By Shavonne Walker
shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — This year, I vowed to purge the clutter from my home, my car and my desk at work. I’m still working on all three, but while decluttering my desk I came across a 207-item bucket list. I had no idea who it belonged to and I knew it wasn’t mine.

I had no idea whose list I held, but it got me to thinking it was time for another list.

If you were a reader of the Post in 2009, then you may remember when I created a list of 30 things to do before I turned 30. So you know I am a fan of making lists and marking things off of them. If you are wondering if I managed to fulfill all 30 of my goals before 30 I didn’t, but it was fun trying.

At any rate, I’ve maintained a bucket list of sorts in my mind and via my Pinterest boards. I love to travel and I’ve got a list of places I want to visit or things I’ve always wanted to do but never found the time or thought that I was too old to do, like jump in puddles. I’ve never actually written any of them down before. I just stored them away in my memory bank until last week when I found this eight-page bucket list with no name and no real clue who’d come up with these ideas.

I asked around the newsroom and no one claimed it. I only had a few clues and one was the paper it was printed on, which was recycled with the date 2012 printed on the back. The list contained items like try all 31 Baskin-Robbins flavors, sleep under the stars and the downright silly, like walk through a drive-through.

Some of the more creative items include take at least 1,000 pictures, write a song, shower in a waterfall, and dance with a complete stranger.

So let me explain the method to my madness. I didn’t go the way of the daredevils who created the mystery bucket list by adding skydiving or jumping from a waterfall. I’m not a daredevil, so there’s no real point to putting potentially deadly items on my list because I’m not doing it. Call me chicken, but I do want to live to experience my bucket list.

I am adventurous when it comes to food so I didn’t really add anything to my list that required me to try new cuisine. I also wanted to include my family because they are important to me and in many ways the experiences I want to have, I want it with them.

I began to think about all of the things I dreamt of doing while in high school and college — everything from the things I’d do if money were no object or time were not a factor and calories didn’t matter.

So everyone in my family knows I’ve always had a fascination with the body farm. Ever since I heard that it actually existed I’ve wanted to go. It’s basically a “farm” with donated cadavers in various stages of decomposition. It’s designed to teach investigators about investigating deaths and train cadaver dogs. So in honor of my weird fascination with decomposing bodies I made it my No. 1.

My No. 60 is probably worth some explanation. I’ve watched all the episodes of “Downton Abbey” on PBS and if you’ve seen the various episodes where the Crawleys held dinner parties, then you probably noticed, like I did, the amount of food being served. The Crawleys typically have 10-course meals. So if it’s good enough for them. I want a 10-course meal. Here’s a list of the courses if you’re interested — hors d’oeuvre, soup, fish, entree, removes (take away dishes for the next course), sorbet, roast, salad, sweets, fruit and cheese.

I’m really interested in completing my No. 18 and that is finally finishing my family tree. I’ve been working on my family tree since about 2004 and I’ve gotten to the 1800s and identified my great-great grandfather, Robert Crawford. I don’t want to give up if there’s more information out there.

My No. 23 holds special meaning for me and that is the Ronald McDonald House. My daughter was born six weeks early and spent a few weeks at the NICU at Brenner Children’s Hospital and my husband and I stayed at the Ronald McDonald House, which was literally across the street. The people there were so kind and caring at a time when all we wanted to do was be with our little two-pound miracle. Each day a meal was prepared by volunteers. I’d love for my husband and I to return the favor and volunteer to prepare a meal for families.

So here goes:

1. Visit the body farm at Western Carolina University.
2. Visit the Seychelles off the coast of East Africa.
3. Visit Maui, Hawaii.
4. See the Golden Gate Bridge and Muir Woods in San Francisco, California.
5. Ride a hot air balloon.
6. Go to an indoor trampoline park.
7. Visit the National Museum of African American Culture and History in Washington, D.C.
8. Get a mud bath.
9. See a Broadway performance.
10. Visit Aruba.
11. Go to Tuscany, Italy.
12. Visit the Holocaust Museum.
13. Vist the Taj Mahal.
14. Learn to play chess.
15. Attend the Summer Olympics.
16. Take a photography class.
17. Volunteer to help build a Habitat for Humanity house.
18. Complete my family tree.
19. Have a DNA test to determine ancestry.
20. Visit Cairo, Egypt, to see the pyramids.
21. Take a family trip.
22. Learn to forgive.
23. Volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House.
24. Attend a murder mystery dinner.
25. Run through a sprinkler.
26. Participate in an escape room.
27. Get fit.
28. Develop and stick to a new hobby.
29. Have a dance party with my daughter.
30. Plan a micro adventure once a month (visit a local landmark or try a new restaurant).
31. Take a cooking class.
32. Eat from a food truck.
33. Spend an entire day at a spa.
34. Always tell friends and family you love them.
35. Learn Spanish fluently.
36. Perform an act of kindness without expecting anything in return.
37. Buy someone coffee in line behind me.
38. Sing at the top of my lungs.
39. Kiss/dance in the rain.
40. See the sunrise/set.
41. Stay at a resort.
42. Go stargazing.
43. Throw a fancy dinner party.
44. Get a complete makeover.
45. Take an etiquette class.
46. Take a trip without a plan.
47. Make biscuits from scratch.
48. Read a book on a subject I’ve never considered.
49. Try no meat for a week.
50. Go on a family camping trip.
51. Eat a fried Twinkie.
52. Have breakfast in bed.
53. Take my daughter to the zoo.
54. Make homemade popsicles.
55. Catch a firefly.
56. Go to a drive-in movie.
57. Spend one day without Facebook.
58. Run a race.
59. Jump in a puddle.
60. Eat a 10-course meal.
61. Go to a splash pad.
62. Take an art class.
63. Grow my hair.
64. Swing on a swing.
65. Be debt free.
66. Plan a mommy-and-me road trip.
67. Send my daughter to college.
68. Read 50 books in a year.
69. Bake a pie.
70. Take a photo every day for a week.
71. Fingerpaint with my daughter.
72. Do something that makes a difference for someone else.
73. No texting for a day.
74. Create a vision board.
75. Go on a family cruise.
76. Wear a full face of makeup every day for a week.
77. Fly first class.
78. Publish a book.
79. Climb a tree.
80. Wear a fancy dress for the day for no reason.
81. Spend the day at the library just reading.
82. Tie a message to a balloon and let it go.
83. Eat by myself.
84. Have a date night.
85. Watch a movie by myself in the theater.
86. Lose 10 pounds.
87. Take a train ride somewhere.
88. Pick apples or pumpkins.
89. Teach someone to read.
90. Grow a garden and eat (and share) the produce.
91. Stay at a 5-star hotel.
92. Go to a NASCAR race.
93. Start a Christmas family tradition.
94. Visit Santorini, Greece.
95. Learn how to swim.
96. Spend time with an elderly person.
97. Mentor someone.
98. Take a pottery class.
99. Own my own home.
100. Visit the country of my ancestors.

I must disclose that the mystery of the anonymous bucket list has since been solved. The list contained notes in the margins written in chicken scrawl. The scrawl belonged to Post columnist Mark Wineka and the list belonged to Becca Bare and Lindsey Olson, who in 2012 were 18 and 17, respectively. The two friends created this bucket list as high school students and Mark wrote about them in a column.

If anyone knows Bare and Olson, ask them if they’re still marking off items from their bucket list, because now, thanks to them, I’ll be marking off my own.

Contact reporter Shavonne Walker at 704-797-4253.