Thank you, Chicago, for the light show that helped me through a tough time

Two weeks ago, my wife, who is a nurse, became ill with coronavirus. The first few days I did my best to take care of her, but she started having a harder time breathing and had no appetite.

I drove her to the emergency department. She was placed on oxygen and taken to a sterile coronavirus ward, where I was not allowed to visit. We were told the next 48 hours would tell if the disease would improve or worsen.

That night, I came back to my quiet apartment in the South Loop. We had moved in a few months ago from California, and there were few creature comforts. The refrigerator was full of food I had tried to get my wife to eat, but I wasn’t hungry. I felt lost. There was no map. There was nothing else I could do.

To my surprise, I heard sudden cheering outside. From my balcony, I noticed flashing, swirling, twinkling lights coming from apartments across the city. People were singing and playing music. I stood and cried. It reminded me how resilient people can be.

A few days later, my wife turned the corner. Each night now, we participate in the light show. We hope our addition can comfort someone else.

Thank you, Chicago, for the light show and for helping me through a hard time.

Ian Foran, South Loop

Tell Congress to save the post office

We cannot allow Trump to kill the U.S. Postal Service. We just can’t!

In this age of online shopping, shipping and mailing is a vital industry. The USPS is the only entity that delivers mail and packages to small and rural towns all over America. It is not subject to mergers and acquisitions, price gouging or fixing. It has the ability to handle millions of pieces of mail every day. Miraculously, each letter or package gets to its destination. It is a government agency that works well and benefits everyone.

Being forced to fully fund its pension and deliver to every address makes it difficult to operate in the black. But USPS provides a necessary public service, like a utility, and it must be supported and funded.

Voters must write to their members of Congress and the president, and demand that the postal service not be dismantled at the whim of a (hopefully) outgoing president.

Carol Kraines, Deerfield

Trump makes the case for Biden

A year ago, I was afraid that President Trump’s re-election was a near-certainty. The economy was booming. The stock market was at an all-time high, unemployment at an all-time low.

Then came COVID-19, a golden opportunity for the president to be seen as a “wartime” leader and close the deal on re-election.

Then came the president’s inane daily ”briefings.” COVID-19 and the subsequent recession have virtually assured his demise.

Now, I think that every word out of his mouth is another vote for Joe Biden. Hope I’m right.

John Szot, Merrillville, Indiana

National testing is a must

There is no way to get past this COVID-19 pandemic without widespread nationwide testing.

Michael Shepherd, Bellwood