I’m not a very brave person, by my own standards, but I have surprised myself in situations where I’ve had to contemplate my own death by thinking “You know what? I’ve had a pretty good run” and I have. I’ve done what I wanted to do for a living, I’ve brought up two fine kids to adulthood, I’ve seen my work published and my art exhibited, I’ve travelled to places I wanted to see. Every one of these accomplishments could have been far greater (coulda had more fine kids, coulda written more books, blablabla) but let’s not get greedy.
Assuming you were to contemplate your death (as in getting told by your doctor that you might have a fatal disease, which I was, only it turned out I actually didn’t) and you were to tell yourself “I had a pretty good run,” tell me what that run consisted of, in as much detail as you’d care to state.
I’ve helped hundreds of down-and-out people turn their lives around
I set up a program that helps homeless children get a jump-start on reading
I’ve helped many small businesses grow into medium-large businesses
I’ve seen to it that close to a billion dollars of Taxpayer’s money was spent in a manner that produced the maximum possible benefit and value for both the taxpayers original intent and the overall business environment. (meaning I got it done, under budget, and used small businesses whenever possible.)
Above all, I’ve given the Earth the gift of Celtling, and I can’t do any better for you than that. <3 <3
I’ve helped get a homeless man off the streets into housing.
I’ve run fundraisers generating somewhere around $25k for local charities, and over a thousand canned goods for local food banks.
The wife of an ex-coworker of mine is alive because of my actions.
I coached a volleyball team to 3rd in the nation in a junior’s tournament. And seen growth in some of the kids that I can only believe translated to confidence later in life.
I remember after my first fundraiser, a friend of mine came up to me and said “Congratulations. You’ve left your mark.” It’s a start. There’s still more to do, but I’m ok with what I’ve accomplished so far.
I feel much the same. I have a lot more left to do, but I’ve done a lot in my 35 years.
I was valedictorian of my high school, graduated from Cornell with a degree in Electrical Engineering, served five years in the US Army, up to the rank of Captain, and lived in Germany for over 3 years, enabling me to travel to 19 countries. Since coming back to the US, I’ve earned my Professional Engineer license and had a beautiful daughter, with a son on the way.
I’m also a pretty accomplished photographer, and I run a relatively successful photography site. Can’t say I have much to complain about in life. At this point, I just want to be as good a dad as I can be, and everything else is just gravy.
When i’m feeling bummed out, I like to remember that I’ve:
Hired Otis Day and the Knights.
Worked at the Rand Corporation.
Visited Boston.
Visited Toronto.
Visited Mexico.
Visited Rome.
Visited Ireland.
Visited Dubai.
Kicked U2 out of my restaurant.
Cooked for Wayne Newton.
Cooked for the mayor of Los Angeles.
Lived in NYC.
Lived in Atlanta.
Lived in Los Angeles.
Lived in Burbank.
Lived in San Diego.
Lived in Akron.
Been homeless.
Bought a house.
Been on Showtime.
Been married.
Been divorced.
Played the Hollywood Palace.
Almost died after a motorcycle accident.
Performed at the Comedy Store.
Performed at the Improv.
Performed at the Roxy.
Handled medieval Irish textiles with the museum curator.
Made over 100 costumes.
Saw the Blues Brothers, live, before their first album.
Had dinner with Wilt Chamberlin.
Been a chef in Beverly Hills.
Stopped a riot.
Built several medieval boats.
Been in parades.
Learned to swordfight.
Learned to shoot.
Helped build a pirate ship.
Recorded 2 albums of folk music.
Demolished a Wendy’s with a sledge hammer.
Been at the epicenter of 2 major earthquakes.
Had my research paper published.
Played Prof. Harold Hill in my high school “Music Man”.
Had my heart broken.
Sang with the joy of knowing God.
Been on the roof of the World Trade Center.
Played a scene in “Matlock” with Andy Griffith.
Taught Sunday School.
Been arrested.
Cooked hamburgers for 350 people.
Learned some ancient Greek·
Stayed at the fabulous Essex House·
Stayed pure of heart.
[LIST=bullet]
[li]I achieved my dream of being a science fiction writer and SFWA member. [/li][li]My work has been mentioned (though, alas, not reprinted) in Gardner Dozois’s Year’s Best anthologies. [/li][li]I had a story published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction[/li][li]I have an entry in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and in Contemporary Authors.[/li][li]I’ve been to Paris and London[/li][li]I’m a father.[/li][li]I’ve appeared as a character in someone else’s book.[/li][li]I’ve been happily married for over 30 years.[/li][li]I’m the youngest person to legally tend bar in NY State (on my 18th birthday)[/li][/LIST]
I haven’t accomplished much, as far as “achievements” go. That sounds dramatic, perhaps, but it’s true. The best I can say is that I’ve brought a lot of people laughter and friendship, at least IRL.
Didn’t we do this several months ago? I know I’ve listed my accomplishments before. A wonderfully weird collection of things:
1.) Modeled for a national catalog and got on the cover (True! I was a kid)
2.) Co-authored two papers with an astronaut, article from it published in Scientific American
3.) Worked with the founder of the L-5 Society on Laser Propulsion.*
4.) Got my doctorate and worked as a scientist at several research labs
5.) Invented a new laser
6.) Got four patents
7.) Published a book on mythology (mentioned in Gardner Dozios’ Year’s Best anthology)
8.) Published a book on Optics
9.) Numerous articles on physics, history, mythology, and pop culture in various magazines
10.) Published science fiction and fantasy in several magazines
11.) Appeared onstage with A guy who would later be a film star
12.) Played in a band with Jon Bon Jovi’s cousin.
13.) I’m a father
*We are the only group i know of that ever tried to use Dilithium (Tartrate) Crystals for a Space Drive. Didn’t work worth a damn, but we HAD to try it.
Nope. U2 had just sat down for drinks at 11:15 pm. I had just closed the kitchen at 11:00. The waiter was all for re-opening the kitchen because they decided they were hungry. The waiter was star-struck and I had been there since 9:00 am! They (the band) started to take his side and beg and cajole. I just wanted to go home I’d never heard of them (classical lover, never got into modern music), When they got insistant I just shouted “OUT!”
But I just realized that wasn’t what you wanted to hear about.
Stopping a riot:
When I lived in Las Vegas, I was a performer at the local Rocky Horror Picture Show. One night it was sold out, and about 100 people were turned away. About 20 of them were drunken, rowdy, frat-boy types. So they were screaming to be let in. The theatre had a back door, which they ran too. Started using the dumpster as a battering-ram and broke down the door! The crowd outside grew and was getting ugly.
These guys were screaming and trying to force their way in. Several actors in costume were trying to prevent this. I reached into our “Janet’s” make-up bag (in a bit of a panic myself) and started spraying hair-spray in all their eyes. That backed them off until the cops showed up.
Hmm… I’ve published one somewhat successful piece of music.
I graduated from university.
I played in the McGill Savoy Society orchestra for nine years.
I don’t have a big list of accomplishments. I’ve done some things, but not anything brag-worthy. Still, I think that if my ticket came up right now I’d feel like it was fair enough.
I’ve done a lot in 65 years, but the single largest accomplishment was to intervene in my son’s life a few years ago and help him get off drug dependency. It saved his marriage, and I believe it saved his life. Everything else pales by comparison.
