Out+About

I Die...

Life is short, so an art project in Eustis is inspiring people to take charge of their dreams—now.

STORY: CHRIS GERBASI

hink of it as a bucket list scribbled on a wall. Except it’s not just your bucket list—it’s a list for the whole community. Actually, for the whole world.

The city of Eustis has joined a global art movement by displaying the “Before I Die…” Wall, a participatory project that invites people to refl ect on life and death. Anyone may share their aspirations and thoughts by picking up a piece of chalk and fi lling in the blank after “Before I die, I want to…” on a 76-foot-long, 8-foot-high wall. The wall will be on display until Oct. 1 at Fountain Green Park, 101-199 E. Magnolia Ave. in downtown Eustis.

Not coincidentally, the project was spearheaded by a woman who regularly refl ects on life and death in her work.

Gloria Savannah-Austin, owner of Soulful Transitions in Sorrento, is a certifi ed life-cycle celebrant. She works with individuals and communities to create ceremonies marking important milestones and transitions, such as weddings and funerals. She feels most gratifi ed when she helps people cope with the loss of a loved one.

But the wall is not about doom and gloom. Gloria sees the project as a way to engage people of all ages to follow their dreams, and the writing on the wall tells the story of those dreams. Theoretically, the participants feel accountable to accomplish their goals by writing them down, if not in stone, at least in chalk.

So, what do people want to do? Rather than the expected “be rich and famous” answers, many goals revolve around travel and adventure: “visit Bora Bora,” “fl y a plane,” “swim with a great white shark,” “go skydiving.” Many writers also have highminded dreams of world peace, curing cancer, saving the planet; in other words, being part of something bigger than themselves.

Gloria says she was surprised to notice those trends.

“People did not want things; they wanted experiences,” she says. “About 95 percent of people who come to the wall and put their ‘bucket list’ item down in chalk do not care about winning the lotto or having money, big houses, or expensive cars. They want to go back in time, repair relationships, see their kids become adults, or have grandchildren, or even meet their great-great-grandchildren someday.”

The art project offi cially debuted April 1 at the fourth annual Amazing Race for Charity in Eustis. The wall was one of 25 challenges in the competition based on “The Amazing Race” TV show, and more than 400 racers fi lled it with their ambitions. The race, incidentally, raised at least $30,000 for a dozen local charities, bringing its four-year total to more than $100,000, organizer Tim Totten says.

People started writing on the wall as soon as it was constructed, and before, during, and after the race, Tim says.

“People thought it was really awesome,” he says, noting the wall was one of the more popular challenges in the race. “And it just continued. Every day, people are writing on the wall. It’s staying pretty full.”

After Gloria and her husband, Robert Austin, volunteered during the 2016 Amazing Race, she decided she wanted to sponsor a challenge this year. While researching art projects online, she was impressed when she came across the “Before I Die” Wall.

“That’s absolutely what I want to do,” she recalls thinking.

The concept originated in 2011 with New Orleans artist Candy Chang, who painted the words “Before I die I want to” on the side of an abandoned house. After losing someone she loved, Candy channeled her grief into the project to fi nd perspective and consolation

— GLORIA SAVANNAH-AUSTIN

We asked local leaders what they hope to accomplish before they die. Here’s what they had to say.

—JOHN DRURY, TAVARES CITY ADMINISTRATOR —PETRINA, VILLAGES ENTERTAINER

—KRIS KOLLGAARD, LADY LAKE TOWN MANAGER —RON NEIBERT, EUSTIS CITY MANAGER

—GEORGE J. HAGERTY, BEACON COLLEGE PRESIDENT —ROBERT MORIN, EUSTIS MAYOR

—NANCY A. ZINKOFSKY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MOUNT DORA CENTER FOR THE ARTS —DANIELLE STROUD, DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT, HABITAT FOR HUMANITY LAKE-SUMTER

—MITCHELL SHEINBAUM, CO-LEADER OF THE 2ND HONEYMOON CLUB IN THE VILLAGES —JIM FRASER, LEADER OF THE BEATLEMANIACS CLUB IN THE VILLAGES

— NICK BUCHHOLZ from her neighbors, whom she encouraged to share their thoughts, according to her website.

