On Christmas Eve of 2001, another dear and cherished friend of my family died, Jim Ven Horst. Jim was 88 years wonderful. Jim wed two lovely women in his life. His first wife, Florine - with whom he had three childen, Joe, Roger, and Debbie - died almost 20 years ago.
On December 29, 2001, my husband Todd and I had the privilege of witnessing our news and arts editor, Jeff Ignatius, marry to his beautiful bride, Pamela Kennerly, in Springfield, Illinois. It was an occasion for true celebration because their union holds all the magical promise of real and abiding love.
"All right, let's get the meeting started. As you know, the government is ready to bring this Zacarias Moussaoui fellow to trial, and it's up to all of us in the media to make sure the American people get ratings.
On December 19, 2001, Mayor Phil Yerington presided over his final council meeting as mayor of Davenport. The occasion was marked with some very touching and humorous moments, especially when Martha Haire, Phil's administrative assistant, presented him with a ceremonial barstool, complete with names and events that will serve to remind Phil of many events throughout his tenure.
It was a week before Christmas - six days, to be exact. The air had a holiday feel. There were carols on the radio, snow in the forecast. The sun was low in the afternoon sky, inching toward the winter solstice.
My sadness appears to know no bounds in 2001. So many truly marvelous people have passed. None more so than Larry Jonson, our friend and mentor, who died in his home December 11, at the age of 73, after a long illness.
"Okay, how about this: 'Osama bin Lager - the light beer that brings out your dark side.'" "I don't think so." "'One six-pack, and you'll be hiding in caves'?" "No." "'The brew so bold, it's against your religion .
Unless the public relentlessly watches Channel 13 to observe the conduct of Davenport's elected officials, they unfortunately miss those things that exemplify some of the manipulative pettiness that prevails. Mayor Yerington, who is still the presiding mayor for those aldermen who obviously need reminding, petitioned to fill a vacancy on the Plan and Zoning Commission left by Tom Melchert after he resigned due to job constraints on his time.
Davenport had another dismal civic failure on the part of its citizens with the disgraceful voter turnout for the mayoral race November 6. A pitiful few bothered to vote, practically guaranteeing a continued apathy on the part of our elected officials toward the broader public concerns.
Sometime around my 12th birthday, I was sitting in a bedroom shared by my older cousins, trying to pick up whatever teenage-boy intelligence might be available in that closed-door setting. We were half-listening to the radio, which was tuned to a station that played what entertainment insiders still referred to as "popular" music.

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