Dear Ones,

Oh the places I’ve seen these last couple of weeks!  Creeping along through scattered ice chunks, we edged within ¼ mile of the Hubbard Glacier.  Watching from the bow of the ship, I thought of Dr. Seuss’s book, “Oh the Places I Will See.”  Here I am looking at an enormous (7 miles wide) glacier and I’m awed.  I never thought I’d see such a sight no matter what Dr. Seuss said.  I hear the ice cracking and chunks slip into the water sending crackling sounds like thunder across the bay. Unforgettable.

Later we sailed into the port of Juneau and on a breezy cool afternoon we explored Alaska’s state capital.  On one of the back streets in the downtown area we came across a billboard about 6 feet high and 30 feet long.  Across the top it read in large letters:  BEFORE I DIE I WANT TO.  Empty slots below were to be filled in with the markers provided.  Not sure how long the sign’s been up, probably all summer for there was not a blank spot on the board.  Every line was filled with hopes and wishes and dreams; some attainable, some just dreams.  And the goals ranged from lofty--.world peace, conquer poverty, to the  playful--skinny dip in Hawaii, go skydiving.  There were also more serious ones asking to live to see grand children or mend family quarrels or find true love

I read them all and pondered standing in the afternoon sunshine in the midst of a lovely trip, how lucky I was.  How many things I’ve been blessed with. Finally my husband nudged me, “Are you going to stand there all day?”  And we moved on but later that night I thought about each person writing on that board.  Who wrote about seeing a grandchild born?  Perhaps a woman in frail health?  What spurs a person to write down their hopes? The written word is powerful and just forming the letters fulfills something inside of us.  It gives shape and substance to our desires.   Probably why we humans are such list makers.

Now that I’m back home I think I’ll create a  BEFORE I DIE I WANT TO  list of my own.  Have any of you made a so called bucket list?  As we age, our aspirations narrow.   It’s a fact. I’m never going to walk across Ireland or roller blade along the Newport Beach bikeway like I used to do cause instead of a hip skater, I’m afraid of breaking a hip.  Yep, life changes but I still have dreams.  Don’t we all.  So what do you want to do before you die?   Think on it.

            “For me, writing something down is the only road out.”   Anne Tyler