BUCKET LISTS

I never gave much thought to "bucket lists." Of course I saw the movie with Jack Nicholson and it did give me some food for thought. But long before the movie came out I had a "Twenty things I must do before I die" list. Over the years I kept modifying it because some things just weren't worth doing or my perspective has changed or they were accomplished.

Here are some of the items on that list that have lost their immediate importance. It means that while they are now off the list, I will still try to accomplish it. 1. Meet a US President, 2.Visit Australia, 3. Improve my Hebrew reading, 4.Teach a college class (already did that, but would like to do it again).

I just gave my son a bucket list book that contained 162 things to do revolving around baseball. This book is solely focused on that which is baseball -  that is not a bad thing - but it does not account for other accomplishment unless they are part of the task. I did 63 of the 162 leaving 99 to accomplish. However, if you reduce that list by what interests me - maybe just about 60 are left. No one list fits all. But, as I said, I have had a "twenty things to do" list for about 20 years. Here are some of the items in that list. The items in italics above need to be done, the items in regular type have been accomplished - and by the way, there is nothing wrong with doing it more than once but give yourself only one credit.

Here goes: 1. Doven at the wailing wall in Jerusalem, 2. Tour Italy, Spain, Germany and France. 3. Visit a concentration camp, 4. Spend a day with a grandchild, 5. Have a suit custom made, 6. Fall in love again, 7. Re-marry, 8. Kiss someone in public passionately, 9. See a great Broadway play on Broadway, 10. Lend money to some one without expectation of payback. 11.See a grandchild become b'nai mitzvah,12. Feed a hungry family.

Here is the great thing about living - once you've done them, you still need to have a populated list of 20. I have 12 down, Also, replace those items that are no longer as interesting. So, here are more items that made the list and I have done them:  1. Fly in a hot air balloon over some exotic location (did that in Luxor Egypt), 2. Land on top of a glacier (did that in Alaska). 3. Swim in the Dead Sea, 4. Climb a Pyramid, 5. See the Sphinx.

You might ask, what is left to do? See Fenway Park, Wrigley Field - done that, too. Leave a dollar where a kid who needs it will find it. Visit Australia. Make a very sick kid smile and their families feel good for a day or more. That is why Make A Wish is so important to me.

Everyone needs to make a Bucket List no matter how old or young you are. It is a dynamic list, ever evolving, ever changing. Some are self centered and some are very altruistic - they must all contribute to your sense of being alive I have been lucky enough to have done so much more than I ever expected to do in my lifetime. What that has done is led to a longer list of things still undone.

Make your Bucket List(s). Let me know how it is going and the unusual things you have done or are wanting to do. I really think that you will find it revealing!

Have a great list!

HATE IS BEEN MADE A LIGITIMATE ARGUMENT - NOT

Or so it seems. The Arizona law which is a mirror of Federal Law and that of California is aimed at the brown citizens among us. Repeal of the 14^th amendment – that is also aimed at the brown people among us and maybe some of the yellow skinned people, too. If being born in the USA, no matter how that occurred, what constitutes being an American?

Some people waiting for citizenship have served in the Armed Services while waiting to become com Americans. I would think that serving this country would make you a patriot and an American. Not so when you are stopped and asked to produce proof of identity and national origin.

These laws appear to be aimed at the poorest among us. But what about the hospital in Houston that advertises for people of wealth to come to the US from China, Europe, African nations, Australia to get inseminated, have a baby and get a US Passport for the child. How do we handle that?

The argument is that undocumented people drain the system. What about the wealthy here on visitor’s visas? They actually pay into the system. They pay cash for everything. Having no papers and being in the US is NOT a crime. It is a major inconvenience. Working without a visa is a crime – but hiring someone knowingly that they are working illegally is also a crime. Want to feed into the system – collect the fines from the employer – they are better able to pay it than the exploited worker.

Since the job market has been somewhat dry, the number of illegal entries has significantly gone down. From the published statistics, more people arrive by airplane that are illegal than try to cross the desert to come to the US.

Why the uproar? Simple, it is history repeating itself. Can’t blame the government for the economic conditions of the country – so we need someone to blame – brown people come to mind immediately. Remind you of anything that happened duringr the Great World Wide Depression in the 1930s? Jews, Catholics, Armenians, Gypsies – they were all responsible for the economic situation. Don’t believe it – just ask the Nationalist Socialist Party!

Our problems are not going to be solved at the borders or airports. Try the Senate! Some of these right wing senators have a weird view of patriotism. They have plaques in their offices saying, “America First.” On the back it says made in China. Everything you buy in China says made in China. In the US we have the same thing – Made in China.

These same senators were outraged that the Stimulus Package stipulated that only American made goods can be purchased with that money. They, the right, took it out. It these guys that hate America! Well, maybe not America because that is where their money is made – they hate Americans so they won’t allow us to make the money. Kill Social Security, no minimum wage, no benefits, make sure that private insurance is as expensive as hell, and what, a public option, so that people other than pure white Americans can have access to healthcare – that is un-American!! They love their country but hate the people who occupy it.

All I am saying is be careful. Hate is becoming disguised in many ways. Don’t be caught up in it. Andrew Breitbart is the perfect example of feeding the hate. We must stop and think, wait for the whole story and the facts. I am really frightened of the propaganda. I voted for Proposition 8. But my reasons where purely mine at the time. Now, I feel that when divorce is made illegal (due to the "sanctity of marriage") then I will vote for another Prop 8 – until then, who cares as long as there is love, not hate!