Been There, Done That

Via The Bookworm. Fun meme and not unduly taxing.


1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (whenI was two or three)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (Quilting-- so long as if by "taught yourself" you mean that a friend helped me to learn.)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (Twice-- once I ended up in the ER.)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables (pumpkins when I was a girl)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (very disappointing)
20. Slept on an overnight train (many, many times)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (and stayed in bed all day reading)
24. Built a snow fort (Well, I tried at least, but Texas doesn't generally have enough snow to make satisfying snow forts.)
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (Went to Venice but didn't ride in a gondola, alas)
29. Seen a total eclipse (At least I think it was a total eclipse, might have been partial--from the top of Mesa Verde in New Mexico)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (most spectacular sunrise: over the Adriatic from the deck of the ferry to Greece)
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person (and climbed it)
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (well, not painted, but my brother has drawn a portrait of me)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain (Pretty sure)
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen (cooked, not served)
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check (oops!)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (my doll, my stuffed lion)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (I've only ever bought a used car but it was new to me)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (in a magazine, actually Dom's magazine but before we were dating)
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House (well, seen it from the outside, didn't stand in line for the tour)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (Margaret Atwood, Seamus Heaney, several other Irish poets)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day (more times than I can count)

MORE...

Because Mel told me to, I'm doing this in the comment box:

1. Started your own blog. Yes. only rarely updated, however.
2. Slept under the stars. many times.
3. Played in a band. Do bells for the church choir count? I hit a triangle once for a friend's band.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
8. Climbed a mountain. Several.
12. Visited Paris
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch. Sort of. A friend showed me the basics of crocheting and knitting - how to hold the yarn, but I learned most of the complex stuff on my own.
16. Had food poisoning. The first time, I can blame that on my sister.
18. Grown your own vegetables. Squash.
20. Slept on an overnight train (many, many times)
21. Had a pillow fight. Who hasn't?
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill. Went to the park and read a book.
24. Built a snow fort. For midgets.
26. Gone skinny dipping. Twice. Once in Italy, once in Texas.
27. Run a Marathon
X28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice. No. Do you have any idea how much those cost? A lot. We could afford a regular boat, but not a gondola.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset. In many places, in many colors.
31. Hit a home run
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
47. Had your portrait painted. By my brother.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
58. Taken a martial arts class
60. Served at a soup kitchen
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp. In the winter.
67. Bounced a check.
X68. Flown in a helicopter. I have not, but I have sat inside a couple military helicopters. Blackhawk and Apache.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy. Several, the most important of which is my stuffed unicorn, Star.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar. At a party that a friend's mother invited me to. When no one was looking, I looked on the bottom of the very large container to see how much it was, and felt slightly ill at the price tag. Very low class of me, I'm sure. But it sure tasted good!
73. Stood in Times Square
75. Been fired from a job
77. Broken a bone
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car - well ok, not new, but it was only a year old when I bought it. :(
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
86. Visited the White House (well, seen it from the outside, didn't stand in line for the tour)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating - I insist that crawfish and crabs count. So there.
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life - I'll get back to that.
91. Met someone famous. A couple. In addition to which I almost ran over John Travolta when he walked in front of my car on a busy street. That's what you get for not looking both ways.
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
95. Seen the Alamo in person
98. Owned a cell phone
100. Read an entire book in one day. More times than I can count. Including the 22 hour marathon with the last Harry Potter book.

So back to #89:

The first time I didn't know about until almost ten years later. I tattled on a suicidal friend of mine, and she got the help she needed, and thanked me for it years later. I have only a vague memory of it, and had no idea that it was actually that serious.

The second time, a friend of my roommate, a guy I didn't really like, though I didn't actively dislike him either. He was walking by through the parking lot of our apartment complex, and I thought, hey, you know, he's a decent guy, I should offer him a beer. He declined, I insisted, he declined again, and I wouldn't take no for an answer. I didn't have a reason, just an irrational stubbornness to not let it go. So he came up and we hung out, my roomate came home and was excited to see him and he ended up staying late with us, talking as college students do.

He told me two years later that he was on his way home to shoot himself, when I waylaid him, and it was that kindness which changed his mind. That and my roommate, his friend - between us he was reassured that there were people who cared about him.

When he told me this, I felt sick to my stomach. Because despite what he says, I didn't save his life, God did. The Holy Spirit setting in me an attitude of stubborn insistence.
But I felt sick because what if I had said no? For me, that was just an ordinary day. What if I had had a bad day, and been feeling selfish, or just hermit-like and thought "there he goes, but I'm not going to do anything about it. I don't want to deal with people today."

I learned then that you frequently don't know the truth of what is in front of you. When the smallest thing may make a difference, or when your own indifference might not be of such minor consequence as you think. A chilling and humbling thought, and another reason to glorify God.

Ummm, wow, cause that last was me, Theresa, not Melanie. I didn't realize I was logged in under the wrong name.