On July 20, 2018, I turned 74 years old.
That means I am now in my 75th year. Whoa! I have to take a deep breath to take that in! It's true that only a month ago I was hiking the GR20 trail on Corsica,
and only a week ago the nurse at my colonoscopy told me all my vitals were so normal they were boring. ("We love boring!" she said). I'm in good health and good physical condition. So what does "75" mean, anyway? How can I both recognize it and celebrate it?
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| On the coast in Corsica, a month before my 74th birthday |
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| On the GR 20, mid-June, 2018 |
Two days ago, the day after my birthday, I was hiking in the Red Buttes, contemplating those questions, when a cartoon-style light bulb lit up. Between now and July 20, 2019, I thought, I could do 75 things of 75 repetitions each. Things like:
Write 75 people to ask for suggestions of 75 things to do
Do a 75-mile hike
Write 75 poems
Do 75 good deeds
Brilliant.
Crazy.
The more I thought about it, the more elaborate it got. Make 75 cards to send to 75 friends on my birthday. Bake 75 desserts. (Let's see. That would be a different dessert every five days ….) If I had 75 items on the list, each of which had 75 parts to it, I would have to do 15 parts every day for a year – make one dessert, make one card, write one poem – yow! What happened to ordinary life?
Stupid.
Crazy.
But possible? And fun! What I need is more things like, "Do an embroidery with 75 stitches" or "String 75 rosebuds onto a necklace." What I need is help making the list. Besides suggestions like "Read 75 books or magazines," I especially need suggestions like, "Make a list of your favorite books" – things that can be done in hours (or minutes!) rather than days. But any suggestion is fair game, as long as it's reasonable. (But I'll nix any suggestion that says, "Do 75 push-ups.")
Do you want to join the fun? Send me your ideas of things to put on the list. It currently has 31 items, so I need lots more.
This blog will keep current with progress on a daily basis (or as close as I can come to it). Here's a list of the items so far. Other ideas are pending.
CRAFTS
1. String 75 rosebuds or beads
2. Make 75 cards for 75 friends to mail on my birthday
3. Collect 75 favorite photographs and put them into a book
4. Find 75 rocks and make an Andy Goldsworthy-style art piece for my zen garden
5. Make a trivet with 75 wine bottle corks
6. Create a collage of 75 pieces (or a collage representing each year of your life)
7. Cook 75 new dishes
8. Bake 75 cookies and give to 75 strangers
9. Make an embroidery piece or quilt with 75 panels
10. Make 75 origami Christmas tree ornaments
11. Knit a shawl based on knit 1, purl 1, for 75 stitches in a row
12. Press 75 flowers
WRITING AND LEARNING
13. Write something with 75 words (poem, essay, blog post)
14. Write 75 poems
15. Keep a book and blog post of all the 75s I'm doing
16. Write 75 prayers for the planet and humanity
17. Write about 75 places you love and why
18. Work 75 New York Times crossword puzzles
19. Learn to say "hi" in 75 languages; or learn 75 new words in one language; or learn to count to 75 in a new language
20. Add 75 new words to your vocabulary
21. Memorize 75 lines of poetry
ACTIVE
22. Begin each morning with 75 deep breaths; or do deep breathing 3 times a day in sets of twenty-five
23. Go on a 75-mile hike
24. Find 75 different kinds of leaves
25. Hug 75 trees
26. Plant 75 daffodils (or other flowers)
27. Plant 75 poppy seeds
28. Identify 75 different botanical items on one hike
29. See and identify 75 different animals (not insects, except for butterflies)
30. Jump rope 75 times
31. Do 75 hikes
32. Collect 75 rocks for the zen garden
33. Pick 75 wildflowers and make an arrangement in every room
34. Go to 75 places you haven't been to before
35. Take 75 minutes of doing nothing
36. Visit 75 of your closest friends
37. Bring home a stone from each walk you take and make a pile in the yard
38. Stretch and dance for 75 minutes, uninterrupted
39. Get a 75-minute massage
40. Collect 75 items to put on an altar on you 75th birthday
41. Take 75 naps
LISTS
36. Write 75 memories of other people
37. Make a list of your 75 favorite books
38. Make a list of 75 places I want to visit or things I want to do
39. Make a list of people who accomplished big things after the age of 75
