Just like many of you reading this, I reflected last Friday on where I was when the first plane hit one of the Twin Towers in New York on Sept. 11, 25 years ago.

A display at Sauk Community College I walked by the other day brought back memories from when I was a freshman.

The F-Bomb, once saved for special occasions, can now be heard on cable news, popular cable shows, and during casual conversation.

Since our country will be celebrating its 250th birthday, now seems like a good time to think about what it means to be an American in the 21st century.

I can’t talk. For some family and friends, this might be a good thing. My problem is that I tend to be very loquacious. So, the experience of having to listen more and talk less has been interesting.

Small businesses come and go, often leaving without much public notice. Local restaurants and shops have opened and closed before I have had a chance to visit.

As Republicans, we have an important choice to make in this primary. If we want to defeat Eric Sorensen in November, we must nominate a candidate who reflects our values and has a record to prove it.

Mary McCormick, Rock Falls, plans to attend the regularly scheduled protest at the Grandon Civic Center in Sterling this Saturday. But since it is Valentine’s Day, she and others from the Sauk Valley who regularly attend every-other-Saturday protests will be carrying signs of love.

Maybe it is an empty chair or a special dish that will be missing for the first time for this year’s holiday season. That person and that tradition have always been there for you to enjoy. Until they weren’t. It is a life experience every family goes through, including my own.

The time for the U.S. penny has come and gone, thanks to the government decision to mint the last ones on Nov. 12.