It’s hard to imagine getting along without the aid of lists. When I look around my room I find that I’ve created dozens — if not hundreds — of lists: favorite restaurants, TV series, art museum hours, email addresses, blood pressure readings, poets I admire, area campgrounds, one-day trips, etc. Most of these aid me in decision-making and in backing up my sometimes foggy memory.
According to dictionary.com, a list is “a series of names or other items written or printed together in a meaningful grouping or sequence so as to constitute a record.” A grocery list would be a familiar example. Lists are ways of categorizing and ordering our world of experience. In addition, lists often function to organize action, dividing it into smaller fragments. Google suggests that there are three common types of list which we use to facilitate everyday behavior: (1) To-do lists (for managing daily tasks); (2) bucket lists (long-term life goals); and (3) inventory and shopping lists (specifying items on hand or required for purchase).
Lately I’ve been thinking about how lists serve to define one’s sense of personal identity. One could pretty much wrap up one’s life by making lists of family members, jobs held, schools attended, best friends, hobbies and interests, sports played, group memberships, personal achievements, etc. Here are some of the more idiosyncratic personal lists that I’ve recently created.
Love,
Dave
PLACES I HAVE LIVED: Menominee, MI (1937-55); Yellow Springs, OH (1955-60); Madison, WI (1957); New York City (1958); Fairfield, CN(1959); San Francisco, CA (1959); Ann Arbor, MI (1960-66); Bethel, ME (1963, 1973); Cincinnati OH (1966-present)
HEROES: Roy Rogers; Superman; Paul Bunyan; Joe Louis; John F. Kennedy; George Mikan; Rod Laver.
ODD JOBS I HAVE HELD: Drugstore clerk; biology research assistant; Popular Science magazine librarian; occupational therapy aide;; boarding house dishwasher
DAILY MIND GAMES: Wordle, Sudoku, Jumble, Spider Solitaire
THINGS I AM BAD AT: Singing; golf; wood-working; home repairs; ice skating and roller skating
THRILLS: Motorcycle riding, para-sailing, hot air ballooning, Kings Island roller coasters, swing dancing.
PET PEEVES: Phone scammers, litterers, student bus riders who sit on the plants next to our garden wall, dog poops in the yard, people who sit and talk on exercise machines at the fitness center
YOUTUBE VIDEOS: Mary Lou Williams (jazz piano); Sondre and Tanya (boogie dancing); Andre Rieu (concerts); Andrea Motis (vocals and trumpet); Ruth Etting (1920s vocals)
STATES I HAVE CAMPED IN: Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Oregon, California, New Mexico, Kansas, Maine
BOOKS CURRENTLY ON MY BEDSIDE TABLE: Billy Collins, Sailing Alone Around the World; Russell Baker, Growing Up; Dave Barry Slept Here; Mary Oliver, New and Selected Poems; David Sedaris, Barrel Fever.
MY BEST YEARS: 1953 (Driver’s license); 1955 (freshman year of college); 1960
(marriage); 1968 (awarded Ph.D.); 1969 (son born); 1974 (promotion and tenure); 2009 (retirement).
GUILTY PLEASURES: Dairy Queen chocolate sundaes with nuts; Lorna Doone cookies; Canadian Club whiskey; smoking (years ago); sleeping in till 11 a.m.
MEDICATIONS: Benazepril (blood pressure); Hydrochlorothiazide (blood pressure); Metformin (blood glucose); Pravastatin (cholesterol); Ezetimibe (cholesterol)
COLLECTIONS: Jazz records; antique postcards; kitschy figurines; poetry books; vintage tennis rackets
8 RADIO SHOWS I ENJOYED: Jack Benny, The Fred Allen Show, George and Gracie, Duffy’s Tavern, The Great Gildersleeve, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Aldrich Family, Our Miss Brooks.
8 FAVORITE TRIP DESTINATIONS: New York City, New Orleans, San Francisco, Seattle, Santa Cruz, Destin, Hilton Head, Menominee
DOGS: Heather (German Shepard, 1960-61), Jacques (Standard Poodle, 1965-1972), Winston (Bedlington Terrier, ca, 1978-1989), Mike and Duffy (Old English Sheepdogs, ca. 2005-2016) , Iko (Miniature Schnauzer, 2021-2026)
That pretty much sums it up.
