The list.

A friend recently e-mailed a copy of their list of things to do and things they have done. It's the thing now to have a "bucket list" as outlined in the popular movie with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. I was inspired. I am working on a bucket list, but I already have a wacky list so far:

I have slept outside in minus 35 temperatures and taught others how to do it.

I have interviewed five Canadian prime ministers. (Trudeau, Clark, Turner, Mulroney, Chretien)

I have interviewed one PM’s wife.(Mila)

I was at the controls of a cargo plane flying through the Eastern Arctic one night with five tons of frozen halibut from Greenland. The real pilot had been drinking and needed a snooze. He woke up a few hours later so we could land in Sanikiluaq.

When I go canoeing, my blood pressure goes down.

I once went 14 days without a bath or shower. I was on a northern canoe trip and this sure helped keep the bugs away.

I was in a coma for three days from injuries after falling out of car when I was a kid, which might explain why I think I have a problem when I read.

On the other hand, I read about two books a week.

I dread going to the dentist. But my dentist says it’s okay to have a shot of whiskey before going in for a check up if that’s what it takes to calm down.

I am blessed with two grandsons. I marvel at how smart my grandkids are. They are probably no smarter than any other kids, but I enjoy talking with them and am amazed at what they see and how they think.

I am afraid of heights. I don’t like ladders and that’s why I don’t put up Christmas lights. This does not include airplanes. When I am in a plane, I don’t mind hanging out the door upside down to shoot photos.

I was a smoker for 22 years. I quit a two-pack a day habit when I was 32.

I am an airplane freak. If it flies, I like it. When I go to air shows, I go to the display area and touch the airplanes. Some days I go to the airport, just to watch planes take off and land. Some of my earliest memories as a child were of living on a jet fighter base and hearing supersonic jets taking off day and night.

I also like trains, especially older trains. But not as much as I like planes.

I once rode a freight train through the Rockies from Banff to Revelstoke, through the Spiral Tunnels and the Rogers Pass. It was awesome.

I don’t like hot weather. Anything hotter than 25 and I am uncomfortable. I am okay with cold weather.

I got horribly drunk on lemon gin when I was 14. I chopped down a tree in a city park, puked all over the place and passed out.

I woke up early on Christmas morning when I was six and opened all the gifts. My mom didn’t think it was funny when she found me playing with stuff that was supposed to be for my brothers.

I have been in five oceans. Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic, Mediterranean, and the English Channel… but that’s not really an ocean is it?

I ate raw caribou in the Arctic once. It wasn't exactly a sushi feast, but it was good.