Ten years ago I was working at The Brewton Standard, and I remember a lot of stories that came across our desks that year.

The May 23, 2004, issue of the paper featured a story of a breakdown in the air conditioning system at Escambia County Courthouse. The system had been working at 75 percent capacity and when a compressor went down, a special meeting of the county commissioners was called to deal with the situation. Rising temperatures put a strain on the system making it necessary to make some plans.

Over the years there had been many complaints about a local motel, and a story on the front page of the paper related that a lawsuit against the motel owners had been scheduled for August. The latest complaint was that holes were found in several of the rooms, leading to charges of invasion of privacy.

It was announced in the issue of May 26, that a plan was underway to help identify homes throughout the county. Everyone was encouraged to place house numbers where they could be readily seen. Lawrence Weaver, Project Impact chairman, and the Brewton fire chief, said that if there was a fire, the fire department would find you, but it is harder for police and ambulance personnel to do the same. A program was being set into place to make and sell reflective house numbers to make it easier to find the correct place of emergency.

Those little reflective signs have popped up all over, and I was one of the first to buy one. They are still being sold at the fire department on St. Nicholas Avenue and they are not expensive, especially if they could save a life.

I always like to mention what I find in the ads for these newspapers. In the issue of May 26, Magnolia Super Foods were selling Cool Whip for 99 cents and Pepsi products for 89 cents.

Plans were underway for a fund run for Rebecca Ann Moore, who was born with a life-threatening condition.

Memorial Day was recognized, and I did a Profile story on Don Ellis. No one deserved recognition more. He not only served in the U.S. Air Force, but in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army. He served in the Korean War and the war in Vietnam, coming home to go on with his life. His work with several veteran’s organizations is well known.

I admire these men and women who are honored on Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day. I was married to a veteran and I can appreciate what they do.

My experience with the military was in the early 1960s. When the Berlin Wall was built, no one knew just where it would lead. My husband had served for two years in Germany and was then in the Alabama National Guard. His tank unit was mobilized and stationed in Ft. Irwin, Calif. This is in the middle of the Mojave Desert. After I arrived a few months later, we lived in the town of Barstow. It was a totally new experience for this south Alabama girl.

Training was relentless for the men who served in this unit, but thankfully they never had to fight anybody. It is, for the most part, a great memory. I saw part of the U.S. that I never would have seen otherwise. Those far away places that I only had heard of became destinations of weekend trips. I loved being in the military, but I can’t say that my husband agreed. There are a lot of sand, rocks and sand in the Mojave Desert.