A dream of world peace and Cubs World Series title

In the summer of 1969, I was 10 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 2016World 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, Glenview

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

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