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| Once upon a new years eve... in a car bar... because you don't actually have to go out to have fun... |
Bungee jumping, licking a president, reproducing, writing a
novel, taxidermising a pet, starting an empire, winning a noble prize… There were so many things I still wanted to do
and now it was too late. The engines had roared to life and I soared towards
the light.
I always figured “surviving a plane crash” should be the
last thing I tick off my bucket list, just in case I didn’t. But life never
really works that way - you can’t tell God/ fate/ Murphy what to do; and even
karma doesn’t always behave.
I gripped my seat and exchanged life accomplishment regrets
with the random stranger next to me. She’d gone whiter than I had, and
apparently she was actually Indian…
We were going down fast. This was the end. We hit the ground. Bounced. Bounced. Bounced
again. And then, after two hours of absolute terror, it all came to an end.
Random stranger and I flung arms around each other – we’d survived our overly
dramatic imaginations.
What ensued was an awesome reunion with good friends old and
new; the most incredible weekend in the Drakensburg, and then a reunion with my
‘long’ lost boat crew - All things that would have been terrible to have missed
out on had the plane actually gone down.
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| The Drakensburg |
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| I also reunited myself with buckie, my seasick companion... we'll be as close as ever soon enough (I hope) |
Sometimes you need near death experiences (or perceived ones
at least) to remind you to live more – It’s like when you lose your tooth brush
for a month and then, after finding it again, suddenly havefriends again. And
even though I’ve now been in Richard’s Bay [where it appears to be fashionable
to have 8-12 teeth missing] a week, waiting for one small sail part to be
repaired, it’s not so bad – there’s the beach, there’s beer, I’ve learned how
to carpet a floor, met some of the strangest people imaginable, and had a
rather therapeutic killing rampage… -although
I do still hope to leave soon!
Our lives are short enough as it is, so we really ought to
be seizing every second: Doing instead of just talking about it; Running away
from regret; Attempting the impossible; Frequently facing fears; making sure
you have good stories for the grandkids some day; Making sure you have
grandkids some day; Always going to bed happy [when we have time for sleep].
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| Lick a jellyfish... |
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| Climb a cliff... |
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| Go clubbing barefoot (actually wait - this is not recommended) |
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| Jump off an oil rig |
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| Drink artificially coloured drinks that look like they may poison you... unless of course they are poison , then don't, it's probably best to check first. |
My cousin and his wife gave birth to their second kid
yesterday… And I was a little jealous
that tiny Cuan had the whole of the rest of his life to live. But then I realized:
so does everyone else
If you’re not living, you’re actually dead.
