Eagle-Eye Al

DALLAS RESIDENTS JOSE AND Dolores Delgadillo rely on Amtrak’s Texas Eagle service, which links Dallas to Chicago and the West Coast, to visit their relatives and grandchildren.

When Amtrak announced it would discontinue Texas Eagle service beginning Nov.- 10, 1996 (later extended through the spring), due to decreased federal funding, Dolores and her husband frantically began writing to Senators Phil G ram m and Kay Bailey Hutchison, Gov. Bush, even Vice President Al Gore. Most responded with genuine concern and detailed all of the measures they personally have taken to extend and possibly preserve the train service.

And then there is Al Gore. As reported by the Washington Post, the Vice President wrote back: “I share your view that the urgent problem of species extinction and the conservation of biological diversity should be addressed. The first step in saving any plant or animal from extinction is to become aware of and respect the fragile ecosystems that make up our environment.”

Will there ever come a time when Vice Presidential faux pas become extinct?