Lists, Lists, and More Lists!

Are you a "lists" person??  Goodness knows I am. If I don't make a list of what I need to do or buy or need or want, I am sure to forget something. Therefore, I am constantly making lists - all sorts - probably too many. In fact, I need to make a list of all of my lists.

In June 2012, I discovered the blog, Letters of Note, a website that collects correspondence that they find fascinating. I'm so enamored of this blog that I've written about it three different times (A Passion for Correspondence, "To My Old Master", and Quite Possibly, The Best Response Letter...Ever!). I was checking out the latest postings today and instead saw their announcement of a sister website, Lists of Note. The Lists of Notes website is about ... well, lists. Be still my beating heart! The blogger writes: "Lists are created for all manner of reasons, and have been for many centuries. It's my aim to feature some of the most notable examples right here."

In perusing through the notable lists, I came across several interesting lists. For example, a memo by David Ogilvy, founder of the advertising company of Ogilvy and Mather, entitled "How to Write" - great advice! A to-do list written by Johnny Cash, which includes the reminder to 'pee'. Really? You need that reminder? How about William Safire's contradictory rules of writing "Fumblerules of Grammar" - HILARIOUS!!! I'd print Safire's list to give to my students, but I don't think they'd get the humor.

One of my favorite lists was written by the late, great Nora Ephron, who passed away in June 2012, after a 6 year battle with leukemia. Ms. Eprhon was one talented playwright, screenwriter, novelist, producer, and director- being the genius behind some of my favorite movies; movies like Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally..., Sleepless in Seattle, and You've Got Mail - just to name a few. Lists of Note posted the list she wrote of the things that she'll miss and not miss, which I've reprinted below:

What I Won't Miss

Dry skin
Bad dinners like the one we went to last night
E-mail
Technology in general
My closet
Washing my hair
Bras
Funerals
Illness everywhere
Polls that show that 32 percent of the American people believe in creationism
Polls
Fox TV
The collapse of the dollar
Bar mitzvahs
Mammograms
Dead flowers
The sound of the vacuum cleaner
Bills
E-mail. I know I already said it, but I want to emphasize it.
Small print
Panels on Women in Film
Taking off makeup every night

What I Will Miss

My kids
Nick
Spring
Fall
Waffles
The concept of waffles
Bacon
A walk in the park
The idea of a walk in the park
The park
Shakespeare in the Park
The bed
Reading in bed
Fireworks
Laughs
The view out the window
Twinkle lights
Butter
Dinner at home just the two of us
Dinner with friends
Dinner with friends in cities where none of us lives
Paris
Next year in Istanbul
Pride and Prejudice
The Christmas tree
Thanksgiving dinner
One for the table
The dogwood
Taking a bath
Coming over the bridge to Manhattan
Pie

Looking at Ms. Ephron's list, I think that she and I would have gotten on quite well. I love this list so much that I have decided that I'm going to start composing my own list of what I will and won't miss about this life. Check out Lists of Note. It's a really interesting website.

RIP, Nora. You are missed!