Toastmasters Clubs are designed to assist people who wish to develop and improve their public speaking skills. At a recent meeting, there was a concentrated conversation about Bucket Lists. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, a person simply identifies the things he or she would like to do before dying.
I was not called on to speak that particular day, but I did give the idea some thought. Here are a few ideas that came to mind:
• I have lived a blessed life so I am thankful I don’t have a lot of unfulfilled fantasies.
• I have always thought it would be interesting to take a cross-country trip in a semi-truck. The idea is to talk on CB radios, eat at greasy spoon cafes and help stranded motorists. I suppose that after a day or so “on the road” the whole thing might actually lose its flare and I don’t really know if I would go if given a chance, but I admit that it catches my attention. “That would be a big ten-four, good buddy”
• I understand the “list” part of bucket list, but what does a bucket have to do with it? Why isn’t it called a Wish List, or Before I die List, or a milk jug list?
• Some things in your bucket list seem less important as time ticks by. For example, when I was about eighteen, I thought it would be interesting to somehow wind up on a deserted island with just me and a bunch of 25-30 year-old Amazon Warrior Women. There would be no other men around so the women would need me to help repopulate the planet. Now, that entire concept scares the dickens out of me. I would rather just take a nap.
Yesterday, my wife and I were driving around and I asked her what she would put on her bucket list. She would like to travel to Ireland, Philadelphia, London and Italy. She also wants to learn how to crochet. As she was thinking it over she came up with an idea for a similar but nearly opposite “list” of her own.
She went on to explain that there are certain things that she has done in her life and she would never want to do them again. As an example, she recalled the time we hiked to the top of a mountain that was 1,400 feet above sea level. It was quite a challenge, so I knew why she would never want to do that again. She also mentioned that she would never want to ride another fast amusement park ride; or ride in another canoe (because she fell out and cannot swim)
We decided that the best container for things you don’t want is a chamber pot (Where the word “potty” came from). So that was the name we gave her list. We decided that to put something on your Chamber Pot List, you must have already done it, and not want to do it again.
My Chamber Pot List includes: Riding horses, getting drunk, attending concerts unless I sit in the first ten rows, wear a neck tie, taking another cruise and getting a colonoscopy.
What is in you Bucket List? .
What is in your Chamber Pot List? Why?
How to set up a bucket list
Real Chamber Pots for sale.
List of Colorado 14ers
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8 comments:
Every single year for four years I have had to pack up all of my belongings and move out of my residence; once in the fall, and once in the spring. This year Chris and I had to move my stuff out of my dorm, and then a few months later we had to move out of our apartment. (Down three flights of stairs, then up another three flights of stairs...no air conditioning, in the middle of July). I NEVER want to move again without movers. That definitely tops my chamber pot list.
Top of my bucket list is to backpack through Europe, staying in hostels and eating in tiny little restaurants.
Bucket:
Play golf with my kids.
Find nibbana.
Chamber pot:
Be controlled.
It's called a "bucket list" because of the English idiom "kick the bucket" which means "to die".
Sharon, You are young enough that you can probably recall every place you have ever lived. i suggest you write it down somewhere and identify any noteworthy memories. Keep records forever. Same with your cars.
Your point about moving is understandable. Perhaps that plays a role in my wife's stubborn attitude about staying put.
Patty said the same thing as Heather, but I still think all of that is weird. We also say she "bit the big one" or he is "ten toes up" but we don't call it a tooth list or a toe list. I did find this clip about the movie of the same name. That may be the origin, but I am not certain. http://www.spike.com/video/bucket-list-he/2925000
The origin is a bit macabre. When people hang themselves, they often stand on a bucket as due to its instability, it made a better platform to stand on than say, a chair, which is inherently more stable.
So the person hanging themselves, would stand on the bucket with one foot, and kick the bucket with the other in order to get the job done.
Interesting thoughts, David. I actually would like to spend some time creating a Bucket list and a Chamberpot list. What about a list for things you have done and WOULD like to do again? What kind of container could we use to describe those things that are worthy of repeating?
i guess a good container for things you like and want to preserve would be a thermos
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