Columnist Ruthe Deskin: Perspective needed for new year

Ruthe Deskin

Thursday, Jan. 2, 2003 | 8:20 a.m.

One day into a new year and a columnist has three choices.

First, there's the sure thing. Review all the stories of the past year and select the ones you feel are most significant.

This can be done in many categories -- politics, the arts, sports, etc. Time magazine did a great job choosing the Persons of the Year. The magazine opted for three courageous women who dared to blow the whistle on the misdeeds of their superiors.

They included Coleen Rowley, who blasted the FBI regarding the Moussaoui case; Sherron Watkins for warning of Enron's shabby accounting practices; and Cynthia Cooper, who exposed illegal bookkeeping at WorldCom.

As the editors of Time wrote: "They took huge professional and personal risks to blow the whistle on what went wrong at WorldCom, the FBI and Enron -- and in so doing helped remind Americans what courage and values are all about."

The second option for a column centering on the new year is a prophetic look at the future.

Is war with Iraq a certainty? Are we heading for a deep recession? Who will emerge as the Democratic nominee for president since Al Gore announced he would not run? Will the Los Angeles Lakers climb from their near cellar position to battle for the NBA championship once again?

Under this category one could discuss the effects of human cloning, Korea's nuclear stance, Michael Jackson's nose, and the fate of Martha Stewart.

Finally we come to the third option -- New Year's resolutions. This is a very personal category. I find the best approach is to select a sure thing -- something you can accomplish without too much effort. Then you never have to face the coming year with a list of broken promises.

Some of us octogenarians have another way of saluting the new year by taking a look back at the marvels that have taken place during our lifetime.

I remember our first radio, a small boxlike contraption called a DeForest that was partially assembled by my father. "Amos & Andy" was a favorite program. Today it would be most definitely politically incorrect.

We discovered the moon was not made of green cheese when man took his first step on its surface.

The horror of nuclear war was indelibly etched on our minds when A-bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Southern Nevada residents and people living in southern Utah were well aware of the effect of the atom bomb as tests were conducted in the Nevada desert.

Those of us who have been privileged to spend many years on this good earth have lived to witness miracles in science and medicine; there seems to be no end to the potential for greater advances, although some are on the cutting edge.

Cloning of humans will have a serious and perhaps dire effect on life as we know it.

Where do we go from here? It's a good question and one that has been asked by generation after generation. No one knows the answer. Only time will unravel the mysteries of life.

A Happy New Year to all. Make the most of every moment of your life. Remember the advice of author Horace Mann:

"Lost. Somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered, for they are gone forever."