Bucket Lists

List one: climb up to Machu Picchu, ride the Orient Express, see the Terracotta Warriors, find a monster in Loch Ness, brave the winds of Patagonia, hike along an Everest ridge, visit Paul Gaugin’s Tahiti, stand on Sydney Harbour Bridge, stroll round Angkor Wat, Cambodia, cross the Alps in a balloon, gaze in awe at Easter Island, catch a rocket to the moon. List two: sit in the garden scribbling, eat a wedge of Stilton cheese, drink a glass of Chilean Merlot, watch the sunset through the trees, play the bass just one more time in the pub with my rock band, look both ways then cross the street holding my granddaughter’s hand, see my grandson run towards me smiling, waving, full of life, meet my son and talk and listen, phone my daughter, kiss my wife. Yes. Two lists. There is a reason. Once I heard a wise man say Dream as if you’ll live forever; live as if you’ll die today.