When I gave my sixth speech on October 31, 2006 I was dreaming of some fun activities that I've always fantasized about trying but have never had the opportunity to actually do. So, here are some of the activities I'm going to do at least once when I become a renowned blogger and public speaker...

There are a bunch of experiences I want to have before I leave the planet. Well, one of them would actually require me to leave the planet but follow along and see if you can figure it out. The first two activities would be combined into a one weekend getaway. Ah yes, I can see it now... 

Geronimooooo!!!. You’re a one man roller coaster, bird and sky diver all at once. It has to be one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen other people do on TV and I want my shot at flying out side of a plane. Bungie jumping is the adventure craze that has spread across the country like no other over the last 15 years or so. If you’re an A-type personality like me and you always had Superman dreams when you went to bed as a kid then something like dangling from the end of a rubber band is as close as you can get to it without a hang glider or parachute. It takes guts too. In fact it comes from a manhood/guts ritual from New Guinea. What’s been a right of passage for hundreds, maybe thousands of years for them can be provided by any adventure outfitter today. Pick a bridge span over a canyon, gorge or river rapid and there are probably a few human yo-yo’s bouncing from the bottom of that bridge on an elastic tether. 

I think that would be a pretty good orientation to being a bird man so the next day I would probably be ready to strap on a parachute and take a flying leap out of a perfectly good airplane.  

Ffffweeew…fwoop-poof-shewwww… If artificial wings are your thing then sky diving is a good alternative. You get to do the bird thing instead of the Superman thing. Imagine how a hawk must feel when it catches a current running over a valley between two mountains or between the walls of a canyon on a windy day. I would definitely have a fun time doing my bird man act. There are places all around the country that offer the opportunity to do a one time jump with a trained diver. Those same places typically train you to be a solo diver if you really get into it. But all I need is the one timer with the trained guy and I think I’ll have it out of my system. 

Flying thru the air would leave me sufficiently revived for a while, then I would have to take to the ocean. Since Jacques Cousteau is no longer with us and I’m not likely to meet Bob Ballard I’ll have to be happy with a local class in scuba diving. But who knows, the next vacation to the Gulf Coast may be the real test. Can’t you see me, face to face with Flipper, Jaws and Free Willie. Yes, I can definitely see myself grabbing on to the dorsal fin of a dolphin or a porpoise and going for a nice ride under the waves. I think I’ll stick to the cage when it comes to shark observation but seeing a feeding frenzy up close would be entirely too cool. The Pacific coast is a nice part of the country and eco-tourism is really big out that way, especially whale watching and particularly with the orcas. I think I’d really like to see them up close and under water though. 

Which leads us to adventure number 4 on my oceanic getaway. One of my dreams as an engineer, had I ever become rich and famous at it, would have been to design my own mini-sub. I want to go to the final terrestrial frontier and deeper than scuba gear can carry me. I’d like to see some ship wrecks that have become artificial reefs over the years and maybe discover some unknown species while roaming the fathoms. Submersibles have more oxygen than scuba tanks and I want to stay a while and get my money’s worth. 

Adventure number five is one vacation by itself because space travel takes a minimum of a week’s time. “T minus 10 and counting, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,…rumble, boosh, criihhh, shtooo…we have lift off”. How completely cool will it be when civilian space travel becomes as natural and common as the space shuttle blast offs with the professional astronauts? When it becomes a reality I want all of you to sponsor me. I will be your human billboard. Call your rich uncles. Tell your employers you have a great marketing opportunity for the company. I’ve already registered my name with Virgin Galactic. That’s the company owned by Richard Branson the founder ofVirgin Atlantic Records. He’ using his millions earned from the music industry to advance science and naturally I want to help him accomplish that. 

I’m still relatively young and healthy and the only obstacle is money, but isn’t that always the case. Of course maybe I’ll become a famously wealthy public speaker and be able to afford some of these adventures on my own. Maybe I’ll be like some of these Toastmasters we read about in our magazines each month who get invited to speak to companies and industry conventions. Maybe the scientists and thrill seekers will want me at their conference and I’ll get to do all the fun stuff on the side. You never know, it could happen.