40. Make a list of 75 things I love about Ela, Mike, sisters, friends, things I do
41. List 75 favorite hikes I've done – with an adjective for each
42. Write down a memory from each year of my life
43. List 75 quotes from messages from friends and family
COMMUNITY
44. Ask 75 people for ideas for the list (DONE: July 22, 2018)
45. Donate $75 to your favorite charity (to your favorite non-profit newspaper, i.e., the Applegater)
46. Get 75 $1 bills and tip "those wonderful baristas" one bill at a time
47. Invite 75 friends to your birthday event
48. Write 75 political action emails, letters, phone calls
49. Send emails to 75 friends asking for monetary birthday gifts of $.75, $7.50, $75.00, $750 that I would donate to my choice of political or environmental group
MISCELLANEOUS
50. Give 75 compliments
51. Give 75 kisses
52. Try 75 different types of chocolate
53. Try 75 new wines
54. Respectfully ask 75 people for one spanking each
55. Spend $75 at the store, no more, no less
56. Eat 75 blueberries for breakfast
57. Count 75 sheep before going to sleep
CRAFTS
1. String 75 rosebuds or beads
2. Make 75 cards for 75 friends to mail on my birthday
3. Collect 75 favorite photographs and put them into a book
4. Find 75 rocks and make an Andy Goldsworthy-style art piece for my zen garden
5. Make a trivet with 75 wine bottle corks
6. Create a collage of 75 pieces (or a collage representing each year of your life)
7. Cook 75 new dishes
8. Bake 75 cookies and give to 75 strangers
9. Make an embroidery piece or quilt with 75 panels
10. Make 75 origami Christmas tree ornaments
11. Knit a shawl based on knit 1, purl 1, for 75 stitches in a row
12. Press 75 flowers
WRITING AND LEARNING
13. Write something with 75 words (poem, essay, blog post)
14. Write 75 poems
15. Keep a book and blog post of all the 75s I'm doing
16. Write 75 prayers for the planet and humanity
17. Write about 75 places you love and why
18. Work 75 New York Times crossword puzzles
19. Learn to say "hi" in 75 languages; or learn 75 new words in one language; or learn to count to 75 in a new language
20. Add 75 new words to your vocabulary
21. Memorize 75 lines of poetry
ACTIVE
22. Begin each morning with 75 deep breaths; or do deep breathing 3 times a day in sets of twenty-five
23. Go on a 75-mile hike
24. Find 75 different kinds of leaves
25. Hug 75 trees
26. Plant 75 daffodils (or other flowers)
27. Plant 75 poppy seeds
28. Identify 75 different botanical items on one hike
29. See and identify 75 different animals (not insects, except for butterflies)
30. Jump rope 75 times
31. Do 75 hikes
32. Collect 75 rocks for the zen garden
33. Pick 75 wildflowers and make an arrangement in every room
34. Go to 75 places you haven't been to before
35. Take 75 minutes of doing nothing
36. Visit 75 of your closest friends
37. Bring home a stone from each walk you take and make a pile in the yard
38. Stretch and dance for 75 minutes, uninterrupted
39. Get a 75-minute massage
40. Collect 75 items to put on an altar on you 75th birthday
41. Take 75 naps
LISTS
36. Write 75 memories of other people
37. Make a list of your 75 favorite books
38. Make a list of 75 places I want to visit or things I want to do
39. Make a list of people who accomplished big things after the age of 75
40. Make a list of 75 things I love about Ela, Mike, sisters, friends, things I do
41. List 75 favorite hikes I've done – with an adjective for each
42. Write down a memory from each year of my life
43. List 75 quotes from messages from friends and family
COMMUNITY
44. Ask 75 people for ideas for the list (DONE: July 22, 2018)
45. Donate $75 to your favorite charity (to your favorite non-profit newspaper, i.e., the Applegater)
46. Get 75 $1 bills and tip "those wonderful baristas" one bill at a time
47. Invite 75 friends to your birthday event
48. Write 75 political action emails, letters, phone calls
49. Send emails to 75 friends asking for monetary birthday gifts of $.75, $7.50, $75.00, $750 that I would donate to my choice of political or environmental group
MISCELLANEOUS
50. Give 75 compliments
51. Give 75 kisses
52. Try 75 different types of chocolate
53. Try 75 new wines
54. Respectfully ask 75 people for one spanking each
55. Spend $75 at the store, no more, no less
56. Eat 75 blueberries for breakfast
57. Count 75 sheep before going to sleep
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