Resolve to carry over your unkept resolutions

New Year's Day will dawn just like any other winter day. The sun will rise at the appointed time the almanac indicates. The clock will tick off the measured seconds. The seasons will stay in order. But there will be a difference.

Everyone knows it is a day for new beginnings. Not that we can't have new beginnings any old day. This day, however, you will join much of the world's population in making resolutions to make or do something better. One almost feels a tangible energy in the air.

In some cases, instead of striking out on new things one might feel the urge to go back and catch up on something you missed. Mend what you hope to be a seamless garment, so to speak. I witnessed my grandmother unravel at least a dozen rows of knitting or crocheting in order to go back and correct a missed stitch.

This year I may go back to correct such missed stitches in my seventh- and eighth-grade education! Home schooling, of course.

When I read the things area pupils must know in their classes, I find a big hole in my learning. To assuage my feelings I thought that the list of requirements were just couched in different words. Is finding the common denominator now called something else? If so, I can still do that.

I don't remember having to learn the periodic table of elements. Do these modern kids really have to do that now? All the elements from A to Z (actinium or zirconium) with 96 in between. These 98 elements are from the 1952 World Book Encyclopedia. No telling how many elements have been discovered since then! To further assuage my feelings I tell myself that at least I know where to find them if, for some reason, I need to know what vanadium or hafnium are for.

Today's seventh-graders must be able to recite the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution. Hmmmm, did I ever have to do that? Let's see if I can remember it.

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessing of liberty do ordain this Constitution for the United States of America.

Time out to check how I've done.

Do you think I've got it right? NO! Look what I left out.

"... insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare ..."

Do you think it is important to be able to recite it after living it all these years? Maybe it won't help pay the utility bill or balance the checkbook, but it does give a satisfactory feeling that you haven't lost all you once knew or were supposed to know in order to pass the seventh grade.

When I got out of the mathematics and chemistry things seventh-graders must know, I did a little better but wonder if I could pass a test in modern punctuation. The rules have loosened. I have always tried to follow the rules of Strunk and White's little book, "The Elements of Style," as far as commas are concerned. Then along came the "Chicago Manual" which, in essence, says, "You don't need all those commas. Throw them out."

For many years, one of my New Year's resolutions was to clean the basement and attic. I've never quite got that done so have to carry it over again, but it will not overshadow my resolve to pass the seventh and eighth grades as required.

A minor resolve will be use "Yes" more than "Yeah."

It will probably suffer the same fate as the basement and attic resolution.

What got me off on this kick was watching a group of young scholars on the Larry King Live show. Larry was asking questions of each one on the panel. Everyone preceded his/her statement with, "Yeah." It was so painfully noticeable.

It sent me to the dictionary to see what it said about "Yeah." It said it was a variant of "Yea." I wondered why and when the "h" was added. And why the "h" wasn't added to "Nay."

Do you think I'm going to keep this resolution? Well, yeah and nayh.

REJOICE!

Jean Bell Mosley is an author and longtime resident of Cape Girardeau.