What's your New Year resolution?
I'm rubbish at keeping New Year's resolutions.
You spend Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's being an unapologetic glutton and then Jan. 1 rolls around and you're supposed to show restraint. Give up sweets, take up a gym membership, stop smoking. It seems so abrupt. Why can't New Year's resolutions be made on Groundhog's Day?
I find it impossible to give up anything for a resolution. The moment I've told myself to stop eating red meat, for instance, all I think about is how great it'd be if I could eat red meat. It's like when somebody says, "Whatever you do, don't think about a pink elephant." And of course, you can't help but be fixated on anything other than a pink elephant.
Some people pick vague resolutions and those are easier to keep. Gino Filippi of Filippi Winery fame said his resolution is to be more patient and to listen more. That resolution can't be hard to keep. Filippi is the newest member on the Upland City Council. If he starts dozing during public comment, you'll know he's no good at keeping his resolutions either.
Filippi said he'll also resolve to spend more time with his 14-year-old dog, Bruno. The aging Labrador has a hip disorder so Filippi will likely drive Bruno around in his truck.
The new year has a tendency to make us reflect on our age. In Chinese culture, everybody turns a year older on New Year's Day. What an unpleasant thing to observe.
That means if Don McFadden were Chinese, he'd be 91. McFadden, a frequent senior center visitor, said aging is a new feeling for him.
"I didn't pay much attention to being 89. It didn't occur to me that 90 was coming next," McFadden said. "When I saw 90 on the horizon, I realized I was getting older. Now I'm 90. I was born in 1920. That seems old to me. Being in my 80s didn't seem old to me."
This year, McFadden was reminded of his age because of his role in the Senior Follies show. Seeing the tape afterward made him realize his posture isn't the way it used to be.
"I really didn't like it," McFadden said. "I don't stand straight at all anymore."
So his resolution this year is to use the gym more at the senior center with hopes that some calisthenics will straighten him out.
McFadden also has good genes on his side. His father lived until he was 103.
Happy New Year, dear readers. I hope you're successful at keep your resolutions. If you're not, don't feel too guilty.
You spend Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's being an unapologetic glutton and then Jan. 1 rolls around and you're supposed to show restraint. Give up sweets, take up a gym membership, stop smoking. It seems so abrupt. Why can't New Year's resolutions be made on Groundhog's Day?
I find it impossible to give up anything for a resolution. The moment I've told myself to stop eating red meat, for instance, all I think about is how great it'd be if I could eat red meat. It's like when somebody says, "Whatever you do, don't think about a pink elephant." And of course, you can't help but be fixated on anything other than a pink elephant.
Some people pick vague resolutions and those are easier to keep. Gino Filippi of Filippi Winery fame said his resolution is to be more patient and to listen more. That resolution can't be hard to keep. Filippi is the newest member on the Upland City Council. If he starts dozing during public comment, you'll know he's no good at keeping his resolutions either.
Filippi said he'll also resolve to spend more time with his 14-year-old dog, Bruno. The aging Labrador has a hip disorder so Filippi will likely drive Bruno around in his truck.
The new year has a tendency to make us reflect on our age. In Chinese culture, everybody turns a year older on New Year's Day. What an unpleasant thing to observe.
That means if Don McFadden were Chinese, he'd be 91. McFadden, a frequent senior center visitor, said aging is a new feeling for him.
"I didn't pay much attention to being 89. It didn't occur to me that 90 was coming next," McFadden said. "When I saw 90 on the horizon, I realized I was getting older. Now I'm 90. I was born in 1920. That seems old to me. Being in my 80s didn't seem old to me."
This year, McFadden was reminded of his age because of his role in the Senior Follies show. Seeing the tape afterward made him realize his posture isn't the way it used to be.
"I really didn't like it," McFadden said. "I don't stand straight at all anymore."
So his resolution this year is to use the gym more at the senior center with hopes that some calisthenics will straighten him out.
McFadden also has good genes on his side. His father lived until he was 103.
Happy New Year, dear readers. I hope you're successful at keep your resolutions. If you're not, don't feel too guilty.
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