Friday, October 27, 2006

Your Five Best

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Kristine Bretall and Julie McGregor chose their Five Favorite Life Lessons as demonstrated by Ketchum resident Steve Lee. Lee, the controller for Ketchum-based Scott USA, died last week at the age of 43. "Steve will be missed, but his life lessons live on," Bretall said.

1.    Instigate adventures. You don’t get to Zanzibar, Cuba, the top of Aconcagua or to the best yard sales on a Saturday morning without putting something on the calendar and making a plan.

2.    Recruit co-conspirators. An adventure is only as fun as the people you are with. River trips, yurt trips, Paradisehot springs, road trips—all need co-conspirators. Find the right ones. As Steve said, “You never know when I might knock on your door and drag you out for an adventure.”

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3.    Celebrate and share your adventures. From slide shows to Christmas cards, if Steve had an adventure, we were all lucky enough to share it with him later, if only vicariously. From his 2002 Christmas card: “This fall I ventured to Cuba for a month of travel and R&R. Cuba was a select blend of many of my favorite places around the world—it had the music and night life of Zaire, the beaches of Indonesia, the friendly people of Vietnam, the architecture of Spain and the beautiful women of Brazil.” He painted pictures in words and photographs that made us want to go to the places he loved.

4.    Jump in with both feet. Don’t hold back. Steve never went half way on anything; if he was going to do it, he was going whole hog. Most importantly, he did it no matter what anyone said. Many of his converts would say, “That Steve is crazy,” at the start of a trip and then, “That was amazing! Thank you Steve!” at the end. A river trip and “big” trip a year were the quest for a while but Steve’s latest and greatest achievement was his son, Dawson. Steve redefined what fatherhood meant.

5.    Make occasions memorable. It takes some planning and a little creativity but from incredible photos, commemorative cocktails, really bad karaoke, taco salad dinners, rock souvenirs, nicknames pulled out of nowhere, every trip, barbecue and evening was made memorable by Steve’s unique sense of humor, style and his willingness to take us all to the next level.