The Cool List Poem by Kim Barney

Cool Things I Have Done in my Life

(My niece suggested that everyone should make a list of all the cool things they have done in their lives. Each person can decide for himself what is 'cool'.)

I have lived 50 months of my life in Brazil.

I have read the entire New Testament (of the Bible) in Portuguese.

Tied my shoes for the first time on my fourth birthday.

Have been close enough to a bobcat in the wild for it to snarl at me.

Have petted a manatee in the Atlantic Ocean while deep-sea diving off the coast of Brazil. A friend took a picture of me with my arm around the manatee's neck.

Have been close enough to a large bull moose (six points on each side) to see that he was blind in one eye. In fact, he started walking toward me without seeing me, and when he got about three feet away I had to move so that he wouldn't run into me!

Have fed a wild baby raccoon while camping.

Have slept in my truck overnight because it was raining too hard to set up the tent when arriving at the campsite.

Have had bullets strike the dirt between me and my dog. Don't know which they were shooting at, but we left in a hurry. (The Big Knoll, Annabella, Utah, USA, about 1953)

Have a sister who saw a flying saucer when with three other girls. Some people in town doubted the story, but I never did. My sister does not lie.

Found a flint arrowhead on the Black Hills between Annabella and Glenwood, Utah.

Saw a Gila Monster lizard on those same Black Hills when I was young. Few people believed me because we thought those lizards did not live in Utah. Now, the Gila Monster is the state reptile!

Brought home four young magpies with the intention to teach them to talk. Forgot we had about ten cats around the home property...

Can sing the first verse of the song 'Silent Night' in four languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese, German) .

Was the winner of the Bausch & Lomb Science Award in high school.

Have written and sold logic problems to Dell Publishing Company.

Have won cash prizes for poems in contests in Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah, plus the national contest (National Federation of State Poetry Societies) . Of those, I have had first place poems in Arizona, Indiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and NFSPS.

Had a Second Honorable Mention poem in the Edwin V. Shea National Poetry Contest (2023) , sponsored by WyoPoets. There were 188 entries and just one category.

One of my poems is carved in stone on a headstone in the Bountiful, Utah cemetery. Look at the directory to find the grave of Todd Theodore Endrizzi. (Actually, the original poem was an acrostic poem with 12 lines. They only had room for the first 8 lines on the headstone.)

Have seen a mountain lion more than once while deer hunting, but did not shoot at any of them.

Was on the wrestling team for two years at South Sevier High School.

Became a certified wrestling referee for the Utah High School Activities Association after I graduated from high school. My license number was 1. I refereed one match at South Sevier High and got paid five dollars.

My aunt wanted me to come live with her family in California and go to a junior college there. California residents got free tuition to junior colleges. I declined the offer.

Was on the wrestling team for two years at Snow College. My second year there, I was co-captain of the team.

While wrestling for Snow, I defeated a state champion, but he was a state champion weightlifter, not wrestler.

While teaching at Grand Junction Central High School in Colorado for two years, I was the announcer for all of the home wrestling matches.

Became licensed to sell insurance and annuities by the State of Utah, but never sold a single policy. My heart wasn't in it.

Have been married to the same wonderful woman for more than 58 years.

Have made hundreds of paracord bracelets and given most of them away. When my father-in-law was in an assisted living center, I gave a bracelet to every resident there at the time. There were 67 residents, if I remember correctly.

Made belts out of paracord for a two different grandsons.

Made several hatbands out of paracord.

Made dog collars of paracord.

Made many key chains of paracord.

Made a little doll out of paracord and plastic.

Was a public school teacher for 40 years.

In 1996 tied for first place in the Utah Amateur Chess Tournament.

Am a certified tournament director for the U. S. Chess Federation and have directed many local tournaments.

Was the chess coach at North Davis Jr. High School for thirteen years. The best our team did was third place in the state one year.

Was the chess coach at Farmington Junior High School for twenty years. The best our team did was second place in the state one year.

While teaching at Farmington Junior High, for the last many years that I was there, I was the announcer for the home games of the boys and girls basketball teams.

Have been to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D. C.

Have been to the Ford Theater in Washington, D. C.

Have been to the National Mall in Washington, D. C.

Have been to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D. C.

Have been to the International Spy Museum in Washington, D. C.

Have been to the National Capital building.

Have been to the White House.

Have been to the Norman Rockwell Museum and met a man named Eddie (can't remember the surname) , who as a boy posed for some of Rockwell's paintings.

Have been to the Salem Witch Museum.

Have stood at the foot of the Cristo Redentor statue in Rio de Janeiro to have my picture taken.

Have seen a whale jump near the Oregon coast.

Have seen a whale jump near the Hawaii coast.

Have fished for crabs off the California coast.

