Making Lists & Living Without Regrets - Bev Russell, Library Director
(This column appeared in the June 10, 2007, Star-Herald)
Making Lists & Living Without Regrets - Bev Russell, Library Director
(This column appeared in the June 10, 2007, Star-Herald)
I once heard a centenarian interviewed about the secret to a happy life. She said she made a pact with herself that she would not reach 90 with any regrets. If she wanted to try something, she would. I never forgot that comment. When I turned 40, I made a pact with myself. (I know, it’s hard to believe I’m that old.) I might grow older, but I did not have to do it gracefully. Thus, I ride a motorcycle and am giving some thought to hang-gliding. (As windy as it is today, I probably could do that without a hang-glider).
The book I read this week, "The Next Thing on My List" by Jill Smolinski, has a similar theme but with a twist. June Parker, the main character, is trying to finish someone else’s list. The list belonged to Marissa Jones. It was a list of 20 things she wanted to do before her 25th birthday, but Marissa never reached her 25th birthday. She died in a car wreck less than a year before she turned 25. June drove the car and found the list in the wreckage. Although June was not at fault, she is guilt-ridden.
Marissa completed only 2 of the 20 items before she died. She lost 100 pounds and wore sexy shoes. Now, guilt and a desire to set things right compel June to finish the list before Marissa’s 25th birthday, which is only 6 months away. Determined to cross off the other 18 items, June sets out with a little help from her friends. The list will not be easy for June. She has never been someone who sees things through to completion.
Not surprisingly, things do not always go as planned. The first task June tackles is to kiss a stranger. The guys who she approaches at a bar are all problematic so she plants a wet one on an extremely startled Bus Boy. Her blind date (no. 14) turns out to be gay. Throwing away her bathroom scales is liberating, and eating ice cream in public is no problem. However, going bra-less at work brings her some uncomfortable attention from her boss. Thankfully when he notices something different about her, he assumes it is her hair. She must also take Marissa’s mother and grandmother to a Wayne Newton concert. (That would have ended the process for me, right there.)
Item no. 3 on the list, change someone’s life, proves the most challenging. When June sees a billboard proclaiming, "Change Someone’s Life—Be a Big Sister!" she believes she has the answer. An unwanted teenage pregnancy and an offer to adopt the child will change a life but not in the way June plans.
When I picked up "The Next Thing on My List", I thought I would be reading Mitch Albom—a three-hanky book. What I got was more like Janet Evanovich—breezy and tongue-in-cheek. This was not a bad thing. It just surprised me. "The Next Thing on My List" is a witty chick-lit story that makes a point. Life is short so live each day like it’s your last.
Hmm, My List—pierced-ears, motorcycle, Bolder Boulder—what’s next—a tattoo, hang-gliding, a century bike ride? Stay tuned. I’m not 90 yet.
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