October 18, 2019 Issue, Page 4 of 10

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Page 4 The Elk City News, Elk City, Oklahoma Friday, October 18, 2019 Opinion Page Honesty to be genuine. They are open from telling the spouse it and truthful, they are real. didn’t happen to lying to the “ElkCituNews Who of us has not at one children that it didn’t happen time or another experienced to keeping up a false appear- Glynda Lomax is a Chris- the betrayal of a friend, rela- ance as a happy, normal fam- Serving Western Oklahoma since 1901 tian author and podcaster tive or partner through dis- ily in public. They couldn’t who resides in the Ozark honesty? Who of us does not bear for others to know that Mountains of Northern Ar- remember the aching stab Yer Out: Vaping striking out the truth was the whole mar- kansas with her two very of disappointment you felt riage was a lie and everyone bossy dogs. She wrote her when you found out you had was desperately unhappy. at ballparks, other venues first About Life.column in been deceived? I don’t mean No real relationship ever 2003 for a newspaper in the ‘No, you really don’t develops on a foundation of By Don Munsch, Editor Dallas. She is planning her look fat in those pants’ kind lies. Without real honesty, The first time I saw an e-cigarette was several years ago, next book. there is no real intimacy. A of lie, but an out and out during an outing with a former newspaper colleague and brazen change-your-world- relationship based on lies And that you will never have his co-worker. “We tell lies when we are so-it’s-never-the-same kind isn’t really a relationship at We went to see a Houston Astros exhibition game at afraid... afraid of what we of untruth that pierces your all; it’s just two people shar- peace; you will live in fear don’t know, afraid of what heart like an arrow. of discovery constantly. Minute Maid Park in Houston. The co-worker took drags ing the same house or activ- Each time we lie, we sac- off something I had never seen before: an electronic ciga- others will think, afraid of A lie cuts into trust like a ity. For real intimacy, you what will be found out about tifice a part of who we really rette. knife cutting up cake. That have to have real people be- us. But every time we tell a are to the god of self-preser- cake will never be as whole ing really honest with each “What the heck is that?” went through my head, I’m sure. lie, the thing that we fear as it was before, and neither other. Only truth fosters real vation. Each time, we give I seem to recall the vaper did it during the game, with the grows stronger.” - Tad Wil- will the trust. closeness and real growth in more and more power to that roof being opened that day. liams Lies are always in one any relationship. which is not real in our lives He explained how the e-cigarette worked. Vaping, as way or another, based on a A relationship built of lies until at some point, we have most people know, gives smokers the same sensations/ The dictionary defines desire to serve the self. They or anything built on some- deceived even ourselves. pleasures as a real cigarette, only without the burning of honesty as being truthful, are used to make you look thing that is not real will When we have deceived tobacco. open and trustworthy. The better, to save you from dis- eventually come crumbling even ourselves into believ- Curious, I looked up policies on vaping at the 30 Major level of honor you attain in comfort or when you think down around you, usually ing the lies, it is only a mat- League parks. Many stadiums allow fans to smoke in des- life is directly related to your the other person would be when you least expect it. ter of time until the house ignated areas, while others ban any kind of tobacco prod- level of honesty. In fact, if hurt or offended. Lies are If you build yourself a of untruths we have built uct and e-cigarettes inside the premises. Even smokeless you look up honor in the dic- told when telling the truth house of lies to live in, you comes crumbling down and tionary, part of the definition would cost you something will eventually be found out we are left with no place for tobacco is prohibited in some stadiums. But two stadiums is — you guessed it — honesty. you don’t want to lose. and sooner or later, you will the real us to live. — Fenway Park in Boston and Citizens Bank Park in Phila- An honest person is some- I once had a friend who, have to face the truth that if delphia — restrict smoking but don’t have a prohibition on one we consider honorable after being married for de- you have told enough lies, “Honesty is the first chap- vaping, according to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights or worthy of honoring. cades, had numerous extra- you have crowded the real ter of the book of wisdom.” Foundation. We consider honest people marital affairs. The lies went you out of your own life. - Thomas Jefferson Incidentally, the foundation says four teams’ stadiums — Colorado, Seattle, Tampa Bay and Toronto — prohibit the smoking of weed. Solving the doctor shortage and medical school bottleneck Studies continue concerning the effects of vaping, but more and more entities are banning their usage. In April, By Richard Liebowitz match between qualified ap- ing to address this problem. doctors also practice where Tens of thousands of plicants and available seats. Enrollment is up only 7 per- the U.S. healthcare system Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill banning vaping Americans apply to U.S. Applying to med school cent over the past five years. needs them most. In areas in Oklahoma schools. According to a story from KFOR medical schools each year. has become a numbers game. That kind of modest growth Television in April, Senate Bill 33 expanded the Tobacco- where per-capita income is Only a fraction gain admis- In the 2018-2019 cycle, U.S. won't get us anywhere close Free Schools Act to include any vaping products, including below $15,000 annually, sion. The University of Ari- medical schools received to narrowing our nation’s more than four in ten doc- noncombustible devices as well as the cartridges, including zona, for instance, posted a over 850,000 applications projected shortage of physi- regardless of whether they contain nicotine. 