Hi again, my students. Here are some thoughts on the subject
of the bucket list, which is part of the first unit.
Although the expression bucket list is fairly recent (you all know the movie), the underlying idea has always been part of the American
mindset (whatever that may mean). I personally believe that writer Ernest
Hemingway and his macho antics helped the average American understand what life
can be when you seek real adventure and live your life like there’s no tomorrow.
Not only did he witness a war firsthand but he also traveled the world. He went
on safari to Uganda. In France he met intellectuals. In Cuba he drank more
mojitos than anybody on the island. In Spain he ran the bulls in Pamplona and
hanged out with bullfighters. To this day the experience of running the bulls belongs
to the to-do list of many young Americans that one day would like to say “I did
it”. In short, he did a bit of everything: he won the Nobel Prize for literature (1954)
but also fought with boxers. What happens if you’re a woman? I’m not sure what
an equivalent approach might be like but there’s no denying that the idea of
“living life to the fullest” does exist amongst women, of course. Diane Sawyer,
for instance, is no Hemingway but has had some pretty impressive experiences in
her life. She worked in the White House under the Nixon administration. As a
journalist she was the first female correspondent on 60 minutes. She wrote news reports in caves in Afghanistan during the war and remains one of the major
personalities in TV history. I don’t know if she has ever gone skydiving but
she has a truly amazing resume.
Anyhow, here’s a piece of Americana: a country song about a
guy who’s diagnosed with cancer and decides to basically go skydiving and cross
out all those things on his own bucket list. I know it’s really corny, really corny.
I know. Still, I find it enjoyable, kind of like a guilty pleasure… Anyway
there’s some interesting vocabulary there.
N.B. Yes. It’s not a typo: Americana is an actual word. You
can look it up if you don’t know what it means.
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