~Bucket List (Seventh Update)

~Originally posted 24 March 2017~

And another one… Three more to go.

#5- Learn to play an instrument

#6- Learn a new language

#14- Ride in a helicopter

Throughout my Marine Corps career I’ve been in a helicopter a handful of times. The most memorable time? Well, nothing actually happened, but I was shaking pretty much the entire time. I was on my way home from my second tour in Iraq. We were all packing up and being moved to the base where we would eventually fly out of. We were supposed to convoy to that base but for whatever reason today the route (that we had taken probably once a week for the past 6 months) was not our safest option. I drive trucks… On the ground… The thought of being “safer” in the sky was (and still is) crazy to me. I HATE military flights, If anything would have happened during that flight I probably would have pissed my pants (not kidding).

#24- Play a round of golf 

#33- Attend a drive in movie 

#42- Be in a play

#59- Do a road trip across the USA

After my parents divorced I went and spent a year in Texas with my mom. My dad and his girlfriend drove my sister and I from Pa to Texas in our sleeper van (I think that’s what those things are called). It really wasn’t a “road trip” in the traditional frat-boy sense. We drove; we ate; we slept; we had car trouble; we fixed the car; we drove some more. That was pretty much it.

#61- Try a martial art

#124- Dance on a bar

#157- Have a summer romance

#163- Visit a castle

I wish that I could remember the name of the castle, when we went it was a “museum”, Glen mills museum I think… No… That’s not right. Anyway, I went on a school trip to the castle. There was only a handful of us. I remember towards the top of the castle there was an observation deck. with the skinniest/flimsiest railing you have ever seen. You just take one false step and bye buddy (might be an exaggeration, I was little, afraid of heights, in my mind it was a cliff on top of a tall house). The kids that I was with ran to the edge when we got up there. I, on the other hand, stood next to the door, clinging to the wall for dear life.

#180- Learn to juggle

#215- Go on a zip-line

#217- Ride a mechanical bull

#227- Teach a class in any subject

I’ve taught many-a-class in the military. As a Wrecker Operator (see sexy truck) I give at least one vehicle recovery class a year. I remember one year I did the class during our cold weather training. I went up to one of my squad leaders and told him to take the truck down the road a little ways and get it stuck. Wags (the squad leader) damn near flipped the truck on it’s side as he “slowly coasted” it into a ditch. The temperature was five degrees Fahrenheit (‘Murica) at 0700, vehicle was mired by 1000, a beautiful storm with a wintry mix graced us with it’s presence at 1200, the truck was finally recovered at 1500… Since then, all of the vehicle recoveries have been conducted in the summer.

Until next time, someone look-up and tell me the name of that castle… Pretty please?

P.S. This picture is from the vehicle recovery class that I attended…. After our first of six recoveries that day. Look at how accomplished we all look, not knowing that we had five more recoveries to do that day. The mud went EVERYWHERE!

P.P.S. I’ve written my first erotic short, or at least that’s what I think it is? Anyways, as I’m sure that this is not everyone’s cup of tea so I have password protected it to protect the innocents that may accidentally stumble upon it. I’ll post it sometime this weekend (tomorrow, most likely… Maybe later today). If you are interested in reading it, I would REALLY appreciate some brutally honest feedback, the password is “James and Gaea“.