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On my mind

In my career as a journalist, I have been blessed by the opportunities of getting to know some amazing people, and even luckier to call many of the people I’ve interviewed, “friends.” Many of them were simply ordinary people who accomplished extraordinary things. Others were extraordinary people who did simple things, those little things that make a difference for a whole lot of people – or maybe many people, one person at a time.

I have a friend, Jack, who “rescued” an old train car he found rusting away in an abandoned steel mill somewhere up north. It took many years, restoring every aspect of his car (built by the Pullman Co.) as finances permitted, until it sparkled in its original paint colors, pecantrimmed interior, vintage wall paper, antique furnishings and a kitchen and crew quarters. I don’t know too many people who own train cars…in fact, Jack is the only one.

Jack’s executive car was mechanically restored so it could be added to an Amtrak train for travel across the country, and a talented mechanic is part of the crew that comes with the car, wherever it goes. Another crew member is a talented train chef, a professional that can dish up five-course meals in a very small, often swaying galley kitchen.

When he’s not using his car for personal business or pleasure, Jack often rents his executive car to a variety of customers, but on three or four occasions, his car has been used for whistlestop campaigning by several presidential candidates. “On these trips, it’s written into the contract that I go along,” he told me.

The candidates who have used his executive car include Bush I and Barbara, Bill and Hillary Clinton and Barack and Michelle Obama. Not revealing his own political leanings, my friend Jack said he’s liked all of these folks and still hears from them from time to time.

Having traveled by trains most of my childhood and, more recently, on a two-week tour of the western half of the country, I can say I am, without question, a true train person. However, to own a train car – even a caboose, would be something out of my wildest dreams.

Now to another topic—No doubt you’ve heard about the vaping epidemic going on in middle schools and high schools across the country. According to the 2017 National Youth Tobacco Survey, more than 12 percent of high school students and 3 percent middle schoolers “vaped” at least once in the past 30 days for a total of 2 million kids.

Dr. Scott Gottleib, head of the Food and Drug Administration has said his agency will halt sales of flavored electronic cigarettes (eCigarettes come in such flavors as “Virginia Tobacco,” “Fruit,” “Mint” and “Cucumber.”) Each flavor is $15.99 online. Probably more in vaping stores.

How they work: E-cigarettes are attached to a “pod” and use the battery-power to heat liquid-based nicotine into an inhalable vapor. Supposedly, they don’t leave an odor – like smoke from traditional cigarettes (but what is this stuff doing to your sinus cavities, nose, throat and lungs?) Claims are they are not addictive, but Dr. Gottlieb wouldn’t have his hair on fire about this epidemic if it was totally harmless.

This past week, the FDA gave the vape manufacturers --Juul, Vuse, MarkTen XL, Blu and Logic -- 60 days to submit “robust” plans to prevent youth vaping. If the agency doesn’t think their plans go far enough, it could order their products off the market. Those five brands make up more than 97 percent of the U.S. market for e-cigarettes, FDA says.

As he told USAToday, "Teenagers are becoming regular users, and the proportion of regular users is increasing. We’re going to take action. No one can look at the data and say there’s no problem," Gottleib said.

Parents, take note.

Until next week…

Dripping Springs Century-News

P.O. Box 732
Dripping Springs, Texas 78620

Phone: (512) 858-4163
Fax: (512) 847-9054