be adventurous with me and don’t mind being in the company of a bald-headed woman, e-mail me at EPTAR@aol.com and tell me that you are game for this. I’ll put your name in a jar and when I’m ready for my next adventure, I’ll draw out a name and let you know that it’s your turn and what adventure we are to undertake (If you refuse…I’ll HAUNT you! – Just Kidding!!! : -) )
I’ve altered the “official” list a little to fit my situation. Some of the activities such as having sex in public or joining the mile-high club might stretch our friendship a little so I’ve replaced “Learning the Kama Sutra” with learning a martial art and “Running out of a restaurant without paying” with inventing a game. See? See?
I sent this note to 101 people. You are on this list because you have been part of my life (so far). I might have backed my car into you, or worked with you selling Girl Scout cookies or been mistaken as part of a bi-racial lesbian couple at a Christmas party in 1999. Einstein is a pretty smart guy and he said “God doesn’t cast dice” so, you’ve been linked to me somehow for a reason. Think of this as an opportunity to be part of an historic event.
The list I made for myself is below. I’m off having (another) biopsy today but when I get back, I’ll camp out by my computer to see how many adventure companions I’ll have on my journey to recovery.
Remember: Never take life too seriously – no one gets out alive
CLICK ON THE BLOG ARCHIVES (ABOVE, RIGHT HAND COLUMN) TO SEE PHOTOS OF THE COMPLETED ADVENTURES
101 Things to do Before I Die
1. Write a book
2. Swim with dolphins
3. Win an award
4. Catch a fish (I’ve never been fishing)
5. Make a discovery
6. Kidnap a friend and throw them a party
7. Knit a sweater
8. Realize your childhood dream DONE July 20-25, 2007
9. Learn that instrument
10. Leave your mark in graffiti
11. Storm chase a tornado
12. Get a piece of art into an exhibition
13. Meet someone with your own name
14. Sing in public DONE May 20, 1010
15. Meet a Beatle changed to : Solve a crime
16. Get into the World Book of Records DONE! September 4, 2010
17. Own a pointless collection
18. Earn a belt in a martial art
19. Master poker and enter a tournament
20. Attend a science fiction convention (in costume) DONE September 5-7, 2009
21. Be part of a scientific experiment
22. Go up in a hot air balloon
23. Get arrested changed to: Reach my goal weight DONE August 24, 2009
24. See a Space Shuttle launch DONE November 16, 2009
25. Take an award winning photograph
26. Bungee Jump changed to: Go whale watching
27. See an erupting volcano
28. Learn ballroom dancing DONE! May 22, 2009 - January 31st 2011
29. Break the law.
30. Stay in the best suite of a 5-star hotel
31. Experience weightlessness
32. See the Aurora Borealis
33. Meet your childhood idol DONE Septemebr 10, 2011
34. Design your own cocktail changed to Run with the Bulls.DONE October 19, 2013
35. Plat a part in your favorite TV show DONE March 9, 2009
36. Visit every continent
37. Start a fire without matches DONE November 7, 2009
38. See a (list of) wild animals in the wild
39. Bet on a dog race
40. Fly first class
41. Be friends with your ex Ongoing June 10, 2006 - Present
42. Go to a shooting range
43. Throw a dart in a map and go there
44. Attend a film premiere
45. Invent a game
46. Scuba dive
47. Milk a cow
48. Attend the Olympics
49. See both solar and lunar eclipses Lunar- December 21, 2010
50. Go on a cruise
51. Learn another language
52. Read the 100 best books (list)
53. Complete a coast-to-toast trip across the US
54. Make a HUGE purchase August 13, 2007
55. Finish my dissertation and graduate DONE April 30, 2009
56. Crash a party
57. See the best 100 films (list)
58. Compete in a 5K
59. Help someone find a job
60. Take part in a police line-up
61. Get away with a hoax/practical joke
62. Learn to fix my own car
63. Make the front page of the newspaper DONE February 6, 2010
64. Drive a car at top speed
65. Go spelunking
66. Be part of a flash mob
67. Visit (list of historic places)
68. Save someone’s life
69. Make an "ambush friend"
70. Invent a word that makes into the dictionary
71. Kiss a stranger
72. Climb a mountain
73. Stand on the International Date Line
74. Learn to fly a plane - DONE March 31, 2010
75. Get a tattoo DONE July 18, 2011
76. Invent something
77. Learn to read the constellations
78. Drink a vintage wine
79. Answer a personal ad
80. Spend Christmas at the beach
81. Tape 5 books for the blind
82. Build a house
83. Skinny dip at midnight
84. Sell a piece of junk on E-bay for profit
85. Visit the world’s tallest building(s)
86. Bury some treasure DONE May 3, 2009
87. Conquer your fear
88. Enter a soap box derby-type event DONE August 29, 2009
89. Cook a week’s worth of gourmet meals
90. Grow a plant garden
91. Create a cult website
92. Own an original piece of art
93. Visit all the place on the Monopoly board
94. Get something named after you
95. Get revenge
96. Be an extra in a film
97. Live out of a van for a week changed to: spend the night in a haunted house. DONE Halloween Weekend 2010
98. Go on a demonstration DONE May 22, 2011
99. Make a confession
100. Beat a life-threatening disease DONE (I hope) January 3, 2008
101. Continue your gene pool DONE September 23, 2006
As can be seen, I've completed several items already. After I wrote the letter, I became too ill to really work on this list but now am ready to grab life by the horns and get going!! My rule for working on my list is that anything completed has to be past the date of the original letter. For example, even though I lived in Alaska and saw the Northern lights plenty, I have to do it again (which isn't such a bad thing, huh?) since it was all before 2006.
So far, I'm having a blast!!
