Your life list, non-sportswriting version

I'll give this a shot. I'm only 21, so we'll see how this goes.

1. First and foremost, I was saved and redeemed by my Savior, Jesus Christ, when I was 13.

2. Got to spend a day at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Cried when I read Mickey Mantle's plaque, even though I knew beforehand what I would read.

3. Met the girl of my dreams. Will be proposing on New Year's.

4. Speaking of New Year's, I personally financed a trip to New York City for five days, four nights from Dec. 30-Jan. 3. This will be the first time I get to see Yankee Stadium.

5. Have been to 20 states plus D.C. Haven't been out of the country yet. One trip included a drive straight through from East Texas to the Adirondack Mountains in New York.

6. Batted .714 one year in Little League. One of the funnest years of my life.

7. Will be the first male on my Dad's side of the family to graduate from college. I was also fortunate enough to be the highest graduate out of high school in my entire family.

8. I will graduate college in four years with no summer school. Such fun.

9. I was hired for my dream job, a sports writer, at a 45,000-daily a week before my senior year of high school. I celebrated my fourth anniversary this week. Our paper requires full-time employees to have a degree, but I was promoted a year before.

10. I have bought two cars by myself.

11. Was in the crowd when Sammy Sosa hit his 600th home run.

12. Watched my favorite active player, Ken Griffey Jr., live when he was with the Mariners.

13. Seen my beloved Yankees win four World Series. I have also seen them in person five times, once as a reporter and spent some time in the locker room.

14. After Monday, I will have written for, designed and completely laid out two 44-page high school football sections.

15. Fortunate enough to interview people like Lovie Smith, Adrian Peterson, Earl Campbell, among others.

16. Been on two out-of-state mission trips … one to do construction work in a poor neighborhood in Birmingham, Ala. and the other to witness in Kansas City.

 

Guess so, Buck.

Drinking stories and adventures, I can handle.

The, "look at me" attitude and pride about drug escapades, not a big fan.

 

What's the difference between drinking stories and drug escapades?

 

Well, for one, alcohol is legal, and drugs aren't.

If it weren't for my religious beliefs, I would gladly go out with friends and socially drink.

I would never mess around with illegal drugs.

 

Might be the case, Buck-W. I'm not encouraging any of it.

I just don't get the pride some people take in the drug escapades. If people have done it, fine. I just don't think it's something to brag about.

 

I knew that would be your first response.

I won't disparage your belief system. It's what you believe, and I respect that.

That said, ain't a ding-dong difference between stories of drankin' and anecdotes of crazy drug taking. It's not bragging — it's sharing stories. The same way people can talk about that night of the crazy beer bong or shotgunning 18-packs of Budweiser. Inebriation was the ultimate goal in both situations.

 

No, sorry if I confused. My bad.

I don't think any of it is worth bragging about. If your "highlights" in life are recalling your drunken escapades, or your drug-induced escapades, I'd humbly submit you need to find some new highlights.

I'm just saying, I can tolerate the occassional drunken tale because it's the result of something that is legal and accepted by our society.

I realize it's a goody-two shoes stance, but drugs are illegal, and the use of them isn't something I think should be pointed to in a positive manner in any way.

 

"... but drugs are legal if they're sold by a doctor." [/KRS-1]

 

Not trying to duck out on this debate, but I've gotta run.

Looking forward to reading everyone else's lists.

 

Funny, SH, your list struck me much more look-at-me-ish than those you're throwing that accusation at.

I don't take the drug references as boastful so much as light-hearted story swapping. Your humorless I'm-a-baseball-superstar and squeaky-clean themed entry seemed far more self-aggrandizing and me-centric.

 

Well, why not...

-- Met the love of my life and fathered a beautiful 3-month old daughter.
-- 27 states, and I've lived in 7 states plus one (other) country.
-- Lived three years in Argentina; street noise kept me awake after the national team won the World Cup in 1978 (con Kempes, Luque, Ardiles, y Fillol).
-- Visited Argentina earlier this decade; saw Evita's tomb, watched River Plate demolish Emelec in a Copa Libertadores match, ate many good steaks.
-- Also saw Bellini's Norma at El Teatro Colon. Amazing.
-- Saw Tom Seaver win his 300th game at Yankee Stadium.
-- Met Arnold Palmer at a grocery store in Augusta.
-- Saw a Bullfight in Madrid, Spain.
-- Climbed up to Neuschwanstein.
-- Skied the German Alps.
-- Visited Munich's Olympic Stadium as well as Dacchau.
-- Biked along Hilton Head Beach with my wife.
-- Met Jeff Lebo - I know, I know, but he's a childhood idol - at a bar in Augusta, Ga.
-- Been to the Acropolis.
-- Visited Toledo, Spain.
-- Visited El Prado (Museum of Art) in Madrid.
-- Visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art
-- Saw Cats on Broadway.
-- Saw the Saints re-open the Superdome post-Katrina vs. Atlanta.
-- Recorded one hole-in-one (so far). Didn't see it drop (uphill hole).
-- Tied career best 77 after a triple bogey on the 18th earlier this summer.
-- Walked Augusta National during a practice round.
-- Walked Pinehurst during a U.S. Open practice round.
-- Attended the 1995 MLB All-Star Game in Arlington, Tex. Ate Mushrooms.
-- Saw the Grateful Dead once, Phish seven times (including the 1995 New Year's Eve show at MSG).
-- Shot my age on the front nine (35) on Fathers Day 2007.

 

i once dropped acid and took shrooms in one sitting.