Have fished for crabs off the Oregon coast.

Have eaten frogs.

Have eaten armadillo.

Have eaten beef tongue.

Have walked on Copacabana beach.

Have walked on Ipanema beach.

Have walked on Waikiki beach.

Have walked all the way around the Devil's Tower in Wyoming.

Have hiked the Navajo Loop Trail in Bryce Canyon National Park.

Have climbed among the ruins at Mesa Verde National Park.

Have been to Mount Rushmore.

Have been to Yellowstone National Park.

Have been to Yosemite National Park.

Have been to Zion National Park.

Have been to Grand Teton National Park.

Have been to Arches National Park.

Have picked fresh mangoes from the trees in Recife, Brazil.

Found a pearl in an oyster once. I taped the pearl to a card with my name and the date found. When I got back home after spending 30 months in Brazil, the card and the pearl could not be found.

My grandmother had two silver dimes from the 1880's that she had promised to give me, but when I returned from Brazil she had forgotten her promise and had given them to someone else.

Have seen the largest cashew tree in the world. (Brazil) It takes up a whole city block.

Have been to the Easternmost point of South America (in Brazil)

Have been stung by a stingray while swimming in the ocean near Santa Barbara, California, USA. I was stung on the foot, and my leg swelled up to twice its normal size that night. Did it hurt? Yes!

Have been swimming in Deep Lake on Cove Mountain (Utah) on New Year's Day (about 1959) . The water was cold, but we discovered a warm spot in the middle where an underground hot spring came up!

Went to a Dodgers game in Los Angeles.

Went to a Padres game in San Diego.

Have been across the border in San Diego, California, USA to Tijuana, Mexico.

Have been to Iguassú Falls.

While at Iguassú Falls, we took a boat ride to the Argentina side of the river, so technically I have been to Argentina.

Have been to Panama twice, but only because the plane stopped there on the way back from Brazil.

Have been to Sea World in San Diego, California.

Have been to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.

Have been to the Fishing Bridge in Yellowstone Park, yet now nobody is allowed to fish there! In the old days, people would be stacked elbow to elbow fishing from that bridge!

Have been to Disneyland in California.

Have been to Lagoon in Farmington, Utah.

Have been to Knott's Berry Farm.

Have been to the Jelly Belly factory near Fairfield, California.

Have been to the Hershey chocolate factory in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Have been to the Tillamook factory in Oregon.

Have been to Gleichen, Alberta, Canada, the town where my mother was born.

Was attacked by two hawks at the Gleichen cemetery. I must have been near their nest. My wife just sat and laughed hysterically. They even knocked my cowboy hat off.

Have been to Timpanogos Cave twice, but it was closed both times, and we could not go in!

Caught the last bandanna thrown by Willie Nelson at one of his concerts.

Have been to three Don Williams concerts.

Have been to two Neil Diamond concerts.

Have been to Utah Jazz games at the Delta Center.

Have been to Weber State University basketball games at the Dee Events Center.

Have been to BYU basketball games at the Marriott Center, and at the Smith Fieldhouse before the Marriott Center was built.

Have been to BYU football games at Lavell Edwards Stadium. For years, my wife and I had season tickets to BYU football. The tickets got more expensive each year, and finally one year we decided not to renew them. That was the year they won the national championship (1984) !

Have been to Salt Lake Bees games at Miller Park.

Have driven a fork lift.

Have driven a tractor.

Have driven a motorcycle.

Have driven a big farm truck when hauling hay with my father-in-law. On a narrow, muddy road near a canal, the truck slipped off the edge and tipped over on its side. My father-in-law never asked me to drive again.

Have speared carp in the Sevier River with a pitchfork.

Have eaten carp, but not those from the Sevier River. The ones we ate came from the Black Hills between Annabella and Glenwood, where the water was much cleaner.

Have eaten piranha.

Have eaten alligator.

Have eaten rabbit.

Have eaten pheasant.

Have eaten quail.

Have eaten chukar.

Have eaten blue grouse.

Have eaten ruffed grouse.

Have eaten mourning dove.

Have eaten sparrow.

Have eaten blackbird.

Have fallen through thin ice when ice skating.

Have served three missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints.

Served as Branch President of the Cruz Alta (Brazil) Branch on my first mission.

Was co-champion of the Ogden (Utah) Chess Club in 1974.

Was champion (all by myself) of the Ogden Chess Club in 1975.

Am the current co-champion of the Richfield City (Utah) Chess Tournament. I tied for the title in 2014, and they haven't had a tournament since. In 2013 I was clear champion, and also took first place a couple of times before that.

Won a look-alike contest for an ancestor at a family reunion.

Have sung at several funerals for relatives.

