Chicago must keep its intercity bus station for travelers from all walks of life

I read with interest Sun-Times reader Robert Johnson’s letter “Losing intercity bus station is disgraceful.” I agree with several of his major points, but I’d like to expand on one. He’d said, "Who other than the poor, working poor, unemployed, underfunded or subsidized depend on the cheapest form of public transportation?" Well, I do. I’m 66, own a car, am financially stable, drive in town if I must, but choose to no longer drive on interstates, highways or expressways. I choose to use public or mass transportation when possible to pay attention to the environment. So if I go out of state to visit family and a train can’t take me there, I’m on a bus.

We need a bus station in downtown Chicago to attend to the needs of many types of people who get on a bus to get somewhere outside Chicago. We need a station for the many intercity buses that serve travelers daily, not a street corner with no restrooms that’s not near other modes of transport. I’ve written legislators as well as those heading up this effort of studying how to serve bus travelers in this huge city of Chicago. Will you?

Becca Lindahl, Des Plaines

‘Conventional’ wisdom

Most people in most things would rather be the head than the tail, except in baseball and political conventions. In baseball, the home team bats last for a final chance at victory. The second political convention leaves the final impression on voters for achieving an edge on victory in November. Though these events are planned months or years in advance, organizers of the second convention get to tweak their program by seeing what worked in the first one.

The Democratic National Convention's cast of speakers included politicians, union members, Republicans, entertainers and citizens affected by government policy and laws; telling their personal stories, all while putting on an oratory tournament of champions. A popular concept in communications that started in the 1960s called "the medium is the message" points out that the method of how something is said can be more memorable than the actual words. This was on display at both conventions as speakers used storytelling about the candidates, slogans, music, personal experiences. Tim Walz’s former football players also took the stage when the Minnesota governor formally accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president. On the Republican side, a 98-year-old World War II vet’s presence and speech were also well-received.

A word heard throughout both conventions was "fight." At the Republican National Convention it was used in the more physical sense of the word. The former president mentioned it in his natural response to an assassination attempt. The RNC also presented fight as in physical strength by introducing professional wrestler Hulk Hogan as a spokesperson.

The DNC used it more in the abstract as a symbol of unity in creating positive change in government laws, and policies. It brought people together in the repetition of the slogan "when we fight, we win." “Joy” was also interspersed with many of the speeches, another symbol of unity.

Everyone thinks that the current presidential election is the most important in history. The next election is always the most important since it is the only one we can affect. My impression from watching both conventions was: from the DNC, "leaders are fighting for the people," while from the RNC, "people are fighting for their leader." May the American people win.

Lawrence A. Frazin, Evanston