Chris Kimble of Dawsonville doesn’t do New Year’s resolutions.
“I never keep them, so I never make them,” Kimble said.
“People that make resolutions don’t keep them. People don’t follow through. It’s just tradition. It’s like black-eyed peas, hog jowls and cornbread. It’s something people do and think nothing of it.”
Like Kimble, other folks around Dawson County spoke their piece on keeping — and not keeping — New Year’s resolutions.
Frank Kunkel III of Dawsonville said the annual pledges signify “new hope for the past year’s failures.”
Kunkel said some years are successful, while others are not. This year, his resolutions are to “lose weight and make more money.”
“We’ll see how it goes,” he said.
Amanda Anderson, who works in Dawson County, plans to “start saving more money. Spend less and save more.”
Adrienne Postell of Cumming said she’d like to “get in better shape.”
“I want to do more training and be more motivated,” she said.
Her husband, Chris Postell, said his New Year’s resolution is to “spend more time with our children.”
Dawson County resident Rob Ingram said resolutions are made each year because “people realize how much they didn’t do in the past year.”
“People are hopeful, and that makes them want to start fresh,” he said.
Alice Michaels of Cumming said she’d like to quit smoking in 2010.
“I don’t know if I’ll start on New Year’s Day, but hopefully soon after that,” she said.
Local doctor Larry Anderson said breaking bad habits is a popular, if not difficult, New Year’s resolution.
“People like their bad habits,” Anderson said. “People don’t want to quit smoking, because they enjoy smoking. People don’t want to lose weight, because they enjoy the foods that keep weight on them.”
Kimble once tried to lose weight as a New Year’s resolution.
“Resolutions are tough,” he said. “It takes no effort to just say something. It takes resolve to actually do it.
“You can spit out the empty words every New Year’s, and a lot of people do just that. Some folks can make it happen, but it’s really tough for others.”