#18 Teach Michaela to ride her bike

This past summer I took Michaela out to the road in front of Grandma and Grandpa’s house in Consecon to teach her how to ride her bike with no training wheels. It was an interesting experience to say the least as I am much older than I was when my older two learned to ride their bikes. I had to create a new method of teaching so I would not fall over dead from a heart attack running beside her bike. I started by putting the seat way down and using a 12 inch wheel so her feet touched the ground. I had her sit on the seat and had her lift up her feet teaching her to balance just sitting still. Next I had her learn to push using her right foot, her strength leg. This got her use to the position of “take off” when she was riding on her own. This was a fun/frustrating task to say the least. Within an hour she was comfortable and was pushing forward on her own and feeling good about not falling off her bike. With a 12 inch wheel she knew her fet were close to the ground and that she could “catch” herself when she would fall over.

Four hours later she was riding up and down the road all on her own and I did not have to run.

#25 Hot air balloon ride

Over 2 years ago Rosanne entered our names in a draw to win a hot air balloon ride. Well we won and finally after waiting to find the “perfect” weather and timing we set off. We flew with Sun Dance Balloons and they were wonderful. Very professional and helpful. Our basket held 12 people and it was full. The weather was clear and sunny and the wind was perfect. The flight started in London just north of Oxford and east of Wonderland and we landed very close to St. Thomas. The ride took us up over a mile high and lasted 2 hours. Very peaceful, romantic and a worth while adveture for sure.

#42 Take care of my cemetery plot

My Grandfather owned his own funeral home in West Lorne Ontario. I grew up around the funeral industry, playing in my Grand Parents home which was also the funeral home. We had to be quiet while services were on and stay out of Grand dad’s way as he served families. The hearse sat in the garage, the empty caskets were always creepy and the smell was, well, just like a funeral home.

The cemetery of choice was Evergreen Cemetery in West Lorne and that was where our family members started to be buried. I have never been a big fan of cemeteries until I started to officiate more funerals over the past 3 years. I see value in a place that can represent family heritage and story telling. Some families have a cottage and ashes or memories are stored and shared there. Others may plant a tree, but there is no guarantee that the tree will last.

It has become for me now about preserving family heritage. About creating a place that allows family members now and in the future to go and reminisce about family who once lived. There is great value in memory preservation, story telling and family heritage. The real estate that is now preserved for as long as mankind walks the earth is the cemetery.

The process was simple and painless. We met with the board president at the cemetery, checked out what plots (real estate) was available and made our choice. My Grandfather had chosen a very nice location along tree line and that is where we chose. We purchased 3 plots allowing for 9 urns…

#12 I want to eat sushi

#19 I want to get a tatoo

On February 25th I did! Why did no one tell me how much it would hurt??? All you inked pals of mine, none of you warned me…how cruel. My journey started with a love for ink when I met Jen O’Neill a local photographer and saw her amazing tattoos. I have since then, wondered about getting my own tatoo and decided to add it to my 50 b4 50 list. So with Jen’s guidance we started to visit different artists to see what they were like and get a fell for the process. The date I set was for the day after my party just in case I decided to chicken out.

I used JP from Addicitve Tatoo in London, he was professional, helpful and very passionate and driven to do an amazing job. I am very pleased. It looks a little red, of course, right now, but I am sure it will settle down in a few days and look even more amazing. Thanks Jacqui and JP…

#6 Read the Bible through…or listen on CD

Receiving my Bachelors Degree in Theology meant having to read the Bible over and over again through my 5 year course. Matter of fact one of our graduation requirements was to know the chapter content of every chapter in the Bible. Please don’t quiz me now!

I cannot remember ever reading the Bible just for the sheer pleasure of it, so one of my 50 b4 50 was to read the Bible because I wanted to, not because I have to. Well one major change over the past 25 years since I graduated is my eyes don’t seem to work as well. To make this project happen I purchased the Bible on CD and listened to it when I drove from home to Toronto, when I sat and workd on my laptop. I purchased the NIV audio Bible, produced by Zondervan Books.

#41 The journey…so far!

Lest I ever forget I have started a list of the things I have seen and done. The list will be an ongoing project that will end when I do. I have started the list as a page on this blog, so feel free to look it over and send me some more items I need to list…thanks for the help and thanks for sharing the journey!!

The list so far

#9 Sing a karaoke love song to Rosanne

My best friend is my wife Rosanne. No one has ever loved me so much, with such passion and devotion. She always believes in me and is my greatest inspiration. It is just right to sing a song to share my love and appreciation. At my 50th birthday party I did just that…sang a love song, a song I have always loved. The song I chose was by Joshua Kadison, entitled, “Beautiful in my eyes”…here are the words:

You’re my peace of mind in this crazy world.
You’re everything I’ve tried to find, your love is a pearl.
You’re my Mona Lisa, you’re my rainbow skies,
and my only prayer is that you realize
you’ll always be beautiful in my eyes.
The world will turn, and the seasons will change,
and all the lesson we will learn will be beautiful and strange.
We’ll have our fill of tears, our share of sighs.
My only prayer is that you realize
you’ll always be beautiful in my eyes.
You will always be beautiful in my eyes.
And the passing years will show
that you will always grow ever more beautiful in my eyes.
When there are lines upon my face from a lifetime of smiles,
when the time comes to embrace for one long last while,
we can laugh about how time really flies.
We won’t say goodbye ’cause true love never dies.
You’ll always be beautiful in my eyes.
You will always be beautiful in my eyes.
And the passing years will show
that you will always grow ever more beautiful in my eyes.
The passing years will show that you will always grow
ever more beautiful in my eyes.

The song was a big hit….I love you Rosanne

# 46 Ride Behemoth at Canada’s Wonderland

The Facts
Track Length: Approximately 5,318 ft, 1620.9 m
Lift Height: Approximately 230 ft, 70 m
Angle of Descent: Approximately 75 degrees
Ride Time: Approximately 3 minutes, 10 seconds
Speed of First Drop: Approximately 77 miles/hour 125km/hour
Ride Capacity: Approximately 1,545 guests/hour

The Experience:
Not Bad…I had gone skydiving the day before…so it was nothing
It was Sunday October 18th and Dewey (my daughter) and I headed off to TO. I had a wedding to perform at 11 am at the planatarium in doentown and then a quick change and off we went to Canada’s Wonderland. Dewey and I are big roller coaster fans, so we hit the coasters fast and hard for 3 solid hours. The weather was amazing! the crowds were light and the coasters were screaming. We rode the Behemoth 3 times that I can remember and I nevered tired of the thrill. Highly recommended…another off the list.

# 2 Write out my memorial service wishes

As many of you may know I officiate dozens of funerals every year. In so doing I have learned a great deal about the funeral industry and the importance of end of life planning. A lot of planning goes into bringing a new life into the world, not much planning goes into the end of life.

I set as one of my 50 B4 50 to take care of the plans for my memorial service. I have seen so many times the intense struggle of planning and taking care of all details while morning the loss of a loved one, to that end I have written out all my wishes and made all my decisions for when I die…and die I will, some day. The expierience has taught me a lot about the funeral indusrty and shone a light on how little I really knew about planning for end of life. The average Canadian knows nothing about death and funeral services, what is required and what is not.

My experience has caused me to make it my pesonal mission to let everyone know the truth about death and the services required.