I came across a new and unfamiliar President the other day. He was sitting on the street corner, gazing off into the distance in a pondering and Presidential way. I didn't recognize him. He was stout enough that I thought for a moment he could have been William Howard Taft, until I remembered that Taft was several blocks away, winding up to throw out the first pitch of the World Series.
Even though I didn't recognize this man, I knew he was a United States President, simply because he was on a street corner in downtown Rapid City. Over the past few years, statues of Presidents have been erected throughout downtown, a few each year. We don't have all of them yet, but we're getting close. By now there are enough that, except for the obvious ones like Washington and Eisenhower and the Roosevelts, I'm no longer sure who all of them are.
One of the things I've been meaning to do for the past year or so is take a walk through downtown and check out all the statues. Driving past the newest statue this week reminded me that I haven't gotten around to taking that Presidential stroll.
It even occurred to me that this might be a "bucket list" item. (For anyone not familiar with the 2007 movie, "The Bucket List," the title refers to a list of things you want to do before you kick the bucket.) Walking around to look at a few statues, I decided, hardly seemed big enough to qualify for a "bucket list," unless perhaps the statues in question happen to be in Rome or Egypt.
What I need, I realized, is a list for smaller things. Stuff that's not important enough so I would care if I kicked the bucket before I got it done, but still stuff that I would like to do. Small, enjoyable things that aren't life-changing but are still worth doing. Like walking around looking at the Presidents. Or playing the piano more than I currently do. Or planting some rose bushes.
Things on this small of a scale don't really merit a bucket, but they're still important enough to pay attention to. I've decided it's time to start a list for these little wishes that I haven't gotten around to yet. I'll begin it just as soon as I get my desk cleaned off so I can find a fresh piece of paper. I'm going to make a "teacup list."
(One of the things I haven't gotten around to yet is seeing "The Bucket List." Maybe I need to put it on my list.)
Practical Prairie Woman 