Smithsonian Magazine Grand Prize Winner By Jia Han Dong
Over drinks last week, we watched the final performances of Johnny Cash on YouTube, and I sobbed in fear knowing the messages he crooned would affect our family one day. Last night I read Smithsonian, June 2012, “The Multiverse of Love,” about Roseanne Cash. Apparently, she is one “of the most gifted singer-songwriters of our time.”
Her songs, according to the article, are “doomy, painfully romantic, intense and dark.” I thought about Johnny Cash who knew his days were numbered when he sang his heart true to meet his maker.
Was he satisfied with his life’s achievements? Would you be?
I have so much to do, and I challenge you to carry this series forward. Write a list of 20 things you still want to accomplish before you leave this world and stamp them on the blogosphere as part of your legacy. I have a hunch why this inspiration (which can be positive or not) hit me, and I’m going to make an indelible mark right here.
In no particular order of import, here are the 20 things I want to do before I die:
1. Learn Spanish
2. Become a glass blower
3. Write my book on the gem markets of the world (I’ve been to many) and one on how to buy colored stones
4. Earn enough income to put my daughter through a Bachelor’s degree
5. Hold my grandchild
6. Play the piano
7. Be a gemologist
8. Find true love via a soul mate
9. Endow a foundation in memory of my sister, Tracey S. Soulati, MD, who died at 36-years-old from rare cancer
10. Attend four grand slam tennis tournaments
11. Travel to Brazil and shop for tourmalines
12. Zipline in Costa Rica above the canopy
13. Rent and RV and drive to the Grand Canyon with my daughter and sisters’ kids
14. Buy a comfortable mountain home with satellite access that could be where I retire, if ever I do
15. Never say good bye to my parents
16.Rid the world of child abusers, child molesters, rapists, abusers of women and drug-addicted moms
17. Travel the world with my daughter
18. Take a Mediterranean cruise
19. Pay off my debt and stay that way
20. Stay healthy enough to pass peacefully without disease or need for costly medical care and without burden to my family
Who’s got a list?
