The Bucket List: Boomers make them, live them

I saw "The Bucket List" this weekend and absolutely loved it! I went into it not certain it would be particularly entertaining, since - for the most part - critics panned it.

In case you aren't familiar with it, the premise is that two men, Carter (played by Morgan Freeman) and Edward (played by Jack Nicholson) are roommates in a hospital owned by Edward. Soon, they both learn they have terminal cancer, so they bust out of the hospital to fulfill the things on their "bucket list," a list of things they want to do before they "kick the bucket." It includes things as daring as skydiving and race car driving, to seemingly the impossible: to kiss the most beautiful girl in the world. The movie isn't even so much about crossing things off the list as it is about considering the very notion that sometimes it takes facing dying to really start living.

The critics noted that boomers were the audience for the movie, apparently believing that it reflects our own attitudes about trying to cheat death somehow. That kind of thinking just misses the mark. Boomers aren't so determined to live an unprecedented number of years. Boomers just want more life in whatever number of years we have.

So it really isn't so hard to imagine that we're big on having adventures. Need proof? Consider this: people 50+ spend an average of $30 billion a year on vacation travel. We want to see the world, but we want to do it on our own agenda.  That's one reason companies  are following the lead set by Elderhostel over 30 years ago to specialize in helping Boomers put together great adventures and vacations. This great site is a leading authority on matching Boomers with unprecedented travel opportunities.

To my way of thinking, this movie isn't so much about trying to pack a lot in before dying. Rather, it's about giving yourself permission to truly live life fully.  It's about taking control, taking action and taking responsibility. Perhaps we can all learn a lesson from this: the best way to plan the end is to create a new beginning.

So, check it out, then make your own "bucket list," and revel in your boomerhood!