To the best of my knowledge:

- The effort of local high schoolers for the Student Hunger Drive was amazing, collecting 767,455 pounds of food for the River Bend Foodbank. United Township (Division A, 75,619 pounds), Alleman (Division B, 165,249 pounds), Rivermont Collegiate (Division C, 13,634 pounds), Heritage Christian (Division D, 3,926 pounds) and Mission-Challenge winner Thurgood Marshall were tops in their divisions. It was the 16th consecutive win for Alleman, led by drive chairwoman Abby Johnson.

- Hats off to Bob Vogelbaugh (Mr. Thanksgiving) for continuing the tradition of sharing a meal with thousands at Thanksgiving. Kudos to the Moline Police Department for lending a financial hand to the annual project.

- Anyone wanting to develop the 11th Street corridor in Rock Island is doing a good thing.

- It's a sad day when a classy outfit like Holland Jewelers decides to stop business.

- The late Cy Albracht was a wonderful man, whom I knew through his son, Jim, who continues to guide me through my electronic career. Cy was a humble, caring family man who worked hard, provided for his family and always had a great attitude. It wasn't until late in life that he shared that he was part of D-Day, earned a Purple Heart and played a role in saving our nation. Cy lived into his 90s and kept the same great attitude until the end.

- Al Roels was a Quad-Cities fixture. He passed last week at age 81. One of the best things about where I work is I was lucky to have Al around the first 10 years of my career. He was a fabulous person, great family man, dear to his faith and the guy who looked after everyone. He was such a good guy, I overlooked the fact he was a Cubs fan.

- A 7th Street Moline fixture left us recently at age 94. Clara VanDeVeire was a longtime bright spot at the Center for Belgian Culture and played a huge role in bringing the Humane Society of Rock Island County to life. Clara was kind, was giving and had a joyful personality.

- Coffee is all about the cool-looking cup.

- If Plan A doesn't work, there are 25 other letters to choose from.

- Christmas music on the radio seven weeks before Christmas is beyond ridiculous.

- Political signs make great fire-pit liners. Wish we could have done that with the political TV ads six months ago.

- Never try to explain to a group of teens what S&H green stamps were.

- Unexpected company always shows up in the middle of a remodeling project.

- A local coffee shop group said a dog has an owner, a cat has a staff.

- Some folks learn from their experiences. Some of us are still recovering from them.

- If the shoe fits, buy it.

- It's easy to handle pain until it hurts.

- He who hesitates misses the exit.

- Landmark driving is way more fun that Mapquest or using a GPS.


Columnist John Marx can be reached at (309) 757-8388 or jmarx@qconline.com.