75 Things You Need to Do Before You Die

There was a list in Esquire this month. I thought it was great and decided to compile my own. I've stolen about five from him that I agreed with and wrote another seventy.

So, here's my challenge. All my bloggy friends and whoever else checks this out should try to write this list. The qualifications:

1)The list can only be comprised of things you've done. This is not a wish list.
2)It must be a one time thing. Not a life changing beatitude. This is not Seven Habits for Blah Blah Blahs.

You don't need to write 75 but you should try for something high. 10 is too low. Shoot for at least 25. If you only have 10, you need to live. Here's mine.

1. Make a travel goal and accomplish it. One for me was to visit London. Done. Another is to visit all 50 states. I'm at 47.

2. Go deep sea fishing. You need to feel that strain against your arms, feel what it's like to catch a fish that weighs pounds.

3. Shoot a gun. Even better, shoot multiple guns. Big ones. Shotguns and automatics.

4. Drive all night to somewhere. Preferably somewhere you're excited to go.

5. Go skinny dipping somewhere you can be caught.

6. Go to a concert in which you have to stand for the duration.

7. Ride a snowmobile.

8. Have a signature dish. Learn to make something great, master it, and be known for it.

9. Feel the force of a wave that can knock you over. You'll feel awed and powerless.

10. Go to the bathroom in the woods. Peeing is fine but having to go number 2 and wondering what you're going to use as toilet paper is as liberating as it is gross.11. Visit a country that doesn't speak one of the romance languages. You'll never feel so lost when you can't recognize a single letter on any sign.

12. Drive at least 100 mph on the highway. 125 is more like it.

13. Go movie hopping. And pack a lunch or dinner for it. Really commit to this.

14. See the Northern Lights. I have rarely seen anything that magnificent.

15. Swim across a lake. It's a small accomplishment but there's a feeling to walking in one side and standing up on the other.
16. Go to a political rally. Go hear a Presidential Candidate once and a local and state official.

17. Make a mixtape for someone. You should know what you like and be able to present it to someone.

18. Stay up all night and see a sunrise. I'm opposed to waking up for one though.

19. Commit to wearing shoes as little as possible for one summer.

20. Have a really expensive meal.

21. Visit both the Pacific and the Atlantic.

22. Fall asleep in the sun. The best part is waking up and seeing the whole world bleached out.

23. Feel a baby kick in someone's stomach.

24. Learn to drive a speedboat and pilot a sailboat.

25. Eat raw oysters. It's more of a dare than a meal but it needs to be done.

26. Try to write a list of 75 Things To Do Before You Die. It's harder than you think.

27. Watch a foreign film. I recommend Seven Samurai or Cinema Paradiso.

28. Tell a long story to a group of people.

29. Go snorkeling.


30. Do something people can be envious of.

31. Seek out a teacher that affected you and let them know.

32. Have a really good laugh. Laugh until you choke on it.
33. Float down a river in an innertube.

34. Spend a day inside butt naked. Do everything naked.

35. Go to a dance club and really, truly dance.

36. Feed a wild animal out of your hand.

37. Have a night where you deep fry all your food. It's amazing...how bad you'll feel afterwards.

38. Watch a lunar eclipse.

39. Write a poem about someone else that you'd never show them.


40. Join the Polar Bear Club. Jump into freezing water and then rush to a sauna. Repeat 5 times.

41. Try Gelato in Italy and Custard in Wisconsin.

42. Perform in front a large group of people. It doesn't matter what. Just experience it.

43. See the Perseid meteor shower. If possible, see it away from cities. I recommend Idaho.

44. Drink whole milk that hasn't been homogenized. Other milk will taste like chalk.

45. Buy some expensive jeans that fit well. You'll see the difference.

46. Go sit somewhere really high. Get perspective.

47. Drive by yourself for more than a day.48. Ride in a Cessna. That feels likes flying. Not passenger planes. Though it really is a Yugo with wings.

49. Figure out your favorite things--foods, books, albums, places, movies-and be able to list them off if people ask.

50. Learn how to play Chess and Othello.

51. Break a plate glass window once in your life. Just smash a window at least and hear that sweet irreplaceable sound.

52. Jump off a bridge or cliff into a body of water. A swear word is totally acceptable to say as you fall.

53. Walk around the town you live in at 3 or 4 pm. See what it's like without all the hubbub. Cities do sleep, you just have to catch them.

54. Pour dish washing liquid into a public fountain. The result is pure joy. If you're using the Joy brand of dish soap.

55. Find the biggest hill in your town and sled down it during the winter.
56. Take a long train ride. Make sure you look out the windows for a while.

57. Eat something you've never tried. Like ostrich or alligator.

58. Spend all day at a beach. Then come back after it's dark and spend a few hours sitting by the surf. Let that sound get in you.

59. Talk to a homeless person for a while.

60. Sell everything you don't need once. This is the most liberating thing you'll ever do.

61. Be in an eating contest.

62. Memorize your favorite poem.

63. Sing karaoke in front of people.

64. Spend a day walking. Just get out of your car and walk. Up and down a beach, through the woods, up and down a mountain.

65. Watch a scary movie by yourself at night. It's great in your own house, but it's better in someone else's house where you don't know every potential hiding place.

66. Give up something for a length of time and stick to it. Like give up pop or candy for six months. Even better, give up a hobby for a period of time and replace it with another hobby.

67. Be part of some commotion, some mob mentality, and just revel in it. Suggestions: go to a movie opening, go to Comicon, a political demonstration, etc. I was in a riot once and I helped with some bedlam.

68. Do something illegal. Not homicide though. Then you're just a jerk.

69. Be a connoisseur of something unpretentious. For example, I have tried at least fifty different brands of root beer and made my own. Valerie is a connoisseur of candy, I'd say.

68. Photocopy your butt and make copies for friends.

69. Throw a Turtleneck and Sweater Party. This means commanding everyone to go the thrift store and show up in awful holiday apparel, i.e. sweaters and turtlenecks with embroidered reindeer or snowmen, light up holiday pins, and awful pants and leggings. And everyone should modify their hair. Our friend Ben bought a hair piece, shaved the top of this head, and made a comb over. Legendary.70. Figure out how you like your eggs. If you've never tried anything but scrambled, you're a child.

71. Sleep outside for a week.

72. Pose for a photograper. Be a model. Find a photograph that is completely flattering and makes you look great and just cherish that.

73. Just get into your car and drive somewhere far away. I drove fifteen hours to L.A. once on a whim. Just threw a loaf of bread, and two jars of PB and Jelly into the passenger seat. Memorable.

74. Try sushi. Not just one piece. But a lot of different kinds. Eel is a revelation.

75. Become really great at something ridiculous. I am great at skipping rocks on water and I can make great armpit fart noises. I've spent in excess of ten hours a piece on these talents.