The wall of the house quickly fi lled up with responses. Candy posted photos online and the idea caught fi re. Since then, more than 2,000 walls have been built in more than 70 countries.

Gloria pitched the idea to Tim, who had seen versions of the wall in his travels. Through the website beforeidie.city, communities and organizations can fi nd out how to create their own walls. They’re simple to build, Tim says, and the project comes with a few rules, such as no advertising on the wall. Otherwise, the wall concept is not tied to any organization or cause.

Gloria started small, thinking the wall would be just a few panels and 12 feet long. Then city offi cials told her she could have a whole city block. Her husband built the wall with the help of friends and sponsors. More than a dozen local sponsors, including Cornerstone Hospice, are supporting the project.

“It exemplifi es our mission to help the patients we serve focus on life and dignity during an otherwise diffi cult time,” Nick Buchholz, executive director of the Cornerstone Hospice Foundation, says in a news release. “We hope that contributors to the wall will benefi t from the act of contemplating a life well-lived.”

Gloria believes the project brings the community together, and scenes from the wall bear that out. At least one wedding proposal was made late one night at the wall, she says.

Earlier, in March, a mini-wall was set up in downtown Eustis as a precursor to the larger project. One night, Gloria encountered a veteran who wrote, “I want to recover from combat PTSD.” Tears streamed down his face, and Gloria learned that was the fi rst night the man had left his house since 2005. The wall had drawn him there.

In late April, another emotion-stirring wall moved in for fi ve days across the street from the “Before I Die” Wall. The city welcomed the

—GLORIA SAVANNAH-AUSTIN, OWNER OF SOULFUL TRANSITIONS AND ORGANIZER OF THE “BEFORE I DIE” WALL — CARMAN CULLEN-BATT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION OF LAKE COUNTY

—DEREK HUDSON, LEESBURG PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER —WENDY R. BREEDEN, LAKE COUNTY COMMISSIONER

—APRIL KAUFFMAN, PRESIDENT, FLORIDA HOSPITAL WATERMAN FOUNDATION —HARRY LUMPKIN, CO-LEADER OF THE ZUMBA GOLD CLUB IN THE VILLAGES

—CONNIE LUMPKIN, PRESIDENT OF THE VILLAGES BABY BOOMERS CLUB —TIM TOTTEN, ORGANIZER OF THE AMAZING RACE FOR CHARITY IN EUSTIS

—BEVERLY STEELE, FOUNDER, YOUNG PERFORMING ARTISTS —VIOLET RAY, LEADER OF THE ALOHA ‘O KA HULA DANCE TROUPE

Moving Wall Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a half-size replica of the memorial in Washington, D.C. During that event, Gloria planned to change the words on the “Before I Die” Wall to “My hero is…” for veterans and their families.

One day, a woman pointed out that the wall is on the former site of Florida Waterman Hospital.

“She said the wall is another place of healing right on the same spot as the hospital, and I said, ‘Oh, my God. You’re absolutely right,’” Gloria says.

Gloria says the interactions at the wall, as she talks to people about what they want to do in life, have touched her because she thinks of her own experiences. At age 20, she lost her 42-yearold mother, Alicia Delle Stone, to cancer.

“She left this world not completing her own ideas, goals, and dreams she had,” Gloria says. “She never really truly lived. It was life-changing in many ways for me. It was most probably the single one event in my life that laid the groundwork and foundation for me to do what I am doing now, end-of-life ceremonies for people.”

As a temporary art installation, the “Before I Die” Wall is slated to come down in October, unless city offi cials decide they want to keep it, Gloria says. Offi cials in other communities in Lake County have inquired about constructing similar projects.

The popularity of the wall may be tied to its simple, yet big, question, Gloria says.

“It’s something we all think about,” she says. “What’s my purpose? I want to leave something behind. You only have a fi nite time here. What are you going to do?” To learn more about the project, visit beforeidiewall.net or

beforeidie.city