The Daily Valet. - 8/20/21, Friday

✔️ Looking to Help

August 20, 2021

Friday, August 20th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Who wants to get some sloppy steaks this weekend?

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

Vets Look to Help Afghan Interpreters

American retreat has brought feelings of anger, guilt and frustration to many veterans

In the months after President Biden announced the U.S. would fully withdraw from Afghanistan, veterans groups lobbied on behalf of Afghan nationals looking to obtain Special Immigrant Visas, urging the government to speed up the bureaucratic process for interpreters and ensure they would not be left in danger.

Now that the Taliban has seized control after an astonishingly quick conquest, U.S. troops remain only at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, and thousands of SIV seekers and their families are in danger while veterans halfway across the globe scramble to help as many as they can.

Many American servicemen and and women say they forged lasting bonds with Afghan interpreters who ate meals with them, bunked alongside them and, on occasion, saved their lives. It has brought feelings of bitterness and guilt to many veterans who feel bonded to their Afghan friends and has even left them embarrassed by how the U.S. has seemingly abandoned those who were so loyal.

On Sunday, after the Taliban captured Kabul, No One Left Behind—a nonprofit whose mission is “ensuring that America keeps its promise to our interpreters”— was flooded with emails and desperate calls for help. A lot of the caller were vets who have reconnected with their interpreters.

Although the Biden administration has said it is working to quickly process visa applications for our wartime partners and interpreters and fast-track them to safety, many are stuck in hiding or outside the gate of the Kabul airport with masses of people scrambling to get in.

Americans vetting Afghans are able to comb through biometric information, even matching fingerprints against databases that store those found on improvised explosive devices found in the field. But records of who actually served the U.S. are poor, former senior officials told NBC News.

↦ Quoted: “These are folks who invested in the American dream even before they became Americans, when they were fighting alongside us.” - Afghanistan war veteran Doug Livermore

Those Anti-COVID Plastic Barriers?

They’re not as helpful as we once thought

COVID precautions have turned many parts of our world into a giant salad bar, with plastic barriers separating sales clerks from shoppers, dividing customers at nail salons and shielding students from their classmates.

But according to the latest science, they often do little to stop the spread of the coronavirus. And the New York Times reports that sometimes the barriers can make things worse.

A study published in June from Johns Hopkins, for example, showed that desk screens in classrooms were associated with an increased risk of coronavirus infection. Other studies found that plexiglass dividers with side walls in offices were impeding air flow. Another study looking at schools in Georgia found that desk barriers had little effect on the spread of the coronavirus compared with ventilation improvements and masking.

Yes, modeling studies found that the barriers are more effective when the person coughs, because the larger particles have greater momentum and hit the plastic. But when a person speaks, the screen doesn’t trap the exhaled particles—which just float around it. So in many cases, it's just a false sense of security.

↦ Meanwhile: Local mask mandates allowed for now after Texas Supreme Court rejects Gov. Abbott’s request to intervene.

Toys ‘R’ Us Returns

You’ll find them inside over 400 Macy’s locations by next year

I don't know if you experienced the Wonka-like pleasure of being a kid walking into the sprawling wonderland that was a Toys ‘R’ Us in the ’90s. But let me assure you, that it was a sensory experience unlike any other.

Well, now the defunct toy store is returning, albeit in a more truncated form. Geoffrey the Giraffe is moving to Macy's. The Wall Street Journal reports that Toys ‘R’ Us will roll out shops at more than 400 Macy's locations throughout the U.S.

It's the second attempt to revitalize the Toys ‘R’ Us brand since it filed for bankruptcy in 2017. But specifics on how large the shops will be and a list of where they'll be was not yet available.

For Macy's, the move comes as it plans to quintuple the size of its toy business, CEO Jeff Gennette told the Journal. He said customers who come to buy toys will likely buy other things as well, translating into additional sales for the department-store chain.

↦ Dig Deeper: Mental Floss has a few interesting facts about the toy store giant.

Train Travel Is Trending

What are you waiting for? All aboard!

Trains are an underrated method of transportation in the U.S. When thinking about transportation, most people's minds go first to driving or flying. This, of course, is because the U.S. is far behind many other countries when it comes to train routes.

But suddenly, it seems like everyone's talking about catching a train. One of Western Canada's most-decorated luxury scenic train lines, the Rocky Mountaineer, launched its first American route this week through its namesake mountain range, running two-day, one-night trips back and forth between Denver, Colorado, and Moab, Utah.

Afar reports that if there was ever a time to get back on the rails, this might be it—now that private rooms on Amtrak's Auto Train go fro as low as $129 a night (complete with all meals).

According to Vogue, more people are rediscovering the pleasures of train travel post-pandemic. “On the train, the miles feel earned,” writes Nylah Burton. “You feel yourself roaming over every bit of land that exists between your starting point and your destination.”

↦ First Person: “I took a 19-hour, overnight Amtrak train. Here are 10 reasons why traveling by train is better than flying.”

In Other News

↦ Chuck Close, Artist of Outsized Reality, Dies at 81

↦ The Paul Newman Daytona Rolex Is so Famous There’s Now a Song About It

↦ More Than 125 Landmarks Around the World Were Bathed in Purple Last Night

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

High stakes mangoes

Hollywood salaries

The elusive iPhone nano

A Weekend Pairing

Nine Perfect Strangers + a Beautiful Stranger Cocktail

The defining motif of Nine Perfect Strangers, David E. Kelley's new miniseries on Hulu, is an image of fruit being pulverized into gloop, which is also how your brain will feel after watching the first couple of episodes, according to The Atlantic.

The miniseries, adapted from a novel of the same name by Big Little Lies author Liane Moriarty, follows a group of people at an upscale wellness resort. The experience pushes them to the inevitable self-improvement quandary: how far are you willing to trust someone who seems to have all of the answers? It's been called “gripping.” And fans of Big Little Lies or, say, The White Lotus, will definitely be into this show. But given that we all just finished watching the latter, I wonder if Hulu really thought about the timing of this show coming on the heels of the HBO hit.

↦ Your Pairing:I was going to pair something “wellness-minded,” but decided this take on a daiquiri from Big O Ginger Liqueur is a better and more versatile option. So simple yet so refreshing. Batch this cocktail ahead of time for a group or slush it in the freezer for a refreshing, boozy treat.