Tuesday letters: A dream of world peace and Cubs victories

In the summer of 1969, I was ten years old and living in Evanston. I had just graduated from elementary school and in the fall would be entering junior high. In those days, that meant you had hit a certain level of maturity.

That was the summer that my best friend, Joel, and I finally were allowed to go to Cubs games alone. Every week the Cubs played a home series, we would go to one game. Just the two of us.

It was a summer during which the Vietnam War raged on. It was a summer of horrific civil unrest. But it was also a glorious summer to dream about a Cubs’ victory and world peace, probably in that order.

Now jump ahead to 2016. I am 57 years old and still dreaming of world peace, of an end of hunger and disease, and of a world in which every child born has a promising future. But today, like millions of people around the world, I also dare to imagine the unimaginable: Hey hey … Holy cow … Cubs win! The Cubs could win the 2016 World Series.

And when the sun rises the next day, the world will be at peace and all of its inhabitants will live happily ever after. Let us dare to imagine.

Neil J. Blum, Gleview

Cubs fans all cheering as one

I went to the Chicago Cubs National League championship victory on Saturday. It was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. There were more than 40,000 people cheering their hearts out. For a few hours, Cubs fans, regardless of race, religion or social class, were brothers and sisters, celebrating an accomplishment that hadn’t occurred in Chicago since 1945.

I pinched myself several times wondering if it were all a dream. After the last out was registered, I looked up into the sky to see if a meteor would land on the field to ruin the moment that so many of us had hoped to see in our lifetime. Such are the thoughts of people who have suffered so many disappointments.

I know the Cubs haven’t won the World Series yet, but I am satisfied that I have lived long enough to see the Cubs go to one. Way to go, Cubs. Thank you for the countless thrills and memories.

Antonio Acevedo, West Town

Herb Kent kept us feeling young

Radio host Herb Kent was the cool older brother for teens during the 1960s and ‘70s, and he remained that familiar figure of youth for generations. His brilliant serials featuring the “Wahoo Man” and other imaginative characters were unique and much copied. I remember one of his early “battles of the best,” pitting The Temptations against The Miracles. That was a great contest because the two groups had recorded many of the same Smokey Robinson compositions. Herb Kent was an example of good character, creativity and black pride.

Muriel Balla, Hyde Park

Don’t tax diet soda

I totally disagree that a penny-per-ounce tax on soft drinks is good for our health; it is nothing but a money grab by Cook County. There are many of us who drink diet soda because we cannot drink fruit juice, which has a high sugar content. Why tax sugar-free drinks like sugary drinks? If the Cook County Board wants to discourage sugar consumption, why doesn’t it tax candy, cookies and cake, too? Why not just tax sugar? Drink water, you say. Well, Chicago has a tax on bottled water and the city also just increased its water tax. How about milk? Why not tax chocolate, strawberry or vanilla milk? Remember King George III and his tax on tea. Remember what happened with that.

John Thompson, Jefferson Park