Wednesday, July 07, 2010

10 things you must do before you die that you'll never get to do

inspired by an anecdote poet mark young relates to martin edmond during a reading young did a few years ago at the university of aukland i attempted the above-named list. mark told martin that his two great regrets was never seeing nijinski dance and never having fought in the spanish civil war. the first of these regrets inspired a poem titled 'I Never Did Get to See Nijinski Dance' for even in his fantasy the barriers of time, distance and circumstance bar young from witnessing one of the great 20th century artists.

every time i shop in a store like cost plus, which specializes in foods and furnishings and nick-nacks across the globe i see, invariably, copies of books with titles like 1001 Must-See Movies Before You Die. sure, okay. all well and good. i suppose a bucket list is a neat thing to have and maybe get to tick off items as we race thru our years on this planet.

but what about an anti-bucket list. those things that i'll never get to do but would've loved to do if time, distance and circumstance could be bent or even blown away. i took out my moleskin and scratched out the following:

1) see The Ramones perform at CBGB

2) watch exploitation movies in the grindhouses on the deuce of 1970s times square

3)

i drew a blank. i'm sure there are other things i'd love to do but won't ever have the chance to do them. see most things, like watch movies or listen to bands perform, i can do, approximately. i've never been to the 3 days of peace, love and music at woodstock in 1969, but i've watched the movie so many times and absorbed the stories and anecdotes of the counter-culture of the hippie era that woodstock has entered my bloodstream. sure, it's not the same as having been there at woodstock, but it is the best i have and therefore i do not have a wish to go back in time and see it for myself.

that's the problem with bucket lists. they are mostly wishfull thinking and silliness. i don't need a guide for 1001 movies to see before i die. my viewing is made thru my own tastes and discoveries and lucky accident. i'll never see The Ramones at CBGB but i've been to plenty of punk shows that i'm pretty sure i know the gist of the experience. or something like that. perhaps i don't have many unfulfilled experiences or that i lack the imagination for it. i've done a few things here and there. what really gets my juices flowing is sitting down with my laptop, my books, my moleskin and do a little daydreaming. me and language sitting here quietly doing nothing. that is for me the biggest thrill of them all.

7 Comments:

At 7:15 AM, Blogger Jim McCrary said...

richard, here is bit from poem just almost finished. will post whole thing soon on blog:

left to my own devise this is the working progress
that wraps up the past life and there is nothing I got
to pull on too or for that matter throw down


here is my bucket list: Fuck you

there is absolutely nothing I haven’t done
I wouldn’t do again
if it takes the rest of this life

over again and again
nothing new in that
and I feel nothing new is gonna come
my way so lets just say
another day done gone and leave it

lying
across the slight bump behind and
even if the front end of tomorrow lags due
to the long slide of tonite then
wasn’t it worth a try

 
At 9:04 AM, Blogger John B-R said...

Richard, I think you're right, bucket lists are wishful thinking. On the other hand, what didn't I do that would have been fun?

1) It would have been fun to have hung out with Jesus and to have had the chance to say to him "what the fuck's the matter with you dude, don't be mean to your mom. You sound like such an asshole." (Mark 12: 46 While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47 Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.” 48 But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! 50 “For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”)

I'll try to think of more as the day goes on.

 
At 11:20 AM, Blogger John B-R said...

2) I wouldn't have wanted to *fight* in the Spanish Civil War but I would have loved to have worked in that anarchist bus factory in Barcelona 1936 that turned out buses that were much better made than the buses that were made under bosses and managers.

 
At 7:14 PM, Blogger Jean Vengua said...

It would've been nice to meet Josef Sudek, the one-armed Czech photographer of Prague.

I could kick myself for turning down my friend Liz when we were in New York & she wanted the two of us to go to CBGBs.

Jean

 
At 11:00 PM, Blogger richard lopez said...

jim: god, you nailed it!

john, i wouldn't want to meet hayzeus at all. i'm sure he was charasmatic and all but nothing like, i bet, he has been built up to be.

jean, i don't have many regrets but one i do definitely have is not seeing social distortion open for sonic youth who opened for neil young. not much of a young fan but social distortion and sonic youth have impacted my definitions of life and art.

 
At 7:43 AM, Blogger John B-R said...

Richard, I don't want to meet the dude to revel in his charisma, just to tell him not to diss his mom.

 
At 9:25 PM, Blogger richard lopez said...

i hear ya, john. no one, and i mean no one, should diss their moms.

 

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