The crack of a gunshot, followed by the footsteps of 50,000 people running. The noise could be heard for several blocks in each direction. It was even louder 26.2 miles away in Central Park where the New York City Marathon finish line was located on Sunday, November 5th, 2023. Fortunately, the gunshot was a starter pistol and the runners were race participants. Yet when asked during a press conference on homeland security and radicalized violence, New York Governor Kathy Hochul agreed that the success of the race was encouraging. Sadly, that is our reality. “The Greatest City in the World”, the quintessential melting pot once sought by those fleeing lands near and far in hopes of a better life, has been reduced to an urban state of fear whose leaders measure monumental success by a major event concluding without a mass casualty incident.
The Governor’s remarks came merely two days before 3.5 million people poured into Manhattan for a fall tradition that is as much of a staple in American households as turkey and stuffing: The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. More notably, Hochul’s speech immediately followed the release of a threat intelligence report which cited an increased likelihood of terrorist attacks on soft targets in New York City. Not exactly a warm feeling for those workers and spectators in attendance. Fortunately the worst that happened was a group of protesters running onto the parade route in a sad and hopeless attempt to disrupt the day that Americans respectfully give thanks for what we have.
The phrase “bucket list” could be heard over and over throughout the gigantic crowd. The shivering masses stood eagerly in beanies, mittens, and down jackets; narrating their airplane flights, train rides, and road trips that led them to the parade route beginning on Central Park West and ending in Herald Sqaure. Then the cheering began.
Source: Dark Passport Photography
A bucket list is a kaleidoscopic view into the heart and soul. The nature of the list can tell you if the writer is a sightseer, hopeless romantic, adrenaline junkie, scholar, beach bum, socialite, artist, or fiend of spontaneity. Keen readers of a honest bucket list can tell who is closer to enlightenment versus those stuck wandering aimlessly through their own troubled and unfinished past. Happy are the ones who believe that a bucket list isn’t to be judged by its contents, but rather by the lines of accomplishment drawn through the words.
From philosophical as well as psychological points of view, bucket lists have gotten a bad rap as of late. It is 2023 after all, which means a concept wouldn’t be complete without a group of people trying to cancel it. They say that not fulfilling a list imparts a lasting sense of failure. Worse, some (perhaps unintentionally) use their list as a feeble attempt at escaping depression. Then there is the never meet your heroes theory: Fly countless miles spending years of saved money only to get to the destination and think, “Wait. That’s it?!” (See Blog #17: The Perfect Storm Part I for my disappointing bucket list trip to Salem on Halloween).
Source: Dark Passport Photography
At the end of the day, bucket lists are like so many other things in life: Ideally used with informed, well-aimed intentions. Go. Accomplish goals. Have fun. Keep life interesting. Sure, you will be disappointed occasionally. But every once in a while, you’ll be standing outside Radio City Music Hall in a flurry of [confetti] snowfall while Santa Claus himself looks at down at you from his sleigh and winks. Incredible. Another bucket list item, checked!
Source: Dark Passport Photography
The Dark Passport 