I’ve never been a big fan of New Years. I don’t like to see another year end and a new one start, and this seems to happen faster as I grow older.

Nevertheless, for each and every New Year, I make resolutions. Why? Because many years ago my Dad explained to me that the end of a year in is neither an end nor a beginning. Rather, it is a going on with the wisdom and intelligence that comes from experience.

Making resolutions each year is a good thing, research shows. Making promises to yourself means you’re thinking about reaching an objective.

People who make explicit resolutions and write them down are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t.

But as we all know so well, thinking about doing something doesn’t get it done, and breaking old habits doesn’t happen quickly or easily.

I recall something newspaper columnist Eric Zorn said: “Making resolutions is a cleansing ritual of self assessment and repentance that demands personal honesty and, ultimately, reinforces humility. Breaking them is part of the cycle.”

I wish you good luck in keeping your resolutions - whatever they may be, and pass along my New Year’s wishes:

H ours of happy times with friends and family
A bundant time for relaxation
P rosperity
P lenty of love when you need it the most
Y outhful excitement at life’s simple pleasures

N ights of restful slumber
E verything you need
W ishing you love and light

Y ears and years of good health
E njoyment and mirth
A angels to watch over you
R embrances of a happy years

– Author unknown

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the shop,
Not a creature was stirring, not even Farbish and his mop.

The stockings were hung by the entrance with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The technicians were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of 2010 engines and bonuses danced in their heads.

When out in front of the shop there arose such a clatter,
The 24/7 shop manager sprang from his desk to see what was the matter.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave the luster of mid-day to objects below.

When what to the manager’s eyes did appear on the street below,
But a massive new tractor trailer with its chicken lights all aglow.

He spotted a big burly trucker, so lively and quick,
The shop manager wondered if his technicians were pulling another trick.

The driver was well-groomed and dapperly dressed,
His red uniform bright and smartly pressed.

A large bundle of something he had flung on his back,
He entered the shop and in short time, came right back.

The trucker did a safety circle check, looking his rig over all around,
And the shop manager could see the trucker’s face now wore a frown.

“What’s the matter driver?,” the shop manager called from his spot,
At that the trucker turned and began to complaint a lot.

“So many technicians have come to my assistance throughout the year,
I like thank each of them personally at this time of year.”

He spoke no more words, just mumbled and grumbled,
Climbed up into the cab, despite a few stumbles.

The trucker fired up the diesel and gave the air horn a long blast,
Giving the shop manager a salute, he stepped on the gas.

As the rig pulled away, the trucker yelled out his window door,
“Got to get rolling ‘cause I’m late for this annual thank-you tour.

“Can’t imagine what’s in store for me and trucking this New Year,
“Once thing is certain, technicians will always be near.”

Over the diesel’s roar the shop manager heard the trucker exclaim as he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.”

While surfing the web earlier today, I came across a story “broken” in North America by Today’s Trucking Magazine. The story was about a strong-willed, but not too common-sensed trucker in Shandong, China.

This trucker was so determined to deliver his load on time that he drove his rig with a piece of cardboard where his windshield was supposed to be.

He got about 400 miles before the police stopped him.

The driver explained that he had been in an accident in Hubei province a few days earlier, but was under such time constraints that he didn’t have time to do a proper repair job.

According to the China News Network, the trucker was almost blue from cold when they pulled him over. He told the police he had to stick his head out the window to see where he was going.

“I would drive like that until my neck got too sore and numb when I would drive by looking through the little holes in the cardboard,” the trucker was quoted as saying.

I give this truckers an A+ for resourcefulness, but an F- for safety.