1.9 percent acceptance rate from nearly 53,000 students. cians. tors received their degrees Venues across the country have banned vaping, such as in 2018. UCLA, Florida The average student applies International medical abroad. workplaces, bars and restaurants. State University, and Wake to 16 schools. schools can address these is- Americans are increas- I never have been a smoker and have no interest in vap- Forest accepted fewer than 3 Many students who would sues, providing opportunity ingly turning to international ing —or most everything in the realm of intoxicants, for that percent of applicants. make terrific doctors fall to talented students and sup- schools. More than 60 per- matter, except for a very occasional beer — so any kind of Many U.S. medical through the cracks. In a re- plying the physicians Amer- cent of licensed medical public ban doesn’t bother me in the least. schools are proud of their cent interview with U.S. ica needs. graduates of international When I watch a rerun of television’s “Mad Men,” set microscopic admission News and World Report, Dr. Many international rates. But they have negative Robert Hasty, the founding schools provide an education schools in the Caribbean are every bit as good as those USS. citizens. Three-quarters mostly in the 1960s, it can be jarring to see how so preva- ramifications for the nation’s dean and chief academic of- lent smoking was in the old days, because we live in a time healthcare system. fer of the Idaho College of offered by U.S. schools. of the medical students at St. now when the public has turned against smoking in en- The United States will Osteopathic Medicine, said, For example, 96 percent of George’s are U.S. citizens. closed public spaces. Even the title card from “Mad Men” need up to 121,900 more “We hear from high-quality first-time test takers from The odds of gaining ad- depicts what appears to be an illustration of character Don physicians by 2032 to care applicants every day . . . St. George’s University in mission to U.S. medical Draper holding a cigarette. for its aging population. and these are people with Grenada -- the school I lead schools are growing longer. Of course, if you grew up in that era or sometime right U.S. medical schools aren’t really high MCAT scores -- passed Step 1 of the U.S. But bright young Americans after it, you recall how smoking was allowed in a lot of producing enough graduates and GPAs, that this is their Medical Licensing Exam in to meet that demand -- and second year, third year or 2018. That’s the same rate don’t have to give up their public places. No one gave it a second thought ... until re- search surfaced on the effects of second-hand smoke. don’t have the capacity to even fourth year applying to as graduates of U.S. medical dreams of becoming doc- Speaking of smoking in public places as it pertains to expand anywhere close to medical schools. And years schools. tors. They can turn to top- baseball, I recall my dad would smoke when we attended that degree. ago, they would have got- Research confirms that in- notch international medical baseball games back in Arlington around 40 years ago. He International medical ten accepted the first time ternational schools produce schools. Their future pa- schools are America’s best through, but the demand is high-caliber doctors. Ac- tients will surely thank them. would put down the packs for good in the mid-1980s. hope for addressing its phy- just incredible.” cording to one study pub- He used to like to tell the story of how he recalled the Dr. Richard Liebowitz sician workforce _ needs. In other words, the status lished by the BMJ, a lead- is vice chancellor of St. exact day he quit smoking, and that it was in 1985, if mem- They’re a crucial alternative quo is failing thousands of ing medical journal, patients George’s University (www. ory serves me correct. My mother maintained the smoking for the thousands of quali- qualified applicants -- and treated by doctors trained habit decades after he quit, but contracting COPD forced fied students who find them- the U.S. healthcare system, overseas had lower mortal- sgu.edu). He previously her to cease. selves on the wrong end of which needs more doctors. ity rates than those treated served as president of New Well, if I ever contract COPD, it won’t be because of amed school admissions de- U.S. medical schools don’t by U.S.-educated doctors. York-Presbyterian Brooklyn cigarettes. Or vaping. cision as a result of the mis- appear capable of grow- Internationally trained Methodist Hospital. Pets in vehicles can cause big problems “Yipe!’ and wet all over the nice velour seat.” I high- the word “accident” in ref- erence to a shooting, traffic tailed it out of there before incident, or practically any- By Kim Poindexter, ample of why gun control is ping Center. Anyone who effects.” The most immedi- the Caddy owner -- surely thing else that could dam- Tahlequah Daily Press, critical. On the other side of knows Bob is aware he has ate was that the victim “was what we used to refer to as age person or property, Ed Okla. the aisle, 2A zealots repeat a dry sense of humor, and startled and thus inflicted a “High Downing Bluehair” would always contact us to Earlier this week, I got a a variation of