Marc Friedlander
I think that everyone over a certain age (I’ll somewhat arbitrarily set the age at 50 but I’m flexible) should keep what I call a “Dummy Bucket List”.
Let me explain. The difference between a Real Bucket List and a Dummy Bucket List is the following: where a Real Bucket List is a list of things that you really intend - or at least hope - to do before you kick the bucket, a Dummy Bucket List is a list of things you like to picture yourself doing, but have no intention of ever ACTUALLY doing (and for good reasons).
It may seem strange, but I think such a list is valuable and while it’s sometimes a good thing to throw caution to the wind and take a major risk, there are a great number of things that one should only fantasize about but never attempt – you can’t do everything you think about doing - you have to pick and choose which disastrous ideas you are actually going to act on. Examples (not on my particular DBL but could be): climbing a major mountain, hang gliding, getting a face tattoo, pissing on the boss’ desk while flipping him the bird, hypnotizing the pretty receptionist, etc. All these Walter Mitty type fantasies are healthy – as long as you don’t act on them.
Having a Dummy Bucket List kind of adds validity to your Real Bucket List. It provides a kind of buffer zone between fantasy and reality. There SHOULD be things that are out of bounds – but JUST out of bounds. Visiting another planet or time traveling do not qualify – they have to be things you could actually DO, if you really put all your focus and resources into arranging it – but yet, you won’t.
So, I’m posting my current DBL. Before now, it was something informal – just in my mind. This is the first time I’ve created an actual list. Now that I’ve done it, I’m posting it. I’m inviting all my friends to post their own DBLs.
Remember the basic idea – things you WANT to do, and FANTASIZE about doing, and maybe WOULD do if you had all the time or money in the world, but realize that actually doing these things would be a terrible idea.
My DBL so far (short but could really grow if I put my mind to this):
Buying a motorcycle;
Getting a large saltwater aquarium (110 gal minimum);
Quitting job, selling condo, and living in a mobile home with Robin, while we travel the country and live in the National Parks – with Planet Earth our backyard;
Visiting Antarctica;
That’s it for now.