Veronica Zimmermann, our daughter, died in a space of four short seconds on Oct. 26, 2008. The first three seconds were at a speed of 78 mph, and the impact into a telephone pole lasted one second.

When my sister Amy called me at my desk in the newsroom and gave me the word that I’d better get to Los Angeles, my wife, my wife’s hound and I packed in a second and sped south.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!” The sound of my husband’s deep-voiced yell of shock and surprise pulled me out of my reading reverie. And then he did it again, even longer and louder, “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” I jumped up from my dining room chair and headed to where my husband was standing in shock staring into the kids’ play area (what for most people is their den).

Summer School

John Van de Kamp’s commentary in the June 12 edition of the Register calling for the end of the death penalty was spot on.

Drive drunk, hit a petestrian and kill him, and what do you get?

The post office may be the next too-big thing. If it continues on its present course, the U.S. Postal Service stands to post $6 billion to $12 billion in losses by the end of the fiscal year. By the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2009, it had racked up an operating loss of more than $2 billion, almost equal to its total losses last year. So far, the Postal Service has depended on loans from the Federal Financing Bank, a federal borrowing agency, to help make up the difference, but it is fast approaching its $15 billion credit limit. Something has to give.

Dear editor,

Dear editor,

Dear editor,

No matter how things turn out in Iran in the immediate future, a huge statement has been made by the Iranian people that they want more freedom, and my belief is that in the future we will see the manifestation of their courageous actions.

Everyone has a person who influenced their lives above all others. Just about everyone I know can identify someone who has been instrumental in making them the person that they are -- from the grandpa who taught him how to ride a bike, to the elderly neighbor who taught her how to make really good brownies. We all have someone who has been a constant source of support, a good shoulder to cry on, and an endless supply of good advice.

What politically-themed issue makes you want to scream?

As Jillian Jones stated in her June 17 article, Former Napa Police Chief Dan Monez is considering a run for supervisor next year against Brad Wagenknecht, the slow-growth advocate who has represented District 1 for the last 11 years.

Fire out your thoughts here on your topic of the day that is not covered through a Register.com article or opinion item.