Have had a Utah Governor (Norman Bangerter) and U. S. Senator (Orrin Hatch) , along with the State Superintendent of Schools and some other officials visit my classroom to observe a new Spanish program. (I was a Spanish teacher.)

While working as a night watchman at a gypsum plant, I had to make a round of the plant once per hour, and punch the time clock at certain stations along the way. One of the workers mentioned that a previous watchman had managed to do a round in 8 minutes and 15 seconds, and said that was the plant record. I said 'I can beat that! ' and proved it by doing a round in 8 minutes flat.

Have been to the top of Signal Peak in Utah, at 10,365 feet or 3159 meters.

Have been to the top of the highest peak in Utah, Kings Peak, at 13,528 feet.

Have been to the top of the highest mountain in West Virginia, Spruce Knob. It is only 4,863 feet. The place I was born, Richfield, Utah, is higher than that (5,354 feet) .

Have been to the Gettysburg battlefield several times.

Have been to the Antietam battlefield several times.

Have been to Arlington National Cemetery and observed the changing of the guard, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the grave of J.F.K.

Was told by a lady bus conductor at Arlington National Cemetery that I had 'kissable jowls'. I had a beard at the time, but my cheekbones were shaved.

Have ridden the metro from Gaithersburg, Maryland to Washington, D.C. (and back) .

Had a horse run away with me while posing for a picture when I was four years old. Luckily, he only ran about a half block back to his owner's corral, but I hung on. In the picture you can see the horse just starting to turn to run.

Have ridden a horse bareback.

Have ridden a cow bareback.

Have ridden a pig bareback.

Have been bitten by a non-poisonous snake.

Have been bitten by a dog.

Have been bitten by a cat.

Have been bitten by a human.

Have been bitten by a spider.

Have been bitten by a horsefly.

Have been stung by a honeybee.

Have been stung by a wasp.

Have been bitten by a deerfly.

Have been bitten by a wood tick.

Have been bitten by fleas.

Have narrowly escaped being sprayed by a skunk.

Have caught skunks in muskrat traps.

Have caught rabbits in muskrat traps.

Have caught pheasants in muskrat traps.

Have NEVER caught muskrats in muskrat traps (but I think one my brothers has) .

Have come face to face with a rattlesnake while climbing up a creek bank while fishing, at a distance of about 18 inches.

Have been tied hand and foot in a little red wagon as a young boy when a rattlesnake was three feet away.

Have seen pigs get drunk on fermented peaches.

Have squirted milk into a cat's mouth while milking a cow.

Was born in a bank. That's what I tell people, anyway. Actually, I WAS born in the Richfield Commercial and Savings Bank building, but I was born on the second floor, where there was a medical clinic.

Have been to the top of the Empire State Building.

Have been inside the crown of the Statue of Liberty. Could not go up in the torch because it was closed for repairs.

Have been to Bear Country, USA. (It's in Rapid City, South Dakota.)

Have been to Glacier National Park.

Have been to The Mammoth Site at Hot Springs, South Dakota.

Have gone fishing at Barney Lake in Utah.

Have been called a 'spy' by little children in Brazil.

Walked for several blocks on 5th Avenue in New York City. Passed hundreds of people going the opposite direction without seeing a single smile. (November,1962)

Passed Harrison Ford on a sidewalk in Jackson, Wyoming. I didn't ask him for his autograph, and he did not ask for mine.

My family doctor has a football autographed by Joe Namath.

Stood in line at a restaurant in Bountiful, Utah, right in front of Adrian Dantley, who was the star player for the Utah Jazz at the time. Didn't ask him for his autograph...

Stopped a young boy from crying in Brazil by pretending to pull a coin out of his ear, then giving it to him.

Was called 'Indiana Jones' by a shopkeeper in Brazil because of the hat that I wore. He didn't ask for my autograph, though.

Have been to Niagara Falls. It is puny compared to Iguassú.

Have been to Idaho Falls.

While at Camp Loll (a boy scout camp) , I hiked with the scout troop to Union Falls and back, a total distance of 16 miles. Was the only person who took a fishing pole along. Caught and released 36 fish.

Have been through many falls and winters. The falls are better. On second thought, the AUTUMNS are better than the winters. Sometimes the falls are painful.

Was listening to Vin Scully on KFI Radio when Sandy Koufax pitched his perfect game for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Chicago Cubs. I was also recording the game in my score book at the time. The Cubs pitcher ALSO pitched a perfect game... for the first five innings.

Have been to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Have seen the Intermittent Spring in Wyoming. The water suddenly stops flowing, then starts again after a few minutes.

As a basketball coach, I have a perfect record. I was once an assistant coach for a youth team on which my son was a member, and when the main coach went on vacation for two weeks, I took over and we won both games, so my record is 2-0.

(Last update: 26 November 2025)