Transit
As a retiree, environmentalist and transit rider, I do not own a vehicle. I use Hampton Roads Transit, walking and cycling for most of my errands. This is not easy where I live in the Greenbrier section of Chesapeake. My street has a walk score of 41, transit score of 24 and cycling score of 40, according to walkscore.com. HRT’s services have become more vital since my husband and I both suffered medical issues that keep us from driving under Department of Motor Vehicles policies.
Recently, I was thrilled to be able to travel home all the way from Metropark station in New Jersey without the use of a car. Before recent improvements to U.S. Route 13 and state Route 14 by Chesapeake and HRT, that would have been impossible. It is far too dangerous to walk from Robert Hall Boulevard over the Interstate 64 interchange on Battlefield Boulevard, especially after dark. But recently I took Amtrak Train 95, scheduled to arrive at 7:24 p.m. in Norfolk, and even at that late hour I could take The Tide to buses that carried me safely home. Between transfers I patronized a local business, too.
According to a national study, every long-term dollar spent on public transportation produces a five-fold positive economic impact. HRT is conducting a study called Connecting Chesapeake. Recommendations will address potential rapid transit service between Chesapeake and Norfolk. I hope Chesapeake continues to invest in improving local and regional public transportation.
Mary Lou Burke, Chesapeake
Literature
This retired English teacher submits the Bible must be used in public education, not as a religious text but as a literary one. The Bible provides numerous idioms and allusions used by authors for centuries, many of which are used in our daily language: good Samaritan, going the extra mile and bearing one’s cross. How about Armageddon, “Call me Ishmael” or a battle between David and Goliath? Recently, President Joe Biden was urged to step down by the “Four Horsemen of the (Democratic) Apocalypse” — former President Barack Obama, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries. These are biblical allusions that only make sense when understood in their original contexts. Without a biblical background for these words and their settings, they lose their punch, and the communication between author and reader is weakened if not completely lost.
Without biblical background, how can a student read Geoffrey Chaucer, John Milton, George Herbert, John Donne or John Bunyan? What about modern writers such as Flannery O’Connor, William Faulkner or Walker Percy? Can you fully understand Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement without knowing the Bible generally and the Exodus story specifically? No, to be acquainted with the Bible — its language, stories, poetry and wisdom — is to become a more literate reader and a more knowledgeable cultural observer. The Bible is a religious text; that is true. However, it is also a great piece of literature that has informed our civilization for millennia and should be taught as such. Let’s not deprive our students of their literary heritage.
Jerry Wasserberg; Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Name-calling
Disgraced former President Donald Trump’s shameful strategy of using nicknames to smear or insult his opponents shows lack of maturity and reflects more poorly on himself than those he tries to denigrate.
For example, he has called President Joe Biden “sleepy Joe,” Hillary Clinton “crooked Hillary,” Rep. Nancy Pelosi “crazy Nancy,” special counsel Jack Smith “deranged,” etc.
As the saying goes, turnabout is fair play. The offended parties subjected to this tasteless verbal branding, can readily volley back and address Trump by an appropriate, well-deserved and new forever handle: convicted felon.
Ken Powders, Chesapeake
