I share your feelings on the renaming of the Sears Tower, but at the same time I wonder about the whole ‘naming thing’ and why we need to do it at all.

From pasting the names of politicians on everything from parking meters to memorials, and renaming college football bowl games after snack foods, to putting corporate names on ballparks and swingsets, it seems that we’re just perpetuating the ‘me’ to the detriment of ‘us’.

In my town there are ‘pocket parks’ placed at a couple of key gateways to the downtown area and you guessed it, the landscape designer had to place his name on the sign, taking credit for the beautification. I would hope for better from a gardener.

I like the old days where we could describe what we were looking at (a beautiful garden), where we were (at the playground), and where we were going (to the ball park) without ever mentioning the sponsor’s name. Sadly, I think kids these days will never be able to appreciate that.

Sue