Mike Morin

We all know the Frank Sinatra song, My Way and the line, “…Regrets, I’ve had a few, but then again, too few to mention …”

Thank you, Frank. Thank you for your honesty.

Nearly everyone who’s ever asked about having any regrets in life responds, “Nope. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.” Really? Nothing? Sorry, but I call B.S. on that.

So let me share some honest talk. I have regrets about a few things and am willing to share them with you.

I regret never having a pet dog until I was 61. It didn’t take me long after mixed-breed Basia joined Lady Baba’s and my life that I realized how I missed the joy and friendship for a major chunk of my life. There was no dog in my childhood as my mom was bitten on the face by a dog when she was a little girl and sadly, that stayed with her. It took Barb four years to talk me into getting a puppy and I’m so happy she did. Dog #2 is a mouthy Westie puppy and my infatuation with her quirkiness and face licks makes me want to live to 100 to experience as many dogs as possible.

I regret not putting $1,000 into Apple stock 20 years ago. Instead, I probably dropped it on a bunch of Tommy Bahama shirts. Or cooking gizmos I used once and then parked in the basement. That paltry grand today would be worth $695,000! I might have traded in my Apple iphone8 for a model 14 by now. Then, I got to thinking maybe Apple’s nest egg got flushed in the recent Silicon Valley Bank collapse. A bit of checking indicates that Apple has managed its money really well and likely had minimal exposure to SVB’s cliff dive, keeping my nearly 700-large intact.

I regret not being open to liking cilantro until about 10 years ago. The soapy-tasting herb ruined salsa for me the first time it crossed my inexperienced palate. As time went on, I warmed up to its magic and now put it on everything from burgers to vanilla ice cream. Why can’t someone make cilantro-scented shower gel? I’ve had enough coconut and shea butter soaps.

I regret not learning how to cook until I was 50. I went all in on kitchen chemistry. Why? I found out that a divorced middle-aged man who can cook will never be short on charming dinner companions. I also regret that I don’t bake healthier pastries. Have another slice of homemade focaccia bread, darling.

I regret taking two uncirculated 1921 silver peace dollars I got as gifts for my Holy Communion in 1959 and depositing them in the bank. Today they check in around $1000 each in mint condition.

Had I instead sold them 20 years ago, I’d have had $2,000 to plow into Apple stock then, bringing my nest egg to over nearly $1.4 million.

Imagine all the cilantro that would buy.

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