The most-viewed pages on our Web site almost always involve death.
Murders, tragic accidents, trials, the loss of local soldiers in Iraq — you get the idea.
So it was uplifting this morning when I checked the top stories of the first half of January and found three that featured “good news.”
Second on the list for the month, following only a profile of a soldier who died in Iraq, was a story about a an old suitcase full of love letters that was bought at an auction and returned to its owners.
The Monroe antiques dealer who bought the suitcase didn’t know there were 500 World War II era love letters inside. She used the internet to find a son of the couple who exchanged the letters and returned them in an emotional meeting at Zorba’s restaurant in downtown Monroe.
Also making the list were a local couple winning the lottery and a family that puts gifts on a tree in front of their house to help the less fortunate.
The top 10 list for the month so far:
1. Soldier ‘a funny, caring man:’ a profile of Army Sgt. Christopher Messer, who died in Iraq.
2. Lost love rediscovered: a suitcase of love letters returned to the family they belonged to.
3. Local soldier dies in Iraq: The news story on the death of St. Messer.
4. A mission of healing: A look at the Comair Flight 3272 crash 10 years later.
5. Remembering the victims: Another story in our coverage of the Comair crash’s anniversary.
6. Area residents share memories of a president: Local reaction to the death of former President Gerald Ford.
7. Sgt. Messer: ‘His spirit is alive forever:’ Coverage of the funeral for Sgt. Messer.
8. Brownstown gets instant millionaire: A local couple win a million dollars in the lottery.
9. Suspect arrested in crime spree: Two men arrested following a string of burglaries.
10. The tree of life: A local family that puts gifts on a tree to help the less fortunate.