Columnist Susan Snyder: Getting a leg up on new year

Friday, Dec. 28, 2001 | 3:19 a.m.

"By next Christmas I will touch my head with my foot," she said.

She was looking at a photograph of professional dancer, who was standing in a position that makes some people jealous and others wince. The woman's leg was, for all practical purposes, parallel to her body and pointing straight to the heavens.

Yowch.

It seems an odd goal, and it lacks the promise, meaning and impact New Year's resolutions should have.

Or does it?

What would a regular person with a regular physique and not-so-regular exercise regimen have to do in order to achieve this goal?

We figured it probably would mean eating differently, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep and enrolling in yoga or dance or some other activity that would hone the flexibility needed to place one's kneecap squarely against one's ear.

Basically, it would mean making a whole string of good decisions.

What a great idea for 2002: Make good decisions.

It's a lot shorter than the typical New Year's Resolution wish-list, which generally looks something like this:

* Stop smoking.

* Lose weight.

* Read more.

* Swear less.

* Drive the speed limit.

* Count to 10 before we yell.

We look in the mirror, find the wrongs and set out to make them rights all at once.

Any one of those things is hard to do, if the opposite is our habit. Trying to accomplish all of them is pretty much impossible, although many of us have resolved to do it all starting Jan. 1 and blown it all by Jan. 6.

Maybe we would fare better if we simply resolved to make one good decision every single day.

Skip the post-lunch light-up.

Pass up the weekly office doughnut.

Turn off the TV one hour earlier and pick up a book or magazine.

Exchange a naughty word for one less naughty.

Use cruise control on I-215 once a week, just to see what 45 mph feels like.

One good decision, one at a time.

Granted, eating an apple instead of a Twinkie can seem to be an insignificant contribution in the grand scheme. A picture fashioned from the year-end roundups of 2001's biggest happenings typically revolves around the year's worst news.

Osama bin Laden is still missing.

Chandra Levy is, too.

Thousands of lives and families were destroyed Sept. 11.

Our economy is in shambles. One report says 900,000 people have lost jobs and health insurance for their families since March.

So you waited for the "Walk" signal before crossing the street. Big deal. What does it matter?

One good decision always matters. For example, on Dec. 17 three of the four news briefs on Page 2B of this newspaper told of people who were hit by cars as they walked.

One good decision by a driver or a pedestrian could have changed a life.

Resolve to make one a day in 2002.

Who knows?

By Christmas you just might be able to touch your head with your foot.