A little too ironic….
The author of the book “100 Things To Do Before You Die!” just died on 17th August.
Unfortunately Dave Freeman had only completed about half of the list that he and co-author Neil Teplica had created.
And how did he die? Running with the bulls in Pamplona? A terrible crash in the Paris-Dakar Rally? Or drowning in the World Bog-Snorkelling Championships? No, none of these. He fell over at home, banged his head and died!
It makes you wonder if this whole writing-a-list thing is tempting fate just a little bit too much.
News article:-
Sydney Morning Herald
It does however bring into sharp focus how short a time we all really do have, and how we never know what surprises might be waiting just around the corner. For me it re-enforces my belief that doing what you really want to do, and living the life you really want to live is extremely important, and why wait until later, get on with it now!
Here is Dave and Neil’s list of 100 things to do before you die! It is all travel and event related, rather than being personal goal related, as my list of 100 goals is, but there are quite a few of the same places or events on the two lists.
1 Eight-day dog sled race, Alaska, USA
2 La Fiesta de la Virgen de la Candelaria, Argentina
3 Racing at Royal Ascot, Berkshire
4 Devil dancers of Corpus Christi, Venezuela
5 Calgary Stampede rodeo, Canada
6 Vernal equinox at Mayan pyramid, Mexico
7 Maha Kumbh Mela, Hindu pilgrimage, India
8 Academy awards, Los Angeles
9 Vienna Opera Ball, Austria
10 Running of the Bulls, Pamplona, Spain
11 Land-diving — primitive bungee jumping — Vanuatu, South Pacific
12 Bastille Day, Paris
13 La Tomatina tomato fight, Bunol, Spain
14 National Hollerin’ Contest, South Carolina, USA
15 Cannes Film Festival, France
16 World cowpat throwing championship, Oklahoma, USA
17 Nude Night Surfing, Bondi Beach, Australia
18 Paris Air Show, France
19 Mardi Gras carnival, New Orleans, USA
20 Venice Biennale art festival, Italy
21 Polo finals, Buenos Aires, Argentina
22 Cheese rolling, Gloucestershire
23 Roswell UFO site, New Mexico, USA
24 Lent Carnaval, Brazil
25 Monarch butterfly migration, Mexico
26 Navajo native American fair, USA
27 Holy week celebrations, Peru
28 Junkanoo street festival, Bahamas
29 Up-Helly-Aa fire festival, Shetland Isles
30 St Joseph’s feast day, Valencia, Spain
31 New Year’s Eve in Times Square, New York, USA
32 Voodoo pilgrimage party, Haiti
33 Chelsea Flower Show, London
34 Icarus Cup free-flying festival, France
35 Day of the Dead funeral celebration, Mexico
36 New Orleans Jazz Festival, USA
37 Tough Guy contest, Staffordshire
38 Yom Kippur at the Western Wall, Jerusalem, Israel
39 National Rodeo Finals, USA
40 Snow Festival, Sapporo, Japan
41 Oktoberfest beer festival, Munich, Germany
42 Anastenaria firewalking ceremony, Greece
43 Palio horse race, Siena, Italy
44 Testicle festival, Montana, USA
45 Extreme skiing, New Zealand
46 Monaco Grand Prix
47 Queen’s Day party, Holland
48 Ganesh Chaturthi, Hindu festival, India
49 Battle of Gettysburg re-enactment, Pennsylvania, USA
50 Fatima pilgrimage, Portugal
51 Hogmanay, Scotland
52 Art Car Weekend, Houston, USA.
53 Basque Herri Kilorak sports festival, Spain
54 Cannabis Cup, Amsterdam, Holland
55 Marathon des Sables, Morocco
56 Annual rollercoaster convention, USA
57 Autumn Love Parade, Berlin, Germany
58 New Year’s Eve on Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
59 Venice Carnevale, Italy
60 Hounen Matsuri fertility festival, Komaki, Japan
61 Custer’s Last Stand re-enactment, Montana, USA
62 Pushkar Camel Fair, India
63 Near Death Pilgrimage, Las Nieves, Spain
64 Paris-Dakar Rally
65 Rath Yatra: Hindu chariot festival, India
66 World Bog Snorkelling Championships, Wales
67 North American Rainbow Gathering, USA
68 Nobel Prize ceremonies, Stockholm, Sweden
69 Sanja Matsuri music festival, Tokyo, Japan
70 Beer Can Regatta, Darwin, Australia
71 Hajj and Eid-al-Adha, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
72 Oil wrestling tournament, Kirkpinar, Turkey
73 Mevlana Festival, Turkey
74 Rattlesnake Derby, Oklahoma, USA
75 Bisket Jatra, New Year, Nepal
76 Illumination of Temple of Abu Simbel, Lake Nasser, Egypt
77 Spamarama luncheon meat festival, Texas, USA
78 Fez Festival of World Sacred Music, Morocco
79 Shuni-e Buddhist ceremony, Nara, Japan
80 Namaqualand Wildflower Bloom, South Africa
81 Pageant of the Masters, Laguna Beach, California
82 Great Serengeti Migration, Tanzania
83 Incwala festival of fruits, Swaziland
84 Holi creation festival, India
85 Greenwich Village Hallowe’en Parade, New York
86 Paro Tsechu Buddhist festival, Bhutan.
87 Dragon Boat Championship, Hong Kong
88 Naadam sporting festival, Mongolia
89 Punkin Chunkin, world catapult championship, Delaware, USA
90 Kalibo Ati-Atihan masked ball, Philippines
91 Chung Yuan ghost month Festival, Taiwan
92 Homowo Tribal Celebration, Ghana
93 Burning Man Project, Nevada, USA
94 Ngan Kin Jeh vegetarian festival, Thailand
95 Tet Nguyen Dan, Vietnamese New Year
96 World Extreme Skiing Championships, Alaska, USA
97 Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Sydney, Australia
98 World championship cockroach races, Australia
99 Great Singsing festival at Mt Hagen, Papua New Guinea
100 Nyepi: Silent New Year’s Eve, Indonesia
Reproduced from 100 Things to Do Before You Die: Travel Events You Just Can’t Miss (Cooper Square Press) by Dave Freeman and Neil Teplica