Continuing on to the next list my counselor suggested I should make, here are 30 things I’d like to do before I die:
- Spend a week or two in and around Rockingham, North Carolina, learning as much as I can about my 4th-great grandfather, John Stricklin, born abut 1785, died October 1849. Particularly who his father and mother were.
- Spend a week or two in and around Lutts, Tennessee, learning as much as I can about my 3rd-great grandfather, Thomas Stricklin (20 Aug 1805 – 9 Jun 1889), and other members of my family who lived in that area.
- Spend some time traveling around Kendal, Cumbria, England, where my family surname almost certainly originated.
- Spend some time vacationing in the District of Columbia, seeing as many museums and monuments as humanly possible.
- Go on a cruise with a private stateroom, preferably the Caribbean or Hawaii.
- Travel first class (air).
- Become a published author.
- Be CEO of a company with a real office and real employees.
- Teach a Bible study.
- Teach a high school or college-level course, probably History or Government.
- Build a home that I, with the help of an architect, of course, designed.
- Move to a larger city, most likely either the Dallas/Fort Worth area or the Austin/San Antonio level.
- Learn Spanish.
- Learn to cook. I mean, really cook.
- Learn to play guitar.
- Learn to play bass.
- Learn to read music.
- Become a certified genealogist.
- Play in a band.
- Weigh under 200 lbs. once again.
- Have Lasik surgery.
- Get cosmetic dentistry.
- Have the excess skin under my eyes removed.
- Be someone’s mentor.
- Be a delegate to a GOP convention. (I was going to say, “Attend the inauguration of a Republican president,” but have you ever stood outside for an entire day in Washington, D.C. during January?!? It’s cold!)
- Eat a pizza from from Lombardi’s.
- Eat a Chicago-style, deep-dish pizza from Pizzeria Uno, 29 East Ohio, Chicago, IL, 60611.
- Eat a deep-dish pizza from Giordano’s.
- Eat a chili-dog from Pink’s in Hollywood.
- Watch my nephew graduate college and/or get married.
Notice I said I’d like to do these things, not that I expect to do these things. Some of them, maybe. All of them, probably not.