My To-Do List After Reading Mary Oliver’s “The Summer Day”
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?
• Replace toilet seat in upstairs bathroom• Buy new socks and undies• Mulch• Clean grout in shower• Put photos in albums• Give “Infinite Jest” a second chance• Cull T-shirt collection• Change oil, rotate tires• Add planks to stretching routine• Check Consumer Reports on air fryers• Faculty meeting, 8:30 a.m. Tuesday• Revise will, advance directive• Search for cheaper WiFi/TV streaming plan• Reduce password chaos• Reduce hot fudge sundae consumption
Russell Frank is a folklorist by training and a journalist by trade. He worked as a reporter and editor for newspapers in California and Pennsylvania for 13 years before joining the journalism faculty at Penn State. He loves his wife, his children, his grandchildren, crossword puzzles, baseball, trees, clouds, jazz, blues, conversation, hot fudge sundaes, and the beautiful music the right words in the right order make.