their mantra, he sometimes wrote his sto- serious damage on the cloth -- came back. ask us how we could be sure chuckle from a story in the saying, “Guns don’t kill peo- ries that way, too. I’ve got- upholstery of her car seat by Aremember another situa- it was an “accident.” He was Enid News & Eagle, a sister ple; dogs... .” Well, I guess ten a lot of juice by reciting urinating upon it.” She also tion involving not a dog, but especially adamant if a ve- newspaper whose news team they don’t say that, but they it in a way that would not mentioned her “humilia- acat. A driver had her cat in is expertly managed by Rob might have, if a fatality had have been out of line with tion,” along with “pain and her lap as she texted or ap- hicular crash involved alco- Collins. It seems a woman in resulted. I’m more inclined Bobbo’s reporting _ style: suffering,” although she hol, because, as he asserted, plied mascara or smoked a their coverage area was “ac- to see it as an example of “The canine, whose owner was alone in her vehicle and cigarette, or whatever those you can’t really call that an cidentally” shot by a dog as why people need to be care- was shopping in one of the could have kept her inconti- deadly multi-taskers do “accident.” The driver knew she and a man were sitting in ful when transporting pets. stores, had left the turquoise- nence to herself. when they get behind the when he imbibed and got be- a car at a railroad crossing, My friend Rex has a service colored vehicle running. Back in the mid-’80s, I wheel. Though she blamed hind the wheel that a crash waiting for a train to pass. dog who was recently pic- Witnesses reported that the wrote a column about how I the other driver, I have no might ensue; ergo, it was no A yellow lab belonging to tured on the front page of dog, which was sitting be- caused a similar type of up- doubt it was her fault that “accident.” the woman’s client, an elder- TDP, and Diesel rides with a hind the steering wheel, was holstery damage when I went she got sideswiped. Again, Ed’s perpetual campaign is ly gentleman for whom she’s staring straight ahead as the to the old Walmart store to restraint in the back of their no one had to be hospital- perplexing, because journal- a caretaker, was in the back SUV. He’s not allowed to pickup proceeded forward pick up something on my ized, but the terrified cat istic style suggests “wreck” seat, sitting next to a folding stomp about the cab to pos- at about 8-10 mph before lunch hour. I parked next to ripped into its owner’s is neither a verb nor another console. We all know what sibly crush baguettes from ramming into the pole. Ob- a blue Cadillac containing crotch and face as the drama word for “crash,” but rather consoles are for: They hold Trader Joe’s underfoot, stick servers also reported hear- a single chihuahua, which unfolded, and simultaneous- a noun describing the state our cups of tea or soda, or his nose into pate packets ing a loud ‘Yipe!’ as impact was yapping incessantly and ly pooped and peed on her of a vehicle or vessel in the in the case of passengers in- from that same store, or fire occurred, though the animal growling at everyone who lap, in addition to coughing wake of said crash; think tent on running afoul of the a weapon. Not that Rex, a wasn’t injured.” passed. The windows were up a hairball after the excite- “shipwreck.” This means we law, cocktails in to-go cups. retired Navy captain, would Even earlier, a woman cracked just enough that the ment subsided. A colorful are consigned to using only Most of us don’t have loaded be toting firearms under his tried to sue the owner of a dog wouldn’t suffocate. The shouting match between the the word “crash,” which is .22-caliber handguns under console. dog after it jumped out of the owner of the Caddy was in drivers ensued. our consoles, but this guy In Tahlequah, animals in back of a pickup and landed for the long haul, because annoyingly repetitive, or Some of you may be won- did. Unfortunately, when the vehicles have caused prob- ‘on the hood of her car while when I returned to my junk- dering why I bracketed “ac- “incident,” vague employing nouns like which is under- dog jumped onto the con- lems over the years, and both vehicles were at a stop- er, she (I always assumed it cidentally” in quote marks sole, the gun discharged and some cases have found theirlight downtown. There were was a “she”) was still no- in my lede, as if implying stating things if someone the bullet struck the woman way into print. Many years no physical injuries, other where in sight, and the ob- that the dog shot its own- was hurt or killed. -- who was in the front pas- ago, when Bob Gibbins than a few toenail scratches noxious ankle-biter was still er’s caretaker intentionally. Although I’m fairly con- senger seat -- in the thigh. was our courts and crime in the paint inflicted by the raising Cain. I’m not proud Though that could be the fident vehicular “incidents” Everybody is OK, includ- reporter, a truck with a dog dog as it tried to gain pur- of it, but I got a little an- case, the punctuation is a involving animals -- and ed the undoubtedly freaked- in the driver’s seat plowed chase. However, the woman noyed and slapped my hand result of a neurotic habit I perhaps guns -- are indeed out lab. But I know a few in- into a light pole, just across said she suffered “mental an- against one of the windows blame on Ed Brocksmith. “accidents,” I can’t be sure. dignant peace-loving friends Muskogee Avenue from our guish,” which had “unpleas- of the car. As I reported lat- For decades, whenever one Not, at least, with Ed lurking who insist this is another ex- office and in the Plaza Shop- ant immediate and lingering er: “The dog uttered a loud of our reporters would use about.