I’m generally not one for New Year’s Resolutions, as they are broken more easily than a dozen eggs tossed down a basement stairwell, but for the sake of argument, here’s a short list of things I’d LIKE to see happen in the four-state world of travel and food in the coming year:

Widen Interstate 81 in Maryland

Come on, State and Federal governments – haven’t we waited long enough?  Now is the time to take care of this mess.  I see the state has finally chipped in $105 million to get the ball rolling (from Route 11 in West Virginia north –  including an extensive and much needed rehab of the bridge over the Potomac – and one mile into Maryland), but really – addressing only one mile in Maryland?  Good Lord, there’s only twelve in the whole state.  Not that any road construction on I-81 is going to be any type of party (just look at the mess that’s been made of the I-70/I-81 interchange right now).  My heart rate goes up 25 points just thinking about getting on that stretch of blacktop anywhere along the Maryland route.  I can hardly wait to see what construction on the whole length will do to it, but I’ll suck it up if you’ll commit.  It’s high time that this poor excuse for a major artery grows from two lanes to three.  If nothing else, add some sensible entry/exit merge lanes.  I grow weary of trying to recreate the time travel scene from ‘Back to the Future’ and get my Toyota Sienna van up to 88 miles per hour just so I can merge in front of that Fed-Ex double trailer before I run out of real estate.

Support Some Fine Dining in Hagerstown

Would it be possible for a fine dining/non-chain establishment to open in Hagerstown that is still around when 2018 gets here?  Don’t get me wrong, I like hot roast beef and French fries as much as the next guy, but would it kill locals to support a restaurant where one could sit down at a linen covered table and enjoy a three course meal that wasn’t warmed in a kitchen microwave?  A place where the chef wasn’t also running the dish machine?  An establishment where I didn’t have to slide across a booth seat and look at a laminated menu?  I don’t think that’s too much to ask for in the county seat.

Address the Dual Highway Pedestrian Problem

How many people need to be hit and injured or killed before the City of Hagerstown, Washington County Commissioners, and State Roads Commission sit down and address the problem with pedestrian traffic along the Dual Highway?  There are no sidewalks, lighting is poor/non-existent, and there is nowhere to cross where people can be easily seen.  Instead of  approving yet another truck stop for the county (what does the new one being built on I-81 by the airport make now – five?), maybe public safety could be on the docket at one of these city/county council meetings – just saying.

Calm Down – It’s Just a Chain Restaurant

All right, all right.  I know you’re excited, but the new ‘Chili’s’ in Halfway will still be there a year from now – there’s no reason to act like you’ve never had a hot chicken fajita platter and feel the need to rush the place, forcing everyone to wait 45 minutes on a Tuesday night just to sit down and order one.   I can name a handful of restaurants already serving decent southwest/Tex-Mex cuisine in the four state area, they just don’t have a giant glowing chili pepper on their sign.  If you want to get excited about local cuisine, try out Wish #2 above.

Enough with the 5K Runs Already

Can we find a different charity fad in which to take local citizens’ money in 2017 that DOESN’T involve tacking a number onto their T-shirt and gym shorts and having them run down the street at 7:30 in the morning?  Fun-Runs, Color-Runs, St. Patrick’s Day 5Ks, National Potato Week 5Ks – I get exhausted and sweaty just reading about all of you people in the newspaper every weekend.  You must be the same group that chased poor ’Forrest Gump’ halfway across Monument Valley.  There can’t be that many ‘Fit-Bits’ out there that people are still using.  Here’s my idea.  Whatever charity or organization you like and support – go to your office or sit down at your kitchen table tomorrow, write them a check for $50 dollars, and we’ll all stay home and get some sleep next Saturday.