At my age, I don’t buy green bananas (old joke, I know). But, since it’s Jan. 1, 2026, here are my New Year’s resolutions. (If only I could remember them in a week or two. Oh, well. I’d probably break them, anyway.)

One thing I do remember are PBS documentaries, which I watch religiously instead of going to church. I recall PBS because I get a cable bill every month. Also, when I turn on my TV, the PBS logo stares me in the face.

But I digress. (I find myself doing that a lot lately, as well as talking to myself more, even when I haven’t just stubbed my toe.)

Oh, yes: PBS.

I now forget more about astronomy and quarks than is probably healthy for someone with the attention span of a mayfly. But I watched a documentary the other night that stuck with me. It was about Ernest Hemingway. It traced his life from birth. His four marriages. His many affairs. His bullfighting. His hunting. His medals for bravery. His braggadocio.

His suicide in 1961.

About that. I always thought he shot himself because he was just tired of life. I didn’t know about his overbearing mother, his many war wounds, his drinking binges, and, most of all, his lifelong mental problems. He died at 61 but looked 161. He was a physical and emotional wreck and even underwent electroshock treatments.

A conflicted and complicated man, Hemingway changed the way American authors wrote. The film featured many famous writers and critics from around the world, all of whom had different opinions about his books. Some liked one but not others. But all thought he was a genius.

Ironically, one critic who hated The Old Man and the Sea, possibly Hemingway’s most enduring novel, said his other works were brilliant and would live forever.

I used to have a lot of Hemingway’s books, but I gave most away. Now, I feel I must seek them out and buy them again. (Did I mention I never was much of a businessman?)

Anyway, let’s consider that my New Year’s resolution. That’s what we were talking about, right?

Lawrence De Maria is a mystery and thriller writer. Hemingway abhorred words like “actually” and “really,” so De Maria is excising them from his 40 e-books published on Amazon. He hopes to be finished in time for his next New Year’s column.