Thankfully, I made it through another year. I had no major illnesses or injuries. I didn’t even go down a one way street the wrong way. It was a pretty good year.

Normally in days past I had an exit plan as a calendar year came to an end. Most of those things involved tax planning, medical procedures, charitable contributions and jotting down goals for the coming year.

Not so much anymore. Retirement is a good thing. Priorities change.

My year end goals this year include finishing off two boxes of chocolates, some sugar cookies and a bag of candy covered pretzels someone gave me for Christmas. I also ended up with a few tiny bottles of Fireball cinnamon whiskey. I don’t believe I’ll try to empty those by midnight. I would have to use my phone-a-friend option, but at my age all my friends will be home and asleep before the ball drops in New York City. And if I sat down and had one I’d probably sleep through the excitement.

A man has to know his limitations. As for resolutions, I believe one should keep them realistic.

Someone once told me that when a relationship ends, either by separation or death, it takes a year for every decade until you begin to move on. Well, it’s been four years since I left the paper mill and I think I’ve just about gotten over all my lost sleep from working swing shifts.

One of the things I resolve to do is to set my alarm clock and get up at the same time every morning. No more sleeping until Spanky wakes me up.

I resolve to sit in front of the television less, read more, eat less and exercise. I resolve to finish writing the book I began a few years ago. And I resolve to find all the stories I’ve written in the past, print them out and put them in a binder.

And when I accomplish all that I plan on growing my hair back.

Like I said, keep it realistic.

That should keep me busy in 2020.

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Rick Algood
December 31, 2019