I will not get agitated and start huffing and puffing
when the person in front of me in the checkout line takes forever
searching for coupons and the correct change.

I will, however
continue to say "I'd prefer rubber, galvanized steel or wood" when the
bagger asks "paper or plastic?" I'm still a wise-guy.

I will try not to beep my horn when someone is driving 10 miles an hour on Medford Street when I am trying to get to work.

I will try not slow down to 5 miles an hour when some moron is tailgating me.

I will try not to approach the rotary at Powderhouse Square as if I were a gladiator going into battle.

I
will really try once and for all to let some old grudges go – so what
if one of my neighbors used to call the police when my band rehearsed
in my cellar back in the 70's – let it go!

I will not hurry my
dog up when I am freezing my butt off as he is slowly sniffing every
single tree, bush, brick wall, barrel and street pole. Hurrying him
only means I will be changing the emergency newspaper in the back room.

I
will try to keep my cholesterol low. This means continuing to limit the
pizza and cheeseburgers that I love to eat. I got a good report in
December, so I want to keep my Doctor happy. He said "whatever you're
doing, keep doing it," which is not bad news to hear from your doctor.
He did suggest that I concentrate more on weight loss. Right now I am
stuffed from all the holiday feasting and ample leftovers. Of course I
will try to bump up my gym schedule.

I will try to have that
elusive yard sale that I have been talking about for the past 3 years,
which leads me to another resolution – I will try to get rid of a lot
of the junk and clutter in my house and in the cellar.

I will try to get up to my trailer more often and enjoy the great outdoors and have fun around the campfire.

I will try to cut back on the credit cards.

I
will paint the front and back porches and finish painting the inside
stairway after I pull all the old carpet tacks out. Man, I am exhausted
already.

I will try to get rid of a lot of old clothes that have
been just laying around adding to the mess in my room. I have a problem
saying goodbye to things.

Now I have more of an excuse not to
throw out that shirt that is too small, because one of my sons may wear
it. I am on vacation this week so I can get a good start on the
cleaning, hopefully.

I will have one place for all receipts
instead of putting them in places that I forget, and losing them. I'm
thinking that Timberland box that my son's new boots came in. I need to
be way more organized. I manage to pull a lot of important stuff off,
but sometimes it is by the seat of my pants!

The above list is
pretty long. If I can do half the stuff, I will be happy. Between work,
the dog and the kids, I am not left with much time – so all I can do is
try.

I hope you have success in sticking to your resolutions.
Health issues are the most important thing that we need to fix. Wish me
luck, and I wish you luck.

New Years Eve used to mean beer and
champagne and a hangover. A lot of my New Year's Eve's were spent
playing in a band at a party in a VFW hall or club. Those were good
times! We did First Night once, and I froze my keester off big time.
The last ten years have been spent with my family. We get the hats, the
noise makers and the Chinese food – the whole nine yards.

I
can't believe we are entering the year 2010! I thought we would have
flying cars by now, but that would probably only lead to more
resolutions. "This year I resolve not to fly so close to buildings and
stop buzzing Fenway Park!"

Bottom line, I hope we all have a great 2010 with less drama and more laughing!

Happy
New Year to you all, and please join me every Thursday at Amelia's
Kitchen in Teele Square starting back again on Thursday, January 7th,
from 7pm to 9pm. Eat, drink and sing "Proud Mary." You can email Jimmy
directly at jimmydel@rcn.com.