Stood on a terracing at football game with more than 60000 others (plus the people in the seats) and seen your team score. (Unfortunately will never happen again, at least in Europe). Or seen your team go in one instant from losing on away goals to leading (and winning) on aggregate.
Hit a golfball perfectly with a driver 250 yards or more straight down the middle.
Seen the film “Un homme est echape” (A Man Escaped). It’s a little bit like the Shawshank Redemption but set in Paris during the Nazi Occupation. And a lot shorter.
Been on a hill or mountain and looked at other mountains over the top of the clouds (“temperature inversion” I think.)
Been in an audience of 1500 people all laughing so hard they’re crying.
held your newborn child in your hands.
help make said newborn child.
been caught in a lightning storm at 13,500 feet while hiking over the continental divide.
hooked and brought in a 5 lb+ fish on a fly rod.
ridden a motorcycle through the rockies.
Those are my top five, a few other that also come to mind:
Be sitting near the top of a mountain saddle when 3 fighter jets go faster than the speed of sound though the pass at your elevation, talk about blown away.
exceeded 160 mph in a car or on bike.
rappelled down a 80 foot + rock face.
caught big air off a cornice and land safely.
It may sound trite, but holding your tiny, little, brand-spanking-new, just fresh from the oven, baby in your hands is beyond description. Then, to watch that little person grow and say “I love you, Daddy.” Well, that just takes the cake.
" What is success? To laugh often and much. To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children. To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty. To find the best in others. To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social
condition. To know one life has breathed easier because you have lived. That is to have lived!"
My SO bought that for me as a fridge magnet (?!), an’ I look at it every day and tell myself…“Still workin’ on finding the best in others. Oh, and the respect thing.”
–Watched a total solar eclipse (over 7 min from the top of Mauna Loa, man you can see that shadow racing towards you over the clouds since most other people are clouded in then seeing Mauna Kea fall into shadow, awesome)
[sup][sub]p.s. that gets me one of yours G. Odoreida but that’s basically it other then mine[/sub][/sup]
–Stood at the edge of a cliff more then a 1000 feet down and had lunch, or played chess. I’ve even been on ridges with huge drops on both sides and with only a small ridge to walk on. And the updraft of the wind, absolutely amazing.
–Visit you families origins. There is this amazing feeling of touching the door that my ancestors passed through to pray more then 500 years ago. Awesome.
–Here’s a simple one, go to Disneyland when no one else is there, well mostly no one. Like in the middle of October from Monday to Friday. There’s nothing like being able to his the Matterhorn as much as you want in an hour. Take those poor kids out of school and go.
Stood at the top of at least a 1000 foot drop and taken a leak off the side.
Raced someone along a deserted stretch of highway at speeds of 80+ mph.
Along those lines, chased someone home while they were intentionally trying to lose you while traveling at 80mph on a city beltway. No, I haven’t done this with a moron friend… why do you ask?
Hiked out West in the United States. You haven’t lived until you’ve hiked out deep into Canyonlands, Arches, Zion, or a number of other national parks.
Driving across America is a big one…
I’ll third holding your newborn child moments after birth…there’s no feeling that even comes close…
standing alone on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, far out at sea…
played for a crowd that danced, hollered, and cheered…
kissed someone for the first time, and knew it was forever…
Since I have three kids, all the kid stuff goes without saying.
Otherwise:
Getting your first rejection.
Getting your first acceptance.
Doing your first public reading for the first time, after dreading it for almost a year. Especially since I can barely read out loud to my own kids without stammering and tripping over my words in embarrassment.
Getting a tattoo. And then another.
Taking a trip to Japan by yourself (I was meeting my ex who was stationed there at the time, but I got there all by myself - the trip entailed bus and plane transfers throughout Japan and I don’t speak the language. I was 21 at the time.)
Climbing on the back of some guy’s motorcycle (a complete stranger) in the middle of the night for the first cycle ride of my life. I was 15; boyfriend was not thrilled. I was.
Eaten a slice of dark chocolate raspberry cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory.
Had the supreme crab cakes at Phillip’s in Annapolis, while overlooking the Chesapeake Bay.
Gone speedboating on the ocean and flying as you hit the big waves.
Driven alone to Florida with three children, in one day, a 13-hour trip - and had no problems. All three children behaved and enjoyed the ride.
but that’s basically it other then mine[/sub][/sup]