Becknell Makes the Most of His 'Year of Turning 60'
Posted
Jordan Fouts-
Short of skinny dipping and skydiving, there’s not a lot Luke Becknell hasn’t tried yet. In the past year – his Year of Turning 60, as he calls it – the owner of Today’s Headlines hair salon has flown a plane, ridden his bike for 100 miles in a day and skied Copper Mountain in Colorado in -18 degree cold, besides smaller feats like trying new food and learning new card games. In all, he’s crossed about 40 items off the list of 60 things he’d like to do before he turns 60 in September. “I don’t feel like I’m 60. I don’t know what 60 is supposed to feel like,” he remarked during a phone interview Monday. “Heck, 60 isn’t that old. I only plan on living to 105 ... maybe 110.” The list of firsts came at the suggestion of a client at the salon Becknell opened 37 years ago when he moved to Warsaw. They range from things he can do in his own backyard, such as seeing a Colts game in Lucas Oil Stadium – he’s been a fan since they were the Baltimore Colts – to things 2,000 miles away or 3,000 feet up in the air. He got to be at the helm of a sailboat off the coast of southern California, and more recently behind the yoke of a small plane high over the county. His friend John Urschalitz put him in touch with a flight instructor for the 75-minute tour. “From very shortly after we broke ground until just before landing, Luke was 100 percent in control and doing a great job piloting,” Urschalitz recalled. Some of the bucket list items have been incidental, like being a passenger in a brand new Boeing 737 while on his way to Copper Mountain, or almost being hit by a barge during his Pacific cruise. Others have been bittersweet. The unexpected death last June of his wife of 36 years, Deb, has meant staying in hotels and shopping for underwear alone for the first time. “Some of the things have been on the depressing side,” he said. “But since my wife passed away, I’ve entered a new stage of life, a new adventure. God has great plans for me.” Among the 20 remaining items he hopes to check off in the next two months are skydiving, which he might do this summer; driving Urschalitz’s 1980s Jaguar; and skinny dipping, “believe it or not ... I just hope I don’t get caught.” Becknell said he hopes to inspire other people to get out and try new things. “I’ve learned a lot of things, and I think too many people don’t get out there and live life, they don’t experience new things,” he said. “You should never wish you hadn’t tried something. Have fun and help other people have fun.” And once he finishes this list off, he added, he might consider starting another: “Seventy things before 70. That would really be hard.”
