I read newspapers. I always have. I also watch the news on TV, pretty much every single day. Sometimes in the evenings, if I am home, but mostly in the mornings, before I go to work.

I blame my mother for that. She was a TV news junkie and we had the news on our black and white TV every evening while I was growing up in San Diego. And, she subscribed to the San Diego Union newspaper. My brothers and I read the comics, my dad read the sports but my mom read the news and the editorial page religiously.

Then came Friday, Nov. 22, 1963.

I had just turned 13 years-old two weeks earlier. I was in the eighth grade at Christ Lutheran School in La Mesa. It was recess after lunch and we were playing kickball on the playground, which was the church parking lot.

My classmate, Jennifer Fischer, came and told us we had to get back into the school, because the president had been shot in Texas. I could not believe it.

When I got home, my mother was glued to the TV. For the first time, there were no shows on, and it would just be the news for the next three days or more. My mother even missed church on Sunday, which never happened. We saw John Harvey Oswald shot and killed by Jack Ruby live on TV. JFK’s funeral, a new president in office, and much more.

For me, the world had changed. It had never occurred to me that the president could be or would be, assassinated. Sure, I knew about Abe Lincoln, but that was in the far past, something we learned about in history class, This was modern times.

Fast forward to today. I often write this column very early on Friday mornings, which is true today. I let ideas percolate in my mind all week and then it just writes itself. The date today is Friday, Sept. 11, 2026.

I can’t help but remember what happened 25 years ago.

Like many folks, I was up getting ready for work, and, of course, I had the TV news on. I couldn’t figure out at first why the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City were on the screen, except that one looked like it was on fire.

I am not sure even the newscasters knew then that a plane had hit the one tower. Until, of course, when a second plane struck the second tower, live on TV.

And eventually both towers crashed to the ground. Everyone wondered what else was going to be happening in the next few days, and why this was happening and who was doing it.

That event has become known simply as 9/11. And this year is the 25th anniversary of that awful day. People under the age of 30 probably don’t remember it, but have certainly seen a lot about it. There certainly is a lot about it on the TV news this Friday morning, as well there should be.

It was a date that will be always remembered, I would think.

For my parents’ generation, it was the bombing of Pearl Harbor, on Dec. 7, 1941, “the day that will live in infamy.”

In fact, some of those folks lived through all three of these terrible events in American history.

There is one thing that ties these three events together, at least in my mind. That is the fact that these horrible events all seemed to unite Americans together after they happened. You could see it happening and feel that sense of uniting together as Americans. Not as Democrats and Republicans, just Americans.

My mother, a staunch Republican, never-the-less was terribly upset and shocked about Democrat president John F. Kennedy being shot and killed, and mourned his death.

We could use a little of that again now. I am sure not wishing for another horrible disaster to strike us, but maybe this is just a chance to pause and remember on this 9/11 date that despite all our differences, we are still all Americans, and we should try and keep that in mind, especially in this divisive election season.

There is just way too much nastiness during election campaigning these days, with TV ads that are not promoting a candidate, but instead just vilifying their opponent. I guess that is how they think they will win the election. Sadly, they might be right.

Maybe just take a little time to reflect on the important things this year, like remembering how we all came through, together, when tragedy has struck our county.

After all, it is called the “United” States of America. We should try and be a little bit more united, without having a terrible tragedy as a reason to do it.

Just something to think about…