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ADLAI INTERESTING The article about the Stevenson family (“Adlai’s still talking sense,” by Fletcher Farrar, Feb. 15) was extremely interesting. There were many interesting thoughts, quotes and comments. Having been a lifelong citizen of Illinois, familiar with the history of the Stevenson family and the roles they played in Illinois history, made this article all the more interesting to me. The Illinois and national politics in which the Stevenson family was involved were very informative. I appreciated the humor that was included and the political comments. Dennis Stuckey Springfield

DANA-THOMAS DOCUMENTS Thank you to Daniel Greer for donating all the documents to the Dana-Thomas House (“Dana-Thomas House: Documents add to rich history,” Cinda Ackerman Klickna, Illinois Times website, Feb. 14).

My mother was a volunteer there, pretty much until the day she died. She was fascinated by Mr. Wright and the house. She had grown up in Springfield and driven by there for over 70 years. So she was amazed that she now had the keys to the house and could walk around freely. She loved volunteering there and would have been very thankful for these new papers. Mr. Greer was also her lawyer. Thanks, Mr. Greer. Sherri Boner Springfield

THE NEW NORMAL In the wake of the Parkland tragedy, we must look at what some are calling a “new normal.” There are huge issues with gun safety and mental health to be faced. We see increasing school shootings (170 in 19 years; 18 in 7 weeks) plus other gun-related massacres: Las Vegas, Orlando, Sutherland Springs, Aurora, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, San Bernardino and Ft. Hood. Each new one comes with less and less surprise. While some respond with alarm, anger and determination to mitigate the epidemic, others respond with silence, maybe some handwringing and then more silence – the “new normal.” Congress seems unmoved by it all.

How shall we respond? We can hire thousands of guards and make schools, churches and public venues into armed camps. But at what cost? We can keep burying our children and youth. We can hold our breath hoping such carnage does not come to our school, church or community, or, God forbid, our family. We can call these deaths and injuries “collateral damage” and a “regrettable but necessary evil” in this “new normal.” We can ignore the hundreds of grieving parents and the thousands of youth with their nightmares and PTSD. We can ignore the fact that the USA has the world’s worst record for such problems and call it “the new normal.”

Or, we can decide this “new normal” is too high a price to pay for easy gun availability. I do not want this “new normal” for my world. If enough others feel this way, we can make a difference with these huge issues. Gerald Phillips Springfield