DEAR ABBY: While going through the papers of a recently deceased friend, Jim Heistercamp, a well-known San Francisco personality, I came across a number of barely legible newsletters dating back to 1934, from St. Joseph School in Menomonie, Wis.
On the first page of the January newsletter was printed the enclosed poem, whose message as we approach the new millennium could not be more timely. I hope you'll share it with your readers. -- FRANK LEVIN, SAN FRANCISCO
DEAR FRANK: The poem you discovered is a gem, and certainly deserving of space in this column. How generous of you to share it. Read on:
RECIPE FOR A HAPPY NEW YEAR
To leave the old with a burst of song
To recall the right and forgive the wrong;
To forget the thing that binds you fast
To the vain regrets of the year that's past;
To have the strength to let go your hold
Of the not worthwhile of the days grown old,
To dare to go forth with a purpose true,
To the unknown task of the year that's new;
To help your brother along the road
To do his work and lift his load;
To add your gift to the world's good cheer,
Is to have and to give a Happy New Year.