TODAY'S COLUMN: MANKIND HAS PROGRESSED A LOT IN 1,000 YEARS

The time line in Sunday's paper was thought-provoking. To think that at the turn of the last millennium the people who lived in this region of Missouri had no idea there were civilizations across the ocean and vice versa.

In the last 1,000 years people discovered not only more about our world but about the universe beyond, other planets, stars, solar systems. In the next 1,000 years, perhaps we'll find other inhabited worlds.

If you lived in this area at the turn of the last century, chances are you lived on a farm, with no running water, no telephone, no electricity, no car.

In keeping a home, I think I work hard now. But it's difficult for me to imagine doing so without the aid of a vacuum cleaner, washer/dryer, microwave oven, electric range/oven, all of which came into widespread use in the last 50 years. And don't forget the TV, in front of which you park the kids while you are trying to get chores done.

I might get along without my hair dryer and curling iron that aid me in getting ready for work each day. But don't take away the permanent press clothing, dry cereal and frozen waffles that help me get my kids out the door on time each morning.

And just in the last 10 years, many things have entered our daily lives that make work and play easier, including cell phones, computers, the Internet, the proliferation of cable channels, fax machines, answering machines and gourmet coffee at the grocery store.

Now if we can only make it into the new year without losing the electricity, gas, water and phone lines that make all these possible.

Speaking of New Year's Eve, it's the time of year when many people are making resolutions. The tradition of New Year's resolutions goes back to 153 B.C. A god of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar. With two faces, Janus could look back on past events and forward to the future. Janus became the ancient symbol for resolutions and many Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies and also exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year.

I have some suggestions for those looking for resolutions.

Stop smoking. It's not only an unhealthy habit, it also bothers those of us who don't smoke. If you won't stop smoking, at least stop flicking those nasty butts out car windows or on the ground. They may be small, but butts are still litter.

Stop being so neat. Or at least don't try to push your neat habits on slobs like me. Some of us are organizationally impaired and don't like having messes pointed out to us.

Use the language correctly. You'd think with everyone watching television, we'd pick up more of the proper grammar usually spoken there. Instead you hear things like "I seen you at the mall yesterday" or "We don't got no more of those." Hey, people, if we don't speak our language correctly, who will?

What will my resolution be? To be more tolerant of smokers and neatniks, of course.