Shortly after my eighth-grade year in school, my Grandpa Carbery gave me a nice AM/FM portable radio. I kept it in my family’s garage, and my friends and I for years would listen to it while we lifted weights.
I was grateful for the gift but confused in that I didn’t think moving up from junior high to high school was anything special. I had never received a present before for advancing from one grade level to the next in school.
Grandpa, however, thought it was noteworthy.
What seems noteworthy to much of society today seems to cause me confusion as did the gift of the portable radio.
I have found that we all do things in life that at the time may seem pretty ordinary, but as you look back actually mean much more.
For instance, I made it through six years in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve. It was an undistinguished military career – I tell people I mostly remember scrubbing boats – but I came out of it with an honorable discharge. Not everyone can say that.
As far as academics, I graduated high school and went on to obtain a bachelor of journalism degree from Mizzou. I realize that many Baby Boomers like me attended college and quite a few of them went on to get postgraduate degrees. Still, I look back at my college days fondly and am proud of my diploma.
For several years in the 1990s I volunteered my time for the Make-A-Wish organization, which grants the wishes of critically ill children. I wrote stories for the group’s newsletter to donors. It was gratifying to help Make-A-Wish in even the smallest of ways.
In my early 40s, I married a beautiful girl and became a father to her young son. A couple of years later, my wife and I had twin girls. I am proud of our three kids, who have grown up to be impressive people. I realize my wife did the lion’s share of the work of raising our children, but I like to think I’ve made a positive impression on them.
I once ran in and completed a 5K run during my first newspaper job in Louisiana, Mo. The editor took a picture of me and put it in the paper, noting that I was the last one to finish. But, I did finish it.
I loved sports as a kid and in my years playing competitively hit some home runs, pinned a number of opponents and sank shots that today would be considered three-pointers. I never scored a touchdown, but I sacked the quarterback a few times. I learned to swim as a young child.
I have worked in journalism professionally since graduating from Mizzou in 1984. This includes two years working in public relations. That’s a lot of writing.
Some other affirmative aspects of my life have been tackling public speaking mostly as a trivia night host, writing a trivia column for more than 30 years and donating blood about 15 times.
As I considered my life accomplishments as a topic for this column, curiosity had me explore what “internet experts” suggested should be considered noteworthy feats.
Everything I wrote above about myself is logged on one or more of these lists of accomplishments. I just don’t believe they all qualify to be on a list.
Here are a few of the accomplishments I found most confusing and maybe a little overstated.
■ Adopt a pet. I grew up with pet dogs and as a parent have had dogs almost constantly for the benefit of my family. I never viewed this as any kind of achievement. I’ve just felt that my doggies have added to my enjoyment of life.
■ Drink more water. Is this an accomplishment? To me, it’s a directive from a doctor. Sure, you should stay hydrated, but I don’t think it’s anything to put on your resume.
■ Make your bed. At boot camp, I was forced to make my bunk every morning, but I’m not sure that this has been an issue at any other time in my life. When I did make my bunk during boot camp, it was not to attain a sense of accomplishment, but to avoid abuse from my company commander.
■ Floss your teeth. Like the drinking water entry, you do this on the advice of health professionals, not because it’s something to be achieved. As a kid I went to a dentist who had a sign in his office that said, “You don’t have to floss all of your teeth, just the ones you want to keep.” That bit of wisdom has stuck in my head ever since.
■ Read a book. Well, I enjoy reading books and encourage others to do so. But I see it as something you do if you like it, not necessarily something you set as a goal.
During my perusal of the various opinions on types of accomplishments, I did find some I would not mind attempting.
One such recurring topic I’d like to try from the listings of life accomplishments is travel to new places. I have mainly taken trips to sites within the United States but would not mind seeing spots in the country I haven’t been to before, like Monument Valley or the Baseball Hall of Fame. I also would love to someday visit Ireland.
A suggestion on one of the lists is to volunteer at a hospital. This is a great idea. If I ever retire, I would not mind doing this.
Another recommendation from one of the lists was to perform in a play. I have thought about this before in regard to the Dickens’ story “A Christmas Carol.” If I ever auditioned to act in anything, I would like to be the Ghost of Christmas Present. I’m not a giant, as he is described in the book, but I’d give it my best.
There also are suggestions that do not interest me at all, such as learning a magic trick or take up rock climbing. Everybody has their own preferences.
But maybe that’s the thing about accomplishments. Everybody can have their own preferences about what they want to accomplish in life.