It was in August or September 1993, and my husband was about to retire from the Army at Fort Bragg after 22 years of service.

Sam Ragan, then The Pilot editor and publisher, put forth an editorial on behalf of a fellow neighbor of his, who also resided in Weymouth, Southern Pines. It seemed his neighbor was aggravated by the “confounded” noise Fort Bragg expounded upon him in the middle of the night, compounded by the soaring sounds of jet engines from planes, that apparently interrupted his sleep pattern.

Ragan’s neighbor demanded an explanation from Fort Bragg for this intrusion on his privacy, and so did Ragan.

Being the wife of a soon-to-be retired Army man, I wasted no time in providing both of them with a logical explanation for this aggravation.

It is now 17 years later. The state of Arizona is being aggravated with an alarming rate of illegal immigrants, some of whom are criminals. Tucson now ranks second in kidnappings in the United States. Drugs and violence are running rampant due to criminal illegal activities — not to mention the drain on the state’s fragile economy to provide health care and other benefits.

With all that is going on with the liberals’ attacks, to include our current president and attorney general against the new Arizona law, I couldn’t help but reflect back on the stance the former liberal editor and publisher of The Pilot had on the “confounded” aggravation he and his neighbor had to endure with Fort Bragg and the “confounded” aggravation Arizona is going through.

Diane McLellan

West End