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

I love to laugh. Laughter is the best medicine, and believe me when I say we were well-medicated while watching the current production of the Dreamweavers Theatre! Our meds are “Moon Over Buffalo,” by Ken Ludwig.

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

By tradition in Washington, a president’s budget — especially his first — has a short shelf life. No sooner does the tome land on Capitol Hill than lawmakers toss it and write their own. President Obama’s fiscal blueprint followed the same well-worn path.

Dear editor, I would like to ask why everyone is always dogging Sarah Palin? I mean, she isn’t our president or vice president. So why do you always have to print mean things about her or what she does that is wrong? I am a Republican and I just ask why. So what if she was not a good speaker? President Bush wasn’t. I just don’t see why you have to always talk bad or down about her.

Dear editor, Interesting that, at least according to the Register, the Napa County Transportation & Planning Agency is going to return solely to its main mission — transportation — and no longer deal with other issues. Apparently the priorities are: “Road projects, bus and van capabilities and the future of the transit center in downtown Napa.”

Dear editor, Who is responsible for the Napa River Ecological Reserve? As I was leaving the reserve after bird-watching last Tuesday, two men carrying rifles came walking up the path.

Dear editor, I was sitting sick to my stomach and shaking after leaving Alston Park. I went to the dog play area with our 7-month-old Vizsla puppy, Annie. I also had my two young children with me. We were sitting and chatting watching our pup have a wonderful time playing.

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.

Death will forever be the mistress of life, and Michael Jackson apparently chose to marry her to avoid a pasty-faced and less than stellar comeback tour.