To the Editor:
Growing up on Schoharie Plank Road (now West I’m told) in the 1950s and ’60s, I am interested in the news regarding water-carrying asbestos pipes bursting [“Altamont water did not have to be tested for asbestos following pipe break, county says”].

The faucet water we drank from the kitchen sink and hoses was deemed by our elders as “delicious and cheap.” This happened, of course, after chasing the mosquito-man truck (Google it) down the road every summer [spraying a fog of DDT to kill insects]. The taste, oh so exhilarating.

During those wonder years my parents’ doctor told my mom to relax and have a smoke when she complained about raising four children.

I believe I will do some research and pay more attention to that annoying “mesothelioma” lawyer commercial appearing seemingly hourly — after my chemo treatments, of course. I smile while I write.

Warren Jones

Surprise, Arizona

Editor’s note: Warren Jones is a retired jazz musician in Arizona. He is being treated for myelodysplastic syndrome, a form of blood cancer.