Chapter 14: Searching for the highest resolution

By Jo Richards

Happy New Year, Lucerne Valley! How are we doing with those New Year’s resolutions? I’ve been known to keep some for as long as a week. This year I have a few on the fridge but the marker is close by so I can void them out in a hurry.

My first is one I’ve tried many times with little success. I vowed to give up chocolate. I lasted about two days and heard on the television that chocolate was good for you. So, in the name of protecting my health, I’ve decided to double my intake. I always consider these new medical discoveries to be worthy of consideration.

I realize I don’t get the amount of exercise I need, so I searched for a resolution that would help with that need. After much thought I decided to get into line dancing, which has always been intriguing to me. Several Lucerne Valley ladies (and gentlemen of course) have mastered the steps and it’s great fun to watch. I rented a tape to learn those clever steps and was surprised to discover that some of those moves go side to side.

I have enough trouble staying on line while moving forward and feel certain a side to side move would be disastrous. Another good resolution shot. Being forced to give up line dancing, I searched for another means of exercise.

I have always been quite athletic (well, it might have been 40 or 50 years ago) and thought I might look into my past and bring back some of those skills I hadn’t used in a while. I’d settled on a favorite, rollerblading, when my son confiscated my blades, which leaves me with skateboarding as a final option. I looked at the board for a time and decided to stick with penny ante poker. You can get hurt there too, but it won’t cost much more than a quarter.

Hope you have better luck with your resolutions. If you see me around town I’ll be happy to hear about your efforts but don’t expect much conversation from this side. I have a great deal of respect for those who can follow through on their resolutions and be successful. Just know I’m proud of you, but there’s no need to gloat!

Jo Richards is a longtime Lucerne Valley resident who muses about local life in this bi-weekly column. The name of the column comes from something Jo often says after telling an anecdote: “That’s Chapter 14 in the book I’m gonna write!”