The Stoop

He put down the pencil.

He realized. In the ending of his list, he'd invited death. Within the two-fifths of the page after "_35. See Samuel and Jackie at least once a week_", He had really put _36. Die_. He crumpled up the bucket list and wondered why he'd even started the damn thing. He was still young. Well, he wasn't old. But how many young people do you see with grandkids. He thought about them, Sweet Sammy, and Little Jackie. Uncrumpling the list, he looked at the things he'd put before them, before number 35.

_16. Sky Dive_ _28. Visit Paris_ _3. Write a Memoir_ _33. Apologize to Rose_ _7. Live on the Beach_ _1. Win an Award_ _23. Feel Weightless_ then looked at _36. Die_, which he'd scribbled in at the bottom.

Noticing his mistake, he'd put less important items first, and what mattered last, he rewrote:

*List of things to do before Sammy and Jackie Grow Up* _1. See Samuel and Jackie at least once a week_ _2. Apologize to Rose_ _3. Maybe some other things, but in the end die proud of my decisions_